type: timeline_event Video compilation reveals Sinclair forced anchors at dozens of local stations to read identical script warning about "fake news," exposing synchronized propaganda operation
In late March 2018, Deadspin published a viral video compilation showing local news anchors at dozens of Sinclair Broadcast Group stations across the country reading an identical script warning viewers about "the troubling trend of irresponsible, one sided news stories plaguing our country" and claiming that "national media outlets are publishing these same fake stories without checking facts first." The synchronized delivery — with the same words spoken by trusted local anchors in markets from coast to coast — exposed the scale of Sinclair's centralized propaganda operation using the credibility of local news formats.
Sinclair, the largest owner of local television stations in the United States with nearly 200 stations reaching approximately 40% of American households, had required affiliates to air the segment as a "must run" — centrally produced content that local news directors had no choice but to broadcast. The company had a long-standing practice of distributing conservative commentary through its "must run" system, including regular segments by Boris Epshteyn, a former Trump campaign adviser. President Trump praised Sinclair on Twitter, calling it "far superior to CNN and even more Fake NBC, which is a total joke."
HBO's John Oliver devoted a segment of "Last Week Tonight" to the scandal, calling the anchors "members of a brainwashed cult" and contexualizing Sinclair's political agenda, reach, and must-run programming system. The episode sparked significant public debate about media consolidation and the vulnerability of local news infrastructure to centralized political messaging. Sinclair had been seeking FCC approval to acquire Tribune Media's stations, which would have dramatically expanded its reach — a merger that was eventually abandoned in 2018.