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Trump TV’s ratings are so bad more people are watching a blank screen with sound of a running box fan

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Cite

Dobkin, R. (2026, September 24). Trump TV’s ratings are so bad more people are watching a blank screen with sound of a running box fan. The Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-tv-ratings-livestream-b3055953.html

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

The Independent · collected 2026-09-24 · by Rachel Dobkin

Quick Summary

President Donald Trump's new 24/7 livestream channel, Trump TV, is struggling to attract viewers, with fewer than 700 people watching his speech during a university ceremony on Thursday afternoon. In contrast, videos featuring natural sounds like rain and a running box fan were attracting thousands of views at the same time. Critics on social media have compared the launch of Trump TV to state-run media, particularly in light of recent bans on certain news outlets from the White House that are now under legal challenge.
Written by AI on 2026-09-24, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Trump TV, launched by former President Donald Trump's administration in May 2025, has seen extremely low ratings. According to reports, more viewers are tuning into YouTube videos featuring a blank screen with the sound of a running box fan rather than watching Trump TV itself. The White House promoted Trump TV as a platform that would provide continuous updates and highlights from the administration. However, despite this initial hype, interest has waned significantly. On one occasion, the box fan video had more streams than Trump TV, highlighting the livestream's poor reception among viewers.

Written for “Trump Tv Ratings Low” on 2026-11-04, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Trump Tv Ratings Low
Politics · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 5% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Daily Mail
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 2 of 45 claims Outlet record 69/100
“The articles describe different occurrences: one discusses Trump TV's low ratings and people watching a blank screen with fan noise, while the other describes President Trump on the White House helipad during an unusual event.”
Daily Mail
⚖️ Leans right Hedges 1 of 24 claims Outlet record 69/100
“While both articles discuss Trump launching his own media channel to circumvent a media blackout, Article B reports on the ratings of Trump TV which is a later development and not the initial launch covered in Article A.”
New York Post
Hedges 4 of 28 claims Outlet record 66/100
“While both articles discuss Trump TV's launch and initial reaction, Article A focuses on the announcement and rollout of the service, while Article B reports on its poor ratings a few days later.”
Al Jazeera
Hedges 1 of 44 claims Outlet record 60/100
“While both articles discuss President Trump's new YouTube channel launched by the White House, they describe different aspects of the event. Article A focuses on the launch and the context of it being a response to bans on other media outlets, while Article B comments on the low ratings of the channel in comparison to an absurd scenario involving a running box fan.”
The Independent
⚖️ Leans strongly left Hedges 5 of 31 claims Outlet record 59/100
“While both articles discuss Trump's new livestream channel, Article A focuses on the launch and initial reactions including TV networks' refusal to participate, while Article B specifically talks about the extremely poor ratings of Trump TV with a comparison to watching a blank screen with a running box fan.”
The Bulwark
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 1 of 17 claims
“The articles describe different aspects of Trump TV's existence and reception rather than a single incident.”
Washington Examiner
⚖️ Leans right Hedges 5 of 53 claims Outlet record 69/100
“While both articles discuss Trump TV, Article A describes its initial launch and debut, while Article B reports on its ratings and viewership days later.”
NPR
Hedges 1 of 26 claims Outlet record 60/100
“While both articles discuss 'Trump TV', Article A describes the launch and initial content of the channel, while Article B reports on its poor ratings a few days later.”
TIME
⚖️ Leans strongly left Hedges 3 of 25 claims Outlet record 59/100
“The articles refer to the launch of Trump TV but describe different aspects: one focuses on the launch ceremony and technical issues during a speech, while the other discusses low ratings and viewing habits.”
Dawn
Hedges 4 of 31 claims Outlet record 72/100
“Article A describes the launch of Trump TV by the White House and its initial content, while Article B discusses poor ratings and a comparison to watching a blank screen with fan noise on YouTube. They describe different aspects and outcomes.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
22
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
5%
1 of 22 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
59/100
The Independent's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-24 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Independent · 3719 article(s) · 10 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 10 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Rachel Dobkin
104 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 “I wasn’t on the ballot, and if I was, we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE!” he wrote on Truth Social.
🔮 As election returns came in, Trump’s staunch base painted a grim picture of the state of the GOP and what the last two years of his presidency will look like. “What is happening...Democrats are winning EVERYTHING!!!
🔮 President Donald Trump made a risky move by starting a war in Iran eight months before the midterms — and it may not have paid off.
🔮 But even with the support of his base, it may not be enough to keep GOP control of Congress in Tuesday’s elections.
🔮 “And you could hear it slowly getting closer to our position, like it was coming in to check us out.
🔮 While Trump may have been busy Thursday, he just cleared out his weekend rally schedule.
🔮 Local officials have placed strict restrictions on water usage because of the drought — and now they may enlist more than a dozen people to make sure residents are following the rules.
🔮 The heat on Trump was turned up when The Wall Street Journal released an article in July 2025 about a bawdy birthday letter Trump reportedly wrote to Epstein in 2003, that read: “May every day be another wonderful secret.”
🔮 Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has announced that he will allow the widespread use of unapproved peptide injections despite the Food and Drug Administration previously advising people not to use them.
🔮 Donald Trump’s favorite pollster, Harry Enten from CNN, has predicted that Democrats will win big in next Tuesday’s midterm elections and have a substantial majority in the House of Representatives.
Also by Rachel Dobkin
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 104 articles by Rachel Dobkin →

