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.
08.13.21
Both Kinds Of Standards – CNN
Senator Rand Paul has been suspended from YouTube for making the declaration that wearing a cloth mask is not the best method of protecting oneself from contracting the Covid virus. This is a prime example of the conflicting and contradictory messaging that can be flagged by the social media censors.
Just last week, CNN had on epidemiologist Micheal Osterholm, who said basically the exact same thing as Rand Paul, so he was brought back to appear on "CNN Newsroom with Erica Hill" to clarify his remarks. That is, to change his position.
Recommended
The quote that got Rand Paul suspended was, "Most of the masks you get over the counter don't work. They don't prevent infection." Hill reads back to Osterholm his own words from an appearance he made on the network on August 2: "We know today that many of the face cloth coverings that people wear are not very effective in reducing any of the virus movement in or out, either you're breathing out or you're breathing in."
With the punishment meted out to Rand Paul, it appears that Osterholm wants to reposition himself on the subject now. For this latest appearance, he suddenly states, "We know that facecloth coverings can reduce the amount of virus you may inhale."
While the focus should be on getting all eligible students and teachers vaccinated as school starts up again, infectious disease expert Michael Osterholm says, N95 and KN95 masks are the best masks to help protect against Covid-19. https://t.co/KTSWi6Hlpr pic.twitter.com/VHqurQ5zdc
— CNN Newsroom (@CNNnewsroom) August 11, 2021
Presentation Paradox – CNBC
On the subject of Senator Paul, he is also coming under fire for the news that his wife had made what some are accusing of being an insider trading investment. In February 2020, the senator's wife bought shares in drugmaker Gilead Sciences, just after it began clinical trials of the remedy medication Remdesivir. The biggest issue is in the timing of the disclosure made by Paul, as the investment had not been announced in a proper time period for such matters.
While this does appear to be a serious violation, what is buried deep in the report are the details behind the investment.
- A spokeswoman for Paul said the senator and his wife "lost money" on the Gilead stock.
Sooooo...they did not actually achieve a financial windfall from this purchase, and the lax reporting by him is not shielding any unscrupulous gains. BUT, they may still see a benefit, so maybe it is still a potentially bad thing...maybe.
- While it's true that the price of Gilead is lower now than when Kelley Paul bought the shares, she has not sold the Gilead stock yet, meaning she has not realized any losses or gains from it.
Rand Paul's wife bought Gilead shares in the early days of Covid — it was their only individual stock purchase in at least a decade https://t.co/RHzQGQ9IHH
— CNBC (@CNBC) August 12, 2021
Body Checking The Fact Checkers – SNOPES
Buzzfeed came out with an exclusive where they were able to discover that the factual experts at Snopes have a huge problem on their hands.
One co-founder of the site and prolific lie-buster has been discovered to have been lifting content from other outlets for years, even using a pen-name at times to shield his tactics.
- David Mikkelson, the co-founder of the fact-checking website Snopes, has long presented himself as the arbiter of truth online, a bulwark in the fight against rumors and fake news. But he has been lying to the site's tens of millions of readers: A BuzzFeed News investigation has found that between 2015 and 2019, Mikkelson wrote and published dozens of articles containing material plagiarized from news outlets such as The Guardian and the LA Times.
The co-founder of Snopes wrote plagiarized articles for years under a fake name, according to a @BuzzFeed investigation by @shootingthemess. https://t.co/4e8DrDqk7a
— Meghan Bobrowsky (@MeghanBobrowsky) August 13, 2021
Gilded Reframe – POLITICO
It is rather revealing which events with large crowds are considered super-spreaders and which are not, according to the press. More revealing is when proven hotspots are given far less coverage than the predicted infectious gatherings. Politico reveals this phenomenon as they boldly tout how the recent mass concert in Chicago has not led to an outbreak of cases.
- 0.04 Percent - The percentage of vaccinated Lollapalooza music festival concertgoers who have reported testing positive for Covid-19, according to Chicago Public Health Commissioner Allison Arwady. As of today, the commissioner reported a total of 203 cases associated with attendance at the outdoor concert, which took place from July 29 to Aug. 1.
Okay, very good news, to be sure. Two things to point out – the first being let's keep these stats in our back pocket and measure what the result will be from the hyped danger we have been promised to emerge from the Sturgis Motorcycle rally.
Also, rather notable that there is far less energy devoted to looking into the result of the Barack Obama birthday party in Martha's Vineyard. The New York Times has the data, and let us just say it does not look fantastic in the wake of his festivities. Little wonder the press is rather quiet about this result.
The 14-day change in COVID-19 cases in Dukes County, MA (Martha's Vineyard): +2,050% https://t.co/9ZK2B7Zheb
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) August 13, 2021
News Avoidance Syndrome – THE NEW YORK TIMES
- Those terror organizations sure sound like a swell group of fellas!
As the situation in Afghanistan continues to spiral downward, the ineffectiveness of our leadership is coming into focus. For starters, we have our embassy in Kabul looking at the violent encroachment of the Taliban on the national capital and deciding to take swift action; it issued a tersely worded email to the terrorists!
We strongly condemn the Taliban’s unlawful detention of several members of the Afghan government, including both civilian leaders and officers of the #ANDSF. We urge the immediate release of all Afghan government officials detained by the Taliban. pic.twitter.com/mDZtykGbcw
— U.S. Embassy Kabul (@USEmbassyKabul) August 12, 2021
We are not sure that this is enough. The situation might call for some of Jen Psaki's trademark hash-tag diplomacy.
Just to compound the fecklessness, we have Evan Hill of The New York Times reporting that all is actually looking up in the embroiled nation we are abandoning. See, we have it on the word of the terrorists that they intend to act in a very polite and civilized fashion as they run roughshod over the country, they promise.
Taliban statement promises to allow business to continue as usual, says private property won't be touched, a general amnesty is extended to anyone who has cooperated with the government, and foreign diplomats will be protected. https://t.co/l4TNlAZHQB
— Evan Hill (@evanhill) August 13, 2021
Anti-Social Media – THE NEW YORK TIMES
- This artist who died in 1576 is REALLY offensive and needs to be canceled.
The Times' art critic Holland Cotter examined the collection on display by the Spanish master Titian, and one of the images has him on his heels. It depicts a typically zaftig princess who is overtaken by a god, one who is disguised. Entitled "The Rape of Europa," that triggering label was only the start of his unsettled reaction. This type of painting just has no place in our contemporary society, we are led to believe.
- "It's theme can't help but put us on red alerts today, when accusations and verified reports of sexual assault on women appear almost daily in the news. In fact, the whole cycle, with its repeated images of gender-based power plays and exposed female flesh, invites #MeToo evaluation, and raises doubts about whether any art, however 'great,' can be considered exempt from moral scrutiny."
It can be exempt if you would only stop trucking in modern mores to images painted years ago. Perhaps what has Mr. Cotter so bothered – based on his description – is that these images on display conjure up thoughts of Andrew Cuomo?
“Titian: Women, Myth & Power” is a small supernova of a show at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum — yet it raises doubts about whether any art, however “great,” can be considered exempt from moral scrutiny, our critic writes. https://t.co/Z133ll0hMQ
— New York Times Arts (@nytimesarts) August 12, 2021
