Donald Trump defended local TV news giant Sinclair Broadcast Group on Monday as the rightwing news network came under fire for forcing its local news anchors to read an identical script criticizing “fake” news stories.



Earlier this month CNN broke the news that anchors at Sinclair, the largest local news network with close to 200 television stations across the country, had been told to read a script attacking “the troubling trend of irresponsible, one-sided news stories plaguing our country”.



The script warns about fake news and claims: “Unfortunately, some members of the media use their platforms to push their own personal bias and agenda to control ‘exactly what people think’ … This is extremely dangerous to a democracy.”



A video compilation of those speeches created by Deadspin went viral over the weekend, prompting Trump to tweet on Monday: “So funny to watch Fake News Networks, among the most dishonest groups of people I have ever dealt with, criticize Sinclair Broadcasting for being biased. Sinclair is far superior to CNN and even more Fake NBC, which is a total joke.”



How America's largest local TV owner turned its news anchors into soldiers in Trump's war on the media: https://t.co/iLVtKRQycL pic.twitter.com/dMdSGellH3 — Deadspin (@Deadspin) March 31, 2018

A copy of the Sinclair speech was published last week by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, which reported that employees at local news station, KOMO, said the segments had not affected their local coverage.

Sinclair journalists leaked details of their contracts on Monday and said they faced fines if they quit while under contract.



Chaired by David Smith, a low-profile multi-millionaire with close ties to the Trump administration, Sinclair is the US’s largest broadcaster and reached about 38% of US households.



It is currently attempting to take over Tribune Media, a $3.9bn deal that would add another 42 cities to its portfolio but which has hit a roadblock with regulators in Washington.



Sinclair did not immediately return calls for comment.