What A Weekend for Media Accuracy

 

On Friday, the news exploded with the news of what would have been the end of the Trump presidency, a BuzzFeed story about how Trump’s lawyer Michael Cohen was instructed to lie to Congress. For the individuals giddy at the prospect, the news spread like wildfire. For the rest of us, alarm bells went off immediately.

And then, came this equally large bomb:

Later reporting further sunk BuzzFeed’s boat:

One would think media consumers would’ve learned their lesson about immediately believing narratives involving Trump. You would be wrong.

Later in the weekend, we saw this:

For journalists who spent just a few minutes doing some research before trying to destroy the lives of high school kids and their school, the story fell apart.

https://twitter.com/robbysoave/status/1087088839447977984

Nobody burst Oliver Darcy’s bubble.

 

 

Published in Journalism
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  1. Instugator Thatcher
    Instugator
    @Instugator

    Fake News truly is the enemy of the people.

    • #1
  2. F14Dave Inactive
    F14Dave
    @F14Dave

    Don’t forget this article that was removed from National Review Online:

    https://archive.li/tlwIV

    The Covington Students Might as Well Have Just Spit on the Cross

    By NICHOLAS FRANKOVICH

    It appears that most of the teenagers in this video are from a Catholic high school near Covington, Kentucky, across the Ohio River from Cincinnati. They mock a serious, frail-looking older man and gloat in their momentary role as Roman soldiers to his Christ. “Bullying” is a worn-out word and doesn’t convey the full extent of the evil on display here.

    Here’s Frankovich’s final line: As for the putatively Catholic students from Covington, they might as well have just spit on the cross and got it over with. 

    In NRO’s defense, they did put it down the memory hole: https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/nathan-phillips-covington-catholic-high-school-march-for-life-mocking-students-spit-cross/

    • #2
  3. F14Dave Inactive
    F14Dave
    @F14Dave

    Two more current posts from National Review Online, both of which condemn the press for jumping on the Covington Catholic story, and neither of which acknowledge that NRO itself did so too.

    https://www.nationalreview.com/2019/01/nathan-phillips-lied-the-media-bought-it/

    https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/when-the-press-sees-red/

    Shouldn’t a mea culpa be in order, or am I missing it?

    • #3
  4. EJHill Podcaster
    EJHill
    @EJHill

    F14Dave: In NRO’s defense, they did put it down the memory hole:

    I’m not sure that’s a defense. If you’re going to take on a 17-yo kid you’ve never met and call him “evil” it should be hung around your neck. This calls for more than “Oooops.”

    • #4
  5. Mike "Lash" LaRoche Inactive
    Mike "Lash" LaRoche
    @MikeLaRoche

    Donald Trump is right. As usual.

    • #5
  6. Mike "Lash" LaRoche Inactive
    Mike "Lash" LaRoche
    @MikeLaRoche

    There should be serious repercussions for those pundits and celebrities who called for the students to be doxxed or attacked.

    • #6
  7. Django Member
    Django
    @Django

    F14Dave (View Comment):

    Two more current posts from National Review Online, both of which condemn the press for jumping on the Covington Catholic story, and neither of which acknowledge that NRO itself did so too.

    https://www.nationalreview.com/2019/01/nathan-phillips-lied-the-media-bought-it/

    https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/when-the-press-sees-red/

    Shouldn’t a mea culpa be in order, or am I missing it?

    They, or at least Lowry, did.

    https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/the-lincoln-memorial-hoax/

    • #7
  8. F14Dave Inactive
    F14Dave
    @F14Dave

    Django (View Comment):

    F14Dave (View Comment):

    Two more current posts from National Review Online, both of which condemn the press for jumping on the Covington Catholic story, and neither of which acknowledge that NRO itself did so too.

    https://www.nationalreview.com/2019/01/nathan-phillips-lied-the-media-bought-it/

    https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/when-the-press-sees-red/

    Shouldn’t a mea culpa be in order, or am I missing it?

    They, or at least Lowry, did.

    https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/the-lincoln-memorial-hoax/

    That’s good to see.  However, my takeaway is that conservatives (especially Trump supporters) can never absolutely-positively-when-it-has-to-be-there-overnight rely on support from other conservatives.

    • #8
  9. Django Member
    Django
    @Django

    F14Dave (View Comment):

    Django (View Comment):

    F14Dave (View Comment):

    Two more current posts from National Review Online, both of which condemn the press for jumping on the Covington Catholic story, and neither of which acknowledge that NRO itself did so too.

    https://www.nationalreview.com/2019/01/nathan-phillips-lied-the-media-bought-it/

    https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/when-the-press-sees-red/

    Shouldn’t a mea culpa be in order, or am I missing it?

    They, or at least Lowry, did.

    https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/the-lincoln-memorial-hoax/

    That’s good to see. However, my takeaway is that conservatives (especially Trump supporters) can never absolutely-positively-when-it-has-to-be-there-overnight rely on support from other conservatives.

