Media Bias – When Ends Justify Means
Dear Editor,
Biased entities continue to demand tech companies’ ban “conspiracy theories.” Groups purposely label inconvenient facts as “Russian disinformation,” “misinformation,” “stereotypes/racism” and “conspiracy theories.” Merely questioning if COVID leaked out of Wuhan lab was a “racist conspiracy theory.” The Hunter Biden laptop was “Russian disinformation.” Questioning COVID policy, including vaccine safety/efficacy and quarantine, was misinformation. Based on these labels, the government actively pressured tech companies to censor taxpayers.
One perspective absent this debate is how liberally biased actors ignore their own “conspiracy theories.” Biased reporters present conservatives as gullible and liberals as super intelligent. Somehow, identifying opposition “conspiracy theories” makes liberal reporters superior and incapable of falling for “conspiracy theories” themselves.
However, Trump-Russian collusion was the epitome of a “conspiracy theory.” Of course, we still do not know who fed this information to Clinton campaign opposition researchers – perhaps Russians. As a result, the democratically elected president underwent an independent counsel investigation due to a conspiracy theory. The president asking an impartial third party with legal standing, Ukraine, to investigate Hunter Biden was intentionally mischaracterized as a “conspiracy theory,” resulting in an impeachment investigation. The DNC gained tremendously from the FBI promoting inconvenient facts as mere “conspiracy theories” while at the same time promoting other conspiracy theories as true.
The National Institute of Health (NIH) actively blocked “misinformation” at tech companies. However, much of the “COVID misinformation” was factually true. Facts were labeled “misinformation” if used to argue against quarantines and mandatory vaccines. The very same facts were labeled “true” only if used to argue in favor of vaccine mandates and social isolation policies. Often “misinformation,” was active debate of differing opinions using facts. At the same time, NY Gov. Cuomo was caught lying about COVID data. Based on the lies, other states followed NY’s deadly policy resulting in thousands of preventable deaths. Biased media was quite on liberal “misinformation” as long as it could be used to undermine Trump.
Why is this happening? Look no further than biased media’s response to leaked Tucker Carlson emails. Biased media portrayed Carlson as a liar and hypocrite for despising Trump while reporting information benefiting Trump. In other words, biased reporters believe that if you like someone/support a policy, you should only report good news about the person/policy and if you don’t like someone/policy you can only report bad news about the person/policy. Liberal biased reporters are promoting not reporting. Carlson should be commended for separating personal feelings from reportable facts.
Alan Burke
Totally spot-on, Alan–thanks for sharing this.
Be careful, your bias is showing Mr. Burke. This is a people problem. Not a political problem. Both conservative and liberal personalities take part in the misinformation scam to promote their own agendas.
I notice you only used examples of more liberal minded misuse of censorship / editorial control. Conservatives has long ignored their own conspiracy theories and biased news coverage while accusing the liberal ‘mainstream’ media bias.
The one big exception is the debate on scientific topics (yes including COVID) where conservatives attack the experts’ personal motives while ignoring actual facts, data and studies. It is stunning how many conservative ideas require followers to ignore massive amounts of science and research because some internet personality says ‘nuh uh’ when they clearly lack the background in education, understanding of the data, or even the basic principles required to address the topics. The worst anti science trolls are those that have a bit of credibiltiy but not the actual specific experience or studies….
it is a very complicated issue when sicence is politized such as Covid, climate change….etc… Best example was the pro-smoking ‘science’ when the sponsors clearly knew of the dangers yet funded poor science to crowd out the real science.
not sure what the real answer should be….noticed you didn’t have a clear answer either.
NEWSFLASH –
The US mass media are not trying to inform you, they’re trying to manipulate you.
They are trying to make money.
He’s a real John Hammer
I did NOT make that remark. Some clown is impersonating me.
Wow Mr. Burke–This should be published in every major newspaper in the country–Well stated !!!!!
Alan Burke, I don’t know if this issue will ever be “won” by those telling the truth. People who understand the truth know. Those that seek the truth will find it if they want it. The rest we can’t convince no matter what we say. No amount of discussion, debate, proof, factual data, or arguing, will change their minds for they are convinced of the lie that is set in their head. Those that know truth have the ability to see with non-emotional clarity and reason, the others think with emotion only.
It’s really frustrating and difficult when these people are your family and friends because it seems so simple and easy for you to understand. The points you make, and the arguments you present seem so clear and logical, yet they still can’t wrap their minds around the reason of it all and they answer back with points that make no sense. After time you have to just realize you can’t have a discussion with a person who doesn’t want to consider changing their mind or seeing things from a place of reason/logic. We’ve been so indoctrinated to “feel” and not to “think” that most people only care about “what their heart tells them” which is bollox when it comes to political/government/scientific/social issues.
As we’ve just seen locally, the City of Greensboro feels it’s appropriate to have “strict social media policies” and make it clear that employees’ private “statements about race, religion and protected classes may not be protected speech under the First Amendment.” The City Manager said that the “net effect of these posts (by the employee in question on Facebook) is to dehumanize, delegitimize, disparage and disrespect those who are different from you. Organizational culture is defined in large part by what behaviors are tolerated.” During this public event “several of those speaking in support of the firing and of (the City Manager) denying the appeal said the posts were ‘homophobic and transphobic.’ ” They questioned whether (the fired employee) would protect members of the LGBTQ community and said that having someone with those views working for the Fire Department made them feel unsafe.” Meanwhile, the Mayor removed a person from the building who interrupted the meeting by yelling out, “F—-, you, fascist,” with a brief discussion as to whether that person should be allowed to return to a future council meeting.
What is interesting to me is that based on your point of view calling someone homophobic and transphobic is as derogatory and dehumanizing as calling someone a fascist. Publicly questioning that a professional employee wouldn’t “protect members” of any specific group of the community without direct proof is disparaging and disrespectful and slanderous. Yet speakers were allowed to do it because…well, I don’t really know. If I spoke at a public meeting or posted on FB that I felt “unsafe” around someone who worked for the City who was LGBTQ because I didn’t think “the views they posted on their FB page meant they would protect members of my community” do you think that person would have been fired? (Or, going back to your original discussion, if I said I felt unsafe having someone who had insisted on COVID vaccine mandates and masking respond and treat me and I only wanted someone who hadn’t bought into that idea to come from EMS, is that who they’d send?) See how dumb this all is?
I think the point is that this will never end but in the end “they will win” because there are more of them than us because the educational system, the propaganda, the media, and the ignorance is greater and bigger and more massive than we are. Our only confidence is knowing that God is in control of eternity, history, and events, and there is a Plan and we are in it. We must do the right thing in the right way all the time. That means being truthful, following His plan, be right. Always. And admit when we mess up.
News flash….1st Amendment doesn’t protect you from censorship by your employer. It protects your speech but doesn’t protect you from the consequences of your speech. Why don’t you start by better researching THAT truth/fact.
When the government no longer protects the citizens from the criminals, but protects the criminals from the citizens, you know your country is lost. Ayn Rand