Townhall’s daily VIP feature, where we will focus coverage on the deeply flawed aspects of journalism in the nation. We'll look to bring accountability to the mishaps, misdeeds, manipulations, malpractice, and manufactured narratives in the mainstream media.
05.25.21 (Update)
Body Checking the Fact Checkers – THE WASHINGTON POST
Glenn Kessler opens his not-my-fault reassessment of the pandemic hot zone origin story in this fashion:
"But in recent months the idea that it emerged from the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) — once dismissed as a ridiculous conspiracy theory — has gained new credence."
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Kessler spends the balance of the piece working to avoid responsibility, attempting to explain away how the likes of himself had claimed the idea of a lab-released viral contagion had been debunked, or as he says, a conspiracy theory. You only arrive at those conclusions once you have solid evidence to the contrary – you know, the facts! For Kessler and so many others in the press to now be entertaining the possibility means they had gone forward with those bold pronouncements when they did not, in truth, have all the facts.
Then, after some passing notice of Senator Tom Cotton being an early voice of the possibility of a lab release, Kessler gives this completely neutered HALL PASS to himself, and others in the press:
"The Trump administration's messaging was often accompanied by anti-Chinese rhetoric that made it easier for skeptics to ignore its claims."
Well, as long as the task of not doing your actual job was made easier, this excuses your sloth entirely.
Matching Media Memorandum – CNN
- The same old Orange Man narrative on New Day.
Echoing this lame claim that Trump is to blame for the media sloth on the issue is Maggie Haberman, appearing on CNN's morning show. She points to Trump's credibility problem when he and Mike Pompeo mentioned there was evidence of a lab leak of the coronavirus. If anything, Maggie, your distrust should have inspired you to at least go out and prove him incorrect. Instead, she and so many in the media wrote it off as pure conspiracy and took no further steps. Today is the desperate sweeping up of that old debris.
NYT's @maggieNYT on the Wuhan lab leak theory: "Important to remember ... then-Pres Trump and Pompeo both suggested they'd seen evidence this was formed in a lab ... but they refused to release the evidence ... because of that, that made this instantly political." pic.twitter.com/r9zi1lJT74
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) May 25, 2021
Blue-Anon – HUFFINGTON POST
It is starting to appear that the one thing hotter than NFTs at the moment is the impassioned hot takes declaring that the Capitol Riot was somehow a bigger threat to this nation than 9/11. HuffPo hothead S.V. Dáte has gone there, and more than that, it is appearing there is no limit to how far down that rabbit hole he will go.
1000 percent worse. https://t.co/0jS4r1S2uk
— S.V. Dáte (@svdate) May 25, 2021
Stealth Story Evolution – THE NEW YORK TIMES
The Times' resident PLO sympathizer Michelle Goldberg turned heads with her piece declaring "Attacks On Jews Over Israel Are A Gift To The Right." There were a couple of people who dared come forward and say the piece was not as bad as that headline. In a way, they are correct, as it was much worse. "Right-wing Zionists and anti-Semitic anti-Zionists have something fundamental in common: Both conflate the Jewish people with the Israeli state. Israel’s government and its American allies benefit when they can shut down criticism of the country as anti-Semitic."
Just grand stuff. As a result, the editors at The Times, who ostensibly signed off on this fiasco initially, decided that there were some issues. They went ahead and quietly altered the headline to something less inflammatory, hoping nobody would notice. Well, a few people noticed.
Heck of a headline update by The New York Times.
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) May 25, 2021
Of course there is no explanation. pic.twitter.com/eSF5YP9haL
Pulitzer Prize Nomination – THE BUSINESS INSIDER
Not sure if they were short on time, or if maybe this is a new way to get people to read up on those stuffy articles about the rezoning of polling districts.
This feels like they have cut down on staff and are forced to start condensing content for time purposes. pic.twitter.com/ETSxzA4BvI
— Brad Slager - Social Toper and Media Antagonist (@MartiniShark) May 25, 2021
Gilded Reframe – THE NEW YORK TIMES
Not going to find much in the way of criticism about this turnaround. In fact, all the roads are paved for the Democrats by The Times on this matter.
"Democrats say the contrast is for good reason: former President Donald J. Trump's immigration policies were deliberately cruel, devised as a deterrent to would-be migrants, while the Biden administration is trying hard to deal with a bad hand. 'The difference is you have an administration who wants to solve a lot of these challenges, and their heart is in a much better place,' said Representative Joaquin Castro, Democrat of Texas."
So the logic behind this is even though the main point of the issue – the mistreatment of child immigrants – is far worse, there is far less outrage toward Joe Biden because his heart is in the right place.
05.25.21 (Original)
Stealth Story Evolution – VOX
The media in general have been wrestling with the emerging evidence that is showing the possibility the coronavirus had actually derived from a virology lab in Wuhan, China. While not conclusive, what the new evidence has exposed is a real problem for the overzealous outlets, which last year not only reported on the probability of the pandemic erupting from an exotic animal market but went so far as to declare the lab outbreak story to be "debunked," and anyone questioning that being a conspiracy kook.
