Newseum admits it erred, pulls ‘Fake News’ T-shirts
The Newseum in Washington, which caused a stir Friday after reports that it was selling a T-shirt reading “You Are Very Fake News,” announced Saturday that it was pulling the shirts from its gift shop and online store.
“We made a mistake and we apologize,” the museum, which is dedicated to press freedom, said in a statement on its website. “A free press is an essential part of our democracy and journalists are not the enemy of the people.”
“Fake news,” of course, has become a rallying cry for President Donald Trump and his supporters, who contend that the news media present a distorted view of the president and his administration and fabricate facts. He has repeatedly called the media the “enemy of the people.”
“Real news wins!” was the response on Saturday from Jim Acosta, the chief White House correspondent for CNN. When Acosta, who has been a frequent target of the president and his allies, heard on Friday about the shirts at the Newseum, he said, “If they’re that strapped for cash, I’m happy to make a donation.”
The Newseum has struggled financially since it opened its new home on Pennsylvania Avenue in 2008, besieged by crippling debt and an expensive building in a city full of free museums. Merchandising has provided a crucial income flow.
So in addition to the “Fake News” T-shirt, there’s a coloring book that depicts Trump as a superhero and a red “Make America Great Again” hat. Those hats, and FBI hats, are the biggest sellers, Sonya Gavankar, the director of public relations for the museum, told the Poynter Institute, the journalism think tank that reported the sale of the shirts on Friday.
In its statement Saturday, the Newseum noted that although questions had been raised about gift items beyond the shirt, “we’ve historically made all types of political merchandise available.”
“That has included former and current presidential slogans and imagery and merchandise from all political parties,” the statement concluded. “We continue to do so in celebration of freedom of speech.”
On Friday, Gavankar had described the shirts the same way, as a celebration of free speech. She was not available for comment Saturday.