WASHINGTON — The Newseum has removed the controversial “You are very fake news” T-shirts from their gift shop Saturday after people claimed the shirts went against the museum’s mission statement.
The Newseum is an interactive museum in Northwest D.C. that aims to “increase public understanding of the importance of a free press and the First Amendment,” according to its website.
Journalists claimed the shirt supported the concept of “fake news,” a term President Donald Trump popularized, that they say “undermines” media and free press.
This is a very bad idea @Newseum — you exist to honor, examine and protect the news media, not embrace the bywords by which others seek to undermine it. https://t.co/DBt3kfIPpA
— Michael Barbaro (@mikiebarb) August 3, 2018
Sigh. It’s not about “free speech.” People can say “fake news,” and the @Newseum can sell the shirt if it wants to. The fact that it’s antithetical to the Newseum’s mission is the issue. The baseball Hall of Fame doesn’t sell “baseball sucks” shirts https://t.co/w7MQQayECs
— Justin Fenton (@justin_fenton) August 4, 2018
Museum officials released a statement apologizing for the shirts, saying they made a mistake.
We have removed the “You Are Very Fake News” T-shirts from the gift shop and online. We made a mistake and we apologize. A free press is an essential part of our democracy and journalists are not the enemy of the people. https://t.co/eLXa9t646g
— Newseum (@Newseum) August 4, 2018
The statement also claims that “as an organization that celebrates the rights of people from all political spectrums to express themselves freely, we’ve historically made all types of political merchandise from all political parties. This has included former and current presidential slogans and imagery.”
