Irony Alert: The Godfather of Fake News Calls DJT 'Orwellian'

Disgraced 'Newsman Dan' Rather's face for some strange reason continues to appear on television screens. It's latest appearance was on Don Lemon's CNN basement rated talk feast in a deep intellectual discussion about outrage at the DJT presidency. At one point, Newsman Dan took the lead when he called the current administration “straight out of Orwell”, prompting Lemon to encourage Rather to expand on his comparisons of the Trump presidency and 1984, the classic dystopian Orwell tome. 

“Orwell, what he wrote it's practically a shooting script for Donald Trump. The point being here there is a method to this, and the method is to convince people that the only truth is the truth that comes from me, the ultimate power. I'm the man with the ultimate power. And he has made some way in that -- as several people have said before me he's not just attacking the truths, he wants to annihilate the truth. He wants to move us completely into the post-truth political era in which there's no such thing as objective facts. He is the only fact. He has all the facts, he has all the information, just listen to him.”  

Not only was The Godfather's TDS showing, but the hypocrisy just drips from his comments. Let me explain. 

Let's replace all references to Trump in Rather's above statement with references to "the Media" and see that Newsman Dan's comment demonstrates that he, like most in the media, have totally lost any sense of self awareness, or just a willing participant in a conspiracy of hate and propaganda. (my changes in bold)

“Orwell, what he wrote it's practically a shooting script for the anti-Trump Media. The point being here there is a method to this, and the method is to convince people that the only truth is the truth that comes from the media , the ultimate power. The Media is the ultimate power. And the media has made some way in that -- as several people have said before me they are not just attacking the truths, the media wants to annihilate the truth. The media wants to move us completely into the post-truth political era in which there's no such thing as objective facts. They are the only fact. They have all the facts, they have all the information, just listen to them.”

Watching the whole interview, other than the brilliant revelation that Trump was not descended from Sun Gods, the only real thing believable I heard coming from Newsman Dan was his statement "It is not an overstatement to say that what is going on now is a great and decisive battle for the soul of this country." Yes Dan, we know. And while you refuse to accept it, more and more Americans are coming to believe that in that 'decisive battle', we are led by the right man. Something your agenda driven opinion and blinding hate will never allow you to understand.

  
Thank You WHATFINGER NEWS and MJA for the Linkage!

Off To The Tower of London With You Acosta!

STREIFF - If there is a single media personality that epitomizes the overweening arrogance, sub-caliber IQ, and lack of self-awareness that is the comic archetype of a television celebrity reporter it is CNN’s Jim Acosta. Ever since CNN decided to position itself as the official mouthpiece of the anti-Trump Resistance, Acosta has been its point man every day in the White House. Just a couple of weeks ago, Acosta tried to get President Trump’s attention…or more accurately, he tried to get attention for himself…by screaming a question from the back of a press conference.

Acosta is a twerp who probably spent all of middle school having other kids flick the backs of his ears as they passed him in the hallway and leaving him cowering in tears in the guidance counselor’s office. On the other hand, given that CNN makes a big deal of this kind of bullshit in its coverage–they portrayed Acosta as some kind of brave truth-teller after his churlish behavior at the last press event–it is probably necessary that he get these smackdowns.

 "President Trump refused a question from CNN's Jim Acosta at a joint press conference Friday afternoon with UK Prime Minister Theresa May in Buckinghamshire. Earlier in the press conference, Trump called out CNN after receiving a question from NBC News reporter Hallie Jackson. Trump said NBC is "possibly worse than CNN."  

In Acosta style he shouts out "Mr. President, since you attacked CNN, can I ask you a question?"

"I don't take questions from CNN. CNN is fake news. I don't take questions from CNN." Acosta almost brought the press conference to a halt insisting that the U.S. president take his question." - Video

I don’t know what lesson will be learned from this by future presidents. Historically, Democrat presidents (see Clinton and Obama) have been handled with kid gloves by the press and Republican presidents have played the role of good-natured punching bag (see George W. Bush). Strategically, there is zero doubt that Trump’s media strategy is working. Recent research has found that super-majorities of Americans believe the media is pushing its own agenda and CNN is feeling the impact as they are a non-entity among news outlets and are in a death struggle with SpongeBob SquarePants for ratings.

