🧵Our national news media, describing lying GOP candidates as mere "skeptics," has taken sides in the battle for democracy. Fascists who lie about our electoral system aren't viable candidates for office. Media must stop softening their immorality. We need pro-truth frames. 1/ Image
Fascism expert @ruthbenghiat explains: "The GOP's aim is to debase the whole idea of elections, so the fundamental democratic idea of relying on elections to choose leaders is compromised." The midterms are a referendum on how well America's newsrooms have conveyed the threat. 2/ Image
Euphemisms like "election denier" convey validity to a strategic disinformation campaign. 70% of GOP voters believe lies they've been fed. News media creates a nationwide permission structure to "deny" elections. A candidate who "disputes the 2020 results" is lying. 3/ Image
"Dispute" suggests there's something to dispute. There's nothing to dispute. "Deny" suggests something occurred to be denied. There's nothing to deny. Describing liars this way is itself a way of lying to readers - on behalf of fascists. If you're MAGA, does this read as bad? 4/ Image
It gets much worse. Here's how @washingtonpost & @rubycramer, just weeks from election day, portrayed Kari Lake, a person who lies to everyone whose vote she wants. Voters deserve the blunt truth about candidates who lie. The subhead dubs her a "Republican phenom." Lake PR. 5/ Image
.@MarkJacob16 nails down what's so wrong with this type of glossy coverage that only manages to imperceptibly nod at the danger. 6/
#FixMediaNow
Any frame other than one forcefully identifying the dangers of anti-democracy MAGA candidates, is a dangerous violation of public trust. Media cultivates reality. Everything we know about national politics is filtered down from coverage like that of @rubycramer. 7/
#FixMediaNow Image
🚨We've developed a series of guidelines for pro-democracy, pro-truth election coverage that we URGENTLY recommend our national media adopt.
⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️
mediaanddemocracyproject.org/prodemocracyco…

We'd love it if you checked them out and shared them as widely as possible.

We must #FixMediaNow. 8/ Image

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More from @FixMediaNow

Oct 18
🧵Let's examine the immorality of covering elections like a sport. @nytimes The Daily spent 25 minutes on "The Personal and Political Saga of Herschel Walker". The issues were not covered. The threat of MAGA fascism wasn't mentioned. Republicans were treated normally.
1/ Image
"So after the 2020 presidential election and the 2021 Senate runoffs, Republicans had to do some soul searching, some recalibrating." Maya King mentions DJT's #BigLie but leaves out that the majority of Republicans in Congress also participated in the attempted coup.

2/
Then she and @mikiebarb have this exchange after we learn Walker put a gun to his ex's temple-

Barbaro: Wow. That’s pretty extraordinary.

King: It is, and it’s something that might otherwise disqualify a candidate with far less star power...than Herschel Walker.

Drama!

3/
Read 7 tweets
Oct 17
🧵As national news media perilously spreads anti-democracy candidate lies, here are examples of what pro-democracy, pro-truth election coverage can look like. Check out our guidelines and share them with a political reporter you know...immediately. 1/
⬇️⬇️
mediaanddemocracyproject.org/prodemocracyco… Image
It's imperative that pro-democracy newsrooms use forceful language to inoculate American voters against strategic election disinformation. Here's a great example from the @pbpost. Coverage must connect the #BigLie to the GOP effort to undermine faith in elections. 2/
#FixMediaNow Image
Pro-democracy newsrooms must uplift election workers, voters, and the election process. Here's a great example from @NPR's @hansilowang. Poll workers are under MAGA attack. Celebrating them in feature articles makes them less ripe for GOP demonization. 3/ npr.org/2022/09/07/112…
Read 5 tweets
Dec 24, 2021
1/ There's no objectivity in journalism. The choice of what to cover and what not to is subjective and everything follows from there. Word choice is subjective. Both-sides, horse race coverage, euphemism, directly quoting liars, all choices. Framing is its own form of propaganda. Image
2/ What follows are a series of headlines which normalize GOP malfeasance and downplay the threat to democracy. We've edited them to make clear the purposeful employment of euphemism, especially on threats to voting. Corporate media subjects us to these pro-GOP frames everyday.
3/ We'll ease into it with a press favorite, choosing to call GOP liars "firebrands." Jim Jordan lies about elections and ignored student rapes by a team doctor when he was a wrestling coach at Ohio State. America, he's just passionate. Just another "GOP firebrand." ImageImage
Read 19 tweets
Dec 20, 2021
1/ PUBLIC MEDIA READING LIST 🧵:

Hi, our mission is to convince you that commercialized, corporate media is every bit its own form of propaganda and to help you help us push for alternatives. Here is a list of articles and books to get you started.
2/ Of course, you'll be best served by reading @VWPickard's excellent book, Democracy Without Journalism? amazon.com/Democracy-with…
3/ Then read his explainer of the Fairness Doctrine. Most scholars doubt a new FD will have the impact activists think it will, but "it encouraged sensitivity toward programming biases and empowered local communities to hold broadcasters accountable." washingtonpost.com/outlook/2021/0…
Read 10 tweets
Nov 17, 2021
1/ #MEDIAFAIL🚨
-HIDING REALITY FROM READERS
-NO CONTEXT
-SPREAD CRT LIE
@tylerkingkade and @Mike_Hixenbaugh completely whitewash the reality that Parents Defending Education is a Koch backed fake grassroots group that has created the CRT hysteria. H/t @brucewilson.
2/ As early as April, non-reporter Americans were figuring this out. Could you guys take like two minutes and do a little research? Or is your editor telling you to be ad hoc disinformation agents for the Koch's fake group? H/t @DianeRavitch. dianeravitch.net/2021/04/05/mau…
3/ When journos reporting on efforts to manipulate society HIDE the manipulation, they are doing the last necessary piece of work for the #KochNetwork, spreading the outrage. Americans lured by the manipulation effort see it legitimized by the news. This is anti-journalism.
Read 7 tweets
Nov 5, 2021
1/ All just a game to @jdawsey1. He, @washingtonpost, @RoigFranzia write puff pieces for lying GOP operatives while the Dems are perpetually in disarray. Stop normalizing GOP lies and astroturfs,@SallyBuzbee. CRT = Koch Tea Party Redux! washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/ronn…
2/ Puff piece for Dana Loesch on August 30th.
washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/styl…
3/ Puff piece for Dan Bongino from April 20th.
washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/styl…
Read 16 tweets

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