Jonathan Rauch: In 2016, gullible media helped elect Trump. Here we go again...

[highplainsdem]

Twitter thread starting here -- I'll put the text below; see the thread for the images:

Link to tweet

1/7 In 2016, gullible media (I don't exempt myself) helped elect Trump by letting him distract us and providing false "balance." Uh-oh. Here we go again...


When Biden mashed up an anecdote--in a pretty innocuous way--@WashingtonPost played it above the fold on page 1.


3/7 When Trump showed a hurricane map doctored with a Sharpie--illegally, btw--@washingtonpost played it at the bottom of page 10.


4/7 There are three dangers here. One: POTUS gets away with lying by lying so much that we in the media treat it as routine. It isn't routine! It must not become routine! Unhinged lying by POTUS is news...every time.


5/7 Two: Seeking balance, MSM helps Trump and normalizes his behavior by promoting false equivalents like Hillary's emails and Biden's gaffes. Trump et al are very good at exploiting this journalistic tic.


6/7 Three: Showcasing minor Biden gaffes as big news while downplaying major Trump lies as routine is just plain unfair coverage. It's a double standard.


7/7 Trump's whole game is to get himself judged by different standards than other politicians, while distracting the media with "what abouts". Please, MSM and @washingtonpost, don't fall for it again. @hiattf @PostBaron @ChuckLane1 @benjaminwittes


PS, the upshot: Biden's mash-up belonged at the bottom of page 10. Trump's falsified weather map belonged above the fold on page 1. Hopefully next time...

[Perseus]

1. I disagree about gullible, I would say corrupt...

They knew what they were doing, they considered all the clownish behaviour to be "great for business, bring it on!". Everyone jumped on the clown car because it was "fun" and who gives a shit about the country, lets not look at the consequences.

So please don't pretend you guys did not know what you were doing, you very will did, you failed the country and you continue to do so.

And you will continue to make a lot of noise about Biden's gaffs while continuing to normalize the horrendous behaviour of the creature, and of course while also continuing your "both parties are the same" crap.

Shame on the media, shame on most of today's pseudo journalism, it is a total shame how people have lost their principles for a day under the lights.

[Hortensis]

2. Corrupt, venal, safety-seeking, prone to groupthink.

And there's probably some gullibility in that last, wanting to believe the safe, easy place sanctioned by those above and groupthink leaders is also the honorable one.

[Cosmocat]

11. Yeah

On a continuum it definitely leans much harder toward corrupt than "gullible."

They definitely are not stupid enough to not get what they are doing.

But, they are so drunk on their own greatness they don't see anything wrong with it.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

3. Are we back to calling out media bias and shenanigans without being accused of conspiracy theories?

Asking for a friend.

[highplainsdem]

8. This thread shows media bias being called out by a contributing editor at the Atlantic.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

9. So media bias exists? Or it is crazy anti free press America hating conspiracies?

Asking for a friend.

[peggysue2]

4. Absolutely true though I would argue with the word . . .

'gullible.' Too many of these journos were more than delighted to circle around the entertainment spectacle that Trump offered up. Such good TV, they murmured. Eyeballs and click bait = revenue. And if the false equivalency was obvious to most in 2015-2016 then why are we seeing a repeat now? Being willfully blind is far different than being gullible or having been hoodwinked by a seasoned conman and thug. The 'fool me once' rule is in play. The fact that many 'journalists' are falling for the same scam now would indicate a willful edge to the reporting. Shame on all of them!

[dalton99a]

5. Not gullible. Fully cognizant and complicit.

[empedocles]

6. Precedent, custom, habitual respect for the Office of the President' factor in,

as well as the business of selling to the general populations.

[Cha]

17. I said basically the same, dalton..

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1287&pid=267230

[comradebillyboy]

7. So are the Biden supporters going to join the Bernie crowd in

attacking the Washington Post? To me this sort of whining is a sign of weakness and desperation in a campaign. The gaff stories really haven't hurt him so Biden supporters do him no favor by dwelling on them. Biden would be a lot better off by sharpening up his game instead.

[highplainsdem]

12. I have no idea if Rauch is a Biden supporter. As for the Washington Post, they

have often showed bias, whether it's Matt Viser specializing in attacking Biden

https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/matt-viser/

or Dave Weigel sniping at Biden on Twitter and admitting there that in his media bubble, the preferences are Warren and Sanders

https://www.democraticunderground.com/1287260056

or the WaPo theater critic, who raves about Warren, sniping at Biden even for his smile:

https://www.democraticunderground.com/1287240456

Rauch is correct to point out the stupidities in their coverage as he did.

[comradebillyboy]

14. Biden is the front runner and favorite to win the nomination. The press isn't

going to go easy on him. And, as I noted in my earlier post, the gaff stuff hasn't hurt him yet. The press may blow his errors out of proportion but they are still errors and he needs to be more careful because no one is going to overlook the missteps of the front runner.

[oasis]

10. Call 'em out. The slimy toads.

[yaesu]

15. the media knew exactly what they wanted to do, they were planning for a profitable future,

its called unfettered capitalism.

[Cha]

16. "Gullible" or Deliberate?

Link to tweet

Mahalo, highplainsdem!