CNN fact checks Donald Trump's tweet about his presidential inauguration viewing figures

'Those are the facts'

Wednesday 25 January 2017 09:02 GMT

President Donald Trump calls CNN 'fake news' (Getty)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

CNN have replied to a Donald Trump tweet accusing the broadcaster of being "fake news" by showing one of the president's claims to be false.

In his tweet, Mr Trump congratulated Fox News "for being number one in inauguration ratings" and said they were "many times higher" than CNN.

"Congratulations to Fox News for being number one in inauguration ratings. They were many times higher than FAKE NEWS CNN," Mr Trump wrote.

"Public is smart!" he added.

However, CNN replied to Mr Trump's tweet by sharing the viewing numbers for the broadcaster and CNN.

CNN Communications said: "According to Nielsen cumulative numbers, 34 million people watched CNN's inauguration day coverage on television. 34 million watched Fox News. There were an additional 16.9 million live video starts on CNN Digital platforms.

"Those are the facts."

Sean Spicer: "I think sometimes we can disagree with the facts"

Earlier this week, Mr Trump's controversial press secretary defended his claim that record numbers watched the president's inauguration by saying "sometimes we disagree with the facts".

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Thank you for registering

CNN fact checks Donald Trump's tweet about his presidential inauguration viewing figures

'Those are the facts'

Join our commenting forum

Thank you for registering