This is 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.
06.01.21 (Update)
Gilded Reframe – THE WASHINGTON POST
Last year at this time, anyone suggesting that the authorities taking a step away from enforcing the laws in regards to the protestors would lead to problems was considered an unthinking, unfeeling reactionary – and probably a racist. Those predicting that defunding the police could lead to sharp spikes in crime were accused of not considering the plight of oppressed communities.
Now, the Washington Post – in Wuhan lab-revisionist fashion – has taken a new look at the concept and they are spotting some of those very negative effects many voiced as being inevitable, last summer.
"On May 12...a father of two young boys, became the city’s 30th homicide victim this year. That is five times the number recorded during the same period in 2020, a frightening pace that could see more slayings here by the end of the year than in the past four decades.
This was not how the year following George Floyd’s murder was supposed to end."
That this is taking place in a city with roughly half the average Black population – just six percent – makes this all the more glaring. Good to see the press only took one year to catch up to the realities of...well, of the policies they were promoting.
Anti-Social Media – MSNBC
- We are to believe no one at the network picked up on this?!
Just for those who may be confused, Governor Greg Abbott is wheelchair-confined.
WHAT THE HELL is this MSNBC???
— Comfortably Smug (@ComfortablySmug) June 1, 2021
Making fun of @GregAbbott_TX because he can't walk? pic.twitter.com/mM0hj0VvaT
DNC PR Firm – CNN
- Natasha Bertrand clears up all the negativity surrounding VP Kamala Harris's lack of work done regarding the border.
Watch the CNN reporter go to work to clear up the image of VP Harris, sounding like a devoted member of the K-Hive, and tossing in a "Republicans seize’" just for added emphasis. "She's focused on ['root causes'], from governance to climate change to tackling food insecurity ... but ... her team has come out and said publicly, 'We do not own the issues at the border."
Bertrand: Confusion surrounded what VP Harris' border role would be - Bing video
Low Octane Gas Lighting – VARIOUS MEDIA
How can the press keep demonizing those idiotic anti-vaccine Trump supporters if these other demographics keep screwing up the evidence?!
We have two more weeks of data and vaccination rates for Black/Hispanic communities remain stubbornly low (still around 30%).
— Andy Grewal (@AndyGrewal) May 31, 2021
Cruise ships might become even whiter than they already are. https://t.co/2nmhSMmgbO pic.twitter.com/HnL1wnjdcw
Anti-Social Media – THE WEATHER CHANNEL
- Based on these predictions it will shape up to be a har--...um, "difficult" hurricane season.
Today, June 1, is the first official day of Atlantic #hurricane season.
— The Weather Channel (@weatherchannel) June 1, 2021
Here's a breakdown of what we typically see early in season: https://t.co/YgZyTVbiR1 pic.twitter.com/2i0CWuQYki
06.01.21 (Original)
Pre-Written Field Reports – THE NEW YORK TIMES
- It's not our fault that we missed the facts since Trump was the one who said it!
The media is still tripping over themselves regarding the refinement of the story that the Coronavirus could have emerged from a research laboratory. Jon Karl appeared challenged by this reality, saying, "Some things may be true even if Donald Trump said them.’"
On "Reliable Sources," The New York Times Covid expert David Leonhardt echoed this mentality in the press to discount previous discussions on the potential lab outbreak from Senator Tom Cotton. "I think a lot of people on the political left and a lot of people in the media made this mistake — they said 'wow, if Tom Cotton is saying something, it can’t be true.'"
Both Kinds Of Standards – NUMEROUS OUTLETS
For months we have been hearing about the need to eliminate the filibuster because it unfairly allows the Republicans who are (barely) not in power to block the Democrats who hold (the slimmest) majority in Congress. But when the state of Texas has its Democrats who are all but powerless in the legislature walk out of the Capitol entirely, in order to block the passage of a bill, the press suddenly appears not only unbothered by this usurpation, but they sound like they support the move.
Reporting On The Mirror – CNN / New Day
- Brianna Keilar reveals the true purpose of her program...?
For some reason, there has been an insistence in the press that people engage in the practice of eating cicadas. The generational arrival of the insects is certainly newsworthy, but it feels like the opposite of a public service that in the time of a pandemic, where even looking at people is said to put us at risk, that so many news sources are recommending we consume these bugs crawling up out of the muck and mire across the country.
At "New Day," Brianna Keilar hosted a cooking segment involving these flying maters, but even more strange than her desire to make a meal out of these flying mealworms, she makes this declaration: "If we're known for anything here on @NewDay, it's for our high story count about #cicadas."
This is a bold admission – that after the mating cycle is completed that Keilar's program will not be relevant now for another 17 years.
If we're known for anything here on @NewDay, it's for our high story count about #cicadas.
— Brianna Keilar (@brikeilarcnn) May 31, 2021
So how's this one: have you ever wondered what cicadas taste like? I'm about to find out... @johnberman @cookinforpeace pic.twitter.com/gzQZx60SEe
Presentation Paradox – THE NEW YORK TIMES
In an effort to underscore just how evil Israel has been in its efforts to defend itself from rocket attacks, The Times published a lengthy piece highlighting the children in Gaza who were lost in the conflict. Ever since it was printed, there have been problems.
First, one of the girls was misidentified, then another one of the kids was found to have been listed among those killed four years prior.
Now, the paper has come out to verify that another one of the kids has been found to actually have been a fighting member of Hamas. How is all of this misinformation finding its way into the Paper of Record?! It appears The Times was spoon-fed these details from DCI Palestine, a front group that claims it is a children's defense organization but which actually has ties to Palestinian terror groups. This is our domestic journalism complex at work.
@nytimes published propaganda from terror-linked Palestinian NGO @DCIPalestine - no #FactCheck, no due diligence ("details had not been confirmed"). @herbertnyt @halbfinger @PatrickKingsley
— Prof Gerald M Steinberg (@GeraldNGOM) May 31, 2021
Pulitzer Prize Nomination – POPULAR SCIENCE
- When they pronounce the sexism of meat, we are at a loss if this is popular or scientific.
Look, maybe it is our fault. When we see that kind of title for a publication, we would tend to think the article might hew close to scientific principles. But in this exploration of why meat is not only wrong for people and the environment, the driving problem cited for making meat a hard product to eliminate from the national diet is tough to swallow. "We can't lower our meat consumption without rethinking masculinity," goes the subheading, and logic – to say nothing of science – is rarely approached in this piece.
The fulcrum of this entire article is based on...a 15-year-old Burger King commercial. Yes, seriously. From there, we get a number of indicators on why meat is intrinsically considered a male product. Our caveman forbears gathered and hunted flesh; meat is considered a risky and thus tempting meal, and – but, of course – it is also a status of white privilege. This is based on this completely valid and unbiased source: "According to Carol Adams, a feminist-vegan advocate and author of the book 'The Sexual Politics of Meat,' the myth that you need meat for strength is 'traceable to this intersection of colonialism, white supremacy, and masculinity.'"
Well done, Popular Science – you went to a feminist vegan in order to disprove a decades-old fast-food commercial spot. The science is just dripping from this article, like the condiments from a double-patty Whopper.
Body Checking The Fact Checkers – SNOPES
It is one thing to understand the logistical challenges in creating a truly 500-foot sandwich, but when Snopes steps up and verifies that the world's largest cheesesteak was accomplished by lining up numerous sandwiches end-to-end, it might call into question their other efforts at fact-checking, just saying.
It was all to celebrate the birthday of Rene Kobeitri, owner of Rim Cafe in South Philadelphia. https://t.co/aOll4RRSIj
— snopes.com (@snopes) May 28, 2021
