Pres. Donald Trump (Screenshot)

“When you see ‘anonymous sources,’ stop reading the story, it is fiction,” President Donald Trump is advising Americans. Ironically, CNN – which Trump calls “Fake CNN” for its use of anonymous sources – also warns against trusting news citing unnamed sources.

“Look at the lie CNN is now in,” Trump tweeted Wednesday in response to the network’s refusal to retract a story citing an anonymous source claiming Trump had advance knowledge of a controversial meeting at Trump Tower” which is currently being disputed by one of CNN’s now-outed anonymous sources, attorney Lanny Davis:

“Anonymous sources are really starting to BURN the media.” @FoxNews The fact is that many anonymous sources don’t even exist. They are fiction made up by the Fake News reporters. Look at the lie CNN is now in. They got caught red handed! Enemy of the People!”

CNN’s own online guide to spotting fake news warns readers not to trust news reports that don’t “cite primary sources” or feature “traceable” claims – or, are “the only outlet reporting the story,” as CNN was with its exclusive report of anonymous sources claiming Trump had prior knowledge of the Trump Tower meeting.

CNN warns against these types of news stories in #5, #6, and #7 (highlighted) of its 10 tips for spotting fake news:

"Here are 10 questions you should ask if something looks fake":

"Does the story come from a strange URL?" "Does the headline match the information in the article?" "Is it a recent story, or an old one that has been re-purposed?" "Are the supporting videos or photos verifiable?" "Does the article cite primary sources?" "Does the story feature quotes, and are they traceable?" "Is it the only outlet reporting the story?" "Is your own bias getting in the way?" "Has it been debunked by a reputable fact-checking organization?" "Is the host on a list of unreliable news websites?"

“Consider this your new media literacy guide,” CNN says in its article.