JimBowie1958
Old Fogey
- Sep 25, 2011
- 63,590
- 16,753
- 2,220
This is just amazing to me, but I guess it is confirmation bias coupled with stereotypical views of regular Americans that incline them to believe the worst of Americans in general.
Why Does the MSM Keep Falling for Obvious Hoaxes?
This is just sad:
If there was a "national outrage" over the dubious incident, it was limited to gullible left-wing journalists, celebrities, politicians, and activists.
The "narrative" only seemed "cut-and-dry" to people who were looking at the case through lenses clouded by their anti-Trump bias. It seemed made up to those of us who noticed that Smollett's allegations were outlandish, implausible, and riddled with inconsistencies from the get-go....
Yet even as his story started falling apart (which happened almost immediately), the national media clung to their precious narrative.
There's been much commentary in the past few days about the MSM's lack of critical thinking skills in covering not only the Jussie Smollett "hate crime" fairy tale, but a number of other bogus stories as well.
Over the years, the MSM has fallen for hundreds of hate crime hoaxes, reporting on them as if they were confirmed facts, rather than mere allegations. By the time the story is proven to be a hoax, the media has already moved on to the next manufactured outrage. This phenomenon has only increased since the election of President Trump. Yet people still expressed shock and surprise when it became obvious that Smollett had staged his own hate crime....
The AP goes on to note that "there is a consensus among those who very vocally supported Smollett from the outset, it’s that no matter what happens in this case, they will still believe victims."
They say this even as the egg is still dripping from their faces. Meanwhile, Trump supporters who are sick of being smeared are said to be "gleeful" because another hate crime manufactured to make them look bad turned out to be a hoax.
But fake hate crimes aren't the only type of bogus story the MSM routinely falls for.
In the past two years the national media has also rushed to embrace the phony Steele dossier, a multitude of fake Deep State leaks on the Trump/Russia probe that turned out to be spectacularly wrong, the outlandish Kavanaugh smears, and the Covington smears.
PJ Media's own Roger Simon called the media's propensity for believing the unbelievable "magical thinking."
Good Therapy defines magical thinking as "the belief that one’s own thoughts, wishes, or desires can influence the external world. It is common in very young children. A four-year-old child, for example, might believe that after wishing for a pony, one will appear at his or her house."
Another possible explanation for the media's gullibility would be confirmation bias, which is defined as "the tendency to search for, interpret, favor, and recall information in a way that confirms one's preexisting beliefs or hypotheses." The overwhelmingly liberal media tend to embrace stories that confirm their own biases and ignore those that don't.
The Federalist's Mollie Hemingway meanwhile bluntly noted on Twitter that much of the media's credulous reporting on dubious stories in recent months can be explained by the fact that a lot of reporters just aren't terribly bright.
Mollie
✔@MZHemingway· [URL='https://twitter.com/MZHemingway/status/1097207477035249664']Feb 17, 2019
[/URL]
The elephant in the room for media malfeasance discussions is that many reporters are simply not smart. They fall for hoaxes easily. Over and over and over again They are obviously not well read. That this is combined with a completely unwarranted arrogance compounds the problem.
Mollie
✔@MZHemingway
They uncritically accepted "MAGA thugs roving Chicago, attacking celebrities." People that politically biased and stupid are simply not going to have the appropriate amount of skepticism for an actual $$multi-million info op such as "Trump-Russia!" run by skilled professionals.
https://twitter.com/intent/like?tweet_id=1097209789795450881
Why Does the MSM Keep Falling for Obvious Hoaxes?
This is just sad:
The national outrage that simmered after actor Jussie Smollett said he was attacked by people shouting racial and anti-gay slurs was fueled in part by celebrities who spoke out loud and strong on social media.
But the outrage has now been replaced by surprise, doubt and bafflement as the singers, actors and politicians who came out in support of the “Empire” star struggle to digest the strange twists the case has taken. Some conservative pundits, meanwhile, have gleefully seized on the moment.
