Today is the day on which a great many papers around the USA are publishing editorials to tell the President that the media is not the enemy of the people and does not publish fake news. It's a coordinated effort organized by the Boston Globe. Very few people read editorials in the newspapers when the subject is a fresh one; my guess is that next to no one will read today's editorials. Still, forgetting the small audience, one still has to wonder what could the papers say that would convince Americans that they don't publish fake news.
Here's a case in point. Yesterday, after President Trump revoked the security clearance of the former CIA Director, CNN rushed out a story that "informed sources" said that Trump didn't consult with the current Director of National Intelligence in making that decision. Almost immediately, that story got picked up by a host of other media outlets. Within a half hour, however, it became clear that the story was wrong. The DNI had been in the meeting in which the decision was taken. The CNN story was totally wrong. It wasn't a misunderstanding; it was reporting something completely opposite from the truth. So, is that fake news or just shoddy reporting? Obviously, CNN didn't bother to seek a comment on its story from the office of the DNI or it would have learned that its so called "informed sources" were either lying or just making it up. If this were a rare occurrence, you could call it poor reporting. Sadly, however, this is an every day event. Day after day, week after week, stories of this sort appear at many media outlets. It truly is fake news. After all, how many times do we have to hear what "informed sources" say only to learn later that what they say is not correct?
One more thing: think back and ask yourself when was the last time you heard of an incorrect news story that was too favorable to President Trump or the GOP? I can't think of any. The "errors" only go one way. If this were just sloppiness, there should be errors going both ways. But it's much more than that. It's an intentional effort by the media to portray everything in the worst light possible for Trump and the GOP. That's why it IS fake news. It is being done purposely for political ends. That's sad, but it's also true.
Here's a case in point. Yesterday, after President Trump revoked the security clearance of the former CIA Director, CNN rushed out a story that "informed sources" said that Trump didn't consult with the current Director of National Intelligence in making that decision. Almost immediately, that story got picked up by a host of other media outlets. Within a half hour, however, it became clear that the story was wrong. The DNI had been in the meeting in which the decision was taken. The CNN story was totally wrong. It wasn't a misunderstanding; it was reporting something completely opposite from the truth. So, is that fake news or just shoddy reporting? Obviously, CNN didn't bother to seek a comment on its story from the office of the DNI or it would have learned that its so called "informed sources" were either lying or just making it up. If this were a rare occurrence, you could call it poor reporting. Sadly, however, this is an every day event. Day after day, week after week, stories of this sort appear at many media outlets. It truly is fake news. After all, how many times do we have to hear what "informed sources" say only to learn later that what they say is not correct?
One more thing: think back and ask yourself when was the last time you heard of an incorrect news story that was too favorable to President Trump or the GOP? I can't think of any. The "errors" only go one way. If this were just sloppiness, there should be errors going both ways. But it's much more than that. It's an intentional effort by the media to portray everything in the worst light possible for Trump and the GOP. That's why it IS fake news. It is being done purposely for political ends. That's sad, but it's also true.
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