"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.
10.27.21
Pre-Written Field Reports – WASHINGTON POST
- Forget his words, listen to what he meant!
When it comes to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, the press just cannot get their minds right. Even when it is a low-key and non-dramatic issue, they have to display their distemper. Case in point: the DeSantis bid to lure out-of-state responders to Florida.
There have been numerous stories of police and fire rescue workers across the country either being laid off or walking out of their posts as a result of vaccine mandates. DeSantis has announced Florida will gladly accept them, and he has offered a $5,000 bonus to any who come over.
Recommended
This rankled many in the press, as they accused him of paying off anti-vax individuals, but DeSantis corrected the journalists, saying the offer is not predicated on vaccine status but is available to any police who choose to come to Florida. Aaron Blake was having none of it, however, as he just knows what is really going on.
DeSantis on offering $5k bonuses to officers who leave other states over vaccine mandates:
— Aaron Blake (@AaronBlake) October 25, 2021
"It’s for officers, period. It has nothing to do with their vaccination status.” Calls it a "false narrative."
When DeSantis brought this up, though, clear context was vaccine mandates. pic.twitter.com/hwA59pNApU
Low Octane Gas Lighting – CNN
- Brian Stelter is no sprinter, but he clearly has a track record.
In another portion of the DeSantis press conference, he angered the media more by boldly declaring the press frequently lies and cannot be trusted in what they say. Well, this comment was just too much for CNN's media maven, Brian Stelter, to swallow. He tried to lash out at the governor, pointing out how he appears on Fox News, yet note that Brian did not deny or dispute what DeSantis said.
After all, when it comes to the subject of CNN lying, there is that pesky thing called evidence that gets in the way.
CNN lies told in just the past couple of months:
— Brad Slager - Gourd Of Thunder (@MartiniShark) October 27, 2021
- Whipping Migrants at the border
- Joe Rogan took horse medication
- Ivermectin poisonings overflowing hospitals
- The Justice for Jan.6 Rally would lead to another D.C. attack
- Washington examiner mandates vaccines https://t.co/4ziuPRTNQv
Anti-Social Media – FACEBOOK
The press has the knives out for Facebook in the wake of a whistleblower complaint about the internal operations at the platform. What really has the news outlets enraged is that so many right-leaning sources are among the biggest traffic receivers, and this needs to be stopped, of course. One recent report in the Washington Post exposes how Facebook engineers drive higher engagement.
It has been revealed that they place a higher premium on user reactions that were negative, giving those posts more exposure and churning more user involvement as a result. This was done by placing a score on emojis and feeding that data into the algorithm. Literally, this meant that an "angry face" emoji would get a higher measurement than positive reactions, and posts that enraged people would be seen by more users.
Starting in 2017, Facebook’s ranking algorithm treated emoji reactions as five times more valuable than “likes,” internal documents reveal.
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) October 26, 2021
The theory was simple: Posts that prompted lots of reaction emoji tended to keep users more engaged. https://t.co/8sKlg6agCG
News Avoidance Syndrome – THE NEW YORK TIMES
In an impressive amount of obliviousness, The Times takes a look at the Kyle Rittenhouse trial and uses that proceeding to look into what caused the 17-year-old to be in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and end up shooting three men, killing two of them. The assessment – Fox News is to blame for covering the riots.
Yes...seriously.
The Times claims that because Fox News was showing constant footage of the riots, that inspired droves of people like Rittenhouse to arrive, and that's when the trouble began. In order to arrive at this cement-headed conclusion, look at what has to be avoided:
- That Rittenhouse was attacked, he did not start the conflict behind the shooting.
- The riots, looting, and arson were all taking place the day before, without Fox's inspiration.
- The rioters and Antifa were causing trouble on the scene well before others arrived, but they were exonerated.
- The Times is advocating for Fox not to report on a news event taking place.
New @NYTmag cover story: an excellent @chashomans deep report examining events leading up to the Kyle Rittenhouse shootings in Kenosha and a surrounding storm, on social media, radio + TV, of violent rhetoric and disinformation — with ominous implications: https://t.co/YwpW2riGYT
— Jessica Lustig (@jessicalustig) October 26, 2021
Gilded Reframe – CNN
Okay, first off, some credit needs to go out to Chris Cillizza. (I know, it does not feel natural to me either!) But we have to note that when he does recognize something wrong on the Left, it is worthy of praise. However – Cillizza could not resist that tactic taught in second-year J-school lectures; when criticizing Democrats, always frame it against Republicans doing the same thing, or worse.
Chris managed to actually note that Terry McAuliffe was at a campaign stop and Stacey Abrams spoke on his behalf. But then Terry resorted to one of his trademark errors – he opened his mouth.
- "She would be the governor of Georgia today had the governor of Georgia not disenfranchised 1.4 million Georgia voters before the election. That's what happened to Stacey Abrams. They took the votes away."
Ah, yes – here we have someone contesting an election result, something the press has demonized as an act worse than murder. But even as Cillizza notes this is problematic, he strains to contextualize the offense.
- It's not the same. What Trump is doing is far more deleterious to democracy than what McAuliffe said. There has been a months-long disinformation campaign aimed at eroding trust in our democratic system.
Say, uh – Chris? Abrams lost back in 2018. She has spent YEARS complaining her election was stolen, and the Democrats, and officials, and the press have all been backing up her false claims.
"That's what happened to Stacey Abrams. They took the votes away."https://t.co/bV0eJjRw0r
— Chris Cillizza (@ChrisCillizza) October 26, 2021
Pulitzer Prize Nomination – SAN FRANCISCO GATE
The Monday Night Football contest between the Indianapolis Colts and San Francisco 49ers was already a strain of interest, but a constant heavy rain made the game more unwatchable. Evidence of this was the extensive camera coverage of the fans left in attendance, with one meriting particular interest. As the rain came down, a young fan was seen wearing a swimming cap and goggles while in his seat.
We'll save you a click. The "Full Story" is the fan brought the props with him to the game, and then he put those on and took off his shirt.
MMKAY ??"The full story behind the 16-year-old 49ers fan who donned swimming goggles and a cap during Bay Area rainstorm" https://t.co/USGeugsqQh
— ???????(deaf)Colléén (@SportFamSRocks) October 27, 2021
Both Kinds of Standards – DEADSPIN
Continuing to live up to their name, the rejuvenated sports portal continues their trolling ways. While the content is normally easily bypassed occasionally, they produce something so inept it cannot be ignored. Well, they just produced something that is just so inept.
Looking over the social landscape of the country, one scribe notes that Kyrie Irving of the NBA and comedian Dave Chappelle are daring to speak their minds and think for themselves, veering off the script of the liberal Left. This, of course, means they no longer count as true black individuals, and they are doing the bidding of whites these days. Moving past the utterly ignorant concept of "a white chessboard," (Seriously, how does that work?! You need two colors in order to properly play –...SORRY, I WAS MOVING PAST THIS!) it is pretty revealing that you never hear the complaint being made that POC individuals are being used by those on the Left.
Kyrie Irving and Dave Chappelle are being used as Black ‘pawns’ on a white chessboard https://t.co/AB6u9dbHPX pic.twitter.com/TBDoQLklYn
— Deadspin (@Deadspin) October 26, 2021
