"Riffed from the Headlines" is Townhall's daily VIP feature with coverage of 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.
04.26.22
News Avoidance Syndrome – VARIOUS MEDIA
- It is almost as if the press is the angriest demographic.
I recently covered at RedState how the media complex was constantly losing its grip on the narrative, and a new example of this has just arrived.
For weeks now, we have endured the constant barrage of negativity from news outlets regarding Elon Musk buying Twitter. Whether the odd complaint of a billionaire joining the media or the promise that free speech will threaten our democracy, or the promise that opening the forum will only deliver bad speech from the Right, the journalists have made it clear they oppose the idea.
And few people take them seriously. A new poll shows that over half of the respondents favor his purchase of the platform.
Majority support for @elonmusk's twitter purchase (and subsequent policy changes) in the new Harvard/Harris poll --> pic.twitter.com/IpTSPryc45
— Logan Dobson (@LoganDobson) April 26, 2022
Gilded Reframe – MSNBC
Anyone right-of-center who has been on Twitter is aware of the practices of silencing certain speech, throttling particular accounts, and shadow-banning conservative outlets. Then, of course, there is the outright suspension by the president of the United States.
At MSNBC, their longest-running host in the 6 pm ET time slot ever (seriously, he bills himself with that stat), addressed the Elon Musk buyout, but Ari Melber sounds as if he is unfamiliar with the social media outlet. He went on a rant detailing all of these known problems…while insisting it was all going to be a new experience as a result of Elon's takeover. It needs to be seen and heard to be believed.
Absolutely incredible: pic.twitter.com/2OHpxVk6mi
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) April 26, 2022
Presentation Paradox – WHITE HOUSE PRESS OFFICE
- That determination of what is serious appears to have a fluid definition.
Yesterday, Jen Psaki was asked at the White House press briefing what the administration's position was on the announced purchase of Twitter by Musk. Psaki had this response.
REPORTER: "Are you concerned about, you know, a billionaire taking control of [Twitter]?"
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) April 25, 2022
PSAKI: "We've long talked about and the president has long talked about his concerns about the power of social media platforms, including Twitter and others, to spread misinformation." pic.twitter.com/dtO047bZvy
Based on its track record, I believe most people already have a firm idea of just how serious the White House takes misinformation regarding social media.
Artisanal-Crafted Narratives – NBC NEWS
It is not all too clear why NBC News thought it was special that a game show contestant tutors lesbians as her career, but that appeared to be more important than the woman's name.
The 23-year-old lesbian tutor from Toronto has amassed a total of $320,081, the most by a Canadian contestant in “Jeopardy!” history. https://t.co/D8HrFU1cJT
— NBC News (@NBCNews) April 25, 2022
Glossary Over Things – GOOGLE
Vice News has a report where they detail that Google has a new pernicious way to foist the woke agenda onto users – the edit function on Google Docs. The company has seemingly produced an artificial intelligence module where it will automatically suggest a more proper term for you to include in your text if you are spotted using some unwoke phraseology. The funniest is one such term was "motherboard," which means the writers for Motherboard vertical at Vice will have to segue over to Microsoft Word going forward.
well pic.twitter.com/sBHXyzGKDk
— Rebecca Baird-Remba (@thecitywanderer) April 18, 2022
Pulitzer Prize Nomination – HOLLYWOOD LIFE
Look, we get it, they are an entertainment outlet, and they need to keep churning this story for all of the clicks possible. But seriously, when you are mining the depths of family members' opinions on the Will Smith slap of Chris Rock at the Oscars, I think you have wrung all the juice of this story from that chamois.
The best part is that the headline says the esteemed Mrs. Rock Breaks Her Silence, as if people everywhere have been on the edge of their theater seats awaiting this trenchant opinion to come forward.
Chris Rock's mom Rose has spoken out about the Will Smith slap. https://t.co/H1VTAq3SFn
— HollywoodLife (@HollywoodLife) April 25, 2022
