"Then along came Channel 4, which decided to go big, junking off a full night's schedule to deliver an unbroken almost three-hour, fact-based, point-by-point repudiation of almost every single thing that Trump has said since he retook office in January. Preceding it was episode two of The Donald Trump Show, a weird hour that overlaid an arch Come Dine With Me narration over old Trump clips."
"And throughout the day, continuity announcers were replaced with a Trump impersonator who whined about the channel's output. During Frasier at 10:40am, for instance, he complained about his intense dislike of tossed salads. Still, Trump v the Truth was always the real pull; a monumental flex that few other broadcasters would have dared to attempt. Starting at 10pm and rolling on into the small hours, the show was billed as a rigorously sourced factcheck of more than 100 untruths."
"On paper, this is an admirable demonstration of public service journalism. We live in an age where Trump routinely attempts to silence the media just this week, he filed a $15bn lawsuit against the New York Times so for a channel to call him out as comprehensively as this might set an example for the rest of the world to follow. But sitting through it all was a different matter entirely."
Channel 4 replaced much of its schedule with a themed day centered on Trump, including an almost three-hour program called Trump v the Truth. The day also featured episode two of The Donald Trump Show and continuity announcers impersonating Trump. Trump v the Truth used a strict format of clips followed by white-on-black text corrections and aimed to rebut over 100 untruths from speeches, interviews, statements and social media since Trump retook office. The program presented itself as rigorously sourced public service journalism amid ongoing legal and media tensions, though the viewing experience proved challenging.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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