Here’s why Trump’s attacks on ‘fake news’ succeed

If you read the New York Times report that several of President Trump's aides and associates communicated regularly during the campaign with Russian intelligence officials, you know that Trump's rebuttal to the controversy at a news conference made little sense. That's a big “if,” however. The reality is that Trump supporters, generally speaking, don't read the Times.

When the Pew Research Center surveyed voters after the election, the Times didn't even register among Trump backers' primary news sources. The Trump base's media consumption habits — of which the president is undoubtedly aware — is the key to success for attacks on “fake news” reports by the Times and other major outlets that Trump voters disdain. If his supporters don't actually read a report, then Trump doesn't have to respond to it, really. He can respond to a version of his own invention, and his backers will be none the wiser.