I just saw a news article on Yahoo News about shootings in Charlotte, NC, over the weekend. There have been multiple deaths including that of a seven year old boy celebrating his birthday at a party in his front yard. It's terrible and disgusting.
My point, however, is about how Yahoo News portrays the story in its news feed. According to the headline from Yahoo, police in Charlotte are "searching for illegal guns". The problem, however, is that when I read the story (which is by the AP), there is no mention of illegal guns or any search for such weapons. Yahoo News, it seems, just added this because the report was about deaths by shooting. In other words, we have no idea at the moment whether or not the guns used in these shootings were "illegal" or not. We don't know if the shooters were targeting their victims or if this was random. We have no idea who the shooters were or why they took these actions. Why must the media throw in the idea that these were somehow "illegal" guns? Imagine what would happen if Yahoo News did the same thing but instead of saying that the police were searching for illegal guns, it said that police were searching for members of a gang of illegal aliens. Look, I am not writing this in support or in opposition to gun control. I just think that the media ought to at least try to be honest. Throwing political positions into news stories when there is no basis for them is just plain wrong. We ought not tolerate it.
My point, however, is about how Yahoo News portrays the story in its news feed. According to the headline from Yahoo, police in Charlotte are "searching for illegal guns". The problem, however, is that when I read the story (which is by the AP), there is no mention of illegal guns or any search for such weapons. Yahoo News, it seems, just added this because the report was about deaths by shooting. In other words, we have no idea at the moment whether or not the guns used in these shootings were "illegal" or not. We don't know if the shooters were targeting their victims or if this was random. We have no idea who the shooters were or why they took these actions. Why must the media throw in the idea that these were somehow "illegal" guns? Imagine what would happen if Yahoo News did the same thing but instead of saying that the police were searching for illegal guns, it said that police were searching for members of a gang of illegal aliens. Look, I am not writing this in support or in opposition to gun control. I just think that the media ought to at least try to be honest. Throwing political positions into news stories when there is no basis for them is just plain wrong. We ought not tolerate it.
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