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This is correct.
It's not enough when Trump lies to report that Trump lied. Objective journalism requires an account of how many times and different ways he's lied on the subject in the past, and how the lie has progressed, and as context the fact that he generally lies.
It's not enough when Trump lies to report that Trump lied. Objective journalism requires an account of how many times and different ways he's lied on the subject in the past, and how the lie has progressed, and as context the fact that he generally lies.
Say a baseball player fails a drug test, and they say the test is flawed.
You'd report they said that.
If they also failed 50 other drug tests in the last year, you'd report that as well. It would be part of the story.
You'd report they said that.
If they also failed 50 other drug tests in the last year, you'd report that as well. It would be part of the story.
If they had also made news lying about something else, or 100 other things, you'd report that as well. It's a story about credibility.
Every story about every publicly elected figure is a story about credibility.
If they are known to lie, it's a part of all the other stories.
Every story about every publicly elected figure is a story about credibility.
If they are known to lie, it's a part of all the other stories.
There is literally no reason to believe Donald Trump is telling the truth, or that Republicans are defending him in good faith. The baseline should be an assumption that he isn't.
That would be an impartial assumption.
That would be reporting the facts.
That would be an impartial assumption.
That would be reporting the facts.
It's actually very telling that this isn't done with powerful people. It's the tell.
Meanwhile, if you aren't powerful, even things you did that aren't relevant are added to the story.
Meanwhile, if you aren't powerful, even things you did that aren't relevant are added to the story.
If you're black and unarmed and shot dead, a pot possession bust from 1989 becomes relevant. It's part of the story.
The fact that in 1989 Trump took out an ad to try to get 5 innocent kids murdered by the state isn't part of every story about him.
It should be.
The fact that in 1989 Trump took out an ad to try to get 5 innocent kids murdered by the state isn't part of every story about him.
It should be.
He has no credibility at all, as a pure matter of fact.
The fact that a president has no credibility is a part of the story, because it affects the story.
The fact that a president has no credibility is a part of the story, because it affects the story.
I mean, this is clearly true. The smallest infraction—less than an infraction—becomes an unnatural insert into a story designed to make the victim the perpetrator.
While each Trump lie lives it its own hermetically sealed glass case, an unknowable mystery
While each Trump lie lives it its own hermetically sealed glass case, an unknowable mystery
