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Thanks for saying out loud what we are all thinking Eric. The press needs to stop using pretty words to describe very ugly behavior.

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founding

CNN, like too many mainstream outlets, is still wedded to the old namby-pamby style of reporting on Republican lies, bullying and other undemocratic behavior. Headlines are often the biggest problem because too often they simply repeat Trump’s claims. The linguist George Lakoff has been trying to make Democrats and the media understand how this works for a long time but has mostly been ignored. Trump has successfully used the tactics Lakoff has described to get away with wrongdoing literally for decades. Years ago he bragged about lying when he talked about how he uses “truthful hyperbole” to get his way.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jun/13/how-to-report-trump-media-manipulation-language

This past June the Washington Post’s Margaret Sullivan wrote about Lakoff’s recommendation that the media always use the “truth sandwich” approach when reporting on lies. To do this requires starting with the truth in the headlines — “Trump falsely claims....”, then describing the lies then ending with the facts. That technique has been shown to be effective because it immediately “frames” the story as debunking untruths rather than allowing the lies to “frame” the story.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/instead-of-trumps-propaganda-how-about-a-nice-truth-sandwich/2018/06/15/80df8c36-70af-11e8-bf86-a2351b5ece99_story.html

This month Sullivan reported on an in-depth study by Harvard’s Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society that clearly shows it is mainstream media more than Russia or social media which is helping Trump spread his disinformation and chaos. Simply by writing headlines that repeat Trump’s claims with no indication that those claims are false, the media repeatedly helps spread his propaganda. The BK Center’s head Yochai Benkler also recommends using the truth sandwich tactic stop Trump from spreading misinformation.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/media/trump-doesnt-need-russian-trolls-to-spread-disinformation-the-mainstream-media-does-it-for-him/2020/10/06/9612d602-07da-11eb-9be6-cf25fb429f1a_story.html

Since 2016 the media has repeatedly blames Russia and social media for Trump’s ability to bamboozle the American people but this study shows that they are actually the ones most responsible. Funny how the study isn’t getting much attention. The WaPo has actually relegated Sullivan, a past public editor of the NY Times, to the Lifestyle section as if she is reporting on entertainment or fashion not information that is critical to our democracy.

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Chaos Strategy is detailed in his 1987 book "The Art of The Deal". What could any of us possibly expect?

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I conceded that there appears to be coordination in the disinformation spew coming from the administration. However, I am not in the camp of some of the conspiracists on the left (Sarah Kendzior being a prime example) that Trump is some sort of mad genius pulling the strings like a Bond villain. He isn't. Trump is only ever in it for two things: His ego and his pocket. Between the two of those things, the ego comes first by a wide margin.

Trump's strength has always been being surrounded by henchmen. His lifelong association with the law firm of Cohn, Cohen and Barr is a perfect encapsulation of it. Trump is a brainless mass of desire for domination with no ability to put it into action. He sits behind a desk, half listens to people, pops off some sort of "get it done" fingersnap to the aforementioned henchman, and then waddles off to watch TV. This is what he's always done. He's lucky he's had shady people to put all of it into practice and for their own reasons - usually personal gain of some sort.

This doesn't mitigate the danger, but in my mind it does raise a question. What is in it for those around him to confuse people about the pandemic? The ones who are a lot smarter than him must have an agenda - what is that agenda? What's in it for them to want half a million to a million people dead? This is the part I don't get because it makes my brain want to go to a dark place about what these folks want.

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The Courtesan Press in the US is as afraid of the right wing as much as the press in Russia is afraid of Putin. The former is naked supplication for personal gain, the latter is potentially a real life-or-death choice. I can see how those pampered with access and huge platforms might be confused.

I don't get it. At this point, what do they really have to lose? Their integrity?

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If they ever stopped to think about it -- which they don't -- they'd realize that the entire reason for the "If the president says it, it's news" convention is the underlying notion that the president has so much access to so many experts that he always has at least some idea what he's talking about. When Trump calls Redfield and Fauci idiots, he's just the guy from The Apprentice talking.

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The truth dies in Luntzspeak.

