OPINION
Premium

NY Times Works the Deplatforming Lobby, While WaPo Is Obsessively Unhinged Over a Comedian Telling a Joke

Brad Slager
Brad Slager  |  Oct 29, 2024
The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Townhall.com.

Get access to Brad Slager's "Riffed From the Headlines," a daily VIP feature where he looks to bring accountability to the mainstream media. Use promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your VIP membership.

First Amendment Strike Force – THE NEW YORK TIMES

  • We are still deciding if this is desperate or pathetic. (We are embracing the “and”...)

Just ahead of the election — and probably in anticipation of the result — Tucker Carlson and Ben Shapiro have reported how they had been contacted by The New York Times about addressing supposed “misinformation” on YouTube and the possibility/probability that lobbying to become de-platformed is set to take place. Reporter Nico Grant sent what amounts to a threat, stipulating that relying on a study that found over 250 instances of alleged “misinformation” (surely only found made by conservative content providers) and that both Shapiro and Carlson were said to have posted such. Grant then asks questions regarding being de-platformed. The best was this comment in his missive:

We rely on analysis conducted by researchers from Media Matters For America.

Try to imagine someone considering themself to be a journalist writing that out without any shame. 

DNC PR Firm – WASHINGTON POST

Recommended

How Joe Biden Wrecked Kamala's DC Rally Matt Vespa
Kamala Harris' 'Closing Argument' Speech Went Exactly As You'd Expect Rebecca Downs

  • This could completely derail Trump’s campaign! If…he had actually said this…

Following Sunday’s Donald Trump rally at Madison Square Garden, it was of little surprise that the claims of it being a Nazi rally would be all over the place – considering they began calling it this before the rally. The main takeaway from the entire event was that a comedian told a joke.

Tony Hinchcliffe made a disparaging remark about the island of Puerto Rico being a floating garbage pile. This set off the expected sensitive souls, and of course, it is claimed that this proves that Trump is racist…even though he was not the one who said it.

The Washington Post, sensing a chance to damage Trump’s election, decided this was a key moment of the rally. As a result, it has produced a series of pieces in less than 24 hours on this one line from the event.

Race to the Bottom – CNN

  • We see a rather fluid standard regarding offensive charges.

On CNN, conservative Ryan Girdusky has found himself removed from invites to be on the air any longer. A frequent fixture on the Abby Phillip hour, he was squaring off with another guest, the dispatched from MSNBC pundit Mehdi Hasan, and dropped the impertinent line on the pro-Hamas sympathizing Hasan:

I hope your pager does not go off.

Meanwhile, calling guests and a significant faction of the country “Nazis” is perfectly acceptable for CNN’s airwaves. Phillip actually apologized to Hasan, who has never held back from labeling people hatefully while supporting terrorists.

Stealth Story Evolution – LOS ANGELES TIMES

  • Funny how this is the polar opposite of what has been alleged.

There continues to be upheaval over the various newspapers coming out with statements that they will not be issuing presidential endorsements. Many political pundits have come out to declare that the papers owned by billionaires are cowering at the prospect of a Trump presidency. (This alone is a telling detail.)

But now we learn from The New York Times that the activist daughter of the LA Times — Nika Soon-Shiong — has come out to declare that Kamala’s policies regarding the Israel-Hamas war have motivated the paper to pull its expected endorsement: 

As a citizen of a country openly financing genocide, and as a family that experienced South African Apartheid, the endorsement was an opportunity to repudiate justifications for the widespread targeting of journalists and ongoing war on children.

Both Kinds of Standards – CBS NEWS

  • Sounds like it was intolerable for that scumbag to address policies in a hateful manner!

Margaret Brennan has some remarkable blinders. In her fawning coverage of Liz Cheney, her adoration was rather clear. She brought up how Liz might be fearful for her safety if Trump manages to get elected again. That would be the same Donald Trump who has faced two assassination attempts.

Then when discussing J.D. Vance, Brennan had this remarkable interpretation of things. When Cheney called Vance a harsh insult, that was deemed how Liz “characterized” him, but then when Vance came back by addressing her father’s political record, THAT was called an “attack.”