[RedState]
[RealClear Politics]
H/T Crazy Cousin Olivia

What Could Possibly Go Wrong??

New Startup Wants to Determine For You What is Fake News

What could go wrong. Put dozens and dozens of people in a room, (hopefully with the proper amount of diversity in skin color, plumbing, and sexual practices) many who were taught in journalism schools their mission was to decide the truth, change the world and tell people what they should think, and give them the job of rooting out and labeling Fake News on the internet.

In a world where the left is so f**kin stupid that SNOPES has to officially tell them CNN didn't really buy an Industrial Strength Washing Machine to spin the News, maybe they could use a service like this. The Startup founder and CEO, Steven Brill stated the mission and the goal of their venture: To help consumers distinguish between sites that are trying to get it right and sites that are trying to trick people.

The irony of this is he said it on Little Chubby Stelter's show on the Fake News Network CNN.

"What we're doing is no more and no less than telling people the difference between The Denver Post, which is a real newspaper, and The Denver Guardian, which broke a bunch of,  you know,  completely fake stories right before the election," said Steven Brill, the co-CEO of the new venture. 

He said several dozen journalists will be hired to produce the reviews. The pitch is naturally appealing to journalists -- he's saying algorithms aren't cutting it, so real-life reviewers are needed to judge reliability. 

Websites will receive green, yellow, or red ratings. There will also be "nutrition labels" with more detailed information. The labels "are intended to let readers know if they need to take particular brands they see online with a grain of salt -- or with an entire shaker." 

"Imagine coming to a National Review story about affirmative action versus one from the Nation. Both totally legit publications,  but unlike the old days when you knew what brands were,  on a feed or in a search they both just look like headlines."

NewsGuard will try to license its reviews and nutrition labels to search and social networking platforms like Google, Microsoft, Facebook, and the Tweeter.

"How many fingers am I holding up, Winston?"

So, the White House is in Need of a New Communications Director. If I May Be So Bold As To Make a Suggestion.........

Thank You MJA for the Linkage!

Pointy Hat Guy Condemns Fake News' Use of "Snake Tactics"

VATICAN CITY, Jan 24 - Reuters - Pope Francis on Wednesday condemned the "evil" of fake news, saying journalists and social media users should shun and unmask manipulative "snake tactics" that foment division to serve political and economic interests.

"Fake news is a sign of intolerant and hypersensitive attitudes, and leads only to the spread of arrogance and hatred. That is the end result of untruth," Francis said in the first document by a pope on the subject. The document, called "The truth will set you free - Fake news and journalism for peace", was issued in advance of the Catholic Church's World Day of Social Communications on May 13. Francis compared the use of fake news to the Bible story of the devil, who, disguised as a serpent, persuaded Eve to eat the fruit of the forbidden tree.

"We need to unmask what could be called the 'snake-tactics' used by those (purveyors of fake news) who disguise themselves in order to strike at any time and place," he said. "The role of journalists was "not just a job, it is a mission" and they had particular responsibility to stem fake news."

Pointed Hat Guy Takes Shot at Fake News Media

Pope Fran is Obviously Not a Fan of Fake News Purveyors Like CNN Either

According to NPR News, Pope Francis weighed in on the issue of freedom of the press and fake news as he delivered a sermon to a group of journalists Saturday about “the sins of communication."

The Pope made his comments to members of the Italian Periodical Press Union and the Italian Federation of Catholic Weeklies. Franics said  journalism is a field “dominated by the anxiety of speed” and is driven by sensationalism. Reliable information, he said, is at a premium. "There is an urgent need for news communicated with serenity, precision and completeness."  The Pope also spoke about the perils of disinformation and slander. 

