Bloomingdale's Apologizes For 'Fake News' T-Shirt
Feb. 12, 2019, 10:12 a.m.
The T-shirt has been removed from the store. Unless this article itself is fake news and it's still on sale? YOU NEVER KNOW #PIZZAGATE.
Bloomingdale's has removed a T-shirt with the words "Fake News" after a reporter pointed out it "further delegitimizes hard working journalists who bring REAL news to their communities."
PIX 11 reporter Allison Kaden noticed the shirt at the department store chain's White Plains location on Sunday and tweeted a picture of it, prompting an apology from Bloomingdale's.
Thank you for bringing this to our attention and we apologize for any offense we may have caused. We take this feedback very seriously and are working quickly to remove this t-shirt. Again, thank you for taking the time to alert us.
— Bloomingdale's (@Bloomingdales) February 11, 2019
Kaden's Tweet has over 2,400 retweets and 8,000 likes; many of its replies include people claiming they want to buy many of the shirts.
President Donald Trump has popularized the phrase "fake news" to portray himself as being victimized by the press when he dislikes factual reporting on him, his administration, and the impact of his policies. The term was also used to describe disinformation and deliberately false new articles that proliferated on social media leading up to 2016 election.
In addition to calling the press "the enemy of the people," Trump has praised others for physically attacking journalists and even Tweeted a video of himself "body-slamming" CNN. On Monday night, a cameraman for BBC was attacked by a man wearing a "Make America Great Again" hat at President Trump's rally in El Paso, Texas.
BBC News reports, "the man shoved and swore at the BBC's Ron Skeans and other news crews before being pulled away. Mr Skeans said the 'very hard shove' came from his blindside. 'I didn't know what was going on.' Mr Trump saw the attack and confirmed Mr Skeans was well with a thumbs up after it happened."
The attacker, who also apparently attacked other journalists, was removed; according to BBC News, "A campaign official for Mr Trump afterwards suggested the attacker was drunk."
Last year, the Newseum in Washington D.C., whose mission is to "increase public understanding of the importance of a free press and the First Amendment," pulled a "You are fake news" t-shirt from its store. The museum apologized, "We made a mistake and we apologize. A free press is an essential part of our democracy and journalists are not the enemy of the people."