    I agree. And it is not as if NRO made this retraction all that easy to see. 

    • #9
  10. DonG Coolidge
    DonG
    @DonG

    The media will only get worse as “deep fakes” become more prevalent.  They won’t even have to keep the pretense of being responsible.

    And yes, the media are not held to account.  What would help is to bring back the sting of libel laws.  Sue National Review into bankruptcy. 

    • #10
  11. Neil Hansen (Klaatu) Inactive
    Neil Hansen (Klaatu)
    @Klaatu

    F14Dave (View Comment):

    Two more current posts from National Review Online, both of which condemn the press for jumping on the Covington Catholic story, and neither of which acknowledge that NRO itself did so too.

    https://www.nationalreview.com/2019/01/nathan-phillips-lied-the-media-bought-it/

    https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/when-the-press-sees-red/

    Shouldn’t a mea culpa be in order, or am I missing it?

    Neither Kyle Smith nor MBD are editors who are in a position to offer a mea culpa on behalf of National Review.  That responsibility falls to Rich Lowry and he did just that.

    • #11
  12. aardo vozz Member
    aardo vozz
    @aardovozz

    I would eliminate the middle three words of the OP title.

    <sarcasm off>

    <cynicism always on >

    • #12
  13. Gumby Mark (R-Meth Lab of Demo… Coolidge
    Gumby Mark (R-Meth Lab of Demo…
    @GumbyMark

    This is way bigger than the two latest stories.  It began in the Obama administration and accelerated with the election of Trump.  What we have with the confluence of the “non-partisan” media with social media is deliberate “flooding the zone”.  Keep the stories coming, regardless of accuracy.  When one is debunked never acknowledge, just roll out the next story, as long as it is consistent with your overall theme.  Force the enemy (non-Progressives) to constantly defend themselves and waste time trying to disprove stories.  Provide comforting pablum to progressives, constantly reaffirming their faith, and for those not particularly political create an atmosphere conducive to them believing “where there is smoke, there is fire”.

    • #13
  14. DrewInWisconsin Member
    DrewInWisconsin
    @DrewInWisconsin

    Django (View Comment):

    F14Dave (View Comment):

    Shouldn’t a mea culpa be in order, or am I missing it?

    They, or at least Lowry, did.

    https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/the-lincoln-memorial-hoax/

    The words “We are sorry” or “We apologize” or any similar expression appear nowhere. There was no mea culpa.

    Neil Hansen (Klaatu) (View Comment):
    Neither Kyle Smith nor MBD are editors who are in a position to offer a mea culpa on behalf of National Review. That responsibility falls to Rich Lowry and he did just that.

    No, he didn’t.

    This is the closest he gets:

    I deleted my original tweet and we also took down a strongly worded post by my colleague Nick Frankovich that relied on the incomplete video. It’s another reminder — even for an old hand like me — that it’s best not to make snap judgments and to wait for all sides of a controversy to have a chance to be heard.

    Not a word for the student(s) who were slandered by the media and who faced expulsion from their schools due to media lies — lies NRO spread.

    • #14
  15. Vance Richards Inactive
    Vance Richards
    @VanceRichards

    When fact checking consists of nothing more than “A guy on Twitter said it’s true” then why even have journalists?

    • #15
  16. Neil Hansen (Klaatu) Inactive
    Neil Hansen (Klaatu)
    @Klaatu

    DrewInWisconsin (View Comment):
    Not a word for the student(s) who were slandered by the media and who faced expulsion from their schools due to media lies — lies NRO spread.

    FWIW, mea culpa is an acknowledgement of error, not an apology.

    He admitted error and corrected the record.  That is more than sufficient.

    • #16
  17. DrewInWisconsin Member
    DrewInWisconsin
    @DrewInWisconsin

    Neil Hansen (Klaatu) (View Comment):

    DrewInWisconsin (View Comment):
    Not a word for the student(s) who were slandered by the media and who faced expulsion from their schools due to media lies — lies NRO spread.

    FWIW, mea culpa is an acknowledgement of error, not an apology.

    He admitted error and corrected the record. That is more than sufficient.

    98% of the commenters at NRO disagree with you.

    • #17
  18. Neil Hansen (Klaatu) Inactive
    Neil Hansen (Klaatu)
    @Klaatu

    DrewInWisconsin (View Comment):

    Neil Hansen (Klaatu) (View Comment):

    DrewInWisconsin (View Comment):
    Not a word for the student(s) who were slandered by the media and who faced expulsion from their schools due to media lies — lies NRO spread.

    FWIW, mea culpa is an acknowledgement of error, not an apology.

    He admitted error and corrected the record. That is more than sufficient.

    98% of the commenters at NRO disagree with you.

    And?

    • #18
  19. Django Member
    Django
    @Django

    Neil Hansen (Klaatu) (View Comment):

    DrewInWisconsin (View Comment):
    Not a word for the student(s) who were slandered by the media and who faced expulsion from their schools due to media lies — lies NRO spread.

