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Conservative Writer Gets Thrown into Twit-Mo Over Two Decade-Old Tweets

Brad Slager
Brad Slager  |  Feb 22, 2022
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"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.

02.22.22

Anti-Social Media – TWITTER

  • Nearly a decade ago, it was not offensive, Jim.

Writer Jim Treacher found out his account had been locked down by Twitter over a pair of tweets it deemed offensive. To say content about violent Muslims being declared such is entirely subjective is without question. What makes no sense, however, is the provenance of the tweets themselves.

Treacher was cast into Twit-Mo – and told to delete the offensive content – over two tweets he wrote over eight years ago. One was dated May 2013. 

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Pulitzer Prize Nomination – NEW YORK POST

Ask any athlete, and many would say they would give their arm in order to achieve a gold medal at the Olympics. Remi Lindholm of Finland was willing to go even further. The conditions during the Men's Cross Country Skiing event were rather harsh. Lindholm became an example of just how hard their trek was. 

- "The men's 50km mass start race at the Beijing Games was shortened to 30km but that did little to help Finland's Remi Lindholm, who needed a heat pack at the end of the race to thaw out a particularly sensitive body part. Lindholm spent just under an hour and 16 minutes traversing the course in howling, freezing winds, leading to his penis becoming frozen."

While there is a high degree of sympathy for the skier, that is mitigated slightly by one detail. He seemingly is a tough study, given that this was announced as the second time it has happened to Lindholm. 

DNC PR Firm – LAS VEGAS SUN

The episode involving the attempted murder by Black Lives Matter and gun control activist Quinteez Brown continues to confound the media. At the Las Vegas Sun last week, they wrote a fractured editorial, decrying violence of this nature – BUT in the most backward of fashions. The paper never brought up the affiliation of the left-wing groups Brown worked with. A move made more galling as the editorial framed conservatives as largely responsible for political violence.

- "While it's been reported that the activist was involved in the Black Lives Matter and gun-safety movements and there has been no indication yet that he had ties to any right-wing organizations, the shooting comes amid a rise in threats against politicians fueled by increasingly violent rhetoric coming from extremist Republicans."

This impacted move was noted by Greg Gutfeld and Tucker Carlson, and it resulted in - get this - mean phone calls to the paper. Now while death threats are by no means acceptable, they do fall further down the scale from actual violent acts. Yet, The Sun went harder after Carlson and Gutfeld than any possible influence Brown may have been compelled by leading to his attack.

The paper issued a follow-up editorial, but it is laughably inane. When you spend well over 2,000 words to explain your initial stunted editorial, you have to know you are on shaky ground.

Low Octane Gas Lighting – WASHINGTON POST

We have reached a point in this country where the mandates are winding down. When every single state is experiencing the same steep drop in Covid cases as the Omicron variant ebbs, and mass events like the Super Bowl showed everyone ignoring that state's masking requirements, the game is over.

But this has the press feeling cranky. Our journalist superiors are upset that their perceived ability to lord over us with strict provisions is evaporating, but they are not going quietly. At WaPo, they attempted to bring in an expert on the matter to lecture on the dangers. Dr. Robert Wachter, professor and chair of the department of medicine at UC San Francisco, came on to intone how dire it is that as states relax the mandates, people will have to do something dangerous – they will have to think for themselves!

The paper then takes it a step further; Americans are going to be "Forced" to have the freedom to decide if they want to wear a mask.

Reporting on the Mirror – CNN

The CNN tire fire continues to rage, and now we are starting to see that, as predicted, the new Warner Media-Discovery ownership may be already exerting its influence on the network. At Mediaite, Colby Hall searched into the frequency of coverage of Fox News at the network. The irony is that CNN has been particularly focused on how much Fox News does not cover the news, all while covering Fox and not the news in the process.

But a shift has been noted. In February, the rate of mentions of Fox has dropped noticeably – by about 66%.

- "In January, CNN mentioned 'Fox' on-air an average of 100 times per week. But in the first three weeks of February, the average number of 'Fox' mentions dwindled by two-thirds down to 34. If one looks at average daily mentions, Fox was uttered roughly 13 times per day from Jan. 1 to Feb. 2, and five times per day, on average, since."

The significance – February 2 was when Jeff Zucker announced he was clearing out his office. 

Blue-Anon – THE NEW YORK TIMES

  • Proving once again the most devoted followers of "Q" are in the press corps. 

The news complex continues with its obsession with Q-Anon. The desperate need to paint this faction of the country as mainstream, and thereby emblematic of the Republican Party, continues unabated – if as Q does not. 

The New York Times comes out with a landmark report that they have tracked down just who Q is! (I'll need to speak up here, over the rising sound of crickets.)

Using two international software corporations that can identify common traits in postings, The Times has determined who was operating the Q account up to 2018 and who took over the duties afterward. At no point, though, are we told the real significance of either of the individuals, outside of implying they are the names and faces behind the account. Also unspoken – why any of this is now significant since it is well over a year since there have been any postings by Q-Anon.