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PolitiFact Misquotes Vance to Prove That Walz Was Misquoted

Brad Slager
Brad Slager  |  Sep 25, 2024
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Presentation Paradox – REUTERS

Reuters puts out a headline that is head-scratching on first read, and only gets more obtuse as you read the article. The syndicate states that Donald Trump, at a campaign stop, made the claim that Iran is trying to assassinate him, but does so without any evidence. Then in the second paragraph, Reuters cites…uh, evidence:

Trump made his remarks at a campaign event after U.S. intelligence officials briefed him a day earlier on “real and specific threats from Iran to assassinate him,” according to his campaign.

Adding to the perplexing approach is that this has been a position that federal law enforcement has confirmed to be the case since July.

Gilded Reframe – CNN

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  • “According to one of her buddies…”

Over the weekend, there was a report from CNN addressing antisemitism seen in both poilitical parties. In it, Rep. Rashida Tlaib was said to have made antisemitic comments toward Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel. Tlaib said Nessel’s office operated with biases that treated cases regarding Jews differently than were they Palestinians. Nessel accused Tlaib of her own anti-Jewish bias.

Following the report, Dana Bash came out with a “clarification,” stipulating that Tlaib did not reference Nessel’s religion. This was not based on Tlaib denying the charge, and her office did not respond for comment. But “allies” informed CNN Tlaib meant something else, and this was sufficient for them to issue a clarification.

Demo-lition Project – CBS NEWS

  • More heads hit the chopping block as the Skydance merger continues to have a ripple effect.

CBS parent company Paramount is still finalizing the merger deal with Skydance, a partnership that is deeply tied to the debts that Paramount has been incurring. As a result, layoffs have been playing out at the studio with various divisions shutting down, and now the TV network is also suffering job loses. The announcement came out that layoffs at CBS News will affect longtime weekend anchor Jeff Glor, climate correspondent Ben Tracy, and reporters Roxana Saberi and Anna Werner. 

Body-Checking the Fact-Checkers – POLITIFACT

  • (sigh) You cannot disprove a comment and then use the same disqualifying practice in the same report.

After Tim Walz has been roasted for a comment in a speech where he said the country “Can’t afford four more years of this!”, he has been ridiculed by being reminded that his running mate is the one currently in power. Well, as he was absorbing mockery, PolitiFact ran to the rescue to declare this as factually inaccurate.

See, the Walz comment was not a full quote and (using the favored tactic of the site) was taken out of context! So, he meant something else, you understand, and it was wrong to put out a partial quote.

Then PolitiFact disproves the claim by using a partial quote from J.D. Vance, and takes the VP candidate out of context. They allow Walz to claim that Vance dismissed shootings as “it is a fact of life,” when what Vance actually was saying is that it should not be that way. Truly an amazing dose of obliviousness.

Legalized Press-titution – MSNBC

  • This sure sounds like it was an award.

History has taken place as Kamala Harris agreed to a sit-down interview...with the compliant and cheerleading journalist who has applauded Harris for avoiding the press, Stephanie Ruhle.