Trump Allies Mount Attack To Discredit Hundreds Of Journalists Before 2020 Election

[babylonsister]

https://www.politicususa.com/2019/08/25/trunp-discredit-journalists.html

Posted on Sun, Aug 25th, 2019 by Jason Easley
Trump Allies Mount Attack To Discredit Hundreds Of Journalists Before 2020 Election


The allies of Donald Trump have collected dossiers of information which they plan to use to discredit hundreds of journalists and news organizations ahead of the 2020 election.

The New York Times reported:

A loose network of conservative operatives allied with the White House is pursuing what they say will be an aggressive operation to discredit news organizations deemed hostile to President Trump by publicizing damaging information about journalists.

….

It is the latest step in a long-running effort by Mr. Trump and his allies to undercut the influence of legitimate news reporting. Four people familiar with the operation described how it works, asserting that it has compiled dossiers of potentially embarrassing social media posts and other public statements by hundreds of people who work at some of the country’s most prominent news organizations.

….

Operatives have closely examined more than a decade’s worth of public posts and statements by journalists, the people familiar with the operation said. Only a fraction of what the network claims to have uncovered has been made public, the people said, with more to be disclosed as the 2020 election heats up. The research is said to extend to members of journalists’ families who are active in politics, as well as liberal activists and other political opponents of the president.

The White House and the Trump campaign both deny involvement in the operation, but these are Trumpian tactics.

The message being sent is that Donald Trump can’t run on his own record. The president can’t run on any positive accomplishments. He may not match up well against Biden or any of the other top Democrats, so the president and his allies are going to run against the free press. They are going to try to destroy and discredit any press that covers Donald Trump with a critical eye.

It is an attack on journalism, which means that it is also an attack on the institution that keeps the American people informed. Trump and his allies have never hidden their goal of demolishing the free press and making all media coverage like Fox News, and if Trump loses in 2020, his friends are putting in place a mechanism to blame his defeat on the media.

The right of the American people to know what their government is doing is in grave danger thanks to the undemocratic impulses of Trump.

[RKP5637]

1. The assholes can't win on any merits, so they do this shit! Republicans, the slimy sludge of the

Universe.

[DownriverDem]

27. Disgusting yes,

but I seriously doubt that folks against trump would be affected by this repub/trump crap. trump and the repubs are just confirming for us and the world how insane he is, they are.

[lpbk2713]

2. That might work against them.

It would make them look fairly obvious if they pulled something dirty on so many people.

[pangaia]

18. it will not work against them. that is, i am sorry to say, wishful thinking

[DownriverDem]

28. Totally agree

They will not gain support/votes with this tactic.

[Wellstone ruled]

3. Yes,they,the Trump White House has

been testing various themes for some time. Frank Luntz has focused grouped this crap for months and now it is time to go for broke.

[Me.]

4. I Hope The Media Prepares A Countercharge

[lastlib]

30. We have to Be Prepared to fight it.

They will try it. If we are not prepared to fight it head-on, it may have some success. We cannot let it go unchallenged.

[Me.]

31. But THe Media Needs To Acquire A BackBone

and quit acting as if he's normal.

[SWBTATTReg]

5. Ahhh...the enemies list of Richard Nixon has been rescued and is being re-used.

Pathetic and won't work. The more 'enemies' that they try to pinpoint, the more that will come of the woodwork and expose them for the hypocrites they are.

[real Cannabis calm]

6. K&R! good Opening Post w/ important points:

It is an attack on journalism, which means that it is also an attack on the institution that keeps the American people informed.

The right of the American people to know what their government is doing is in grave danger thanks to the undemocratic impulses of Trump.

[smirkymonkey]

7. The media could destroy him if they wanted to.

I have no idea why they still carry water for him when he is so hostile toward them.

[Meadowoak]

9. All the media outlets are owed by right wingers. So the journalists

Probably fear for their jobs if they speak out too much.

[pangaia]

19. No idea? Come on.... :)))

[RockRaven]

8. Most people don't pay that much attention to who the journalist behind the news piece is, tbh.

Especially since so many news stories are reported similarly across multiple platforms by different journos.

I don't think these smears will have the expected effect.

[malaise]

10. It is time to

ITTMF!! This is a rogue leader with no interest in democracy or a free press

[bucolic_frolic]

11. They are giving voters a choice, and voters will figure it out

Choose Democracy, or choose Dictatorship

It is that plain and that simple a choice.

[pangaia]

20. too many voters are either too stupid and ignorant, or just don't care.

or are too ignorant to care... or so stupid they are ignorant..

[SCVDem]

12. I trust Rachel and Lawrence

I will NEVER trust the orange ass!