“You shouldn’t fall into the ‘sins of communication:’ disinformation, or giving just one side, calumny that is sensationalized, or defamation, looking for things that are old news and have been dealt with and bringing them to light today.  They are very grave sins, which damage the heart of the journalist and harm people.”

This is not the first time the Fran has waded into media issues and the world can expect to hear similar sermons from the pope in the future. Francis made “fake news and journalism for peace,” the topic of his 2017 World Communications Day speech. NPR reported last year that the pope told “journalists and media consumers” that an interest in dredging up scandals is similar to “the sickness of coprophilia."  You'll have to look that up yourself if you really want to know......

Gevera Revolvo Calls BS on San Juan Mayor’s False Blame: ‘I’m here. Who is dying?’

The mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico may have bitten off a little more than she can chew by politicizing the Trump administration’s Hurricane Maria relief efforts. When not busy cranking out nifty custom T-shirts and hats by candlelight, Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz has made a name for herself complaining about the people who have come to her island to help with recovery efforts.

The mayor is all the rage in political circles because of her driving criticism of President Donald Trump, and does she ever play up to the billing, appearing on CNN with a T-shirt emblazoned with the words “help us, we are dying.” The anti-Trump media only needs ONE person to trash the president and they flock to the political stooge like moths to a light.  And as expected, CNN was only too happy to help disseminate the anti-Trump political narrative Cruz is pushing

But Angel Perez, the mayor of nearby Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, said the Trump administration has been fantastic in providing hurricane-relief aid, and suggested San Juan Mayor might better serve her city if she actually did her job by attending FEMA.

Fox News Correspondent & Reporter and Attorney Geraldo Rivera, who’s Puerto Rican, is on the ground in San Juan. Rivera saw things differently too. “On the ground I see the suffering-but feel deeply that attacking @realDonaldTrump for the ravages of nature &neglect is politicizing tragedy,” he tweeted.

Rivera caught up with Mayor Cruz, without her custom-made T-shirt and said she was “being partisan in her sharp unfair attacks,” although he did not agree with President Trump’s most recent assessment of her criticism he point blank told the mayor:“I’ve been traveling around, I don’t see people dying.  I spoke to the doctors, they say they saw 53 patients and they had a person who was septic, but nobody dying.” 

San Juan ‘s mayor has been all over CNN and MSNBC bashing Trump but doesn’t bother to attend critical meetings to help residents get the aid they desperately need. But what the hey, for the dems and the media, its too good of a fake news story to pass up...........

(Bizpac)
(Miami Herald)
(The Tweeter)

Even Some Longtime Media Watchers Now Crying Foul

Media Have Struck a Deal to Go After Trump 

"There is a common expression in the media that there are “some facts too good to check.” It is used in jest to reflect how you sometimes hate to give up a great story for the real facts. That tension was well on display as media seemed to tie itself into knots to avoid admitting that there are legitimate questions raised by the “unmasking” allegations surrounding the actions of Obama National Security Advisor Susan Rice." 

"Reporters are now so committed to refuting Trump that they are refuting actual stories. The loss of objectivity in the response to the Rice story reflects a broader problem of the press focusing so hard on Trump that it has loss sight of its own bearings." - Jonathan Turley

No Sir! No Aidin' and Abettin' Up in Here!

The wagon-circling campaign to protect Obama administration and intelligence community officials who surveilled Donald Trump and his transition team during his presidential campaign and post-victory transition is moving into hyperdrive. On Monday, CNN's Don Lemon proclaimed that "there is no evidence whatsoever" supporting Donald Trump's claim about having been "spied on illegally" (note the inclusion of the word "illegally," which is crucial), and declared that he would not "aid and abet the people who are trying to misinform you."

Lemon's stridency as he delivered his rant on CNN appeared to betray "he protests too much" behavior, while subsequent events have further undermined his there's-nothing-there position. Try as they might, it seems that Lemon and his establishment press cohorts will have a hard time turning these and likely additional future bitter developments relating to Team Obama's election campaign and Trump transition conduct into lemonade.

(BuzzyBlog)