Over at Vox, they have been spotted working on revisionism, going back and quietly editing pieces that took that firm stand. Once discovered they issued an editor’s disclaimer at the top.
"Editor’s note, May 24, 2021: Since this piece was originally published in March 2020, scientific consensus has shifted. Now some experts say the 'lab leak' theory warrants an investigation, along with the natural origin theory. Some language in this article was updated in April 2020 to reflect scientific thinking, but it has not been updated since then. For our most up-to-date coverage, visit Vox’s coronavirus hub."
Not helping the cause at Vox is this is not the first pandemic revision they have been spotted employing. Last March, the outlet joined the chorus of news outlets declaring anyone calling the contagion the "Wuhan Virus" was engaging in racism. The problem – Vox had previously used that very term in older reports, so they went back and expunged the use of the term, such as in this report. Note, however, that they were not able to erase the term in the address line of the article.
Pre-written Field Reports – CNN
- When in need of expert analysis on firearms you certainly help your case by speaking with a failed pillow magnate.
On the CNN Newsroom program, host Alisyn Camerota wanted to discuss gun violence, but instead of speaking with experts in the industry, the go-to was infamous Parkland shooting fixture David Hogg. Now, most would say right away this is a problematic choice, given he has been lobbying for years for strict control measures – and your segment is covering the surge in gun sales this year. Your very topic defies having on the failed activist, is the point.
But then Harvard's Pride proves what a failed concept it was to have him on. When asked to explain the fact that since January gun sales jumped 75% he explains, "We would rather, unfortunately, turn on each other, and point to someone's skin color, or immigration status, or gender, or sexual identity."
The only problem with the analysis of Camerota's expert – the sales data shows gun sales for black Americans rose over 50%.
Low Octane Gaslighting – CNN
- All of a sudden it is wrong to refer to political opponents with Nazi labels.
As we mentioned yesterday, the press is uniquely focused on the meandering logic of House Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA). After her recent comparison of mask mandates to wearing a Gold Star, CNN correspondent Donie O'Sullivan saw the nefarious motivation behind her words.
Marjorie Taylor Greene's comments about the Holocaust fit the mold of what's happening on far-right Facebook and Telegram forums: an effort to equate Democrats with Nazis.
— Donie O'Sullivan (@donie) May 24, 2021
It is rather cute how O'Sullivan feigns outrage at those who might dare to toss around fascist labels so loosely –like his co-worker Jim Acosta, who just got through calling Donald Trump Mussolini on Friday. How about we entertain the idea of this being inappropriate language after you clean things up in your own house?
Both Kinds Of Standards – AXIOS
As the contrarian from Wyoming continues her media blitz, she is finding out that the press corps is not entirely fawning – and the press is finding out she is not entirely on board with all of their anti-Trump dysfunction. As she sat for an interview on the Axios news program on HBO, she was challenged about the various voter reform laws being passed in various states and asked to tie those in with Donald Trump's claims of a stolen election.
Cheney has disappointed some of her newfound allies by not going 100-percent anti-Trump, 100-percent of the time. "I think you have to look at the specifics of each one of those efforts," she said, angering many journalists by taking a common-sense analysis of the issue.
.@jonathanvswan presses @RepLizCheney on her defense of restrictive voting laws.
— Axios (@axios) May 23, 2021
Swan: You don't see any linkage between Trump saying the election's stolen and Republicans rushing to put in place these restrictive voter laws? #AxiosOnHBO pic.twitter.com/gN0pS0baqu
Anti-Social Media – THE DAILY BEAST
There was intrigue in the news business recently when it was reported that Fox News personality Jedediah Bila was leaving the network. It was quickly announced her replacement on "Fox & Friends Weekend" would be Rachel Campos-Duffy, and this led to Justin Baragona to recall a deeply trenchant bit of news from this winter between the two ladies. The genesis of this takeover sounds almost as venomous as anything seen in the movie "Showgirls."
There was a time when Campos-Duffy sat in for Bila during a need to miss a show for personal reasons, leading to some social media reaction. Mixed in with praises for Rachel, there were also some caustic comments about Bila and her positions. This led to some highly dramatic details, the likes of which Baragona cited as being heavily drenched with import. "The pro-Trump pundit replied with heart-filled emojis."
Pulitzer Prize Nomination – White House Press Corps
At yesterday’s White House press briefing, an unnamed reporter dug into some of the vital specifics all Americans need to know. "What could you tell us about the president's health regime?" Now, this held some promise, as it was possible we'd get some probing questions about mysterious health maladies, or possibly expose some of the long-speculated issues on Joe Biden's mental acuity. This could be gripping!
It was notably not gripping.
"What sort of weights is he lifting, does he have a personal trainer? And what happened to his Peloton bike – did he bring it to the White House?" There is only one thing more insipid than this line of questioning; watch how when served up this underhand beachball of a question Jen Psaki still could not respond directly and instead gave her trademarked non-answer.
Reporter asks Press Sec. Jen Psaki if Biden has a Peloton bike at the White House:
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) May 24, 2021
“I can tell you, having traveled with him a fair amount, sometimes he's hard to keep up with." pic.twitter.com/K2i9BbaWeh
