Friday, June 26, 2020
Headlines for June 26, 2020
Worst, Most Misleading & Funniest Headlines for June 26, 2020
*For new listeners: Why Headlines?
For more general analysis of the biases and problems with corporate media, follow FAIR — Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting.
But we concentrate on headlines because:
- Headlines form the first and lasting impression
- Even when articles have clarifying or even contradictory information, it’s often in the 15th paragraph; most people don’t read that far
- If you get your news from a local paper, like the Mercury News, those papers often contain shorter versions of the articles, which don’t get down to that 15th paragraph
- If you get your news from TV news, it’s about the equivalent of the first 3 or 4 paragraphs, but basically the equivalent of the headline
- And finally, if you get your news from social media, very often you only read the headline that someone else has posted. A friend posted this article: “Study: 70% of Facebook users only read the headline of science stories before commenting”. But that article itself was a trap; after the first paragraph it was just Latin gibberish. But of course people commented on it!
*A DNA Mix-Up Involving a Washing Machine Kept a Man in Jail for 3 Years
Subhead: The Louisiana case highlights how prosecutors and crime labs withhold key documents from defense lawyers, keeping some defendants in custody for months or years.
So it wasn’t a “DNA Mix-Up” that kept this man in jail for three years, it was the willful and illegal actions of prosecutors and crime labs.
*A Conspiracy Made in America May Have Been Spread by Russia
Subhead: The Americans who pushed a conspiracy theory the night of the Iowa caucuses have migrated to coronavirus conspiracies on Twitter, with help from a very Russia-friendly account.
“Russia-friendly account”≠”Russia” “Ann Louise La Clair, a self-described Los Angeles filmmaker with a Russian Twitter following. Her tweets praising RT advertisements and protesting American airstrikes in Syria — a key Russian ally — had previously been picked up by RT, the Kremlin-owned news outlet.” She’s just a Sanders supporter. Some Russian guy, with no known connection to the Russian government, retweeted her. “@DanWals83975326 continues to play his part. He amplifies Mr. Sanders and Representative Tulsi Gabbard, the Democrat from Hawaii who is a favorite of the Russian press, while slamming Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and the D.N.C. He applauded Joe Rogan, the podcaster and onetime Sanders supporter, when Mr. Rogan announced that he would vote for Mr. Trump over Mr. Biden.” (Gabbard is barely tweeting any more, by the way). “DanWals” has a whopping 1200 followers on Twitter, most of them Russians, so his influence over anything happening in the U.S.? Non-existent. (Trump has 82 MILLION followers).
*Venezuela's rival presidents prepare to battle over gold in London vaults
Even the article refers to “Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro” and “His rival, opposition leader Juan Guaido”.
*How the Trump Campaign’s Plans for a Triumphant Rally Went Awry
Weird headline because the rally hadn’t happened yet when this article ran. How did the NYT know it wouldn’t be triumphant? I know for sure Trump will spin it that way no matter what happens, and I doubt he’ll be wrong.
*Wall Street spent heavily to take down Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. It was a bad investment.
The word “investment” in this headline isn’t a metaphor.
The case for renewed US engagement in Latin America
A column by Newt Gingrich and others. Of course the US has never stopped being “engaged” in Latin America, whether it’s Venezuela, or Cuba, or Bolivia, or almost any other country – sponsoring coups, economic blockades, etc. But Gingrich is actually talking about *constructive engagement”, not because it’s the right thing to do, but only to “counter Chinese influence”. Totally reminiscent of Kennedy’s Alliance for Progress, also an effort to counter alleged Communist influence.
Simon Bolívar: “The United States appears to be destined by Providence to plague America with misery in the name of liberty.”
Trump is right to withdraw troops from Germany — as long as he sends them east
This is a column from the Post’s right-wing columnist Marc Thiessen. Is there a single columnist working for a major news outlet saying that withdrawing troops from Germany would be a good thing, and not so they can be sent to Poland, as Trump is planning, but to bring them home? No, of course not.
Green Party candidate lays out party's platform
A short article, but at least it’s there. Similar (or any) coverage in more widely circulated media — NYT, WaPo, CNN, etc.? Non-existent.
