Riffed from the Headlines is VIP Townhall’s daily program that discusses the deeply flawed aspects of journalism in the country. We will seek to hold you accountable for blunders, inappropriate actions, bad deeds, manipulation, abuse and fabricated narratives in the mainstream media.
The continuing mess of the story of the 10-year-old Ohio girl who was raped and had to travel to Indiana to have an abortion continues to be troublesome. On CNN, Jake Tapper focused on a key aspect of this story – what people on the right are saying about it.
Tapper went on a lengthy tirade, sharply criticizing all politicians and media members who dared to ask questions about his story, even if it was strangely under-researched, as stated I mentioned this weekend.
However, Jake has adopted very similar attitudes to those he is livid with. During Sunday’s panel, he actually mentioned that the entire story stems from a single source and stated that he wanted more information.
PS On Sunday, CNN’s Jake Tapper seemed skeptical about the rape of a 10-year-old Ohio girl!
That’s true, he didn’t insist that it wasn’t true or that the abortionist lied. That said, it hasn’t sold yet!
So for him to spend almost 5 minutes on Thursday destroying the right side is… hypocritical! pic.twitter.com/Az0Jcfzys9
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) July 14, 2022
Given the mother’s contradictory statements and doubts about the doctor’s report, it seems reasonable to question the details. But doing this will make Jake grumpy.
Craft narratives – NEW YORK WAREHOUSE
In the ironically titled Intelligencer section of New York Magazine, Jonathan Chait wrote what he felt was a long-running crackdown on activist Christopher Rufo. He quoted Rufo, who suggested to the audience how to create distrust in school systems to justify parents’ school choice.
Rufo noticed this and exclaimed Chait and New York Magazine for misquoting it. As it shows, he said schools have already created the lack of trust he was talking about. Intelligence had to go back, change the quote and make a correction at the bottom of Chait’s letter.
In a brazenly uninformed manner, Chait admits to the fabrication AND pathetically tries to blame Rufo for his hacking.
In fact, the misquote said virtually the same thing as the original. The misquote was minor (I’ll quote both later), but we corrected it because, unlike Rufo, we have standards. https://t.co/lcsVeMlTRM
— Jonathan Chait (@jonathanchait) July 14, 2022
Report in Mirror –CNN
- Then it will be considered racist to suggest impartial reporting.
Just yesterday, we mentioned a Pew Research survey that found that most journalists agree they don’t have to cover both sides of a story. Now we have a prominent CNN personality boldly declaring it.
One of the most critical comments from CNN’s up-to-date management is that they want the network’s coverage to return to reportage journalism, covering all sides of the news and giving Republicans equal time on the air. Now Don Lemon has essentially declared that he will not follow the directives of his up-to-date superiors.
A bitter Don Lemon on air blasts CNN’s up-to-date boss, Chris Licht, calling him “the people responsible for what we… the American press publishes” and condemning the GOP’s desire to be treated fairly.
“Republicans are doing something that is very dangerous for our society,” he sneers. pic.twitter.com/jRr7Grz9Q6— Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) July 14, 2022
Don’s disdain for research and looking at all sides of a story seems to extend to grades. His own prime-time show fails to attract a significant audience, so his decision to renege on his boss’s words in the face of abysmal audience numbers is a self-fulfilling destiny.
Low octane gas lighting – POLITICS
The desperate attempts of a sympathetic press to suggest that terrible economic factors are actually good continue. Perhaps those who earn significantly less can suspend their subscriptions to these news outlets – “…and that’s a good thing.”
The pay rises are getting smaller. This could be good for workers. https://t.co/kYxgY398WU
— Caboodle News (@newscaboodle) July 13, 2022
DNC PR company – HILL
The fallout from First Lady Jill calling Latinos “tacos” continues, and The Hill is covering the case to make clear that something negative could come from it. You see, these Latino voters are owned by the Democratic Party, and the result of any Latinos voting Republican would be a theft by the GOP. Of course, taking into account people’s party ownership is never seen as a disturbing position.
GOP sees opportunity to steal Latino voters from Democrats https://t.co/exjZNLuLCc pic.twitter.com/k5Dk3XE3QV
— The Hill (@thehill) July 14, 2022
Legalized press publication –CNN
- When this is seen as the height of political commentary, maybe it’s time to step back…
Things have taken a ridiculous turn in the current Pennsylvania Senate race. John Fetterman released a cellphone video that was… well, not exactly an endorsement, but a vicious dose of insult directed at his opponent, Dr. Mehmet Oz. Chris Cillizza was clearly impressed by this shrill and unfunny statement from an overlooked reality TV character.
Monster troll move https://t.co/Qajoswsdxf
— Chris Cillizza (@ChrisCillizza) July 14, 2022
That Cillizza is even impressed by Snooki’s political comments says a lot – not about the Senate race, but about Cillizza’s talents.
