Brian Stelter has been working OVERTIME to somehow pretend the media didn’t help push and support Jussie Smollett’s hate crime story, which is looking more and more like the fiction most of us thought it was all along. Tater really is the media’s greatest advocate, and we’re not saying that as a compliment.
It’s actually incredibly sad because even when supporters like Steve Krakauer agree with some of his points, eventually ol’ Bri irritates even them.
Take a gander at Krakauer’s thread that absolutely and unequivocally embarrasses Brian and his sad attempt at absolving the media:
I praised @brianstelter’s segment yesterday about Jussie Smollett. But today, he, @SopanDeb and others have bizarrely attempted to fully absolve the media of any blame for how the Smollett story entered the public consciousness. That introspection-free angle is wrong. 1/
— Steve Krakauer (@SteveKrak) February 18, 2019
It is wrong.
The headlines and chyrons of CNN, NBC News and CBS News from day 1 all clearly take, as fact, that an attack happened . The question raised was only if it was a hate crime. 2/ pic.twitter.com/qkOWBL57jb
— Steve Krakauer (@SteveKrak) February 18, 2019
*popcorn*
One of the main issues with this @CNN tweet and others like it was a mischaracterization of what police were saying. This assumes police said the attack happened in the way that Smollett says, when the police ALWAYS said simply they were relaying what they were told. 3/ pic.twitter.com/wZBUMqQSml
— Steve Krakauer (@SteveKrak) February 18, 2019
Wait. CNN was pushing their own agenda on what the police may have actually said and not just reporting the facts as they received them?
We’re shocked … SHOCKED!
Another issue with the media coverage of Smollett was the immediate secondary story. Here, demonstrated by @CNN and @BuzzFeed, any element of skepticism was dismissed by these tweets about celebrity response to the “brutal attack” (no “alleged” in there). 4/ pic.twitter.com/SrmkkyCGZE
— Steve Krakauer (@SteveKrak) February 18, 2019
It’s like Brian doesn’t understand who it is he works for.
Another media error was in the instant analysis. Here, @washingtonpost tweets that Smollett “was assaulted.” But also, follows up with an opinion piece (but tweeted from their main account): “The Jussie Smollett attack highlights the hate black gay Americans face”. 5/ pic.twitter.com/xx4RgmMfeb
— Steve Krakauer (@SteveKrak) February 18, 2019
Man, if this thread doesn’t piss you off at the media nothing will.
Another example: @thedailybeast tweets a column that instantly analyzes the situation, quoting the column with “what happened to Smollett was a form of white terrorism.” They had no problem in their 2nd day story calling it “an assault,” without any “alleged” present. 6/ pic.twitter.com/s10oU30I1p
— Steve Krakauer (@SteveKrak) February 18, 2019
White terrorism.
K.
Forget the assaulters were black BUT hey, they didn’t know that then, right? And they had a narrative and agenda to push.
And of course, little editorializing that is now the norm within many journalistic outlets looks awful in retrospect. Here, @BrookeBCNN closes an objective segment by noting “This is America in 2019.” 7/ https://t.co/f4OpYR3l9Q
— Steve Krakauer (@SteveKrak) February 18, 2019
Brooke might as well have said, ‘Orange man bad’.
Perhaps no tweet exemplifies media re: Smollett more than this from @Yamiche of PBS. She attributes the report to TMZ, but adds “We have to do better as a country. This is disgusting.”
The media must take this misstep seriously and not dismiss it. Be humble, and get better. 8/ pic.twitter.com/oBasCwptfS
— Steve Krakauer (@SteveKrak) February 18, 2019
We’re not counting on them being humble and getting better anytime soon. Look at how they’ve reacted even after they’ve been caught pushing a fake story for their agenda AGAIN? They’re pretending they didn’t do it, that others did it, that celebrities and Twitter did it.
They are so egocentric and self-bloated they can’t accept they screwed up.
Again.
[some screenshots that didn’t fit my thread… @ABC calling it a “brutal attack” (no alleged), and @nytimes saying “assailants who yelled racist and homophobic slurs" (period). This media screw-up was ubiquitous.] pic.twitter.com/h7cBoRjVqM
— Steve Krakauer (@SteveKrak) February 18, 2019
Shameless, ain’t they?
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