In case you missed it …
Google is being sued for auto-installing Covid “spyware” on people’s phones.
The PA Governor-Elect, Josh Shapiro, charged a Democratic consultant for “wide scale” ballot fraud. He’s accused of forging signatures on nomination petitions in 2019 to get his candidates on the ballot.
Pastor Greg Locke, who was banned from Twitter last year and accused of spreading misinformation, says YouTube has banned his channel and deleted over 800 videos.
FBI Director Christopher Wray said in Congressional testimony that TikTok is a threat to national security.
Dear Friends —
An easy way to determine media bias is to take an event that we all watched together and see how different outlets reported it.
We all saw the same Trump speech Tuesday. And yet, from the pictures they use to the quotes they pull to the adjectives they choose to describe the event, each “unbiased” outlet gives away their stance on the speech pretty quickly.
On the left
Take a look at the front web pages of some of the biggest mainstream media outlets reporting on Trump’s speech.
CNN:
Just about every headline in the section on the speech is prejudicial.
Fact checking misleading claims Trump made during his 2024 announcement speech, which begins with the line:
Former President Donald Trump began his 2024 presidential campaign just as he ended his presidency in 2021: with a whole lot of inaccuracy.
Their other articles include,
Opinion: I worked for Trump, and I’d never vote for him again
Analysis: Trump offers a dark vision voters have already rejected as he launches 2024 bid
MSNBC made their bias clear from the first glance. A glowering President Trump fills the middle of the page, and they lobbed a personal insult by daring to call him boring.
The subtitle of that article, by the way, is, “All the old hits were played, and most of the dog whistles were blown.” To be fair, when you click on the article, it’s labeled “Opinion,” but there’s no indication on the front page of that, and it’s the most prominently displayed piece.
The New York Times didn’t bother with a Trump picture at all, instead showing President Biden looking very presidential indeed.
Their headline on the speech is “Donald Trump’s 2024 announcement repeated lies and exaggerated his record.” There was also an editorial board piece titled simply “Enough.” Clicking on the article brings you here:
Finally, Politico went with: Unbowed by midterms fiasco, Trump tries for president again
On the right
The headlines on conservative sites were surprisingly free of opinion. Here are a few:
Daily Wire: Trump Launches Third Bid For White House
Daily Caller: Trump Announces 2024 Presidential Run
Fox News: Trump ignores GOP rivals and stolen election claims in 2024 presidential announcement
Fox News is getting flak for cutting from parts of the speech. (I’ll have more on Fox’s positioning soon.)
As for the above articles, they’re pretty measured, mentioning Trump’s accomplishments and positive statements and not fact-checking him like CNN. But the pieces also point out that the GOP is divided on Trump and he has less support after last week’s midterms.
How to find the truth
Going forward, here are some of the best ways for you to find accurate reporting on election matters.
Look at everything. Stories can be true but misleading. What pictures is the reporter using? What adjectives are they choosing? What quotes are they pulling for each person?
Find the source. If the piece is on something like a candidate speech, watch the speech. Did the correspondent report on it accurately? If so, look at other pieces they’ve done. If not, you certainly have reason to question their reporting on things you can’t see for yourself.
Read (and watch) widely. Read conservative sites, yes. But also read liberal sites … and everything in-between. Vary your news diet and see if there are nuggets of information on both sides of the story.
How about you? How do you determine if a source or story is credible?
— Ken
I am pretty basic, does the news pass the Smell test? If not, look elsewhere. The question is, how do we get low information voters to realize they are not watching NEWS, they are watching Propaganda! We may have to P...off some friends to Wake them up! Saving the WORLD is no small task. GOD is calling, don’t hang up!
“In GOD we Trust.”
If I see the words ‘anonymous source’ - I stop reading.
I don’t read or watch MSM and yes - I consider Fox News to be deeply MSM. They have Paul Ryan guiding them and short of Tucker and Gutfeld - their reporting is as useless as the other infotainment masquerading as ‘news’.
I go to alternative news sources and doubt I’d ever go back to MSM. Their bias is so apparent and their lies abound. I can only hope and pray I see them crushed before my life has ended.
There is a stain on the industry of journalism. All should be shamed.