The narrative that just a week ago seemed cut-and-dry has become messy and divisive — and it’s all playing out again on social media.
But the outrage has now been replaced by surprise, doubt and bafflement as the singers, actors and politicians who came out in support of the “Empire” star struggle to digest the strange twists the case has taken. Some conservative pundits, meanwhile, have gleefully seized on the moment.
The narrative that just a week ago seemed cut-and-dry has become messy and divisive — and it’s all playing out again on social media.
If there was a "national outrage" over the dubious incident, it was limited to gullible left-wing journalists, celebrities, politicians, and activists.
The "narrative" only seemed "cut-and-dry" to people who were looking at the case through lenses clouded by their anti-Trump bias. It seemed made up to those of us who noticed that Smollett's allegations were outlandish, implausible, and riddled with inconsistencies from the get-go....
Yet even as his story started falling apart (which happened almost immediately), the national media clung to their precious narrative.
There's been much commentary in the past few days about the MSM's lack of critical thinking skills in covering not only the Jussie Smollett "hate crime" fairy tale, but a number of other bogus stories as well.
Over the years, the MSM has fallen for hundreds of hate crime hoaxes, reporting on them as if they were confirmed facts, rather than mere allegations. By the time the story is proven to be a hoax, the media has already moved on to the next manufactured outrage. This phenomenon has only increased since the election of President Trump. Yet people still expressed shock and surprise when it became obvious that Smollett had staged his own hate crime....
The AP goes on to note that "there is a consensus among those who very vocally supported Smollett from the outset, it’s that no matter what happens in this case, they will still believe victims."
DuVernay said: “Whatever the outcome, this won’t stop me from believing others. It can’t.”
Gay echoed her sentiments, tweeting that she does not regret believing Smollett.
“I’m not going to stop believing people who say they have suffered,” Gay wrote. “Because more often than not they are telling the truth.”
Gay echoed her sentiments, tweeting that she does not regret believing Smollett.
“I’m not going to stop believing people who say they have suffered,” Gay wrote. “Because more often than not they are telling the truth.”
They say this even as the egg is still dripping from their faces. Meanwhile, Trump supporters who are sick of being smeared are said to be "gleeful" because another hate crime manufactured to make them look bad turned out to be a hoax.
But fake hate crimes aren't the only type of bogus story the MSM routinely falls for.
In the past two years the national media has also rushed to embrace the phony Steele dossier, a multitude of fake Deep State leaks on the Trump/Russia probe that turned out to be spectacularly wrong, the outlandish Kavanaugh smears, and the Covington smears.
PJ Media's own Roger Simon called the media's propensity for believing the unbelievable "magical thinking."
Good Therapy defines magical thinking as "the belief that one’s own thoughts, wishes, or desires can influence the external world. It is common in very young children. A four-year-old child, for example, might believe that after wishing for a pony, one will appear at his or her house."
Another possible explanation for the media's gullibility would be confirmation bias, which is defined as "the tendency to search for, interpret, favor, and recall information in a way that confirms one's preexisting beliefs or hypotheses." The overwhelmingly liberal media tend to embrace stories that confirm their own biases and ignore those that don't.
The Federalist's Mollie Hemingway meanwhile bluntly noted on Twitter that much of the media's credulous reporting on dubious stories in recent months can be explained by the fact that a lot of reporters just aren't terribly bright.
Mollie✔@MZHemingway· [URL='https://twitter.com/MZHemingway/status/1097207477035249664']Feb 17, 2019
[/URL]
The elephant in the room for media malfeasance discussions is that many reporters are simply not smart. They fall for hoaxes easily. Over and over and over again They are obviously not well read. That this is combined with a completely unwarranted arrogance compounds the problem.
Mollie✔@MZHemingway
They uncritically accepted "MAGA thugs roving Chicago, attacking celebrities." People that politically biased and stupid are simply not going to have the appropriate amount of skepticism for an actual $$multi-million info op such as "Trump-Russia!" run by skilled professionals.
https://twitter.com/intent/like?tweet_id=1097209789795450881
