Press Secretary Sarah Sanders and CNN's Jim Acosta clashed during Monday's White House Press Briefing, as reported by The Daily Wire.

The Heated Exchange

Sanders began by censuring what many conservatives and Trump supporters refer to as 'fake news;"

"There was nothing more than an individual trying to put their bias into their reporting and something that, frankly, has gotten a little bit out of control. We've seen it time and time again over the last couple of weeks. A number of outlets have had to retract and change and re-write and make editor's notes to a number of different stories, some of them with major impacts, including moving markets. This is a big problem and we think it's something that should be taken seriously."

However, Acosta didn't like this because he quickly rushed to the defense of journalists:

"I would just say, Sarah, that journalists make honest mistakes and that doesn't make them fake news, but the question that I have —"

Sanders quickly fired back with the following message:

"When journalists make mistakes, they should own up to them. A lot of times, you don't. There's a very bid difference between making honest mistakes and purposefully misleading the American people. [This is] something that happens regularly. You can't say that it's an honest mistake when you are purposefully putting out information that you know to be false. I'm speaking about the number of reports that have taken place over the last couple of weeks."

The Press Secretary then continued by affirming the importance of mainstream media reporting accurately and responsibly.

What Do Americans Think of the Exchange Between the Press Secretary and CNN?

Americans did not hesitate to weigh in on the exchange between Sanders and Acosta. Most of the feedback greatly correlated with partisanship. While many left leaning Americans agreed with Acosta, most conservatives backed Sanders. Disputes about the validity of media reports have existed since the 2016 Presidential election.

Despite dismissals from the media and some Democrats, many Republicans and conservatives believe a certain bias exists. President Trump has furthermore supported these beliefs, taking to Twitter to slam various networks for the promotion of "fake news."