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I think a lot of consistent errors in media coverage happen because journalists very much want to believe the things that Dems say that aren’t true but make them feel good.
Hence ignoring Cuomo’s coronavirus nursing home body count or Michelle Obama’s kids in cages comment. 1/
Hence ignoring Cuomo’s coronavirus nursing home body count or Michelle Obama’s kids in cages comment. 1/
Cuomo went on television during the crisis and was comforting. That’s what journalists wanted: most of them weren’t in direct danger from his policies. What they wanted was to feel safe and secure during a time of global crisis. Cuomo did that in a way they found compelling. 2/
Michelle Obama gave by all accounts a stirring speech, if you ignore the finer points of what she said. She appealed to our shared values and the potential of a Democratic candidate to make things better when things are, inarguably, bad.
Same concept: she provided comfort. 3/
Same concept: she provided comfort. 3/
Surely this resonated with a press that leans overwhelmingly left. These are the messages they want to hear.
It’s just that the facts don’t agree. Cuomo killed thousands of NY seniors. He’s presided over a disastrous response to coronavirus, with the highest state death toll. 4/
It’s just that the facts don’t agree. Cuomo killed thousands of NY seniors. He’s presided over a disastrous response to coronavirus, with the highest state death toll. 4/
Michelle Obama’s husband was the one who built the cages in question. It’s just that no one was interested in it back then.
Journalists are human, so this shouldn’t be surprising. But it’s enormously dangerous nonetheless. It’s a collective blind spot for the industry. 5/
Journalists are human, so this shouldn’t be surprising. But it’s enormously dangerous nonetheless. It’s a collective blind spot for the industry. 5/
And that blind spot makes it impossible for them to hold people on the left to the same level of accountability as people on the right.
And there’s seemingly no interest in addressing this problem, or even recognizing that it exists. 6/
And there’s seemingly no interest in addressing this problem, or even recognizing that it exists. 6/
Not even just ignored. The push to dump the idea of objective journalism will **only make all of this worse** and it blows my mind that more people aren’t incredibly concerned about it.
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I think this also answers KFile’s question about Bill Clinton: it’s really hard to square the idea that one of the good guys can be be awful without overwhelming evidence to the contrary. https://twitter.com/kfile/status/1295786358309617665?s=21 https://twitter.com/kfile/status/1295786358309617665
