"Riffed from the Headlines" is Townhall's daily VIP feature with coverage of the nation's deeply flawed aspects of journalism. We'll look to bring accountability to the mishaps, malaprops, misdeeds, manipulations, malpractice, and manufactured narratives in mainstream media.
07.06.22
Matching Media Memorandum – WASHINGTON POST
- This is going to impact his Tru-Con™ "Expert" status.
For reasons that are unclear, a number of elite blue-check journos and experts have been sharing a story from Salon about Florida Governor Ron DeSantis requiring university faculty members and students to register their political affiliation with the state.
ICYMI: Ron DeSantis signs bill requiring Florida students and professors to register their political views with the state https://t.co/cWzHyhhmIw
— Jon Cooper (@joncoopertweets) July 5, 2022
A few problems, the first being this was reported by Salon. Secondly, did no one notice the date on the story was June 2021, so how does this constitute a "news" item? But most importantly, this story was rather quickly debunked as false by fact-checkers. Where are the media hall monitors and other hectoring scribes who are always bleating over disinformation?! How is it suddenly not a threat to our democracy to have so many journalists spread false information while no…oh, wait a minute. I said "journalists" were spreading the disinformation. Never mind, nothing to see here after all.
Ho- lee - CRAP!!
— Brad Slager ???????? Lifetime Subscriber to CNN+ (@MartiniShark) July 6, 2022
The ''expert'' Max Boot is spreading this garbage story that is not only false, but it was also fully debunked OVER ONE YEAR AGO.
I swear, the derangement has poisoned the rationality of so many, but remains amusing to behold all the same.https://t.co/HXuEnTBVO5 https://t.co/7DQcPgZlSI pic.twitter.com/4QONqzJgEd
Hoax And Change – USA TODAY
- Getting a year-old story completely wrong is the fault of the originator, always.
USA Today is one of the news sources brought in to police misinformation on social media. They are experts on the subject, in other words. This is why it is more than revealing – but downright amusing – to see one of their writers not only falling for the debunked DeSantis story but then blaming Salon for his error. After touting the piece, Josh Meyer put out a tweet correcting the error but then laid the blame on his journalistic sloth on the original posting.
Didn't know this was debunked (or a year old), or I wouldn't have suggested more reporting needed on it, folks. But thanks for the fan mail! Maybe you should save it for @Salon for not correcting or clarifying it if it's actually incorrect! https://t.co/OjHTBzO6ji
— Josh Meyer (@JoshMeyerDC) July 6, 2022
Only problem, Josh – after calling on other journalists to give the piece more coverage, it was obvious you never even actually read the article you linked to originally. Otherwise, things like the 2021 date, the posted UPDATE, and the announced headline change should have alerted you to something amiss with the piece.
Gilded Reframe – THE NEW YORK TIMES
- Suddenly there are no violating minority voting rights, and praising POC candidates is no longer in style.
The election of Mayra Flores continues to cause ulcers for the left and the media. Think back to just a short time ago; any Hispanic rising to elected office was celebrated, Trump and the Republicans were hatefully racist to minorities, and Texas was trying to violate POC voting rights. Now? Practically overnight, the narrative has a brand new script. A number of Hispanics winning elections killed off the voting discussion, and we no longer cheer when they win an election because they are on the GOP ticket, so deep investigations need to take place into their policies.
Take a look at what The NY Times declares to be "far right" viewpoints.
- "But what is most striking is that Ms. Flores won by shunning moderates, embracing the far right and wearing her support for Donald J. Trump on her sleeve — more Marjorie Taylor Greene than Kay Bailey Hutchison. Her campaign slogan — 'God, family, country' — was meant to appeal to what she calls the 'traditional values' of her majority-Hispanic district in the border city of Brownsville."
Contrast this critical approach to the years of fawning coverage of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and how neither she nor any other Democratic Hispanic politician is ever described as "far left."
As her own oath of office coincided with the Jan 6 hearings, Ms. Flores largely dismissed the proceedings.
— Jennifer Medina (@jennymedina) July 6, 2022
“Honestly, my district doesn’t care about that," she said. “My district is struggling to pay their bills."
The MAGA Latina goes to Congress. https://t.co/gORkxzrrTs
Both Kinds of Standards – TWITTER
- Our sin is unforgivable when it is "their sin."
For reasons that escape our grasp of importance, there has been a flurry of controversy recently over the prospect of dead-naming Hollywood fixture Elliot Page. The former actress transitioned not long ago, changing her name from Ellen. Jordan Peterson made a loud exit when he was banned from Twitter for refusing to use "Elliot" in reference to Page.
Then, for dumber reasons, Dave Rubin found himself banned from Twitter for simply retweeting a screenshot of Peterson's mentioning of "Ellen" instead of "Elliot." All the while, as Twitter was policing accounts with jack-booted authority, its very own platform had "Ellen Page" featured prominently in the TRENDING column. To this point, Twitter has not banned itself over this gravely serious intolerance.
Elliot Page's deadname appeared as a trending topic on Twitter, violating the site's own policy on hateful conduct.
— BuzzFeed News (@BuzzFeedNews) July 5, 2022
In a statement to BuzzFeed News, a Twitter spokesperson said it was a mistake and has since been removed.https://t.co/0oewTJS27u
Glossary Over Things – WKYC, OHIO 3 NEWS
- Somehow firing a gun is considered different than shooting at people.
In the case of a police shooting of Jaylen Walker, following a gunfight and a high-speed car chase, local investigative reporter Phil Trexler has found what he considers to be a serious flaw in the police rendition of the episode.
According to the intrepid reporter, the gunshots that Trexler acknowledges Walker committed are in no way to be considered proof that he was trying to shoot any police officer.
The “shot at” narrative is nuanced, but no one from APD says #JaylenWalker fired “at” officers. Officers recorded in dispatch recordings saying “shot fired”…the shot is seen and heard on video. No evidence yet of Walker taking aim and firing. The difference matters. https://t.co/BmorAOa2sr
— PHIL TREXLER (@PhilTrexler) July 4, 2022
DNC PR Firm – POLITICO
- It is always helpful when the White House tells you who its preferred journalists are, even indirectly.
Today's announcement that White House Communications Director Kate Bedingfield was about to be broken by Politico. Alex Thompson details how they contacted the WH for comment and were asked to hold on as they prepared a comment. Barely 15 minutes later, the Wall Street Journal broke it with an official comment.
I called the White House at 2:53pm to ask for comment and told them we were running it.
— Alex Thompson (@AlexThomp) July 6, 2022
They asked for more time to check with folks.
I gave it to them.
WSJ pubbed at 3:11pm with a statement from Klain.
