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Fact-Checkers Are Having a Really Bad Week

Brad Slager
Brad Slager  |  Feb 09, 2022
The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Townhall.com.

"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.

02.09.22

Body Checking the Fact Checkers (Pt. 1) – Snopes

  • When entirely accurate can become technically wrong.

It takes some sheer magic to take a factual statement, contort details, then import context, and reconfigure the premise in order to come up with the declaration that that statement is ultimately MOSTLY FALSE. Okay, it is not magic; it is undiluted bias because conservative outlets noted that a new program announced by Health and Human Services would provide crack pipes to drug users in the name of equity.

Snopes rose to the defense of Joe Biden by noting that all the outlets reporting this were…well, accurate, but there was a lot of other things included in the program, even though most of the sites did mention many of the provisions – syringes, overdose reversal medications, condoms, and test kits for synthetic drugs. Snopes also felt that their cause is helped with this clarification.

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- "It's important to note that safe smoking kits typically consist of several other items, including: a rubber mouthpieces for glass pipes, in order to prevent burns and cuts; brass screens, in order to filter out potentially harmful contaminants or debris; as well as disinfectant wipes. As such, they are a logical component of a broader substance abuse strategy of harm reduction."

Yeah, focusing on crack pipes is really out of line. Then, after the media reports, HHS announced it would be removing crack pipes from these safety kits. This means that the news reports dubbed MOSTLY FALSE for mentioning crack pipes were dead-on accurate as crack pipes were actively removed. But Snopes squirms out of irresponsibility now because this new announcement allows it to now label the reports OUTDATED.

Body Checking the Fact Checkers (Pt. 2) – USA TODAY

One trait among the Truth Detector segment of journalism is the tendency of covering asinine stories as a means of busying themselves to avoid covering the Biden administration. When crack pipes are being featured and cannot be denied, you then look to correct the facts on squabbles about the paycheck of characters from classic literature.

USA Today felt the need to crunch the numbers and come up with the accurate summation of a social media claim that Bob Cratchit from "A Christmas Carol" actually earned more than today's minimum wage.

Body Checking the Fact Checkers (Pt. 3) – CNN

  • This is why you never fact-check your heroes.

Daniel Dale is CNN's resident verifier, and he had a crushing episode recently with a correction of his. Dale is a Canadian who arrived by way of the Toronto Sun, and as is the law in The Great White North, he is something of a hockey fan. 

Daniel saw the former hockey star Theo Fleury appearing on Laura Ingraham's show, and when the skater mentioned there were 50,000 truckers in the Canadian convoy, Dale could not let that inaccuracy stand. He felt the need to correct a former hockey player because CNN is a marvelous news organization, and he did not get the response from the former star he had expected. 

Both Kinds of Standards – THE DAILY SHOW

  • Okay, NOW it is acceptable to cancel over old jokes.

A true sign that his numbers are anemic in comparison to Jon Stewart's years, Trevor Noah has decided to earn some attention by joining in on the Joe Rogan torch-and-pitchforks crowd. Noah had a rant of his own to lend to the chorus of screeching, and it reveals he has settled into the hypocritical lifestyle of American entertainment.

This is made ridiculous because years ago, Noah was on the receiving end of outrage over former insensitive jokes he had told. Of course, at the time, his approach to such was far different. Note that Joe Rogan apologizes and is not forgiven. Trevor never apologized and said he was above being judged, and for the record, he was defended at the time by – Joe Rogan.

Both Kinds of Standards – MSNBC

  • See, their congregating is different than my congregating because they are not me, understand.

Teachers' union boss Randi Weingarten has come out to declare what needs to happen in schools with kids. "The COVID rate is still very high. Masks keep people from getting sick AND keep schools open." She went on "Morning Joe" to explain her position about the need for those sitting closely at desks to remain masked – as she sat at a desk closely with the hosts, and not a mask was found on the set.