Rand Paul just gave a master class in how the Big Lie — election denialism — exploits the "both sides" rule set in journalism. "Was the election stolen?" @GStephanopoulos asked. There was no second question. They fought all the way through. Rand kept saying: hear the other side!
A clip of Rand Paul using the platform of ABC News to continue the Big Lie, with plenty of pushback from George Stephanopoulos, which in turn led to — stop me if you've heard this —"liberal bias."
https://twitter.com/ThisWeekABC/status/1353345810327625728ABC News: what are you doing here? What end is served?
After all, @ABC, there is an alternative to asking Big Lie denialists "was the election stolen?" followed by hand-to-hand combat around every "just raising questions" maneuver they have in stock for you today.
Just call the question closed and move on. As an organization.
Just call the question closed and move on. As an organization.
I don't think ABC News knows why it participates in election denialism this way. (People who follow me say ratings, I doubt the ratings would change at all if the Big Lie came off the board.) But there's no question that Rand Paul knows why he does it:
https://twitter.com/RandPaul/status/1353358885755645953
If you want to know why I am using the term, "the Big Lie," what it means in historical context, how it works as a propaganda method, and why it matters that ABC News broadcast it today, sit down and read historian Tim Snyder's essay, "The American Abyss." nytimes.com/2021/01/09/mag…
You can have an evidence-based newsroom. Or you can have the "both sides" formula for advertising your even-handedness. With the Republican Party in its current state you cannot have both.
Former senior VP for NBC News:
Former senior VP for NBC News:
https://twitter.com/DeanLuk/status/1353362875214155776
Here's an article I wrote arguing that journalists should weigh the evidence and come to a conclusion instead of falling back on "both sides." It's from 2004. archive.pressthink.org/2004/06/04/rut… An 18 year-old with a blog about the cable news industry makes an appearance in it: @brianstelter
Those who think @GStephanopoulos should have demanded evidence from Rand Paul when Paul went into his election denialism routine need to consult Brandolini's law.
https://twitter.com/ziobrando/status/289635060758507521The invitation to offer evidence leads to more paper-thin claims that you now have to debunk.
When I said this on Jan. 14, I meant use the question as a filter for the show, not turn the show into the question as @ThisWeekABC did by inviting Rand Paul to unfold the Big Lie, and present it as the "other side" that journalists are supposed to get.
https://twitter.com/jayrosen_nyu/status/1349768856122875904
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