    He admitted error and corrected the record. That is more than sufficient.

    This is how bad it has gotten. NRO could have put the retraction on the “front page” and not in the corner. 

     

    • #19
  20. Neil Hansen (Klaatu) Inactive
    Neil Hansen (Klaatu)
    @Klaatu

    Django (View Comment):
    This is how bad it has gotten. NRO could have put the retraction on the “front page” and not in the corner. 

    The offending posts were in The Corner.

    • #20
  21. DrewInWisconsin Member
    DrewInWisconsin
    @DrewInWisconsin

    Neil Hansen (Klaatu) (View Comment):

    DrewInWisconsin (View Comment):

    Neil Hansen (Klaatu) (View Comment):

    DrewInWisconsin (View Comment):
    Not a word for the student(s) who were slandered by the media and who faced expulsion from their schools due to media lies — lies NRO spread.

    FWIW, mea culpa is an acknowledgement of error, not an apology.

    He admitted error and corrected the record. That is more than sufficient.

    98% of the commenters at NRO disagree with you.

    And?

    Should give you pause.

    • #21
  22. Django Member
    Django
    @Django

    Neil Hansen (Klaatu) (View Comment):

    Django (View Comment):
    This is how bad it has gotten. NRO could have put the retraction on the “front page” and not in the corner.

    The offending posts were in The Corner.

    So?

    • #22
  23. Neil Hansen (Klaatu) Inactive
    Neil Hansen (Klaatu)
    @Klaatu

    DrewInWisconsin (View Comment):
    Should give you pause.

    Why, isn’t argumentum ad populum a logical fallacy for a reason?

    • #23
  24. Neil Hansen (Klaatu) Inactive
    Neil Hansen (Klaatu)
    @Klaatu

    Django (View Comment):

    Neil Hansen (Klaatu) (View Comment):

    Django (View Comment):
    This is how bad it has gotten. NRO could have put the retraction on the “front page” and not in the corner.

    The offending posts were in The Corner.

    So?

    It is, therefore, an appropriate place for the retraction.

    • #24
  25. Neil Hansen (Klaatu) Inactive
    Neil Hansen (Klaatu)
    @Klaatu

    The anger here directed at National Review is senseless.  NR made a mistake, acknowledged the mistake, and retracted the mistaken posts.  I do not understand why anyone believes anything else is necessary.

    • #25
  26. Django Member
    Django
    @Django

    Neil Hansen (Klaatu) (View Comment):

    Django (View Comment):

    Neil Hansen (Klaatu) (View Comment):

    Django (View Comment):
    This is how bad it has gotten. NRO could have put the retraction on the “front page” and not in the corner.

    The offending posts were in The Corner.

    So?

    It is, therefore, an appropriate place for the retraction.

    I don’t agree simply because of the threats being directed toward the students. NRO was not the only outlet making the error, but could possibly have helped the situation by making the retraction more visible. It would have been the correct thing to do. 

    • #26
  27. DrewInWisconsin Member
    DrewInWisconsin
    @DrewInWisconsin

    Bill Kristol’s new “The Bulwark” is still treating the Buzzfeed story as legit.

    Because of course they are.

     

    • #27
  28. Neil Hansen (Klaatu) Inactive
    Neil Hansen (Klaatu)
    @Klaatu

    The student at the center of the story has issued a statement.

     

    • #28
  29. DrewInWisconsin Member
    DrewInWisconsin
    @DrewInWisconsin

    DonG (View Comment):
    And yes, the media are not held to account. What would help is to bring back the sting of libel laws. Sue National Review into bankruptcy. 

    Well, they’d be pretty far down on the list. But yes, it would be nice to see some lawsuits directed at media outlets who are endangering kids’ lives.

    What makes a liberal want to punch a child?

    Rhetorical questions about punching kids? Imagine the response of Aslan’s professional friends if he’d asked that about, say, one of the high schoolers campaigning for gun control after the Parkland, Florida shootings. Or imagine Aslan saying that about any teenager who’s not wearing a MAGA hat. Nonviolence and protecting children don’t apply when you’re an enemy to the woke, enlightened left. And another double-standard bears mention, as well: watch the rest of the nine-minute video with the Covington teens after the encounter with the Indian activists. Also on the scene are a group of Black Hebrew Israelites, a crackpot sect that takes this occasion to spew gay-baiting rhetoric at the Covington teenagers. This part of the Covington’s teens’ experience in Washington, D.C. has somehow gone unmentioned in most media, and the social justice enforcers on Twitter have not paid any attention at all to the hate explicitly vented here — certainly nothing like the outrage lavished on the Phillips-Covington incident.

    • #29
  30. Richard Easton Coolidge
    Richard Easton
    @RichardEaston

    The Black Hebrew Israelites were at the Chinatown Metro stop in D.C. when I happened to be there on a Friday a couple of years ago.  They were preaching  hatred of white people in general (with nasty signs).  They were also at the Lincoln Memorial when the unpleasantness occurred.

    • #30
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