Topics

CNN Independent MSNOW The White House Trump

Subjects

Trump PERSON · 9× The White House ORG · 5× CNN ORG · 2× MSNOW ORG · 2× America GPE · 1× American NORP · 1× Donald Trump PERSON · 1× Independent ORG · 1× YouTube ORG · 1× the University of Alabama’s ORG · 1×

Narrative

“Media Outlets shouldn’t be able to constantly write or report FICTION and LIES when they’re covering the President of the United States, the Trump Administration, or the United States of America,” Trump wrote on Truth Social last Friday.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-24
🔮 On Thursday afternoon, Trump TV was streaming the president’s speech at the University of Alabama’s graduation ceremony from May 2025.

Claims (22 extracted, 1 hedged)

Ratings are so low on President Donald Trump’s new livestream that more people are tuning into YouTube to watch a blank screen with the sound of a running box fan. asserted
people → tune → fan
The White House launched Trump TV, a livestream that never stops running, Monday, with a promo video featuring clips from America’s favorite shows like The Simpsons and The Office. asserted
that → launch → Simpsons
“TRUMP TV IS STREAMING NOW. asserted
TV → stream → ?
24/7, updated in real time, with top past moments, announcements, and the latest and greatest from the administration all in one place,” the White House wrote on X alongside the video. asserted
House → update → video
“Not every big moment has made it on your tv, now it can.” asserted
it → make → tv
But it seems more people are interested in watching videos that can put them to sleep rather than an old Trump speech. asserted
that → seem → speech
At one point, a video showing a black screen with just the sound of a box fan on high speed had more streams than Trump TV. asserted
video → show → TV
On Thursday afternoon, Trump TV was streaming the president’s speech at the University of Alabama’s graduation ceremony from May 2025. uncertain
TV → stream → May
Fewer than 700 people were watching the livestream compared to the thousands watching videos of squirrels eating nuts and rain hitting a tin roof. asserted
rain → watch → roof
A livestream of birds and squirrels snacking on seeds, nuts and fruit had more than 2,000 viewers Thursday afternoon. asserted
livestream → snack → viewers
At the same time, a livestream titled “Rain Sounds for Sleeping” was generating more than 4,000 views. asserted
livestream → title → views
Trump’s critics quickly went on social media to compare his new livestream to state-run media. asserted
critics → go → media
“First, Trump banned independent news from the White House. asserted
Trump → ban → House
Now, he's launching what is quite literally state-run TV to try drowning out the fact that he and his corrupt administration are failing the American people,” California Governor Gavin Newsom wrote in an X post. asserted
Newsom → launch → post
“This is truly autocratic behavior from a failed President.” asserted
This → fail → President
“Days ago, Trump banned CNN, MSNOW and many others from the White House,” liberal commentator Dean Withers wrote. asserted
Withers → ban → House
“Today, he’s announced State Ran Television. asserted
he → announce → Television
It’s official, we live in North Korea.” asserted
we → ’ → Korea
The launch of Trump TV comes days after the president banned CNN, MSNOW, and Politico from the White House for unfavorable coverage, which the outlets argued in a lawsuit violated their First Amendment rights. asserted
outlets → come → rights
“Media Outlets shouldn’t be able to constantly write or report FICTION and LIES when they’re covering the President of the United States, the Trump Administration, or the United States of America,” Trump wrote on Truth Social last Friday. asserted
Trump → write → Social
The president’s disdain for the mainstream media is well-documented, but the ban marks a significant shift in the executive branch’s relationship with the free press. asserted
ban → document → press
But by Thursday, reporters for the three outlets were allowed back in the White House after a federal judge temporarily reversed Trump’s ban. asserted
judge → allow → ban
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