Thread by @shane_burley1

There are a lot of problems with the reporting on the antifascist protest in Portland yesterday, and since I was there and reporting on it and am writing my article I want to name a couple of glaring problems in the coverage. (thread)

Many publications are publishing the allegation that there was cement in protesters' milkshakes as fact, even though it is a completely unproven allegation that all eye witnesses say was untrue. See reporting of @katemshepherd as well.
portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2019/…

Getty Images and others are reporting the situation with Andy Ngo as an attack from unnamed members of Rose City Antifa, but there is literally no evidence that this is true. The protest had hundreds of people, and it is just conjecture to assign blame to a specific organization.

Many of the reports say that "antifa" was "attacking journatlists." Except whatever happened to Andy Ngo seemed to be isolated to Andy Ngo and did not happen to other reporters. It seemed to be because of whatever the interactions were that were happening specifically with him.

The #AntifaTerrorists hashtag has started trending, and is being used by reporters covering it, which is a misuse of terms, particularly given the fact that in the last several years terror attacks are almost exclusively a far-right phenomenon, not a left wing one.

There did seem to be an altercation that happened between protesters and the Proud Boys at the event, but as I was reporting from the ground, what I saw was Proud Boys pull out a baton and start going after protesters. That fact seems to be missed in most reports.

I also find the assumption that reporters pointing out how inaccurate the narrative being used to discuss the event is the same as celebrating violence or something, is absurd and dangerous. Don't paint your weird political accusations at reporters trying aiming for accuracy.