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.
08.23.21
Blue-Anon – CNN
In amazing fashion, we once again learn of conspiracy theories and dangerous plots – via the mainstream press corps. It began with Vice News, detailing how Qanon adherents were praising the way the Taliban took over Afghanistan. This screed was not exactly broadcast across a Fox News chyron – it was found on a random user, on the protected Telegram network, claimed to be connected to a former Proud Boys account. If this opinion were further out of the mainstream it would be up a tree.
In similar fashion, CNN's Donie O'Sullivan went to the Iowa State Fair and he managed to find an individual who was stating that the Taliban takeover could be something the patriotic far-right could emulate here in the states. It is clear what the attempt is here – to frame these wingnut theories as the primary thought of those on the Right. Yet, O'Sullivan manages to underscore his own framing.
- "That's what a man outside Marjorie Taylor Greene's event in Des Moines asked me last night. This is the second time in just a few months that I've heard a Trump supporter point to a foreign government overthrow as almost a source of inspiration for it to happen here."
He managed to find someone out of Central Casting willing to blather on camera, the second time he found what he describes as "a Trump supporter" who spoke in this fashion. So over the span of a few months, he managed to hear this from...two people. This hardly constitutes a wave of a movement, Donie.
“It took 11 days for them to take over Afghanistan… How many days would it take the patriots to take over this country?”
— Donie O'Sullivan (@donie) August 20, 2021
Outside Marjorie Taylor Greene’s event in Iowa last night, talk quickly turned from Covid restrictions to this. pic.twitter.com/s0Fmri40wq
Stealth Story Evolution – ASSOCIATED PRESS
It has been an embarrassing stretch for the AP regarding one of their stories last week, another in the line of failed attempted hits on Governor Ron DeSantis. The original AP piece suggested boldly that Citadel, a company that is a campaign donor to DeSantis, is a major investor in Regeneron, the company that produces the monoclonal antibodies treatment for those who contract Covid-19. DeSantis has been pushing for those who test positive to get the treatment.
The AP story was filled with errors. Citadel has a very minor stake in its extensive portfolio; Citadel invested far more in Pfizer and Moderna; Blackrock is another company with a greater Regeneron investment and is primarily a Democrat donor; DeSantis has been pushing for vaccines from the start; and there is no investment benefit for DeSantis as the Regeneron treatment is provided for free.
The writer of the hit piece tried to stand by his content, even as the article had to be rewritten heavily. DeSantis Press Secretary Christina Pushaw pushed back strongly on the slanted article, one she says was written after she had already provided them with the pertinent details. When she exposed the tactic on Twitter, there was a heavy response to the writer, and the AP response was not about correcting their record – they went after Pushaw, claiming she bullied the writer, and subsequently, Twitter suspended her account for 12 hours.
The response by the AP would be embarrassing, were they capable of such an emotion, so we'll just go with shameful. At the heart of it all, this was a news outlet demonizing a medical treatment that actually helps people. If that does not qualify as Covid misinformation then the term means little. The AP has instead said they stand behind their story – which version of their corrected story they did not clarify.
AP urges DeSantis to end bullying aimed at reporter https://t.co/9VcguKY90D
— Zeke Miller (@ZekeJMiller) August 20, 2021
Pre-Written Field Reports – CBS NEWS
It is such a tired and worn-out trope that it became a self-parody the moment CBS News posted it. So much so, in fact, that The Babylon Bee could not even mock it. Instead, the CEO of that site had to resort to mocking it on his personal feed, claiming the satire outlet had in fact purchased CBS News.
How climate change helped strengthen the Taliban https://t.co/SB82Yx67QM
— CBS News (@CBSNews) August 20, 2021
Gilded Reframe – WASHINGTON POST
It's the George Bush Paradox all over again. Recall, when Bush was president, the press spent most of their time describing the man as one of the dumbest presidents we have ever encountered. But then the same media attempted to say the U.S. entered into the Iraq War because the cagey Bush lied about details, falsified intel, and managed to fool not only all of Congress but dozens of allies who joined in the effort.
Today, we learned that Fox News, that lying network where everyone hates science and believes every word spoken by Qanon so nobody should ever listen to them, is listened to closely by President Biden. See, columnist Catherine Rampell, in exploring exactly how it was that Biden has turned the Afghanistan exit into a dumpster fire of a quagmire, managed to latch onto the real problem behind this mess.
- "There's also a more stomach-churning possibility: that Biden didn't evacuate Afghan allies sooner because he was afraid of what Fox News might say."
One reason why the admin didn't get Afghan allies out sooner? Political cowardice. Biden feared a nativist backlash if he brought more Afghans to US soil, so he dragged his feet.
— Catherine Rampell (@crampell) August 20, 2021
Just as he did earlier this year, when he delayed raising the refugee ceiling https://t.co/P9Xtzsmc7y
Artisanal-Crafted Narrative – HUFFINGTON POST
In another dose of voluntary deflection on behalf of the White House, the HuffPo springs into action. All of these negative stories we have seen out of Afghanistan
- "As President Joe Biden ended his news conference on Friday afternoon about the United States' withdrawal from Afghanistan, a reporter called out an especially bellicose question. 'Why do you continue to trust the Taliban, Mr. President?' the reporter said. The reporter's criticism-masquerading-as-query was the culmination of a week’s worth of dramatic finger-pointing and fretting from a Washington press corps that usually prides itself on neutrality."
So...accurately reporting on the debacle in Kabul is a sign that the media is composed of rabid pro-war military-industrial complex-snuggling war hawks. I see...
After years of ignoring Afghanistan, many close to the Biden White House — and the president himself — feel some major outlets are adopting a pro-war stance. https://t.co/UrBpfO0Csv
— HuffPost Politics (@HuffPostPol) August 20, 2021
