Over the weekend we told you about the media covering themselves in more “firefighter” glory. It started with Jimmy Kimmel sharing a video featuring Mike Pence that was quickly debunked (Kimmel deleted his original tweet but that didn’t stop some in the media from picking up on it). Then on Sunday, NBC News’ Chuck Todd and “Meet the Press” aired a deceptively edited video about AG Bill Barr, which they subsequently issued a non-apology for what they called an “error.”
Daily Beast columnist & CNN commentator Matt Lewis worries that those kinds of, er, “mistakes,” might help Trump’s “fake news” accusations resonate:
Ugh. The Chuck Todd/Bill Barr thing comes on the heels of the Jimmy Kimmel/Mike Pence thing…. We all make mistakes, but the media’s zeal to push back on Trumpism is ironically reinforcing Trump’s dangerous “fake news” narrative…
— Matt Lewis (@mattklewis) May 11, 2020
“Mistakes”?
Reinforcing Or Proving? https://t.co/11gj7XKZqK
— Tim Pool (@Timcast) May 11, 2020
Yeah, we’re gonna go with “proving.”
Why do all the “mistakes” seem to always go in one direction?
— The OG Hillbilly (@LauraLMonroe33) May 11, 2020
"Mistakes"
My cat just about swallowed its tongue from laughing. https://t.co/F0rfmPxwxL
— Physics Geek (@physicsgeek) May 11, 2020
Now compare how many times this happens in the other direction. You’re in for another surprise.
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) May 11, 2020
“Mistakes” that only fall in one direction aren’t mistakes at all.
I'm just spitballing here, but maybe what you could do, Matt, is reserve some of your outrage for people in your profession who bring disgrace to it. Just a thought.
— Mo Mo (@molratty) May 11, 2020
What’s dangerous is the decades of fake news, not POTUS pointing out it’s fake news. Good grief.
— T.R. (@ctsa) May 11, 2020
"Dammit! Why does the fake news media keep proving that they're fake news!!" https://t.co/Prq8a1HFs0
— RBe (@RBPundit) May 11, 2020
“Your continued actions that prove Trump is right risk demonstrating how Trump is right.” https://t.co/hjSaY6UdFq
— Kurt Schlichter (@KurtSchlichter) May 11, 2020
Congrats on acknowledging two "mistakes." Now you only have few million more to acknowledge, and to acknowledge that they're not mistakes.
Then, if you're feeling really honest, you can even admit that this is why Trump is right when he calls the media fake news. https://t.co/Xm2DNWRMtS
— Eric Spencer (@JustEric) May 11, 2020
A lot of things became clearer when I realized a thing can be true even if Trump said it.
— China is lying (@jtLOL) May 11, 2020
The media has been reinforcing Trump's "fake news" narrative since before Trump was elected.
In fact, it is part of the reason he was elected. https://t.co/XTdAwHfuSC
— Anna James Zeigler (@ajzeigler) May 11, 2020
If only the media were capable of realizing that.