US President Donald Trump has lashed out at what he called the "fake disgusting news" during a rally in Pennsylvania as the United Nations warned that his repeated attacks on the media could trigger violence against journalists.
Mr Trump was speaking in Wilkes-Barre at a rally to support a Republican candidate for the US Senate, where he listed a series of grievances against the media, including what he said was a fake account of his recent visit to the UK where he met Queen Elizabeth.
He denied reports that he was late meeting the Queen and was in fact "15 minutes early".
Mr Trump said he got on "fantastically well" with the monarch and the scheduled 15 minute meeting actually lasted an hour because "you know, like sometimes if you like somebody you get along, good chemistry, the time goes by."
This, he said, contradicted the reporting of the "beautiful visit and afternoon" by the media.
"But they can make anything bad because they are the fake, fake disgusting news".
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The UN rapporteur for freedom of expression has warned that Mr Trump's verbal attacks on the media run the risk of triggering real violence against journalists.
In a joint statement with Edison Lanza, who holds the same post at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, David Kaye said Mr Trump's tirades against the media violated the basic norms of press freedom.
These attacks run counter to the country's obligations to respect press freedom and international human rights law," they said.
"We are especially concerned that these attacks increase the risk of journalists being targeted with violence."
Mr Trump frequently brands stories and outlets he dislikes as "fake news".
Last week, CNN said one of its White House correspondents was excluded from a Trump event, prompting a complaint from the White House Correspondents Association.
Mr Kaye and Mr Lanza said Mr Trump's attacks on the press were designed to raise doubts about verifiable facts, and that he and his administration had sought to undermine reporting on potential illegal conduct.
"But he has failed to show even once that specific reporting has been driven by any untoward motivations," they added.
They also urged the administration to stop suing journalists to discover their sources and to stop using the Espionage Act to pursue whistleblowers.
There have been at least two prosecutions of people leaking to journalists under that law.
The comments from the two men came after Mr Trump’s daughter Ivanka distanced herself from his attacks.
He responded on Twitter by describing "fake news" as the real threat.
They asked my daughter Ivanka whether or not the media is the enemy of the people. She correctly said no. It is the FAKE NEWS, which is a large percentage of the media, that is the enemy of the people!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 2, 2018
Meanwhile, during a briefing for journalists at the White House, press secretary Sarah Sanders refused to say the media were not enemies, prompting CNN reporter Jim Acosta to leave.
She accused the media of repeatedly launching personal attacks on her and other members of the Trump administration.
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I walked out of the end of that briefing because I am totally saddened by what just happened. Sarah Sanders was repeatedly given a chance to say the press is not the enemy and she wouldn't do it. Shameful.
— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) August 2, 2018
