Steve Krakauer was hosting a rousing podcast where he was helping to promote his recently released book “Uncovered” to the press, so he turned the matter over to the deposed CNN media insider, Brian Stelter. In this episode, they began to discuss the media machinations surrounding the coverage of Hunter Biden’s laptop, and Stelter somehow insists that the press acted in good faith.
- “I think newsrooms just looked around and said, ‘We don’t have a laptop. We have no evidence. We have no evidence that this is true. We also know that there are reasons to wonder if this is disinformation. – said Stelter.
The reason this is nonsense is that Stelter was unharmed at the time, promoting a letter from over 50 intelligence officials who signed on to it suggesting that the laptop was manufactured, which is Russian opposition propaganda. Newsrooms had no evidence that this was the case, yet Stelter and others simply pushed this narrative.
“Brian Stelter Defends Media Coverage of Hunter Biden’s Laptop Story in 2020: We Never Called It ‘Disinformation’”
(Fox picks up my discussion with Stelter #Uncovered – buy here: https://t.co/JD2S9IhPTz) https://t.co/AzZRagFpeL
— Steve Krakauer (@SteveKrak) February 25, 2023
Craft narratives – GRIO
Do you remember how prominent members of the journalistic elite were loudly concerned about the specter of disinformation? Well, here we have The Grio (a site bearing the excellent 100% NewsGuard label) publishing an article that states rather directly that Governor Ron DeSantis is not only banning books (proven lie), but he does it only based on mentions of black people on websites.
- “The sheer number of books that are banned for the mere mention of race, racism or black people is staggering. “What is happening in Florida is certainly reminiscent of authoritarian and fascist regimes such as Nazi Germany, which banned and burned books written by leftist, liberal and Jewish authors perceived as dangerous, anti-fascist and contrary to German values.”
OPINION: Empty the libraries and you will hide evidence of historical crimes. DeSantis and his minions want to erase Black people from history and deprive them of knowledge so that crimes can continue.
✍🏿 @davidalovehttps://t.co/yIS4lZK1FY
— theGrio.com (@theGrio) February 22, 2023
Legalized press publication – WASHINGTON POST OFFICE
While John Fetterman is in the hospital for the second time in weeks, it’s a rather puzzling discovery that his wife, Giselle, was spotted ziplining around Niagra Falls while on vacation with their children. While it would seem like a good idea to distract the children for a while, many of them questioned the priority given that John Fetterman had just been admitted to the hospital for severe depression.
In featherlight of this, one Washington Post reporter reviewed the story and declared that Gisselle is in fact a person to be admired, not questioned.
- “May we all handle the inevitable difficult times with such grace and clarity.”
It is at least arguable whether any of these terms apply.
The Washington Post reporter deleted this tweet for some reason. 🤔 https://t.co/IifrcRYANx pic.twitter.com/Z41SfYYedN
— Sister Toldjah 🌻 (@sistertoldjah) February 27, 2023
Prevention Dodge – HILL
With the breaking news that the Department of Energy announced that the Covid-19 virus likely originated in a laboratory leak, the press was in a frenzy. The people who locked up, silenced and suspended people for even asking about this possibility are now having a strenuous time explaining the situation. Then we have The Hill, which takes on such a monumental history and sees the real problem – these damn Republicans are talking about it! Get a load of all GOP verbs used in this deviation attempt.
- “Republicans are there grasp regarding the Department of Energy’s new conclusion that the Covid-19 outbreak was caused by a “lab leak.” call for swift action against the Chinese government, which has refused to cooperate with global investigations into the origins of the pandemic. The lack of confidence or details of the assessment didn’t stop Republicans affirmatively validation i vocation to take urgent action against China.”
Republicans take up ‘lab leak’ report and call for action against China https://t.co/r85FRW8LzY pic.twitter.com/aSK5DpBNmv
— The Hill (@thehill) February 27, 2023
First Amendment Strike Forces – WASHINGTON POST OFFICE
- The best way to maintain transparency is to prevent any information from reaching the public.
The news that Tucker Carlson had received a trove of surveillance footage from the Committee on January 6 caused consternation among many members of the press. One group of news outlets that had little interest in seeing these clips after the commission released its final report now the demand has increased the tapes will be released to all the press.
Appearing on MSNBC, Washington Post deep thinker Dana Milbank explains her position that the last thing we want is for the truth to come to featherlight.
- “The truth is this is not in the public domain – for anyone. Because of Kevin McCarthy’s cowardice… he is risking the safety of himself, his colleagues, and the Capitol itself“
Journalist Dana @Milbank: Americans shouldn’t see 1/6 footage at all
“It’s not in the public domain” pic.twitter.com/BfuwOwjVNQ
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) February 26, 2023
Milbank echoes the stance of another Post writer, Philip Bump, who once lobbied against the release of police bodycam footage of Paul Pelosi’s attack. Apparently withholding information is a common position among those at the newspaper with the boastful slogan ““Democracy dies in darkness.”
Report in the mirror – FOX NEWS
- Drowning out the voice of the internal media reporter.
As the lawsuit between Fox News and owner Dominion Voting Systems continues, an interesting development occurred this weekend when host Howie Kurtz revealed that he is, in fact, prohibited from commenting on the case in any capacity on his news and journalism show, Media Buzz. “
- “The company has decided that I cannot, at least for now, talk or write about this within the defendant organization. I strongly disagree with this decision. But as an employee, I have to stick to it. Some of you are asking why I don’t address the Dominion v. Fox voting machine case regarding unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud in 2020. This is an absolutely valid question and I feel I should address it given that it is a major media topic my role here at Fox.”
“The company has decided that in connection with the organization being sued, I cannot, at least for now, talk or write about it,” Kurtz said. I strongly disagree with this decision. But as an employee, I have to stick to it.” https://t.co/xceDx93osp
— Mediaite (@Mediaite) February 27, 2023
Fact Checking Authority – WASHINGTON POST OFFICE
Following most of the other journalists, Glenn Kessler finally got around to investigating whether Donald Trump’s transportation policies contributed to the train derailment in East Palestine. Even after members of the administration confirmed that the cited policies didn’t matter, Kessler dragged his feet, and we learn why.
He begins his assessment of this proposal discreetly with the words: “Yet…”
New #Fact Checker –> So far, the Ohio train crash can’t be blamed on Trump’s regulatory rollbacks https://t.co/J2PVZ4hrp4
— Glenn Kessler (@GlennKesslerWP) February 27, 2023
