"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.
11.07.22
Both Kinds of Standards – NEWSGUARD
As the Paul Pelosi story continues to percolate, it also continues to give the press a migraine. The story they initially launched as a national political story has become problematic, and now the inconsistencies have to be blamed on the very people they tried to blame for the attack. As the inconsistencies continue to mount, the desperation is seen in trying to say the problems with the story are the fault of bad-faith operators from the conservative side. The problem is that the inconsistencies originated in the mainstream press.
In looking to place the blame as they see it proper, Newsweek brought in a pair of writers from NewsGuard to point fingers. The partisan approach is pretty glaring – and hilariously inept. When presented with the problems in the official narrative, Newsweek blamed it on "right-wing personalities who were seeking to shift the narrative away from the notion that the attack was an act of political violence fueled by the rhetoric of the right." As for those news outlets quoted by those "right-wing personalities" – in other words, the sources of their claims – the excuse-making is precious, as they are cleared of wrongdoing due to "limited information and unintentional misreporting that often accompany developing news stories."
A prime example of the ineptitude is the attempt to slam Gateway Pundit for spreading debunked information. They failed because GP quoted stories by Politico (on Oct. 29) and NBC News (on Oct. 30), respectively. The corrections made by those outlets were put out after the GP story they claim is spreading false information.
- "Politico promptly issued a correction to the initial story, clarifying that 'there were only two people inside the Pelosi home when police arrived.'"
NOTE: They "promptly made the change on Oct. 31."
- "Though…subsequently corrected…on Twitter, the clip of the segment remained uncorrected on NBC's website as of Nov. 3."
NewsGuard’s team looked at the evolution of conspiracies surrounding the attack on Paul Pelosi, and what it tells us about the state of our information ecosystemhttps://t.co/biLC76aYiC
— NewsGuard (@NewsGuardRating) November 7, 2022
Presentation Paradox – POLITICO
Take just a moment here to reflect. For two years now – two years – we have heard the media demonize anyone questioning elections. Talk of election machines being tampered with were crackpot theories. There has been no proof of voting irregularities. The media even set up a litmus test of sorts, requiring Republicans to state if they believed in the election results or not. Anyone even approaching with questions about the election was labeled as an extremist.
I now give you the latest from Politico.
The 2020 presidential election was rife with allegations of voting machine hacks that were later debunked.
— POLITICO (@politico) November 7, 2022
Yet there are real risks that hackers could tunnel into voting equipment and other election infrastructure to try to undermine Tuesday’s vote.https://t.co/kDij1J08eU
Blue-Anon – DETROIT METRO TIMES
- On the other side, the press seems to have found a tax they do not like.
All the evidence you need of the press industry believing they control the national narratives and that social media platforms belong to them has been completely laid out with the wailing seen over the purchase of Twitter by Elon Musk. His pledge to free up the freedom of expression on the platform has the media spinning out of control. Then his call to have blue check verified accounts charged $8 monthly to retain their badge of honor has been followed with even more wailing.
Leyland DeVito is an editor at the Detroit Metro Times, and he sees this eight-buck surcharge as an especially pernicious move. Apparently, having the vaunted check mark is a badge of entitlement, and charging for the right is a violation. Also – it is a tax…?
Elon's $8/month check mark is a tax on journalism.
— Leyland “Lee” DeVito (@leedevito) November 5, 2022
Reporting on the Mirror – MSNBC
- Well, at least she did not blame it on racism this time.
On Friday, we detailed how Tiffany Cross had her weekend show on the news network canceled, and we speculated on how this decision was made, but another hostess on the network who is far worse by volume as far as content – Joy Reid – had not been dismissed.
Hey, speaking of Reid...
The hostess reacted to the news of the Cross firing by seemingly laying the blame at the feet of the people who do not even watch her network. I guess Tiffany Cross losing her job had something to do with conservatives, we have to guess…?
It is desperate obliviousness causing @thereidout to lash out at conservatives for Tiffany Cross getting fired.
— Brad Slager: Polling For Soup (@MartiniShark) November 5, 2022
Cross repeatedly violated management directives, all while impugning conservative policies in a way that drove them from her show. Blaming the other side is laughable. pic.twitter.com/7KE8jzNc6N
DNC PR Firm – THE NEW YORK TIMES
Recently the Financial Times ran a profile on Ron DeSantis with a scathing revelation that in college, he used to mispronounce "Thai food" as a form of a test for prospective dates. Now comes more dark revelations from decades ago that have no relevance to, well – anything.
Desantis, we are told, hung out with some former students once. Maybe even – twice!
- "Two former students, both women, remembered him attending at least two parties where alcohol was served, but they said that the parties took place after graduation and that they were not bothered by his presence at the time, although they question it now."
He also taught history, and during lessons on slavery, he would, at times, present the devil's advocate position on the topic as a form of teaching. Then comes the crushing blow – DeSantis allegedly was racist toward one student in an indirect but still troubling way that was hardly perceptible.
-" 'Mr. Ron, Mr. DeSantis, was mean to me and hostile toward me,' said Ms. Pompey, who graduated in 2003. 'Not aggressively, but passively, because I was Black.'"
— JimmyToons (@JimmySportToons) November 6, 2022
Pulitzer Prize Nomination – NEW YORK POST
A new announcement has come out from the National Parks Service – it is imploring visitors to our federal lands to refrain from licking toads in an effort to get high on the psychotropic effects of the defensive toxin secreted by the amphibians.
Sounds as if people are ingesting a locally sourced and renewable substance, as we are always being lectured to support.
National Park Service begs visitors to stop licking toads to get high https://t.co/2MQiOBmCuk pic.twitter.com/BvOGTjvMfR
— New York Post (@nypost) November 7, 2022
