OldLady
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- Nov 16, 2015
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I've been taking exception to quite a lot of that sort of thing lately, though of course I can't remember them specifically now that I want to. People are speaking way too "loosely" and it is being repeated by folks who should know better, but maybe they didn't have time to actually watch the news or read the paper that morning for the actual source of the quote. So they don't know they're repeating an inaccurate statement.You asked a question..I answered. For sure..if the President of the United States employs accusation of falsity as a matter of course..and the media reports it--whose fault is that?Fake news isn't a problem at all. That Trump and Trumpkins haven't any idea of what fake news is and is not, yet they persist in using that term and declaring thus any news they don't like, is the problem, and, yes, it's a big problem.
Can you give me an example of something the President has characterized as fake news that was in fact accurate?
Birtherism is the first thing that comes to mind--but I guess you are not talking about when Trump spread Fake news...
10 Times Trump Spread Fake News
Autism is caused by vaccinations is fake news..and Trump has spread it numerous times--but that isn't really what you called for either..Hmmmm..
All False statements involving Donald Trump | PolitiFact
The times he has claimed that he will not benefit from the new Tax Bill...that's the ticket..he very clearly will benefit--and he has claimed that reports that he will benefit.."fake news"
Tough call..you are not asking for the many, many times he lied..but the times he claimed someone else lied..and in fact, they were telling the truth.
There are plenty of threads referencing perception of lies told by the President. This thread is not about the President. This thread is about the media and whether or not biased/dishonest/erroneous reporting is a serious problem. Let's focus on that please.
The media is the issue..in this thread..but what also needs to be addressed..is that many people play the media..and wittingly..or not...it impacts the story.
Fake/false news is not reporting what the President said. Fake/false news is reporting what the President did not say as if he has said it, reporting it as policy when it was obviously intended as a joke, reporting it out of its full context so that it appears to be something other than was intended, etc. For example, reporting that in Pensacola last night, the President said that "everybody should have to stand for the National Anthem" when in fact he said "everybody should stand for the National Anthem" which is very different. Or reporting his opinion that pro football players who don't stand for the National Anthem should be benched or fired--an opinion I and millions of others share--as if he was stating what the national policy should be.
The first statement by Trump regarding Roy Moore was one example -- tv commentators started saying Trump was "supporting" Roy Moore when in fact our crafty President had not used those words and was simply pointing out that Moore refutes the allegations and that he (Trump) does not agree with Doug Jones' stance on policy.
Okay, as for choosing what stories to report on:
This morning I news-surfed. CSPAN's Washington Journal, NBC early morning news, and Meet the Press all brought up an article from the Huffington Post that the President watches up to 8 hrs of television per day. HuffPo's source was an in depth article from the New York Times that mentioned that fact in passing while talking about the President's perception of the Presidency and his need to keep defending his place.
Meet the Press ran out of time but Chuck Todd laughingly promised he'd "get back to it" with his analysts.
Meet the Press also used as a lead "The President's Controversial Decision to Declare Jerusalem the Capital of Israel." Could we have left out the "controversial" adjective and still had a good story? I think so. Some will argue that since the other countries of the world don't agree with Trump's decision, it is patently "controversial." To me it is just one more unnecessary shot at Trump.
With all the stuff going on in the world, could we do something other than petty, trivial Trump-shaming? Sure, report on the Russia investigation, report on NoKo, the Middle East, the California fires, discuss immigration, the tax plan, -- see, there's plenty to talk about. Petty stuff like "The President watches 8 hours of tv a day" is just catty crap we don't need.
I can't stand Trump, and like Kate McKinnon's elf character on SNL last night, I am counting the days 'til we can vote him out. But fair is fair, so I get what Foxfyre is saying. I just think she is taking it too far. There is no reason to throw out the baby with the bathwater, which it seems a lot of conservatives are doing these days.