The most pervasive form of bias in news media is omission. You hear me say it frequently and it’s as true today as ever. That being said, the second most pervasive form of bias in news media is outright lying. Blatant fake news and misleading headlines designed to scare people into a frozen state. Both are on display as 34 states are in phase one reopening and South Florida is looking to emerge from the current state of semi-lockdown.
Here’s an AP headline from yesterday, Predicted COVID-19 deaths rise as more reopening debated. Here's another, NYC mayor: Other states may be reopening too quickly. Or from TC Palm outright fake news, take this excerpt from TC Palm, "St. Johns County which made national headlines when it was among the first to reopen its beaches, is now seeing its highest numbers of COVID-19 and influenza like symptoms".
Now let me ask you, to the first headline, is there any possibility other than deaths going higher? But the way it’s fashioned is to create fear and tie it to reopening. To the second, how many states giving a flying you know what about what Bill DeBlasio thinks of their reopening plans? But AP wants to make his “concerns” yours. And then there’s the blatant fake news reporting of TC Palm. More cases in St. Johns County since the beaches open? Seriously. First, it had been 19 days since the beaches reopened. Second, the total number of cases diagnosed in St. Johns since testing began, 204. This reporting is so blatantly false and misleading for the way in which it’s presented, it’s offensive. There are myriads of examples I could use. These are just a few to illustrate a point. Here’s what you should know, the latest updates from the earliest states to reopen, April 24th. Here’s the decline in reported new cases 13 days after reopening. Numbers are the previous seven days prior to reopening compared to the most recent seven days.
- Alaska: Down 27%
- Georgia: Down13%
- Oklahoma: Down 1%
- South Carolina: Down 3%
- Vermont: Down 21%
Any questions?
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