President Trump announced the "winners" of his Fake News Awards today in a typically chaotic manner.

The president tweeted "And the FAKE NEWS winners are..." with an accompanying link to an official Republican Party page.

However, the link appeared to be broken, leaving pundits in the dark for over an hour.

And the FAKE NEWS winners are...https://t.co/59G6x2f7fD — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 18, 2018

When the page did appear, it announced 10 recipients of "The Highly-Anticipated 2017 Fake News Awards."

"2017 was a year of unrelenting bias, unfair news coverage, and even downright fake news. Studies have shown that over 90% of the media’s coverage of President Trump is negative," the page said.

In first place was The New York Times’ Paul Krugman for claiming "on the day of President Trump’s historic, landslide victory that the economy would never recover."

Second place was "ABC News' Brian Ross CHOKES and sends markets in a downward spiral with false report."

And third place: "CNN FALSELY reported that candidate Donald Trump and his son Donald J. Trump, Jr. had access to hacked documents from WikiLeaks."

RELATED READING Republican senator blasts Trump for 'Stalin-like' attacks on media

The announcement came days after the president promised to name "the most corrupt & biased of the Mainstream Media."

In follow-up tweets to his announcement, the commander-in-chief posted that "despite some very corrupt and dishonest media coverage, there are many great reporters I respect and lots of GOOD NEWS for the American people to be proud of!"

"Together there is nothing we can't overcome - even a very biased media. We ARE Making America Great Again!"

Earlier in the day, Republican Senator Jeff Flake slammed what he called the president's dangerous disregard for the truth, and his designation of the mainstream news media as an "enemy of the people."

"When a figure in power reflexively calls any press that does not suit him fake news, it is that person who should be the figure of suspicion, not the press," Mr Flake said.

Of the "awards," Mr Flake said "it beggars belief that an American president would engage in such a spectacle yet here we are."

While Mr Flake's combative stance was not echoed by the Republican mainstream, it was mirrored by his Arizona colleague and fellow Trump critic Senator John McCain, in an opinion piece for The Washington Post entitled "Mr. President, stop attacking the press."

"Whether Trump knows it or not, these efforts are being closely watched by foreign leaders who are already using his words as cover as they silence and shutter one of the key pillars of democracy," Mr McCain warned.

Citing the Committee to Protect Journalists, Mr McCain noted that 2017 was one of the most dangerous years on record for the profession, with 262 journalists jailed over their work - 21 of them on charges of "fake news."

- Additional reporting: AFP

