Are you tired of the ridiculous Republicans screaming "fake news!" at the main-stream media? Those who believe that NBC, CNN, the Washington Post, etc. are lying to us, and Fox, Breitbart, and related are reporting the truth. I asked such a person to show me which of that day's Washington Post stories were fake, and his response was predictable:
I mentioned that virtually every story they publish can be independently verified, especially easy to do for stories reported in other publications and outlets.
His response: "the whole fake news media gets together and makes up all their shit."
I see. So how often do they do this? Weekly? No, that wouldn't work. Daily? No, that's not going to work either, because news happens constantly. In order to fully coordinate the stories that appear in many outlets, those folks must have a staff devoted entirely to collaborate with ALL other news media to fabricate the stories they publish. This staff would have to operate continuously, day and night, minute by minute. Otherwise, they couldn't possibly keep up the charade, as outlined by the media haters.
"That's what they do!" shouted this person.
Or – stay with me here – maybe they simply do their own reporting, complete with sources that can be checked and verified.
"They're all FAKE!" he screamed.
These media haters clearly don't understand how reporting works (a former friend who has gone off the deep end, smugly, self-reinforcingly stupidly, called it a "left-wing media meltdown.") WaPo reporters don't go to CNN reporters and say, "Hey, what's our angle?" LA Times reporters don't go to Chicago Tribune reporters and say, "let's confer on this." Reporters find sources: witnesses, law enforcement, people familiar with those making news, etc., and they get the story directly from those sources – multiple sources. News reporting agencies are rivals. Every news agency wants to get the story before every other agency; they want to find the stories before others get it. They want to have sources and stories that others don't have.
They don't collaborate.
His response: "you're just an idiot libturd socialist who wants to take our guns away!"
Ah, what a clever response.
I have come to realize that you can't reason with these haters. They refuse to be swayed by facts or proof; they have their agenda of hate, and they're sticking to it. They follow the example of the buffoon occupying our White House, clinging to his 'sharpie-gate' story of impending Hurricane Dorian doom for the state of Alabama.
There is no hope for people like that. I've been told they aren't doing it because they're stupid, but out of malice because they love to participate in spreading hate. Sorry, but there's just a whole lot of stupid going on with some of these people – and a substantial portion of malice.
Whatever the reason, it's old and boring. It's the 'any news I don't like must be fake' dodge, and the screamers aren't fooling anyone but themselves. It's obvious to any thinking person who has the brainpower to check multiple sources, that the manic 'fake news' bellowing is what Fred Clark in a 2008 article, 'False Witnesses,' called, " the mechanisms of self-reinforcing stupidity."
The next time I encounter a 'fake news' screamer, I'm just going to shake my head, snicker, and move quickly away from the self-reinforcing loon.
Larry Manch is an author, teacher, guitar player, freelance writer, and columnist. His books include: 'Twisted Logic: 50 Edgy Flash Fiction Stories', 'The Toughest Hundred Dollars & Other Rock & Roll Stories', 'A Sports Junkie', 'The Avery Appointment', 'Between the Fuzzy Parts', 'Beyond the Fuzzy Parts,' 'Jonathan Stephens Is Just A Kid', 'Jonathan Stephens Is Moving', 'Suspended Logic', 'Descended From Royalty,' and 'Covering the Astros.' His books are available in paperback (some in e-book.)
He writes about sports for Season Tickets, food and travel on Miles & Meals, and music/guitars on The Backbeat.
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