#EndorseThis: It’s The Biggest! Trump’s Tax Scam, That Is
If you believe The New York Times — and the hundreds of thousands of documents supporting its investigation — then the president of the United States and his family defrauded the US Treasury of at least $500 million. What this means, as Trevor Noah points out, is that Trump’s “origin story” of the brash young […]
Danziger: Itch Hunt
If the Attorney General and the FBI refuse the president’s demand to flush out that “traitor,” then the very stable genius will do it himself.
#EndorseThis: Jimmy Kimmel May Have Outed Trump NYT Op-Ed Author
Jimmy Kimmel knows how to give and take. In today’s clip, the comic parses his words carefully while making sure not to appoint himself the world’s foremost expert on politics. For instance, Kimmel calls President Trump an idiot, and also calls himself an idiot. He tacitly admits that some of Bob Woodward’s popular new book […]
White People, Racism, And Journalistic Standards At The Newspaper Of Record
Everybody’s favorite logical fallacy these days seems to be the argumentum ad hominem. That’s where you make a personal attack on somebody’s presumed motives instead of engaging the substance of what they’ve said. Sad to say, it’s as prevalent on the political left as the right. Maybe more so. In advanced circles, it’s now seen […]
White House Cover Story For Alleged Abuser Rob Porter Implodes
Reprinted with permission from Shareblue. The White House’s already-shaky cover story about how the administration quickly moved to get rid of a top aide after he was accused of beating his ex-wives suffered another embarassment on Tuesday, when it was revealed the White House initially tried to have the aide talk his way out of the problem. […]
Why The Uranium One ‘Scandal’ Is Still A Fraud
In mounting fear of special counsel Robert Mueller – who is now reported to be preparing indictments that will be unsealed before Thanksgiving – Republicans on Capitol Hill and in the White House, as well as their media echoes, are reviving the discredited “Russian uranium” accusations against the Clinton Foundation. The aim of this tale […]
Can The Media Stop Giving That White Supremacist Nobody A Megaphone?
What’s the point of all of this? What goes through an editor’s or producer’s head when, in the wake of a neo-Nazi terrorist attack, they reach out to a neo-Nazi for comment? The pathological “both sides”-ism that infects our journalist class is uniquely unsuited for these times. Much like NPR’s institutional refusal to call Trump’s most egregious lies lies or the New York Times’ desire to contrive goodin Trump’s first 100 days, the desire to seek out white supremacist voices on the subject of white supremacist violence is at best, morally negligent, and at worst, fascist propaganda.
Trump’s War On The Press: A Poorly-Scripted Melodrama
This president hasn’t got the self-discipline to lead a coup, and the great majority of his followers are far too comfortable watching the televised spectacle in their recliner chairs to take to the streets. Only a steadily shrinking minority believes the president’s “witch hunt” rhetoric, and not very strongly. As I say, it’s poorly-scripted melodrama.
Danziger: “Failing” Upwards
‘Fox & Friends’ Issues Clarification After False Smear Against ‘NY Times’
Fox & Friends was forced to clarify on air a flawed report from the weekend edition of the show blaming The New York Times for the U.S. military missing a chance to capture ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Fox & Friends Saturday co-host Pete Hegseth uncritically repeated a claim that a general told a Fox correspondent, saying, “We would have had al-Baghdadi based on the intelligence we had, except someone leaked information to the failing New York Times in 2015 … and as a result he slipped away.” President Donald Trump subsequently attacked the Times on Twitter following Fox’s report.
Kremlin Scandal: Did Sessions Lie About Meetings With Russian Ambassador?
Last year, when he was still a Senator, Jeff Sessions met with the Russian ambassador — twice. But he failed to mention those meetings when questioned about Russia during his confirmation hearing.
Russian Government Launches Western ‘Fake News’ Tracker
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs launched the page from its official website, featuring five reports from U.S. and British media. The publications are dramatically shown on the site, stamped with red text “Fake” above a Russian language disclaimer stating: “This material contains data, not corresponding to the truth.”
Danziger: With Fear And Favors
In an alternate universe imagined by Danziger, there is a bizarro New York Times — perhaps known as The Trump Times — that publishes only the kind of “alternative facts” pleasing to the president: Massacres in Bowling Green, terrorist refugees in Sweden, millions of fraudulent voters, and gigantic inaugural crowds. Just be happy you don’t live there, yet.
While New York Times Editors Bickered, Trump (And Putin) Got Away
Now that the horses have left the barn, trotted out the front gate, and are galloping headlong down the county road, editors at the New York Times have taken to public bickering about who left the stalls unlatched. Not that it’s doing the rest of us much good.
NY Times Embroiled In Controversy Over Its Coverage Of Russia And Trump
New questions have been raised about the Times’ decision late in the campaign to sit on the story that Russian officials may have compromising information on Trump. The Times public editor Liz Spayd suggests that the reason they didn’t run with the “explosive allegations” was that journalists didn’t think Trump was going to win the election, and the paper didn’t want to risk sparking a controversy by reporting on the dossier.
Justice Department: Trump Son-In-Law Kushner Can Serve As White House Adviser
The Justice Department said the president has special hiring authority that exempts White House positions from laws barring the president from naming a relative to lead a federal agency. However, if Trump chooses to officially hire Kushner and also give him security clearance, then conflict-of-interest laws would apply.
Meryl Streep, Trump’s Attack On A Reporter’s Disability, And Reality
Trump lies habitually, so unwinding the rationale behind any particular falsehood is difficult. But the result is a news environment in which facts become unstable, reality is constantly under attack, and both journalists and news consumers are unable to process new information within a coherent collective framework.
It’s Time To Banish ‘Trump Says’ Headlines — They Don’t Work
Lazy, misleading headlines play right into Trump’s strategy of routinely lying while also being historically inaccessible to reporters. Within that sphere, I’d suggest there’s a very specific headline problem — the “Trump says” formula. Solution? Ban uncritical, context-free “Trump says” headlines. It’s a good first step.
First Amendment Watch: November 2016
Following is a list of President-elect Donald Trump’s attacks on the media — and demonstrations of disregard for the press — from Election Day through the end of November.
5 Deeply Obnoxious Things We Learned About Donald Trump This Week
Donald Trump spent Thanksgiving week leaking his potential cabinet picks, making Mitt Romney grovel, and turning down security briefings.
Don’t Lock Her Up? Conway Confirms Trump Won’t Pursue Clinton Probes On Email, Charity
Addressing the report in an interview with MSNBC, senior Trump advisor Kellyanne Conway did not deny it and indicated it was correct.
Complaining About ‘Nasty’ Tone, Trump Cancels Meeting With New York Times
“I canceled today’s meeting with the failing @nytimes when the terms and conditions of the meeting were changed at the last moment. Not nice,” Trump said in a Twitter post.
Trump’s Transition Signals He Will Continue To Be Incredibly Hostile To The Press
During the campaign, the Committee to Protect Journalists declared Trump an “unprecedented threat” to free press. So far, his transition has indicated that won’t be changing anytime soon.
How False Equivalence Ruins Trump-Clinton News Coverage
News outlets covering the presidential election have made the mistake of treating Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump as two equally flawed candidates. That false equivalence has made it harder for voters to understand the categorical differences between their options on November 8.
‘Civilized’ Nation Can’t Justify Torture
Chances are you haven’t thought about Guantanamo Bay – that American gulag – for a long time. Not everyone has the luxury of forgetting.