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Trump names winners of his controversial ‘Fake News Awards’ (Lead)
Washington, Jan 18 (IANS) US President Donald Trump has announced the winners of his so-called “Fake News Awards” for 2017 in a gimmick to escalate his attacks on major media outlets, with the top prize going to a New York Times article.
The article by renowned economist Paul Krugman, which won two awards, about the adverse fall outs of Trump’s win in the US presidential election topped the controversial list.
On Wednesday, Trump tweeted, “And the FAKE NEWS winners are…”, along with a link to the Republican National Convention website with a list of ten winners.
“2017 was a year of unrelenting bias, unfair news coverage and even downright fake news. Studies have shown that over 90 per cent of the media’s coverage of President Trump is negative,” said the GOP-hosted website.
The awards link was unavailable immediately following their announcement by Trump due to a traffic overload. “The site is temporarily offline,” it read for nearly an hour after Trump sent out a tweet to the site.
The second winner on the list was ABC, for a news piece — that it later retracted — in which it claimed that the controversial former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn was asked by the President to establish contact with Kremlin.
The third winner was CNN news — which received four of the 10 awards — for a news article where it claimed Trump and his son, Donald Trump Jr., had exclusive access to hacked documents from Wikileaks.
The Washington Post, TIME Magazine, Newsweek and ABC news also got an award each.
The list mentioned the Post for reporting that “the President’s massive sold-out rally in Pensacola, Florida, was empty”. Other entries included TIME’s mistaken report about Martin Luther King Jr.’s bust being removed from the Oval Office.
The awards blamed Newsweek for reporting that Polish First Lady Agata Kornhauser-Duda did not shake the US President’s hand. A video that appeared to capture the missed handshake went viral on social media at the time.
Finally, the “Fake News Awards” noted that “Russian collusion was perhaps the greatest hoax perpetrated on the American people. THERE IS NO COLLUSION!”
Republican senators John McCain and Jeff Flake harshly criticised Trump for the awards.
“No longer can we compound attacks on truth with our silent acquiescence. No longer can we turn a blind eye or a deaf ear to these assaults on our institutions,” said Flake.
Earlier in the month, several experts had also warned that the announcement of these awards could violate federal standards of government ethics and would embarrass officials, who collaborated with Trump, although not the President himself.
Trump had proposed in late November, the idea of granting a “fake news trophy” to the television network that was “the most dishonest or corrupt in its political coverage” of his presidency.
The page also listed several accomplishments of the President.
–IANS
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Dr. Abhishek Verma Dedicates a Shelter in Memory of His Mother, Veena Verma, at KGMU; Inaugurated by Daughter Nicolle Verma
World-renowned business tycoon Dr. Abhishek Verma has supported Foodman Vishal Singh’s Hunger-Free World mission. In memory of his mother, Late Veena Verma, who was a 3 term Rajya Sabha MP.
Dr. Verma dedicated a state-of-the-art free permanent shelter for the attendants of patients at KGMU Medical University, Lucknow, under the aegis of Vijay Shree Foundation. His daughter, Nicolle Verma, inaugurated the shelter.
During the event, Foodman Vishal Singh honored Nicolle Verma by presenting her with a memento. Mrs. Nidhi Sharma and Avantika Yadav, associated with the organization, welcomed her with garlands. Following this, Nicolle Verma distributed essential items to the attendants and also handed out fruits. She became emotional remembering her grandmother on her birth anniversary.
On this occasion, she also inaugurated the “Veena Verma Sevalaya” in memory of her grandmother, Veena Verma, to serve the attendants. She expressed, “I feel proud that my family is engaged in nation-building as well as social service. Today, in collaboration with Vijay Shree Foundation founder Foodman Vishal Singh Ji, I feel immensely proud to dedicate this shelter for the poor, helpless, and needy attendants of patients battling serious illnesses like cancer. I am honored to be associated with the Hunger-Free World Mission for humanity.”
Inspired by the continuous humanitarian service provided by Vijay Shree Foundation over the past 17 years, Nicolle Verma donated 10 lakh rupees to support the cause. The purpose of this donation is to ensure that services continue for the needy attendants of patients suffering from severe illnesses in hospitals, as facilitated by Foodman Vishal Singh.
It is noteworthy that Dr. Abhishek Verma’s family has a legacy of public and philanthropic service. They are helping millions to carry forward the values and service work of their parents. On the occasion of his mother’s birth anniversary, Dr. Abhishek Verma dedicated this state-of-the-art permanent shelter at Lucknow Medical College to serve the attendants of patients through the Vijay Shree Foundation.
Supporting Foodman Vishal Singh’s Hunger-Free World mission, Dr. Abhishek Verma assured that he would continually support keeping this flame of humanity alive. He also promised to assist in providing medicines to the helpless patients.
Continuing her grandmother’s legacy of service, Nicolle Verma personally served food to the needy patients and attendants. She said, “It is our good fortune to have received the joy of doing this noble work today through Foodman Vishal Singh. I have taken another step forward in carrying my family’s values and cooperation by joining hands with the Vijay Shree Foundation. My father taught me to serve and help the needy, and I feel happy when I bring a smile to someone’s face.”
On the birth anniversary of the late Veena Verma, the event organizer, Vijay Shree Foundation founder Foodman Vishal Singh, said, “We feel proud and happy that Dr. Abhishek Verma, a globally renowned business tycoon, has extended his support to uplift our country from the hunger index. Today, on his mother’s birth anniversary, he inaugurated a state-of-the-art permanent shelter at Lucknow Medical College, which will always be helpful for the needy attendants of patients. It is a pleasure for me and the organization to receive the affection of Mr. Verma.”
The event was attended by General Manager Verma Family Office Hemant Garg, Sonu Rajput, and the organization’s volunteers, including Sandeep Singh, Parmeshwar Ji, Prashant Rao Gautam, Balram Singh, Ramesh Chaudhary, Suman, Jeetu, Anil, Suraj, Vinay, Manish Bhadauria, Manas Mehrotra, Vivek, Apurv, Happy, and others.