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Trump has sowed so much confusion that even if the he loses the election, he's going to claim he won and a percentage of the public will believe him or not know what to think. There are scarier times ahead. We will soon know if our democracy will survive or will descend into the pit of autocracy. One thing is for certain, Vladimir Putin is the genius behind the destruction of the United States as we know it. Trump was simply the foolish puppet who only reacts and likes those that kiss his ass. Putin knew to do just that so that Trump would become his Trojan horse. As much as Trump despises the press, it appears as if they have helped him greatly. He should be more appreciative.

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As long as we’re talking about creating a fog of ambiguity where no one knows anything, the NYTimes has an opinion piece about the ‘real’ divide: between political junkies and everyone else. It’s an infuriating exercise in bothsideism, lumping together partisans on both sides as being functionally equivalent, and calling for the muddled middle to be given primacy.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/20/opinion/polarization-politics-americans.html

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And, of course — it's always the Democrats fault! Part of the problem in the media isn't even the reporter who filed the story — but the editor who created the headline! smh

CNBC: Senate Democrats block GOP's $500 billion coronavirus aid bill as Pelosi-Mnuchin talks continue.

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/21/coronavirus-stimulus-update-senate-relief-bill-blocked-as-pelosi-mnuchin-talk.html

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I so wish we could just blame echo chambers like Fox or Daily Caller or Breitbart for this mess. MAGAts watching Sean Hannity think trump is always right and if he says to inject disinfectant then by golly, that's what we should be doing. If Fox had ever had some sustained bit of journalism where they call out his idiocy, maybe it would have broken through the fog for a large portion (but, not all) of its viewers. They are culpable as well.

But, you're right. "Mainstream" media is not without blame. They form their headlines and the bulk of their articles with "he said, she said" and it's not until paragraph 28 that you find, no actually, trump is wrong.

I'm sure they'll learn their lesson as soon as Biden is sworn in. Just about the same time Republican congress critters will go back to pretending their fiscal conservatives.

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Seems impossible to know whether Trump creates confusion because he has adopted Putin's strategy or because he is just a bumbling idiot. But we do know that he creates world-class confusion. Not having the feeling that we understand things is uncomfortable for people, and we relieve that anxious feeling by trying to fashion theories that resolve the confusion. This need to understand if often stronger than the need for that understanding to be correct. So, even smart people lean into theories they would not begin to entertain when there is less confusion. We all know that Trump's army of rubes have adopted absurd theories, but the rest of us are susceptible as well. Stay on your toes.

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Theodora whoever you are, you made my day. I have pushed Lakoff for many years when I ran Alternet. I wrote intro to first edition to “Don’t Think of an Elephant.” The media has enormously enabled Trump. Covid is only reason we are not facing 4 more years. If editors and writers don’t change ways, the future will be dark again. I just joined Press Run. Happy to know about Sullivan article and Harvard report. And glad there are smart people still pushing forward on framing.

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Gotta disagree with a lot here.

First, reporters know well what’s going on. They choose (or their bosses choose for them) to make most of what Trump does acceptable. OTOH, the DC press corps have been supportive of the GOP since the Reagan administration. A recent example is the line that Congress is failing to enact a stimulus bill as oppose to Republican leader Moscow Mitch blocking same. But examples are legion.

And it’s not just Donnie making the state look inept, &c. That’s been something the GOP’s been working on since Reagan. The bigger problem isn’t Trump so much as the entire party.

As for Trump’s spew of BS, well, should be no surprise to anyone at all familiar with his career. The surprise, if any, is his inability or refusal to rise to the responsibilities of his office.

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I am not disagreeing with Mr. Boehlert, because the overwhelming majority of those in the DC political media brothel (the chief chucktodd of them all, madam) don't do their jobs. But I'm wondering about whether this piece attributes too much to the occupant of the Oval Office. He may cause chaos, but I am not convinced that he has the mental or intellectual wherewithal to inflict it intentionally. Sometimes a spasm is just a spasm. I do not pretend to know, but he certainly has revealed several hallmarks of degenerative issues.

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What’s also of note is that the kind of information warfare you are describing is also effectively the mission statement of Fox News and the Murdoch Press.

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