"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.
06.01.22
Blue-anon – NEW YORK MAGAZINE
With the recent decision in the case that John Durham brought against Michael Sussman in the investigation into the Hillary Clinton campaign's involvement with the Steele Dossier, Jonathan Chait felt the jury's decision had ramifications on Donald Trump.
John Durham tried to prove Donald Trump's conspiracy theory about the Russia investigation. Instead, he debunked it. https://t.co/iwb46YlI9f
— Jonathan Chait (@jonathanchait) May 31, 2022
What can be said then when the claim of a story being debunked is itself debunked? Isaac Schorr of National Review basically exposed what Chait's flaw was in his assessment – avoidance of core facts.
Factual errors and missing context in this @jonathanchait piece, a thread: 1/7 https://t.co/KFNwz0TaCg
— Isaac Schorr (@isaac_schorr) May 31, 2022
Pre-Written Field Reports – DAILY BEAST
In the state of Florida, the Daily Beast found a tragic case of a school principal who passed away as a result of the complications from Long Covid. This, of course, became something to be placed at the feet of Governor Ron DeSantis, who has long waged a battle with various forces to have Florida schools opened during the pandemic.
To place this death of a lone educator is more than a stretch – it is about as irresponsible as it gets. Schools have been open in the state since the fall of 2020, and the facts defy the hysterics. Months after reopening, the schools showed lower case rates of Covid than the communities where the schools are located.
Then, once you look over the sheer numbers involved, you have to wonder just what the case of a solitary death is actually representing.
Over 15,000 public schools in the state, maybe a couple of hundred thousand teachers guiding millions of students.
— Brad Slager ???????? Lifetime Subscriber to CNN+ (@MartiniShark) June 1, 2022
One principal death after a couple of years is held up as a failure of the decision.
This is about as ridiculous of a report as can be found. https://t.co/YMxWskY95o
Low Octane Gas Lighting – WASHINGTON POST
The Washington Post is running the risk of hurting itself as it does some extremely heavy lifting to excuse Joe Biden from being responsible for the steadily spiking gas prices. In a delivery that is dripping in condescension and heavy with pats on our heads, the paper goes to the lengths of stooping down to our level to explain why gas prices are so high – and why Joe Biden cannot be blamed for the crisis.
To help readers get a clearer picture of what’s happening and what could come next, The Washington Post is producing a series of animated guides exploring these important topics in a straightforward, comprehensible way. https://t.co/uLGTlCVRCz
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) June 1, 2022
In order to arrive at this conclusion, there are a number of details the paper needs to avoid. Primary among those – Joe Biden's own words. Despite pledging a number of times over the past month to bring the gas prices lower, we are seeing the cost for drivers at the pump reaching historic levels. Holding President Softserve accountable for these prices – and his own words – is not a consideration.
Artisanally-Crafted Narratives – WALT DISNEY CORPORATION
This holiday weekend saw the debut of the new series "Obi-Wan Kenobi" on the Disney+ streaming service. The announcement was made that it was the biggest debut in the history of the service – although no numbers were provided to show this. But the company seemed more involved with another aspect of the release.
On social media, the company put out statements about a supposed backlash against actress Moses Ingram and/or the character she plays, Reva. The company claims there was a racial reaction to her appearance in the series.
There are more than 20 million sentient species in the Star Wars galaxy, don’t choose to be a racist.
— Star Wars (@starwars) May 31, 2022
The curiosity is that no one was the least bit aware of any type of comment of this nature, but the account insisted on making it an issue. The other problem with this charge is that in the prior series of Star Wars on the streaming platform, there are plenty of minorities displayed.
All you need to know about this being a garbage attempt by Disney is seen with the other series from the SWU. "The Mandalorian" had a number of major POC characters, including Carl Weathers and Giancarlo Esposito, and you have Chilean-born Pablo Pascal in the lead. "Book Of Boba Fett" is led by Temuera Morrison (Maori) and Ming Ne Wen (Macau) and Puerto Rican/Cuban Rosario Dawson.
We did not hear any outcry from audiences about any of these minority roles for some reason. The studio sounds rather ignorant – it touts there are millions of species being portrayed, but it suggests viewers are bothered by only ONE race?! Pretty asinine claim.
Stealth Story Evolution – BBC
Welcome to the slippery slope, folks. As we march deeper into this era of activists and journalists insisting on altering the language and biology of humans as we are told to become more "woke," this is the result we can expect to see with more frequency.
In a story of a woman accusing a transgendered individual of raping her, the news outlet changed the direct quotes from the victim – the outlet stated that the victim had misgendered her attacker, and therefore, it felt the need to alter the words in her own testimony. Initially, the woman, a lesbian, had agreed to be with the accused attacker because he identified as a woman, but then things turned.
- "So I agreed to go home with him. He used physical force when I changed my mind upon seeing his penis and raped me."
BBC edited alleged rape victim's quotes about trans attacker to get their pronouns right: Report https://t.co/afXpdDZWw3
— Fox News (@FoxNews) June 1, 2022
So, it is "believe all women," unless they misgender their attacker, then the rapist actually becomes the victim.
