It’s the classic chicken and the egg question, except this one has an easy answer: Did people start mistrusting the press because Donald Trump so often referred to them as “fake news” during the 2016 campaign, or was he just tapping into what so very many people already thought?
The New York Times is calling this “The Week that QAnon Went Mainstream,” in part because on Tuesday, Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene from Georgia, who has been vocal in her support of QAnon, won a primary runoff. QAnon is a nice distraction from the Democratic ticket who refuse to take questions from the press, but Erick Erickson says one reason for its spread is because no one trusts the media to play things straight. As we just told you, CNN’s Jim Acosta is marking the anniversary of Trump calling neo-Nazis “very fine people,” which is a hoax easily debunked by watching the press conference or reading a transcript.
You know, one reason for the spread of QAnon is because of people's general lack of trust in the American press these days to play things straight. And the media would rather blame Republicans for crticizing them than self-reflect on what they themselves have done.
— Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) August 15, 2020
Al Jazeera English news editor Jeffrey Ballou says, no, the mistrust comes from Republicans’ demonization of the press.
The mistrust is in part because the GOP demonized the press.
— Jeffrey Ballou (@jpballoujourn1) August 15, 2020
“In part” — as in, maybe 1 percent. Does Ballou really think Trump shouting about fake news has any Rachel Maddow fans rethinking her conspiracy theories? Is Erickson right on this one or is he right?
That is exactly right.
— Denny Burk (@DennyBurk) August 15, 2020
Recommended
Fact check: TRUE!
— Jumpin Jehosaphat (@JumpinJehosapht) August 15, 2020
They earned that all on their own.
— Lake Bum (@dustopian) August 15, 2020
which wouldn't work if the media played it straight. there'd be no examples to legitimize it.
— Brack (@bdzbdz) August 15, 2020
No, the GOP demonizes the press because they have been biased for decades, but they at least still pretended they were fair. They no longer even do that, they openly take sides & flat out hide or grossly distort facts. I fear they are broken beyond repair.
— CL_102938 (@CL_102938) August 15, 2020
The press lied repeatedly, consistently, and unashamedly for three years, but the Republicans pointing that out is the problem.
-J.P. Ballou, Sooooper Genius
— Biden physical must include a cognitive assessment (@FollowFew1) August 15, 2020
After 3 straight years of Russiagate lies being the mainstream media’s #1 story they thoroughly deserved the demonization. They have utterly discredited themselves.
— Helot (@Helot_) August 15, 2020
In part operative phrase here. The major contributing factor is that the press allowed themselves to cease any semblance of objectivity and actively shill for their selected politicians and political sides. No one trusts them. People then look for “news” online, and believe it.
— texanconstitutionalist (@texanconstitut1) August 15, 2020
Now that the Democratic ticket’s been settled, we’ll see if CNN’s Chris Cillizza is right in that reporters don’t take sides. They’ve just tried to turn Sen. Kamala Harris into a “pragmatic moderate” and a “small-c conservative” — and those are the nation’s two major papers.
Blaming Republicans for disinformation journos continue to disseminate? Wow, you just provided a prime example of why you are not trusted.
— Katie Campbell (@mrsrdc1) August 15, 2020
How about Acosta again this week, insisting that the idea that the Obama administration spied on the Trump campaign was “just not true.” And CNN again, trying to rehabilitate Dan Rather by having him as a regular guest on a show called “Reliable Sources.”
Right. That's it. pic.twitter.com/oTaSFlMlK2
— Lady Hellcat – FAFO (@hellcat_lady) August 15, 2020
Logic escapes you. Effect-and-cause isn’t a thing.
— Jeff Vader (@chaiseloungery) August 15, 2020
Anyone who’s tired of the lies and breathless accusations should mistrust them. Lies are lies. And the media isn’t supposed to take sides yet here we are.
— Stephen_S_C (@Stephen_S_C) August 15, 2020
Shame on the @GOP for not taking years of corporate media's pro-Democrat, anti-Republican lying, obfuscation, misdirection, deception, omission, slander and libel lying down.
— Discarded Virtues (@DiscardedVirtue) August 15, 2020
The disingenuous statements, commentary stated as facts and outright lies by the media is what caused the public to distrust the media. To say otherwise is, in itself, just another lie.
Try harder.— T.C. Gowan ?????????? E Pluribus Unum! (@teeisme1) August 15, 2020
The GOP forcing the media to openly act as the DNC PR team is diabolical
— RightWingStunter (@AiderNr) August 15, 2020
The mistrust is because media has lied in the past to the American people, hid things, and covered for their buddies. After people have started figuring this out, ratings tanked for nearly all news media because people started tuning out in large numbers.
— Megan (@iMegan_) August 15, 2020
The media demonized itself…
— Drama Shep (@SadPuppy15) August 15, 2020
Members of the press — especially those who seem to realize they deserve it — really don’t like being called “fake news.”
Related:
‘That is just not true. That did not happen’: CNN’s Jim Acosta sets us all straight on the Obama administration spying on the Trump campaign https://t.co/2mZK9Z6gxY
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) August 14, 2020
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