In my previous column, I discussed why we don’t watch the “news” at our house anymore. The reason is the complete abandonment of journalistic principles by most media outlets. Notice
how often the New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, Newsweek, NBC News, and the Associated
Press (AP) are listed as egregious violators. These
incidents listed below are merely the tip of the iceberg:
On October 1, 2016, the New York Times and other pro-Democrat
media outlets widely suggested or implied that Trump had not paid income taxes
for 18 years. Later, tax return pages leaked to MSNBC showed that
Trump actually paid a higher rate than Democrats Bernie Sanders and President
Obama. This “get Trump” story was absolutely false.
On October 18, 2016, in a Washington Post piece that was NOT
labelled opinion or analysis, Stuart Rothenberg reported that Trump’s path to
an electoral college victory was “nonexistent.” Not only was this analysis, it
was terrible analysis.
On November 9, 2016, early on election night, the Detroit
Free Press called the state of Michigan for Hillary Clinton. Ummmm…..Donald Trump
actually won Michigan. Apparently the city is not the only thing bankrupt in Detroit.
January 20, 2017, CNN claimed Nancy Sinatra was “not happy”
at her father’s song being used at Trump’s inauguration. Sinatra responded,
“That’s not true. I never said that. Why do you lie, CNN?…Actually I’m wishing
him the best.” This “get Trump” story was absolutely false
On January 20, 2017, the very day Donald Trump was inaugurated, Zeke
Miller of TIME reported that President Trump had removed the bust statue of
civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. from the Oval Office. The news went
viral. This “get Trump” story by pinning the racist tag on him was absolutely false.
January 28, 2017, CNBC’s John Harwood reported the Justice
Department “had no input” on Trump’s immigration executive order. After a
colleague contradicted Harwood’s report, he amended it to reflect that Justice
Department lawyers reportedly had reviewed Trump’s order. Harwood has been a
partisan hack his entire career. His “get Trump” story was absolutely false.
On February 2, 2017, TMZ reported Trump changed the name of
“Black History Month” to “African American History Month,” implying the change
was untoward or racist. In fact, Presidents Obama, George W. Bush and Bill
Clinton had all previously called Black History month “African American
History” month. This “get Trump” story was absolutely false.
On June 4, 2017, NBC News reported in a Tweet that Russian
President Vladimir Putin told TV host Megan Kelly that he had compromising
information about Trump. Actually, Putin said the opposite: that he did not
have compromising information on Trump. Funny how that got all messed up and ass-backwards. This “get
Trump” story was absolutely false.
June 6, 2017, CNN’s Gloria Borger, Eric Lichtblau, Jake
Tapper and Brian Rokus; and ABC’s Justin Fishel and Jonathan Karl reported that
James Comey was going to refute Donald Trump’s claim that Comey told Trump
three times he was not under investigation. Instead, Comey did the opposite and
confirmed Trump’s claim. Each of these outlets reported just the opposite of
the truth. This “get Trump” story was absolutely false.
On June 22, 2017, CNN’s Thomas Frank reported that Congress
was investigating a “Russian investment fund with ties to Trump officials.” The
report was later retracted. Frank and two other CNN employees resigned in the
fallout. This “get Trump” story was absolutely false.
On December 2, 2017, ABC News’ Brian Ross reported that
former Trump official Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn was going to testify that
candidate Trump had directed him to contact “the Russians.” Even though such
contact would not be in of itself a violation of law, the news was treated as
an explosive indictment of Trump in the Russia collusion narrative, and the
stock market fell on the news. ABC later corrected the report to reflect that
Trump had already been elected when he reportedly asked Flynn to contact the
Russians about working together to fight ISIS and other issues. Ross was
suspended but not fired for such an ethical breach. This “get Trump” story was
absolutely false.
July 6, 2017, Newsweek’s Chris Riotta and others reported
that Poland’s First Lady had refused to shake Trump’s hand. Newsweek’s later
“update” reflected that the First Lady had shaken Trump’s hand after all, as
clearly seen on the full video. This “get Trump” story was absolutely false.
August 31, 2017, NBC News’ Ken Dilinian and Carol Lee
reported that a Trump official’s notes about a meeting with a Russian lawyer
included the word “donation,” as if there were discussions about suspicious
campaign contributions. NBC later corrected the report to reflect that the word
“donation” didn’t appear, but still claimed the word “donor” did. Later,
Politico reported that the word “donor” wasn’t in the notes, either. This “get
Trump” story was absolutely false.
