4 ms·

I think the original thesis is correct, but my best counterexample is the Covington Kids where the media had the original video which gave them the full context

I think the original thesis is correct, but my best counterexample is the Covington Kids where the media had the original video which gave them the full context, yet they chose to hide that evidence and instead advance the idea that somehow the kids were white supremacists based on the pixels from one close-up photo. I think another reasonable counterexample is Jussie Smollett's catastrophe, where any fleeting scrutiny whatsoever would tell you that it was fiction, but the media failed to question even the most ridiculous story and ran with the false narrative for weeks.

ZeroGravitas 4y ago
Interestingly, a lawsuit about that was thrown out for the same reason given in this article: https://www.businessinsider.com/covington-kid-nicholas-sandmann-loses-lawsuits-against-abc-nyt-others-2022-7?r=US&IR=T https://www.businessinsider.com/covington-kid-nicholas-sandm... Basically, the news was just reporting what someone said, so no foul. > He objected to widely-reported statements by Phillips to the effect that Sandmann had "blocked" him and "would not allow him to retreat." > But the judge said that these are "objectively unverifiable" and so can only count as opinion, which is unactionable in this case, as it is protected speech. > Bertelsman also said: "The media defendants were covering a matter of great public interest, and they reported Phillips's first-person view of what he experienced. > "This would put the reader on notice that Phillips was simply giving his perspective on the incident."
- monsecchris 4y ago
  Federal courts since then have stated that being called a "white supremacist" is not defamatory as well. https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/court-rules-that-being-called-a-white-7355662/ https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/court-rules-that-being-cal...
- ALittleLight 4y ago
  Legal issues aren't really the question. The Covington incident is an example of brazen lying by the media. They had the full video and chose to wildly misrepresent it. That they did so because they were reporting what someone else said is completely irrelevant. They knowingly lied and did so knowing they would be caught. There is a reason the majority of the public distrusts the mainstream media. Mainstream media outlets are inveterate liars.
  - afiori 4y ago
    The article is not claiming that the media correctly informs people. Just that most articles contains mostly factually correct data. Almost always it is an highly curated set of facts; often intentionally designed to mislead people. The author is not pushing the idea that the media is honest, rather that the way we describe their dishonesty is inaccurate. My personal interpretation is that as long as you say factually true things you are sort of protected both on defamation and ethics claims.

ZeroGravitas 4y ago

Interestingly, a lawsuit about that was thrown out for the same reason given in this article: https://www.businessinsider.com/covington-kid-nicholas-sandmann-loses-lawsuits-against-abc-nyt-others-2022-7?r=US&IR=T https://www.businessinsider.com/covington-kid-nicholas-sandm... Basically, the news was just reporting what someone said, so no foul. > He objected to widely-reported statements by Phillips to the effect that Sandmann had "blocked" him and "would not allow him to retreat." > But the judge said that these are "objectively unverifiable" and so can only count as opinion, which is unactionable in this case, as it is protected speech. > Bertelsman also said: "The media defendants were covering a matter of great public interest, and they reported Phillips's first-person view of what he experienced. > "This would put the reader on notice that Phillips was simply giving his perspective on the incident."

monsecchris 4y ago
Federal courts since then have stated that being called a "white supremacist" is not defamatory as well. https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/court-rules-that-being-called-a-white-7355662/ https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/court-rules-that-being-cal...
ALittleLight 4y ago
Legal issues aren't really the question. The Covington incident is an example of brazen lying by the media. They had the full video and chose to wildly misrepresent it. That they did so because they were reporting what someone else said is completely irrelevant. They knowingly lied and did so knowing they would be caught. There is a reason the majority of the public distrusts the mainstream media. Mainstream media outlets are inveterate liars.
- afiori 4y ago
  The article is not claiming that the media correctly informs people. Just that most articles contains mostly factually correct data. Almost always it is an highly curated set of facts; often intentionally designed to mislead people. The author is not pushing the idea that the media is honest, rather that the way we describe their dishonesty is inaccurate. My personal interpretation is that as long as you say factually true things you are sort of protected both on defamation and ethics claims.