"Riffed from the Headlines" is Townhall's daily VIP feature with coverage on the deeply flawed aspects of journalism in the nation. We'll look to bring accountability to the mishaps, malaprops, misdeeds, manipulations, malpractice, and manufactured narratives in mainstream media.
01.27.22
Low Octane Gas Lighting – CNN
CNN’s resident cerebral titan Chris Cillizza was busy covering his favorite topic – the man who is no longer president. The latest involves Chris finding a study that shows the US is 27th on a list of least corrupted nations. Maybe that should read, "the US is only 27th…"? It is not really clear from the reporter what it all means.
Cillizza reports that the US has a Corruption Perception Index score of 67. (Gasp…I think…?) By comparison, the winners(?) had a CPI of 88. We then are told America's position is a direct result of – you guessed correctly – Donald Trump and his claims of rigged and fraudulent elections.
- "The country's lack of progress on the CPI can be explained by the persistent attacks against free and fair elections, culminating in a violent assault on the US Capitol, and an increasingly opaque campaign finance system."
Except, in 2015, the US had a CPI of 76, under Barack Obama, so it was not significantly better. But moreover, the score did not change from 67 for our country from 2020 to 2021. This means the claimed impact of January 6 had no effect on the rating at all. Chris' claim is basically undercut by Chris' data.
The Trump Effecthttps://t.co/gQFJzswfxi
— Chris Cillizza (@ChrisCillizza) January 26, 2022
Body Checking the Fact Checkers – POLITIFACT
To say the election of a Republican female POC candidate in Virginia bothers the press is seen in how they report on the lady. Virginia Lieutenant Govenor Winsome Sears has been in office barely a couple of weeks but already the negative spin is attempted. The problem for them, she knows her stuff.
PolitiFact tried to insist that her statement about the state spending $300K on CRT-related teachings and seminars was inaccurate. A school spokesman told them they only spent $34,167, about a tenth of that figure, so they rated her statement as "Mostly False."
Too bad that documents surfaced showing otherwise. A former Poynter employee, Chrissy Clark of The Daily Caller, has an invoice listing that shows the provided dollar figure is among numerous other charges from the same company providing that CRT training.
.@PolitiFact is calling out @WinsomeSears for “falsely claiming” that LCPS paid “about $300,000” for critical race theory-inspired training.
— Chrissy Clark (@chrissyclark_) January 25, 2022
Well, your humble Poynter alumni is here with receipts. And LCPS DID pay upwards of $300k for such traininghttps://t.co/67dfCjaORz pic.twitter.com/OXT78tRiHm
And then Ms. Sears came in with her own paperwork, further backing her claim and putting PolitiFact on blast for its fact-free fact-check.
@PolitiFact will you issue a correction? pic.twitter.com/CGnybOeQRY
— Winsome Earle-Sears (@WinsomeSears) January 27, 2022
First Amendment Strike Force – SPOTIFY
The story of Neil Young giving the podcast/music platform Spotify the ultimatum – either Joe Rogan goes, or he goes – led to the platform responding with a virtual shrug, and stripping his music off of its library. It gave the press plenty of melodrama, but what is going untold is how this has been nothing but posturing by an aged and rich rocker.
Young had barely received any royalties from the site, due in part to selling off the rights to his music last year, and as a result, other music sites are promoting him, and Sirius Satellite radio has granted him his own channel. It is so rebellious of him to demand a person be silenced for not adhering to the narrative of the government and the media complex.
Young pocketed $150 million last year selling off his catalog, so this is nothing more than grandstanding on behalf of the government-approved narrative.
— Brad Slager - Incontinent On Another Continent (@MartiniShark) January 27, 2022
Such an edgy rebellious rocker.
Just call him Kneel Young. https://t.co/3ts7iR1otW
First Amendment Strike Force – YOUTUBE
The feud between Dan Bongino and YouTube has come to end, with the video platform announcing that they have permanently suspended his account. The surprise; why this is news. The site had suspended Bongino recently, and as a result, Dan said he was quitting the platform and going to his own video outlet, Rumble.
The amusement in this is that YouTube tries acting stern toward his account, but it is doubtful Dan is feeling much pain. Before being de-platformed, his YT property boasted 882,000 followers. Bongino's Rumble account has more than 2 million followers.
BANNED FOR LIFE: @dbongino is live on the radio responding to his permanent ban from @YouTube for saying exactly what the CDC has admitted.
— Bongino Report (@BonginoReport) January 27, 2022
Find your local station to listen: https://t.co/IK6DZpbTzJ
Or watch here: https://t.co/NaTE4NeVLy pic.twitter.com/RPtfmzI0os
Anti-Social Media – DEADSPIN
The reconstituted sports site continues to be a hot mess of distemper and racism. This weekend, they posted an opinion piece saying that the offensive coordinator of the San Francisco 49ers, Mike McDaniel, should not be considered as an NFL head coach. Apparently, the Yale graduate with 15 years of coaching experience is not qualified, according to the scribbler Sean Beckwith. For some reason, the article is not in the site's Twitter feed, and the author deleted his account.
The explanation arrives in the now-added editor's note.
- "Editors' note: We learned after the publication of this article that 49ers OC Mike McDaniel, whom we describe as a "white guy," is in fact biracial. The article's original text remains below. We regret the error."
The best is the sub-headline, which begins with, "Please stop and think before you inadvertently…"
All White Now: Deadspin mis-races 49ers' McDaniel, issues half-assed apology. https://t.co/xXhBvvHBDf
— Robert, Critical Handsome Theory (@ikeman53) January 27, 2022
