Media Graffitti
Source: Mueller Disputes BuzzFeed News Report Claiming Trump Directed Michael Cohen Testimony | ValuBitNews
Over the past decade, the subtleties of media bias have been brusquely pushed aside by much more aggressive story lines. Whereas in the past, editorial spin would be used to characterize a set of events in a certain light, these little fibs have given way to blatant full blown whoppers. Rest assured, the media still plays the Orwellian word game. For example, there was the recent violent home invasion in New York that was perpetrated by an unwanted house visitor . We do know that the perpetrator was introduced to an unwanted bullet in his body and consequently suffered an unwanted death, thereby saving the community the cost of prosecution and incarceration. I’m surprised he wasn’t characterized as considerate.
But that’s all man bites dog stuff compared to the bonanza of fake news emanating from the activities of anything Trump. Ever since his improbable bursting on to the political scene a few short years ago, there has been a geyser of fake news from every quarter of the media sewer. It’s as if Donald Trump became the straw doll that they use in psychology offices to indicate where a client had been victimized. His appearance has revealed the massive hold that mental illness has on a large part of the population. Even here in Canada, where we have our own comic book character of a Prime Minister, the media outlets are practically giddy when any sniff of Trump’s troubles percolates from south of the border.
While some news outlets vainly try to maintain some credibility, most have clearly given up and are essentially spreaders of gossip and innuendo. CNN is now the enfant terrible of the media purveyors but others are not far behind. The particular outlet in the news recently, Buzzfeed, is basically scribbling obscenities on bathroom walls at bus stations; they are essentially media graffiti. They used to make fun of the National Enquirer; but at the Enquirer, stories are at least fact checked. If they say Nancy Pelosi is a Martian, you can take that to the bank. Buzzfeed alleges that Trump had directed his disgraced lawyer, Michael Cohen, to lie to Congress. The frenzy that surrounded that little morsel was like rabid dogs fighting over a discarded piece of hamburger. The media hadn’t been this giddy since the revelations of Trump peeing in a Russian hotel room: also fake and also by coincidence, reported by Buzzfeed.
Most don’t know that Buzzfeed is owned by NBC, so it’s a clever way to issue fake news without incriminating themselves. This would be like the Ford Modelling agency also owning an escort business on the side. Some smart lawyer will have to figure out whether there’s any culpability on the part of the parent company and so at least the lawyers win again. The first amendment is always cited as protection for the dissemination of scurrilous information, but someone will figure out that libel and slander laws are also in play….not to mention sedition.
The real tragedy of this comedy is that there is still a market for this stuff. There remains a large constituency of the population waiting for the latest hint of the President’s demise like mental patients waiting for their evening medication. It’s a sad commentary because they don’t realize that if Trump fails, so does the nation.