We know the difference between shit and Shinola!

[Proud Liberal Dem]

13. Yucky but pointless

Digging up dirt on a bunch of journalists they don't like isn't going to make Trump look better or make everything we already know about him just vanish into thin air.

[Thekaspervote]

14. This!!

[pangaia]

21. this is what an authorian dictator does...

[Proud Liberal Dem]

29. Yep

This is the kind of person Trump is/aspires to be.

[Haggis for Breakfast]

33. And they're not limiting their sleaze to the journalists,

but also to include their FAMILY MEMBERS ! WTF ?

How is this not harassment ?

[Proud Liberal Dem]

36. I missed that

[defacto7]

15. And that's all they've got?

Well, we knew that.

[jayschool2013]

16. I wonder if I'm on it

I'm pretty sure the Bush administration had me on a list after a 2007 headline that read: "Taser This: FUCK BUSH." I got some mysterious phone calls that consisted of nothing but clicks for a couple of years after.

Only thing I've done to draw the ire of the Trump administration (besides exist) was a documentary that touched on immigration issues — unaccompanied minors who were a part of the "Operación Pedro Pan" program in the early 1960s — but not directly on Trump's policies, though the connection was obvious.

Could be fun. Or terrifying.

I'll let you know.

[DBoon]

17. Are they going to dox journalists?

Are they going to release information that put journalists or their families in danger?

[Haggis for Breakfast]

34. Of course they will.

Does anyone really think that ANYTHING is beneath these people ?

Because I would put nothing past people who engage in unapologetic racism/anti-semitism/misogyny, or put children in cages and then double down on that every day.

Think of the lies that have already come out of this administration. Now, think about the fact that they are in the fight of their lives to re-elect this pervert.

There is no bar here, no low too low, nothing too contemptible for them to drag out.

Face it folks, if you're going to follow this national election campaign season, you better be gowned, gloved and masked. It's going to get messy, bloody and nasty.

[safeinOhio]

22. Going to be hard to defend those that

work at Fox.

[The Liberal Lion]

23. This is the act of a madman who has no intention of giving up power

no matter how badly he loses.
trump has declared war on the American people.
Honestly, I'm still not seeing how this ends either well or peacefully.

[certainot]

24. it's time to go on offense and destroy the talk radio monopoly - easy

artificial intelligence makes it easy to digitize talk radio so it can be searched and monitored and read and responded to - it doesn't have to be invisible anymore, there's no excuse for ignoring it. as soon as the ad industry sees serious action - monitoring, boycotts, protests - it's going to have to ask radio advertisers if they really want to support trump, racism, global warming, etc - instead of bundling onto those stations

it has always been a primary weapon for attacking the 'liberal' and 'democrat' media and that would monkey wrench their plans in all aspects of their stragegies

[susanr516]

25. Trump's allies can get back with me when

They uncover proof that any journalist has told over 12,000 lies since Jan. 20, 2017.

[bronxiteforever]

26. This sounds like something Putin would do.

Blackmail and extortion.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

32. Because such worked so well when Nixon did it

[donkeypoofed]

35. What a WASTE of time!! I don't and won't care!

I only care about the actions and behaviour of Fish Lips. I do NOT care about the journalists' past.

As usual, the Alt Right is embarrassing themselves, again,acting like recalcitrant kids. I can picture them stomping their feet and crossing their arms like angry 4 yr olds, saying "I'll get your for this!". Whatevs

[kentuck]

37. Anything they can find that is embarrassing ...

A nasty divorce, a bankruptcy, a troubled child, a lawsuit, an affair...

They mean to stop any criticism.

[hughee99]

38. I don't think I understand the issue here.

They are planning to “attack” and “discredit” journalists by reposting things that those journalists have already publicly said? Don’t journalists call out people on an almost daily basis by comparing things they said today to things they said some time ago? Is there some reason journalists (and only journalists) should be protected from having to defend or explain their own old social media or public comments?

[babylonsister]

39. Journalists are calling out elected officials; that goes with the

territory. These clowns are supposedly planning on going after the journos and their personal lives. Big difference imo.

[hughee99]

40. Journalists call out not just elected officials, but others as well

And question their credibility based on something they said publicly one day compared to something they said publicly on another day.

Given that they are planning to use statements made publicly by journalists to question their objectivity or honesty, I guess I don’t really see the issue the same way.

I’d probably feel differently if they were hiring investigators to follow and investigate journalists, but social media and public statements seem like fair game. If I recall, no one had an issue questioning Sean Hannity’s honesty and objectivity when it came out that he might have been a client of Michael Cohen.