"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.
09.07.21
Pounce of Prevention – CNN
After the Rolling Stone story of Oklahoma hospitals being overrun with ivermectin cases and that gunshot wound patients were forced to wait outside blew up in the faces of so many in the media who repeated the garbage story, it is time for cleanup. Showing for disaster relief is Daniel Dale, who appeared on CNN's "New Day" to do his best and excuse the mainstream press, who all looked foolish for their journalistic sloth.
Despite the fact that Rolling Stone has embarrassingly issued numerous corrections on their piece, Dale's summation is that one hospital has said that it has, in fact, treated patients for ivermectin reactions. The jarring figure being "a handful."
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This paltry proof was just enough for Dale to see where the real problem exists – conservative media who noticed the fake journalism. The harshest words for Rolling Stone and the media is how this was "flawed" and is a "cautionary tale" that they should not "make dramatic claims like this." Meanwhile, the critics of the story are more to blame. They "jumped to conclusions" and used the comments of one hospital as definitive proof that the whole story was fabricated.
Here's a breakdown of the viral Oklahoma-ivermectin mess, from 1) bad initial local story to 2) unquestioning national aggregation and tweets and then to 3) too-quick denunciations of the doctor whose comments had been poorly contextualized: https://t.co/kfkUN0AQMc
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) September 7, 2021
One major flaw from Dale here. This was not conservative media acting in the same way as the rest of the media. Rolling Stone admitted they had no proof whatsoever to back up the accusations they made in their report.
What needs to be explained, apparently, to Daniel Dale and others - saying conservative media is equally to blame completely ignores that Rolling Stone admitted it found ZERO cases at all, despite the claims it made.
— Brad Slager - Focused On Lasers (@MartiniShark) September 7, 2021
That is not a “too-quick denunciation”. They admitted it. https://t.co/bE2TANzz7k pic.twitter.com/K5rRvnbD92
Artisanally-Crafted Narratives – ASSOCIATED PRESS
Not to be left out of the ivermectin fiascos, the AP has come out with a rather amazing correction. Recall recently when every news outlet reported how Mississippi poison control reported a massive surge in Covid cases? Well, after two weeks, the news syndicate has notified readers they were somewhat inaccurate in their measurement.
- "The number of calls to poison control about ivermectin was about 2%. Incorrect information provided by the Mississippi Department of Health had said the number was 70%."
There have been a few who have tried to defend this error, explaining that even though it was a 2% rise, that amounts still to a significant number. Does it? The calls that were reportedly received amounted to 15. That is a "sharp rise" from the number of ivermectin calls they received in 2020, which was 12.
Serious recommendation to all members of the press; it might be a grand idea to simply avoid reporting on ivermectin.
Pathological Media Amnesia – CNN
- You cannot expect a journalist to remember his position on an issue...that he held yesterday.
While it is always a marvel to see journalists take a position that is in opposition to a previous stance they had on the very same subject, Chris Cillizza just took this to a new level. CNN's star reporter managed to display both the worst and the best interpretation of events...within the span of the same weekend.
Cillizza retweeted a Politico article detailing how the country is struggling with Covid because of all the massive public gatherings and socializing taking place. Grave stuff, and a sign of Chris having a sober approach to the pandemic. Then again, just five tweets earlier on his timeline, he was displaying how great it was to see the massive crowd at the University of Wisconsin vs. Penn State football game.
THIS is @ChrisCillizza
— Brad Slager - Focused On Lasers (@MartiniShark) September 7, 2021
-Look how terrible it is that crowds are gathering!
-Look how awesome it is that crowds are gathering!
The - same - weekend pic.twitter.com/rNGV2K4xMF
Gilded Reframe – NEWSWEEK
Since it is after August 31 and there are still Americans inside Afghanistan, it has fallen on some private sector endeavors to work on getting the citizens out of the country. Glenn Beck, along with others, has chartered a number of private passenger jets, but the word is those planes are being detained by those in control of the airport.
Just don't say the people on board are being held hostage.
No, see, there is a distinction we all need to understand, according to Newsweek editor Naveed Jamali. This certainly has nothing at all to do with protecting the image of President Biden, whose completely arbitrary deadline has passed and his promise to evacuate all Americans and our allies has not been fulfilled. But the fact remains, the people are not being detained; it is a case where simply the planes are prevented from leaving...or something.
Also @RepMcCaul was absolutely incorrect as characterizing any of these people as hostages. There is nobody being denied exit of the country, or being detained on a plane. Instead the Taliban has not granted clearance for the planes to leave. Spoke to two sources who confirmed.
— Naveed Jamali (@NaveedAJamali) September 6, 2021
Pulitzer Prize Nomination – ABC 33/40 - TUSCALOOSA
Maybe if the reporter, and editor, and photojournalist had held a meeting, they could have gotten to the bottom of this story. In a report on the ending of the federal unemployment benefits, it was noted how many support programs were being curtailed, but at no point was it mentioned how there is a worker crisis with about 10 million positions left opened, and 50% of small businesses struggling to find employees.
It is curious how this was a particular detail showcased in the header picture of the story.
Jobless Americans have few options as benefits expirehttps://t.co/p0fJWfJbuX
— ABC 33/40 News (@abc3340) September 6, 2021
