Fake News

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/08/05/ziska-usda-climate-agriculture-trump-1445271

Science is now political. Sad.

 

That's not fake news of the type illustrated through the thread. That's just politics.

Fake news is better thought to be propaganda by the news media. It gets to bias on the part of the reporter. For example, even though posting it here makes me a purveyor of fake news because of recent events (Otherwise it's just a joke.), when this satire article was posted makes it almost seem not satire but magic eight ball:

https://babylonbee.com/news/cdc-people-dirt-clintons-843-greater-risk-suicide

CDC: People With Dirt On Clintons Have 843% Greater Risk Of Suicide
November 9th, 2017

ATLANTA, GA – According to a report from the Centers for Disease Control released on Thursday, people with inside, compromising knowledge of Bill and Hillary Clinton’s financial and political dealings are 843% more likely to commit suicide.

“We’ve never seen a single risk factor cause a spike of this magnitude,” a CDC spokesperson told reporters. “Interestingly, in spite of their increased suicide risk, people with dirt on the Clintons rarely show any warning signs of suicide, and they never leave a suicide note.”

Remarking about how abnormal it is, the spokesman again stressed the significance of the data.

“Therefore, we advise any American with detrimental information about Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, or the Clinton Foundation to forget about it as quickly as possible to avoid a greatly increased probability of taking your own life,” he cautioned.

“And—I swear—that’s all we know.”​

 

^

 

Here's the document dump from a Google insider. Get 'em while they last!

https://www.projectveritas.com/google-document-dump/

 

NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn’t happen this week

A roundup of some of the most popular but completely untrue stories and visuals of the week. None of these is legit, even though they were shared widely on social media. The Associated Press checked them out. Here are the real facts:

 

Anyone got the 411 on the overstock guy?

 

Return of North American House Hippo

Click to play YouTube Video

 

https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/n...s-using-fake-footage-slaughter-syria-segments

ABC used "footage" of the Turks bombing Kurds with the commentary:

This video right here appearing to be showing Turkey’s military bombing Kurdish civilians in a Syrian border town. The Kurds, who fought alongside the US against ISIS, now horrific reports of atrocities committed by Turkish-backed fighters on those very allies.
​

The problem is, the footage was from a "nighttime machine gun event at the Knob Creek Gun Range in West Point, Kentucky."

 

They said it was a mistake, but the people holding up phones to record it were somehow air-brushed out....

 

Sure so the question you should be asking is if the news airbrushed it out or if it was done before the video made it to the news?

 

The gathering of information is important to making a decision. And, it certainly seems evidence of intent would matter. However, the press makes mistakes. There is no way to be completely correct when you're getting out "new" things; no matter how careful you are.

That's why there are journalistic standards. A set of formal and informal rules to follow to show you did your darndest to verify the facts you are reporting. It's hard to list the rules because it depends on many things. The importance of the story, the importance of getting it out quickly, the basis for the belief in the fact, and any of a number of other factors that change what a reporter has to do to get the story. Watch "All the President's Men" which is about the breaking the Watergate story. Much of the drama is the editor telling Woodward and Bernstein they haven't got the story yet and all the discussion has to do with checking all the boxes on a story of immediate and extreme importance from a journalistic ethics point of view.

It seems the burden should be on ABC to explain how they seemed to fall so far below the standards on this one. Maybe there is an explanation of some formerly reliable person who committed a fraud on them with the footage, but I suspect there's not. (If there was, we'd have heard it by now.)

 

It never hurts to be cynical enough to expect most news we get to be bent regardless of the source. So trying to follow it is an exercise in logic, remembrance and objectivity. Speaking for myself, I fail at it all too often.

 

Bias is not demonstrated just putting out false stories, but by covering up stories some don't want told.

Click to play YouTube Video

 

"Equality & Justice for All" is a goal not a reality. The rich and powerful have always been "more equal than others".

 

Jeff Sessions Gets Arrested​

 

The woman they fired from CBS for leaking the ABC tape, might be the wrong person.

https://www.projectveritas.com/2019...i-alone-released-the-amy-robach-epstein-tape/

By Ignotus,

To my fellow man:

I came forward with this information bearing no motives other than to have this information public. I did not and do not seek any personal gain from this information whether it be financial or otherwise and will always decline. When I became aware of this moment, I had the same reaction as many of you did. Anger, confusion and sadness. I care not about petty political quarrels and only hope for the best in all of us.

To my fellow ABC News employees:

I’ve walked the halls experiencing similar feelings we are all having right now. All of you regardless of your own personal differences in one form or another do an outstanding job. I sincerely enjoy working with each and every one of you and will continue to do so throughout our careers.

To those wrongfully accused:

It is terrible that you have been lashed out at by the company. I know some may put the burden of guilt on me, but my conscience is clear. The actions of the company towards you are the result of their own and not anyone else. The public outcry, from coast to coast, of all people, creeds, and political affiliations, is clear. I have not one doubt that there will always be support for you, and you will have prosperous careers. For neither you, nor I, have done anything wrong.

To Amy Robach:

You are the only person deserving of an apology. I am most certainly sorry. Not for my actions or for this to center around you, but for what is clear to have happened. When I first stumbled across this, my initial reaction was outrage. But this soon turned towards empathy. I can not imagine doing all the hard work to only have it shelved. If the past few years have taught us anything, it is the truth that some of us have endured many hardships in this industry. From the spiking of stories regarding prominent and powerful people in this world, and to yours. I believe you are an outstanding reporter and have done such tremendous work in the community as well.

To ABC News:

I sit right here with you all in complete shock. I, like many, are at a loss for words on how this has been handled. Instead of addressing this head-on like the company has in the past, it has spun into a mission of seek-and-destroy. Innocent people that have absolutely nothing to do with this are being hunted down as if we are all a sport. I challenge all of you to actually look inwards and remember why this company engages in journalism. We all hold the First Amendment at the foundation of this company, yet forget its history, its purpose, and its reasoning for even coming into existence to begin with. How lost we are… yearning to be found. I went to Project Veritas for the sole reason that any other media outlet else would have probably shelved this as well. I thank all of them, and James, for seeking truth.

We are all human and mortal, creatures of mistakes and redemption.

The road to redemption favors no soul.

Sincerely,

Ignotus​