SPIN

Donald Trump’s denunciation of “fake news” has been so effective a rallying cry it would be easy to conclude – and no doubt he’d do little to dissuade you – that his administration had pioneered the concept. Depending on who you ask, the denunciation of “fake news” is either an antidote to propaganda or simply next-level manipulation. Brian Springer’s 1995 documentary, which uses pirated satellite feeds to reveal US media personalities’ contempt for their viewers, puts the concept of fake news and a gaslighting presidency in context. TV outtakes appropriated from network satellite feeds unravel the tightly-spun fabric of television – a system that silences public debate and enforces the exclusion of anyone outside those who manufacture the news.