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New York Times reporter says they have received fake news tips from Trump administration

President Donald Trump: Olivier Douliery-Pool / Getty
President Donald Trump: Olivier Douliery-Pool / Getty

The Trump administration appears to be providing the New York Times with fake news, after Donald Trump accused the news organisation of peddling false information.

Maggie Haberman, a White House correspondent for the The Times, suggested that Mr Trump’s team had tried sending reporters false material for stories, but that their efforts had been in vain because journalists “actually vet” the information.

Ms Haberman was responding to a Twitter user who wrote: “You know what we should do? Start flooding the NYTimes and WAPO tip lines with all kinds of crazy ‘leaks.’ Then laugh when they print them!”

The Washington Post and The Times last week both published scoops that rocked the White House.

On Monday, the Post reported that Mr Trump had disclosed classified information during a meeting with Russian officials. Then on Tuesday, The Times published a report saying that Mr Trump asked former FBI Director James Comey to drop his investigation into former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn.

Along with denying that he asked Mr Comey to end the probe, Mr Trump wrote on Twitter that he had the “absolute right” to share certain information with Russia.

The White House had continued to deal with the fallout from both stories, as well as the release of further scoops by both news organisations.

Mr Trump has frequently criticised the New York Times, saying in an interview with far-right website Breitbart that the organisation’s “intent is so evil and so bad” and that “they write lies.”

“The stories are wrong in many cases, but it’s the overall intent,” Mr Trump said.