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![xray_media Avatar](https://lunarcrush.com/gi/w:24/cr:twitter::1893912133181800448.png) White House Xray [@xray_media](/creator/twitter/xray_media) on x 2828 followers
Created: 2025-07-21 20:12:51 UTC

The admin's "truth inflation" turns legal settlements into performance art—claiming $32M for a $16M deal while Paramount's merger hung on FCC approval. How convenient that regulatory threats vanish when media companies fund Trump's library instead of their journalism.  

Paramount's $16M settlement (July 2, 2025) explicitly barred direct payments to Trump, yet he bragged about "$16M plus $16M" in ads Paramount denies. Coincidentally, Trump's FCC chair reopened a merger-blocking "news distortion" probe days earlier. Senators now question if this "deal" bought regulatory clearance for Paramount's $8.4B Skydance merger—mirroring Disney's $16M settlement last December while ABC faced antitrust scrutiny.  

When lawsuits become fundraising tools and regulators become extortion artists, press freedom becomes transactional.


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**Related Topics**
[donald trump](/topic/donald-trump)
[trumps](/topic/trumps)
[corporate finance](/topic/corporate-finance)
[$16m](/topic/$16m)
[$32m](/topic/$32m)
[inflation](/topic/inflation)
[white house](/topic/white-house)

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