SHOT. . .
Vox’s Aaron Rupar shared this 20-second clip with now over 10 million views that went mega-viral with blue-checks quoting from the news conference in Atlanta that left the impression that a police officer said the suspect in the murders was having a “bad day.”
Rupar wrote, “‘Yesterday was a really bad day for him and this is what he did’ — a law enforcement official explains Robert Aaron Long’s decision to kill 8 people in a strange manner”:
"Yesterday was a really bad day for him and this is what he did" — a law enforcement official explains Robert Aaron Long's decision to kill 8 people in a strange manner pic.twitter.com/u0zFcqjbNK
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 17, 2021
CHASER. . .
And that narrative was BS. From Vox founder Matthew Yglesias who listened to the entire clip and says the cop was “relaying the suspect’s statement to the press as part of the briefing”:
Remember the racist cop who excused the Atlanta spa shooter by saying he had a “really bad day”?
Turns out that if you watch the video in context that’s not what happened … he was relaying the suspect’s statement to the press as part of a briefing. https://t.co/RjRcsjroXz
— Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias) March 19, 2021
You think?
may have been some bad reporting here https://t.co/R532s8DrSf
— Just a former candidate (@madrid4nyc) March 19, 2021
“The new will forever more be, not just fake, but optional”:
This is why I don't care about deep fakes: you can have perfectly recorded video that's effortlessly streamable and confirmable, and still contextualize the convenient narrative above truth.
This will never end. The news will forever more be, not just fake, but optional. https://t.co/82eYqdoVdJ
— Antonio García Martínez (@antoniogm) March 19, 2021
The fact that Rupar shared it should have been a giveaway, too:
Guys, if you see the video is from Aaron Rupar, just assume you’re being misled, okay? https://t.co/XHOu6k3Iog
— Emily Zanotti (@emzanotti) March 19, 2021
Do better, Vox:
So this is the origin of the viral story: a Vox dot com journalist misrepresents a LE official's summary of what the suspect said to investigators as his own explanation.
How many people even bothered to watch this clip, let alone the full video?
Disgusting. https://t.co/95hJ3TK6k9
— Cathy Young (@CathyYoung63) March 18, 2021
***
Join the conversation as a VIP Member