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The article title is overly kind; the White House didn't defend the image, they dismissed it as an issue. This reporting presents it as a debate with reasoning

The article title is overly kind; the White House didn't defend the image, they dismissed it as an issue. This reporting presents it as a debate with reasoning on both sides, rather than a brazen act with no defence supplied. It's not good journalism to legitimise a position that didn't even attempt to legitimise itself.

roxolotl 9mo ago
This has been the story the whole time. Coupled with the insistence the media is unfair they’ve managed to shift the window of what is acceptable. It’s been remarkably effective and most news sources seemingly have no counter.
- piltdownman 9mo ago
  It's not even about whats acceptable, it's about what they can frame as a narrative for their supporters in as incendiary a manner as possible. Remember that the FCC investigations into Comcast and NBCUniversal weren't predicated on political bias or uneven reporting, but rather that they '...may be promoting invidious forms of DEI in a manner that does not comply with FCC regulations.” Matthew Gertz, a senior fellow at Media Matters, summarises its mechanisms and intent quite succinctly: “This is the path that Viktor Orbán took in Hungary, where you use the power of the state to ensure that the media is compliant, that outlets are either curbed and become much less willing to be critical, or they are sold to owners who will make that happen."
  - roxolotl 9mo ago
    I don’t disagree that’s a lot of it, and with Hungary as my possible second citizenship have been following Orban closely. I do think there’s something different happening here though. The loop is: - Do something wildly unacceptable - Media writes an article declaring the action is indefensible - Those involved complain publicly about the unfair nature of the story; their supporters back them up - Next time to avoid controversy media writes a slightly more fair story It doesn’t even require state power because technically in the US they cannot. There is clearly threat of power kicking journalists out of the pentagon is a clear example. But it’s much more about creating a permission structure through public airing of grievances.
    - UncleMeat 9mo ago
      Worse, it seems that these institutions have internalized this as a good thing. "Liberal columnists criticizing the left" is seen as a sign of intellectual righteousness while criticizing the right is seen as behavior that is beneath elite institutions like the New York Times. The net effect is that when Trump says "we are going to fix housing prices by deporting fifty million people" the Times writes that while the policy may not work it does seem like Trump is trying to tackle the rising cost of housing.
- yunwal 9mo ago
  > most news sources seemingly have no counter Counter to what? Most news sources are owned by people who support this administration’s positions, and are glad they don’t have to do this whole charade of pretending to care about the truth or normal people.
piltdownman 9mo ago
I mean Donald Trump on Tuesday posted an AI-generated image of himself holding an American flag next to a sign that read "Greenland". Previously he had posted fake videos of Obama being arrested. We're a long way past traditional notions of journalism in this post-satire reality - and the BBC has to adhere to 'rules for me, not for thee' moral outrage after its recent gaffe broadcasting an edited speech of Trumps. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/21/us/politics/trump-fake-video-obama-arrest.html https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/21/us/politics/trump-fake-vi...

roxolotl 9mo ago

This has been the story the whole time. Coupled with the insistence the media is unfair they’ve managed to shift the window of what is acceptable. It’s been remarkably effective and most news sources seemingly have no counter.

piltdownman 9mo ago
It's not even about whats acceptable, it's about what they can frame as a narrative for their supporters in as incendiary a manner as possible. Remember that the FCC investigations into Comcast and NBCUniversal weren't predicated on political bias or uneven reporting, but rather that they '...may be promoting invidious forms of DEI in a manner that does not comply with FCC regulations.” Matthew Gertz, a senior fellow at Media Matters, summarises its mechanisms and intent quite succinctly: “This is the path that Viktor Orbán took in Hungary, where you use the power of the state to ensure that the media is compliant, that outlets are either curbed and become much less willing to be critical, or they are sold to owners who will make that happen."
- roxolotl 9mo ago
  I don’t disagree that’s a lot of it, and with Hungary as my possible second citizenship have been following Orban closely. I do think there’s something different happening here though. The loop is: - Do something wildly unacceptable - Media writes an article declaring the action is indefensible - Those involved complain publicly about the unfair nature of the story; their supporters back them up - Next time to avoid controversy media writes a slightly more fair story It doesn’t even require state power because technically in the US they cannot. There is clearly threat of power kicking journalists out of the pentagon is a clear example. But it’s much more about creating a permission structure through public airing of grievances.
  - UncleMeat 9mo ago
    Worse, it seems that these institutions have internalized this as a good thing. "Liberal columnists criticizing the left" is seen as a sign of intellectual righteousness while criticizing the right is seen as behavior that is beneath elite institutions like the New York Times. The net effect is that when Trump says "we are going to fix housing prices by deporting fifty million people" the Times writes that while the policy may not work it does seem like Trump is trying to tackle the rising cost of housing.
yunwal 9mo ago
> most news sources seemingly have no counter Counter to what? Most news sources are owned by people who support this administration’s positions, and are glad they don’t have to do this whole charade of pretending to care about the truth or normal people.

piltdownman 9mo ago

I mean Donald Trump on Tuesday posted an AI-generated image of himself holding an American flag next to a sign that read "Greenland". Previously he had posted fake videos of Obama being arrested. We're a long way past traditional notions of journalism in this post-satire reality - and the BBC has to adhere to 'rules for me, not for thee' moral outrage after its recent gaffe broadcasting an edited speech of Trumps. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/21/us/politics/trump-fake-video-obama-arrest.html https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/21/us/politics/trump-fake-vi...