We’re seeing a narrative evolve in real time in Lancaster, PA that omits the fact that the man who was shot & killed by police was actively trying to kill a police officer, even w/ bodycam evidence.
Enormously irresponsible, especially given the current climate.
We’ll start with @AP. They just so happened to leave out the reason why the officer was running away - a direct threat against his life - but managed to get the suspects race involved.
Reporting from @AP got picked up all over, as it does, and recycled through the same lens.
Here’s @usnews, who manage to scrub the knife detail and focus instead on the trendy topics: police shootings and protests.
Which is exactly the problem. By shoehorning a very obviously justified police use of force into the current narrative, you erase the details that matter.
I usually leave out local stations because they do a hard and thankless job, but you can already see the narrative forming here.
And the usual arsonists jumped on the pile.
It is absolutely impossible to look at the bodycam video and conclude that the “police summarily executed” anyone, @greg_doucette.
And the usual clickbait folks jump in. Here’s @revolttv.
And before you know it, the issue - framed in a way that doesn’t fit the facts - is trending on twitter.
Shouldn’t need to be pointed out but this is REALLY bad.
This death, like any other, is a tragedy. But that doesn’t mean it fits your world view or advances your narrative just because of a few of the details of the event.
If reporting obfuscates more than it reveals about these kinds of things, we’ll all be worse off.
I have a bad feeling this thread will need to be added on to as more places pick up the story, especially national outlets.
Also, shouldn’t be lost on anyone that all of this is happening while two officers in LA are battling for their lives after someone attempted to assassinate them.
You want to know where the anti-police animus comes from? I’ve got a guess.
For those asking I don’t have anything to support or subscribe to but I do these threads often so throw me a follow if you’d like.
And remember in your charity the families of police officers killed in the line of duty. If you can give, here’s a good org: charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=…
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“15 days to slow the spread” kicked off four years ago Saturday, sending the media into perhaps its most deranged cycle of my lifetime.
I dove back into some of the worst lockdown media coverage from those early days.
Buckle in, this one’s long. ⤵️
The real worst of the coverage was when states started reopening. The media outrage was palpable. Republicans wanted people to die, we were told.
Remember @TheAtlantic’s “Georgia’s Experiment in Human Sacrifice”? You may’ve forgotten how wild the text of it was. I did.
But that wasn’t a one off sentiment. The belief four years ago among the media was that allowing people to leave their homes was tantamount to killing people.
@washingtonpost called it a “deadly error” — not in an opinion piece, mind you, but in a “health” news headline.
Another media conspiracy, this time that Trump attacked a Secret Service agent on Jan 6, imploded yesterday.
Remember when the media—in unison—reported the “bombshell” allegations as fact?
I do. And I’ve got screenshots.⤵️
You’re familiar with the story I suspect but just in case: when former aid Cassidy Hutchinson testified Trump had “lunged” for a secret service steering wheel on Jan. 6, the media rushed to print the salacious (& false) claims as true.
Here’s @NBCNews @CNN @ABC @washingtonpost
Trump was allegedly going to drive himself to the Capitol to take part in the riot.
That’s what @CBSNews @Independent @NPR @NewsHour said.
The new change is stark. I went thru @nytimes digital archive.
Since Biden said the border wasn’t secure in late Jan, “border crisis” appeared in 26 NYT stories, even as crossings declined.
When crossings peaked in Nov & Dec, but there was no one but Biden to blame?
5 mentions
So what changed? Well, Biden empowered the press by saying the border wasn’t secure in late Jan. Then Republicans voted against a “bipartisan” border deal.
After that, the media were off to the races: yes, there was a border crisis, and it was the GOP’s fault. Here’s @CNN.
What happened to the media’s legal “experts” who said Colorado was right to kick Trump off the ballot? Remember them? I do. @FreeBeacon.
Quick trip down memory lane after even the liberal SCOTUS justices rejected Colorado’s claims. ⤵️ freebeacon.com/media/watch-su…
Here’s a link to the video which is incredible. Lot of media hosts and talking heads were convinced Trump was toast. (H/t @thaleigha_ for making this gem).
The “experts” said so!
Print reporting read the same way.
@nytimes cited an “expert” who said Colorado’s case was “legally sound” and that the only thing that could stop it was politics.
Why, then, did the 3 liberal justices also side against Colorado?
After Republicans accused Biden of refusing to do anything to address the border crisis for weeks, the press jumped in to suggest the president’s hands were tied.
Just look at this headline from @Forbes
Or this reporting from @AP, here to fact check Republicans and say that the authority they claimed Biden had (which, spoiler, he would soon use) was “far more complicated”