President Trump has predicted gleefully that there will be more media layoffs after BuzzFeed and HuffPost cut staff this week, saying “Fake News and bad journalism” have led to a “big downturn.”
“’Ax falls quickly at BuzzFeed and Huffpost!’ Headline, New York Post. Fake News and bad journalism have caused a big downturn. Sadly, many others will follow. The people want the Truth!” the president tweeted.
“Ax falls quickly at BuzzFeed and Huffpost!” Headline, New York Post. Fake News and bad journalism have caused a big downturn. Sadly, many others will follow. The people want the Truth!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 26, 2019
Layoffs hit several news outlets this week, resulting in the loss of more than 1,000 jobs in the media industry, according to CNN.
Verizon, which owns HuffPost, Yahoo, and AOL, said it would be slashing 7 percent of workers in its digital media operations, or roughly 800 jobs. BuzzFeed cut about 15 percent of its workforce, or more than 200 employees. Gannett laid off people at its newspapers nationwide.
BuzzFeed recently came under scrutiny after reporting that Trump directed his longtime lawyer Michael Cohen to lie to Congress. The story, however, prompted a rare statement from special counsel Robert Mueller, whose office said the article was “not accurate.”
Trump frequently rails against the press, referring to outlets as “fake news” and accusing reporters of making up sources and quotes.
[Read more: BuzzFeed faces internal revolt over laid off employees not getting paid for unused vacation days]
