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Aug
12
2019
Monday, August 12 2019

It’s almost surreal to watch unfold.  Oliver Darcy, CNN’s “Senior Media Reporter,” spent the weekend lamenting the problems with media.  He tweeted out an article from the New York Times (of all sources) that warned how “our information ecosystem is poisoned.”  He questioned how in this, the summer of 2019 (!), the media industry is not “better at this.”  Of course, CNN’s Darcy knew exactly who the problem was: President Trump and “his supporters in right-wing media.”

The lack of self-awareness is simply breathtaking.  Granted, it’s par for the course at the network of Don Lemon, Ana Navarro, and formerly Reza Alsan.  CNN has managed to severely diminish Jake Tapper, once known as one of the most unbiased of reporters during his tenure at ABC News.  But after just a short time at CNN, remember it was Tapper who conducted that horrific post-Parkland shooting “townhall” that allowed the corrupt and culpable Sheriff Scott Israel to grandstand and hurl unsubstantiated and unscrupulous accusations.  The event was so mismanaged, it turned into a burning at the stake for any non-leftist in the vicinity.

Speaking to the lack of self-awareness of CNN, Tapper seemed incredulous and at a loss as to why nearly every Republican and 2nd Amendment advocate refused to accept an invitation to his program after the recent tragedies in El Paso and Dayton.

Specifically, Darcy went apoplectic because the media was forced to cover Donald Trump’s retweeting of a conspiracy theory that the Clintons were somehow behind the suicide of Jeffrey Epstein.  These were “vile,” according to Darcy, and beneath the dignity of credible journalists.  It’s just “right-wing media” that’s into that irresponsible stuff.

Meanwhile, over at MSNBC, non-right-wing-credible-journalist Brian Williams was busy hosting Frank Figliuzzi who shared this bit of totally responsible, legitimate analysis:

So, it’s little things and language and messaging that matters. The President said that we will fly our flags at half-mast until August 8th. That's 8/8… The numbers “88” are very significant in neo-Nazi and white supremacy movement. Why? Because the letter “H” is the eighth letter of the alphabet and, to them, the numbers “88” together stand for “Heil Hitler.” So, we’re going to be raising the flag back up at dusk on 8/8. No one is thinking about this.

And while we’re talking conspiracy theories, it seems that Darcy and Company were so worked into a lather at President Trump’s retweet that left-wing Indian impersonator Elizabeth Warren’s plunge into the deep end of the conspiracy pool went unnoticed.  Except Warren didn’t retweet one – this one came from her own account:

This is a grotesque lie and has been debunked by every shred of evidence that exists – so much so that even President Obama’s Department of Justice acknowledged it. 

But this is CNN, the same network famous for advancing the conspiracy theory that the missing Malaysian Airliner might have been sucked into a black hole along its flight path. 

Not all conspiracy theories are equal…because journalism, or something.  Right, Mr. Darcy?

Posted by: Peter Heck AT 08:43 pm   |  Permalink   |  Email