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NewsNation Turns 'X-Files,' And a Tidal Wave of Heatwave Coverage

Brad Slager
Brad Slager  |  Jul 28, 2023
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07.28.23

Blue-Anon – NewsNation

The struggling upstart outlet NewsNation received some welcomed free publicity this week during the congressional hearings. One of the speakers was military intel officer/whistleblower David Grusch, who appeared as a witness and name-dropped the network repeatedly during his testimony:

The news network’s name came up three times during the Q&A portion, with Grusch saying, 'I can’t go beyond what I have already stated publicly in my NewsNation interview, er cause it touches over sensitivities … If you reference my NewsNation interview and I talk about a multidecade campaign to disenfranchise public interest basically … As I’ve stated publicly already in my NewsNation interview, biologics came with some of these recoveries.”

Presentation Paradox – NBC News

The New York Times has a report about an investigation where outside researchers teamed up with Meta to analyze the amount of influence experienced on Facebook during the 2020 election and how much users were compelled by the content consumed on their timelines. This was clearly a study where they embarked to find how much influence trolls or foreign entities had on social media.

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The results were less than impressive. These were four studies conducted by 17 researchers in conjunction with Meta, and they analyzed news absorption and other forms of interaction with news on the social media platform. NBC's slanted reporter Brandy Zadrozny looked at the data and came up with the expected conclusions one would anticipate from her:

Looking at aggregated data from 208 million U.S. users, researchers found “untrustworthy” news sources were favored by conservative audiences and almost all (97%) of the political news webpages rated as false by Meta’s third-party fact-checkers were seen by more conservatives than liberals.

Of course, asking about the determination of "untrustworthy" is never factored in, as Brandy and her ilk are prone to be on the side of the fact-checkers making that ruling. The tip-off in all of this is that Zadrozny uses the phrase "paints a complicated picture" at the start, repeating the use of "complicated" that was repeatedly used in The Times article. This is all because as desperate as all the players were to charge conservatives with using fake news on the platform and allegedly deceiving others, there was this conclusion from the study:

In the papers, researchers from the University of Texas, New York University, Princeton and other institutions found that removing some key functions of the social platforms’ algorithms had “no measurable effects” on people’s political beliefs. 

And then there was this telling line:

The conflicting results suggested that understanding social media’s role in shaping discourse may take years to unwind.

TRANSLATION: "We were not able to prove the conservatives had a severely detrimental effect on social media, so we will keep looking for ways to prove this is the case."

Glossary Over Things – Associated Press

The Left and the media are still struggling with the narrative of the Florida schools curriculum allegedly calling slavery beneficial to blacks. They have used a single sentence in a 200+ page report to label the entire curriculum. And, as we showed yesterday, this nearly identical sentence was found in the AP African American History curriculum they were mandating to be taught months ago. 

Now, the AP tries to continue the accusation, citing some civil rights leaders who have fallen for the same lie, and they uncork a new level of oppression in the process. Despite having no involvement in the curriculum report, Gov. Ron DeSantis is accused of leveraging "policy violence" against people of color. 

Pounce of Prevention – The Wall Street Journal

It has been a tough week for Hunter Biden and his legal team, as their chicanery playing out in a court queered the plea deal that had been arranged, and his legal fortunes are now in limbo. 

And those dastardly Republicans have dared notice this is taking place!

Yes, once again, during problems and wranglings with Democrats, the story becomes that the GOP is commenting on the activities. This time "Republicans relish…" that the judge has rejected the plea agreement – those cads. 

Matching Media Memorandum – Various Outlets

  • Everyone is saying it, so that stands as proof.

For some reason, this week, a number of news outlets were repeating the same data point about the heat we are experiencing. Oh, right – it's summer. 

The journalists who dismiss these kinds of reports in the winter as being anecdotal are convinced this is unimpeachable science today.

Pulitzer Prize Nomination (Distinguished Photo journalism) – CNN

  • Dressing in layers during a heat blast is just practical sense these days.

Joining in on the dire climate dogpile was CNN, and they do so in a very confounding fashion. In repeating the 120,000-year claim, the network gave an accompanying photograph. 

You somewhat undercut the message of us experiencing unprecedented scorching temperatures when you display a trio of ladies wearing a sweater, hoodie, and jacket.

Reporting on the Mirror – CNN

The amusing melodrama from last weekend was when married CNN hostess Alisyn Camerota was caught on film holding hands with former network CEO Jeff Zucker while leaving Don Lemon's party.

Now, Dylan Byers of Puck, who has deep contacts inside the network, reports that this could possibly develop into Alisyn's dismissal. Beyers details that inside the network, they are seeking out talent to replace her:

This week, I learned that the network is testing possible replacements for Alisyn Camerota at 10 p.m.—no doubt her attendance at Don Lemon’s Hamptons house, alongside Zucker, did not endear her to the bosses at [Warner Bros. Discovery]—and that Sara Sidner is seen as a possible candidate.

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