North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un appears to be alive. After days of speculation and deathwatch stories that started with CNN reporting that Kim was in a dire health situation, the liberal media was off to the races. NBC News' Katy Tur lobbed the biggest hand grenade, however, with reports that the North Korean butcher was "brain dead," according to two US officials who confirmed this to her.
It was so ironclad; she deleted the tweet shortly thereafter. No accountability occurred for the screw-up. None. The next day it was apparent that Kim was not dead or dying, the liberal media establishment just went about its business as if nothing had happened. It's as if we didn't see their scoop blow up in their face. It did. The circus came to town again, but in this case, we had reports from South Korean intelligence that refuted US-based reports and that Kim's travel locomotive was spotted near some coastal resort, a sign that the man was still kicking. Yet, this was yet again where the liberal media's antics created another fake news tornado (via WaPo):
BREAKING: The US is monitoring intelligence that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is in grave danger after surgery, according to a US official https://t.co/WyprxoyV94
— CNN International (@cnni) April 21, 2020
.@KatyTurNBC deleted this tweet pic.twitter.com/DnHhFvZnOq
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) April 21, 2020
An official from the presidential office in Seoul has said that there are no particular signs or developments within North Korea amid reports that Kim Jong Un is seriously ill after heart surgery.
— Laura Bicker (@BBCLBicker) April 21, 2020
Kim Jong Un is (apparently) alive and (presumably) well. The North Korean dictator appeared in a state-issued photo over the weekend, in which he is shown cutting the ribbon on a new fertilizer factory outside Pyongyang. He looked not the least bit dead.
This development was a bit awkward for CNN and many other news outlets around the world, as well as a few intelligence agencies, which had spent the past few weeks in a frenzy over Kim’s health, or lack thereof.
According to stories in otherwise reliable mainstream publications, Kim died. According to journalists, he was “in grave danger,” possibly as a result of a botched operation. Others split the difference, saying he was in a coma or brain dead.
Or, as it turns out, not.
[…]
The first story about Kim’s alleged health issues was published by the South Korea-based website Daily NK, which monitors news, gossip and rumors from North Korea.
Daily NK’s story on April 20 said that Kim was recovering from an unspecified “cardiovascular procedure,” supposedly as a result of heavy smoking, obesity and fatigue, and that he reportedly was in stable condition.
But Robert Lauler, the English-language editor of Daily NK, said on Tuesday that the English rendering of “cardiovascular procedure” from the site’s story in Korean was inaccurately rendered as “heart surgery,” a far more serious phrasing and one that found its way into other news reports.
Former CNN producer Steve Krakauer noted that this is yet again another episode of liberal media bungling that is chipping away at what little credibility they have left, and it's not the first time CNN and NBC News, who make a gruesome twosome, have been wrong and nothing has occurred regarding accountability. He added that even with all the speculation about some cardiovascular event, South Korea doesn't think Kim had such a procedure in the first place:
Two weeks ago tonight, Jim Sciutto at CNN reported on what a single source was telling him. "Kim Jong Un’s health is in grave danger following a surgery," he tweeted. A short time later, NBC's Katy Tur added to that reporting, citing a current and former U.S. official who told her he was "brain dead" after "cardiac surgery."
[…]
For Sciutto, a former Obama administration official who now plays an objective news anchor on TV, this is not the first time it appears his reporting has been incorrect.
What are the consequences of getting it so wrong? For Sciutto and Tur, nothing from their respective networks. They continue anchoring their shows. But what they lose is what the media has continued to lose every time something like this happens - credibility with the American public.
Kim is not dead. He's not a drooling vegetable. He is still a murderous dictator who possesses nuclear weapons. So, when we have another round of "Kim is dead" theater from the media, cross NBC News and CNN off the list. Someone's head should roll for this, but as with most liberal media fake news fiascos—no one is fired.
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