Right, except on a Fox News broadcast.

Colbert objected: “You said that it’s happening, but then you don’t support it with any proof.”

O’Reilly: “No, and I don’t care whether you believe me or not. Doesn’t matter to me. I’m not trying to convince anybody of anything.”

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Colbert: “Of course we believe you. You’re Bill O’Reilly.”

O’Reilly: “Thank you.”

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Colbert: “You’re in the no spin zone, but don’t your viewers. … they’re gonna believe you.”

O’Reilly: “Again, I don’t use anonymous sources so if you tell me something and I believe it, and I do believe these three news organizations just despise Trump across the board, but I’m not gonna name them because it’s not fair to them.”

If it weren’t so easy to see past O’Reilly’s sleight of hand, we might call it brilliant or something like that. But it isn’t. The Fox News host is using anonymous sources — to effect a crude and clear indictment of U.S. media “conglomerates.” There are only so many of those.

All this would be risible if not for the context. Trump is attempting to convince people of a wide-ranging conspiracy against him, one that includes the media as a prominent agent. “This is a conspiracy against you, the American people, and we cannot let this happen or continue,” said the GOP nominee last week. Attacks of this sort against the media have reporters feeling downright scared at Trump rallies. In the hands of Trump, media criticism has transitioned from common, harmless GOP rhetoric to something bordering on incitement.