I think that depends on how it's done, and the context. For example, I believe reporting things like "some people think Obama is a Muslim spy" or, worse yet, "I

I think that depends on how it's done, and the context. For example, I believe reporting things like "some people think Obama is a Muslim spy" or, worse yet, "Is Obama a Muslim Spy? Find out at 11" fits that description fairly well. At best, it's extra noise in the signal. At worse, it's a annoying way of "reporting" by appealing to the emotions and fears of the lowest common denominator. It's no more journalism than tabloid trash in my opinion. Actually, I'd say it's worse as the unwashed masses latch on to arguments like this and may ignore more important topics either because their minds are full of crud, or because their emotional response has already been tweaked- i,e,. "I can't trust this guy, he's a muslim spy!"