Each day now, the pro-Trump media, a cohort of influential and widely followed Twitter and YouTube personalities, wage an information war in the hopes of destroying the credibility and influence of the mainstream media. Last month, in response to a widely criticized photo shoot with comedian Kathy Griffin, in which she was depicted holding the mock-severed head of President Trump, pro-Trump media personalities including Mike Cernovich and Alex Jones started the #CNNisISIS hashtag. The hashtag has become a rallying cry on Twitter and at protests and gatherings. Last Sunday, at a rally in front of the White House, pro-Trump supporters wore Infowars branded t-shirts with Griffin’s picture and the phrase “CNN Terrorist” while carrying signs that read “CNN’s Worst Enemy.”

“Trump has waged a full scale war on the media but this shouldn’t come as a surprise because his biggest supporters have been calling on him to do it. And when he does, we feed off that,” Mike Cernovich told BuzzFeed News. “But more than that, Trump’s criticisms of the MSM and the way he deals with their fake news has really shown us in the ‘new media’ that there’s so much power to just pushing through a news cycle. Instead of always responding to the topic and quote du jour you just say whatever and deal with the bullshit and you push through and keep hitting your talking point. And for us, we’re letting people know that the mainstream media pushes fake news.”