Thread by @bansisharma

1. Anatomy of a Travesty
The surprise here is not that so many jumped to false conclusions for lack of fuller evidence. Surprise is how many wanted to be misled. The whole 2 hour video was right there on twitter from the get go. I re-tweeted it myself.
mediaite.com/online/journal…

2. People, a sea of blue checkmarks, just couldn't bother to spend the time to watch the fuller video for themselves. Several would argue my inferences with me but would refuse to watch the video I kept referring them to. They would much rather argue the @CNN snippet.

3. Now I expect this behavior from the liberal mainstream media. They are incorrigibly committed to create narratives to oppose Republicans in general and Trump above all else. But several usually thoughtful and circumspect people fell victim to the same temptation this time.

4. They also did the same thing the day before with the Buzzfeed 'bombshell.' I mean the relatively 'conservative' blue checkmarks. Of course they prefaced their ruminations by qualifying the Buzzfeed report with a perfunctory "if true."

5. But it didn't stop them from being among the first to declare that impeachment of President Trump should get underway any day now. Similarly, the viciousness with which some went after the school kids, their school, and their parents belied common sense.

6. So what is going on? Is it over-eagerness to demonstrate they are 'principled,' by having the bragging rights to say, "Look, I was among the first to condemn it?" And if the reporting turns out to be fake or flawed, they have an out. It's just a risk/reward calculation, is it?

7. When it comes to public figures, and politicians in particular, I would hate to be preachy. On the whole, I don't give a sh*t what blue checkmarks do with politicians. They are all big boys and gals, and they should be able to handle it.

8. But when it comes to ordinary people who didn't ask or expect to be in the limelight, and especially if they are young, please folks, hold back a little on whatever damn psychological need you have to be the first to be anything. Don't ruin lives for your vanity.

The End