It’s time again to play “what’s wrong with this tweet?” Today’s contestant is the Associated Press, which had the following take:
Brian Williams, Manti Te'o and now Jussie Smollett: Here's a look at public figures accused of bending the truth. https://t.co/C4hm6HlDxM
— The Associated Press (@AP) February 22, 2019
Really, AP?
“Bending.”
Enjoy the ratio on this. https://t.co/H7Q769nmVL
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) February 22, 2019
The AP succeeded in getting a lot of eyes rolling all at once, for several different reasons:
Excuse me @AP, but Manti Te'o was the *victim* of a hoax. Try again and do better. https://t.co/beKTwd2tIy
— Ed Morrissey (@EdMorrissey) February 22, 2019
This comparison is an embarrassment for the AP, and an injustice to Te'o, who was the victim of a hoax, not a participant in one. https://t.co/PhEFszJdfB
— Frank Nolan (@FX_Nolan) February 22, 2019
The AP is a super serious journalisming organization.
You can tell by the way they put Manti Te'o in this group of liars, when Te'o was actually the victim of a hoax. https://t.co/Qb7u7L7imx
— RBe (@RBPundit) February 22, 2019
And that’s mentioned in the AP’s story, but the tweet is a different matter. As for Smollett (and Williams to a far lesser degree), “bending the truth” is an incredibly generous way to put it:
Since when is “bending” a synonym for “made up out of whole cloth to smear my political enemies”?
— BattleSwarm (@BattleSwarmBlog) February 22, 2019
You mean lying.
— Jeremy (@JayBird374) February 22, 2019
Bending the truth is not what happened here. He flat out fabricated and staged a racist attack to advance his career. There was 0 truth to bend. https://t.co/oeaknSE49H
— Zachary Himes (@zhimes97) February 22, 2019
The word is "lie" not "bend the truth". ? https://t.co/aPIgr2nOsY
— Katie the ED RN ?? (@katiewRN) February 22, 2019
Their headline is bending the truth.
— Dennis (@RepressedDennis) February 22, 2019
Lmao!!! Bending??????
— Ray Rod (@RayRod0469) February 22, 2019
Journalism!