As Twitchy told you, someone decided to have a little bit of fun with Joe Biden’s super-cringey “Despacito” moment:
Joe Biden has just ONE thing to say and it ain’t good. Listen to this pic.twitter.com/3nE1hHF1uS
— The United Spot (@TheUnitedSpot1) September 16, 2020
Donald Trump even retweeted it:
What is this all about? https://t.co/AAmBGgHhyR
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 16, 2020
Twitter has since flagged the video has “manipulated media.” And technically it is.
But the way some media firefighters are reacting, you’d think this was Russiagate all over again:
This was what my most recent article was about: Trump's campaign leaning harder into tweeting out straight-up fake content as part of its strategy.
As long as the cost of doing this remains low and the benefit remains high, they'll keep doing it. https://t.co/L5Jmj2MiF3
— Parker Molloy (@ParkerMolloy) September 16, 2020
Twitter needs to do more than just add a *tiny* little "manipulated media" label to the bottom of a tweet. Otherwise, it makes perfect sense for Trump and his team to keep pumping out fake content.
— Parker Molloy (@ParkerMolloy) September 16, 2020
His tweet was not satire. He's trying to confuse his audience. https://t.co/xX04CyvHqQ
— Parker Molloy (@ParkerMolloy) September 16, 2020
Parker Malloy’s got a whole angry thread about this. We’ll spare you from having to read it.
WHY WON'T TWITTER POLICE THE MEMES THINK OF THE CHILDREN https://t.co/6AZFEAQBSF
— David Edward™ (@_David_Edward) September 16, 2020
But it’s not just MMFA hacks like Parker who are upset about this. No less than CNN’s Donie O’Sullivan — who specializes in covering disinformation for the network — is breathless over it:
Thanks, Donie! https://t.co/u01dQryHjo
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) September 16, 2020
O’Sullivan’s fellow CNN reporter Marshall Cohen — who notably covered the Russia investigation — was even more flabbergasted:
The asymmetric information warfare goes on, ladies and gentlemen!
Trump is spending his morning re-tweeting QAnon supporters and spreading doctored videos about Biden. These posts contain dangerous conspiracy theories and blatant disinformation — which the President embraces.
— Marshall Cohen (@MarshallCohen) September 16, 2020
Doctored videos!
Are you okay?
— I did not and will not vote for him. Calm down. (@jtLOL) September 16, 2020
I’m sorry you are going through this.
— Polybius Champion?? (@PolybiusChamp) September 16, 2020
Thoughts and prayers to CNN’s best and bravest.
"Doctored." It's a joke, dummy. https://t.co/a3hBrqupba
— I did not and will not vote for him. Calm down. (@jtLOL) September 16, 2020
You know, Marshall. Just like CNN.
It's a joke, you ridiculous boob. https://t.co/qArmPFk1l2
— I did not and will not vote for him. Calm down. (@jtLOL) September 16, 2020
The irony of CNN reporters getting all bent out of shape about the scourge of “disinformation” is not lost on us.
Calling jokes and memes “information warfare” might, to some, also seem like a kind of manipulation.
— Hodlin Wilbury (@indi_visible) September 16, 2020
"Asymmetric" says the guy who helped convince 67 percent of Democrats that their votes had been manipulated by Russians. https://t.co/WdScLdaDwK
— David Harsanyi (@davidharsanyi) September 16, 2020
so far today I've seeen 11,848 tweets correcting the record about what song Joe Biden way playing
I've seen zero tweets correcting the record about the Russian bounty story.
— Dr. Richard Harambe (@Richard_Harambe) September 16, 2020
Because priorities.
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