September. 5, 2017, CNN’s Chris Cillizza and other news
outlets declared Trump “lied” when he stated that Trump Tower had been
wiretapped, although there’s no way any reporter independently knew the truth
of the matter—only what intel officials claimed. It later turned out there were
numerous wiretaps involving Trump Tower, including a meeting of Trump officials
with a foreign dignitary. At least two Trump associates who had offices in or
frequented Trump Tower were also wiretapped.
On November 6, 2017, CNN edited a video that made it appear
although Trump impatiently dumped a box of fish food into the water while
feeding fish at Japan’s palace. The New York Daily News, the Guardian and
others wrote stories implying Trump was gauche and impetuous. The full video
showed that Trump had simply followed the lead of Japan’s Prime Minister. This “get
Trump” story was absolutely false.
November 29, 2017, Newsweek’s Chris Riotta claimed Ivanka
Trump “plagiarized” one of her own speeches. In fact, plagiarizing one’s own
work is impossible since plagiarism is when a writer steals someone else’s work
and passes it off as his own. This “get Trump” story was absolutely false.
December 5, 2017, Bloomberg’s Steven Arons and the Wall
Street Journal’s Jenny Strasburg reported the blockbuster that Special Counsel
Robert Mueller had subpoenaed Trump’s bank records. It wasn’t true. This “get
Trump” story was absolutely false.
December 8, 2017, CNN’s Manu Raju and Jeremy Herb reported
that Donald Trump Jr. conspired with WikiLeaks in advance of the publication of
damaging Democrat party and Clinton campaign emails. Many other publications
followed suit. They had the date wrong: WikiLeaks and Trump Junior were in
contact after the emails were published. This “get Trump” story was absolutely
false.
On March 8, 2018, The New York Times’ Jan Rosen reported on
a hypothetical family whose tax bill would rise nearly $4,000 under Trump’s tax
plan. It turns out the calculations were off: the couple’s taxes would go
actually go down $43; not up $4,000. This “get Trump” story was absolutely
false.
On March 13, 2018, The New York Times’ Adam Goldman, NBC’s
Noreen O’Donnell and AP’s Deb Riechmann reported that Trump’s pick for CIA
Director, Gina Haspel, had waterboarded a particular Islamic extremist
terrorist dozens of time at a secret prison; and that she had mocked his
suffering. In fact, Haspel wasn’t assigned to the prison until after the detainee
left. ProPublica originally reported the incorrect details in Feb. 2017. This “get
Trump” story was absolutely false.
On March 15, 2018, AP’s Michael Biesecker, Jake Pearson and
Jeff Horwitz reported that a Trump advisory board official had been a Miss
America contestant and had killed a black rhino. She actually was a Mrs.
America contestant and had shot a nonlethal tranquilizer dart at a white rhino.
This “get Trump” story was absolutely false.
On April 1, 2018 AP’s Nicholas Riccardi reported that the
Trump administration had ended a program to admit foreign entrepreneurs. It
wasn’t true. This “get Trump” story was absolutely false.
May 3, 2018, NBC’s Tom Winter reported that the government
had wiretapped Trump’s personal attorney Michael Cohen. NBC later corrected the
story after three senior U.S. officials said there was no wiretap. This “get
Trump” story was absolutely false.
May 7, 2018, CNBC’s Kevin Breuninger reported that Trump’s
personal lawyer, Cohen, paid $1 million in fines related to unauthorized cars
in his taxi business, had been barred from managing taxi medallions, had
transferred $60 million offshore to avoid paying debts, and is awaiting trial
on charges of failing to pay millions in taxes. A later correction stated that
none of that was true. This “get Trump” story was absolutely false.
On May 16, 2018, The New York Times’ Julie Hirschfeld Davis,
AP, CNN’s Oliver Darcy and others excerpted a Trump comment as if he had
referred to immigrants or illegal immigrants generally as “animals.” Most
outlets corrected their reports later to note that Trump had specifically
referred to members of the murderous criminal gang MS-13. This “get Trump” story
was absolutely false.
On May 28, 2018, The New York Times’ Magazine
editor-in-chief Jake Silverstein and CNN’s Hadas Gold shared a story with
photos of immigrant children in cages as if they were new photos taken under
the Trump administration. The article and photos were actually taken in 2014
under the Obama administration. This “get Trump” story was absolutely false.
We don’t watch the news because it isn’t news. It is cheap,
manipulative, propaganda dressed up as "news" to influence elections. Anyone watching the "news" to stay "informed" is becoming increasingly uninformed.
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