With the rest of the media focused on Trump and climate at the moment, we’re going to go a level deeper and look at some #FakeNews stories that spread the sort of lies that Trump regurgitated in his Paris announcement.
First off, among the conflict of interest documents that Trump waived was one for Bannon and Breitbart. So there can be no question as to whether or not the site can be considered news or if it’s just political propaganda. This will undoubtedly make their attempt to get a permanent press pass more difficult- as well it should.
But of course, Breitbart’s not the only ideologically-driven propaganda machine. The Moscow Times has a great piece on Russia Today (RT), the Breitbart of Russia and a frequent publisher of climate change conspiracies. The description of how RT enforces a particular political “angle” to its coverage sound awfully familiar- one could easily see the exact same story, replacing RT with Breitbart, or the WSJ, or Fox News.
Or the Daily Caller. And on that, the Center for Media and Democracy has the latest exposé on the shady situation at the organization founded by Fox News’ Tucker Carlson. As we’ve touched on before, the Daily Caller is actually two organizations, a non-profit “foundation” and a for-profit media company. While it may not be violating the exact letter of the law, the Center’s investigation makes it clear they’re violating the intent. Essentially, donors (like the Kochs) can get tax write-offs (meaning the public is subsidizing “journalists” there) by giving to the foundation, which then produces stories that the for-profit side publishes and sells ads on.
If that sounds a little confusing, head over to Wonkette where they give it the full snark treatment. If you don’t feel like reading something fun but want a serious analysis, see the Washington Post’s take. And in addition to operating in a grey area when it comes to political activity as a non-profit, the company also sold Trump its email list so the campaign could blast DC subscribers with emails. Which, while probably not illegal, doesn’t exactly scream “independent media.”
And if using money the Kochs should be paying taxes on to have “reporters” like Michael Bastasch peddle climate denial and selling out to Trump isn’t bad enough, ProPublica (a legitimate non-profit news organization that doesn’t funnel its stories through a for-profit arm) reports that a story the Daily Caller ran on a white nationalist rally at a confederate monument failed to disclose that its writer spoke at the event, and “praised fascist and racist organizations, thanked a prominent Holocaust denier, and declared the beginnings of a cultural “civil war.”
RT, Breitbart, Daily Caller and Fox are the voices that, for years, drilled climate denial into many a feeble-minded old man, lacking in critical thinking skills and eagerly lapping up whatever nonsense was being served by blondes in skirts trying to avoid the leg cam.
Which wasn’t a problem, until one became president.
*No offense, sex workers.
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