Journalism in a Hall of Mirrors

Article in The Guardian by Katherine Viner, 5/6/26

Headline: “How to survive the information crisis: ‘We once talked about fake news – now reality itself feels fake’ “

Subhead:  “In this age of crisis, technology is pulling us apart. At its best, journalism can bring us together again, writes Guardian editor-in-chief Katharine Viner”

“. . .As tech companies have prioritised capturing attention, truth has been downgraded. AI slop and deepfakes are now so rampant that it feels that your brain can no longer compute what it’s seeing. You start to question things that turn out to be true. It doesn’t help that reality itself has become so much stranger and more grotesque. . .”

“. . .Before I talk about Guardian journalism, I’m going to talk about what makes that journalism possible. Now, I’ll admit that the words ‘ownership model’ might not set the pulse racing. But it really matters. At the Guardian, we have no proprietor demanding political or commercial returns. We have no profit-driven shareholders demanding cuts or cash. The purpose of the Scott Trust, which owns the Guardian, is to keep the Guardian going in perpetuity, serving the public interest, not the interests of the wealthy. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/media/ng-interactive/2026/may/06/how-to-survive-the-information-crisis-we-once-talked-about-fake-news-now-reality-itself-feels-fake

Foxy Nukes

Article in Media Matters by Matt Gertz, 5/5/26

Headline:  Fox’s ”nuke justification for the Iran war — and the higher prices it’s wrought — has collapsed”

Subhead:  “Is it a small price to pay if you get nothing in return?”

Fox pundits have repeatedly argued that the Iran war’s costs are ‘a small price to pay’ for its supposed prevention of the imminent threat posed by Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon.

But a new U.S. intelligence assessment reportedly found that after two months of war, ‘the time Iran would ​need to build a nuclear weapon has not changed since last summer, when analysts estimated that a U.S.-Israeli attack had pushed back the timeline to up to a year,’ according to exclusive reporting from Reuters. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/foxs-nuke-justification-iran-war-and-higher-prices-its-wrought-has-collapsed

Reporters Puzzled?

Article in The Babylon Bee by Staff, 4/28/26

Headline:  “Media Still Stumped As To Motive Of Gunman With Manifesto Titled ‘Why I’m Going To Kill Donald J. Trump’ “

“U.S. — Members of the national media remained completely baffled as to the target or motive of a gunman carrying a detailed, 47-page manifesto entitled ‘Why I’m Going To Kill Donald J. Trump.’

“The document reportedly provided a handy bullet-pointed list of grievances along with a helpful table of contents detailing primary and secondary motivations for wanting to kill the president, but after hours of reviewing the manifesto, journalists came up empty as to who the gunman may have been targeting and why. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://babylonbee.com/news/media-still-stumped-as-to-motive-of-gunman-with-manifesto-titled-why-im-going-to-kill-donald-j-trump

Infowars Joins Comic Section


Article in Variety by Todd Spangler, 4/20/26

Headline:  The Onion Says It Has a Deal to Take Over Alex Jones’ Infowars, Plans to Relaunch Right-Wing Site as Parody of Itself”

“Satire site the Onion says that it has — after 17 months legal wrangling — successfully landed a deal allowing it take over Infowars, the right-wing conspiracy-fueled site run by Alex Jones. . .”

“In November 2024, the Onion gleefully revealed its winning bankruptcy-auction bid for Infowars. Jones and his company filed for bankruptcy amid defamation suits the families of victims in the Sandy Hook mass shooting in Connecticut filed against him. The families won judgments in 2022 against Jones totaling $1.4 billion; last fall the Supreme Court rejected his appeal of the verdicts. Jones had repeatedly lied and posited baseless conspiracy theories about the Sandy Hook massacre. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://variety.com/2026/digital/news/the-onion-deal-taking-over-alex-jones-infowars-1236726130/

Media and “Shields”

Article in Common Dreams by Stephen Prager, 4/7/26

Headline:  “Western Media Called Out for ‘Misleading’ Portrayal of Iranians Defending Infrastructure as ‘Human Shields’ “

“ ‘The real legal and moral question is why civilian infrastructure is being targeted at all,’ said one expert.

“After US President Donald Trump made his genocidal declaration on Tuesday that the ‘whole civilization’ of Iran ‘will die tonight,’ reports began to roll in of people across the country standing outside the power plants, bridges, and other civilian infrastructure the president promised to bomb. . .”

“The government has encouraged Iranians, including children and young students, to take to the streets to form human chains around infrastructure that may come under threat, leading some Western media outlets to raise the fear that people were being used as ‘human shields.’

“Sina Toossi, a fellow at the Center for International Policy, however, said this “is a deeply misleading framing. . .”

“ ‘This is about people trying to safeguard electricity, water, and basic civilization under open threat,’ Toossi said. ‘The real legal and moral question is why civilian infrastructure is being targeted at all.’ ”

Read the whole article at:

https://www.commondreams.org/news/iranians-defend-infrastructure-trump

Fox News More of a Gamble Now?


Article in The Hill by Ashleigh Fields, 4/7/26

Headline:  Fox integrating Kalshi prediction markets data across news platforms “

“The Fox Corporation on Tuesday said it would integrate data from Kalshi prediction markets across multiple platforms to enhance the audience experience.

“Insight from the prediction market will be shared on Fox News Channel, Fox Business Network, Fox Weather and the Fox One platform, according to a press release announcing the integration sponsored by Kalshi. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://thehill.com/homenews/media/5820864-fox-corporation-integrates-kalshi-markets/

 

Fox News in Sheep’s Clothing?


Article in Daily Beast by Tom Latcher,. 3/30/26

Headline:  “MTG Brands Fox News ‘Fake News’ as MAGA Civil War Deepens”

Subhead:  “Ann Coulter also compared the network’s Iran war coverage to its false 2020 election claims.”

“Former Trump loyalist Marjorie Taylor Greene has turned against MAGA’s favorite TV channel as the Republican civil war over Iran goes nuclear.

“Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News has long echoed the American First narrative of the Republican Party’s MAGA wing. But some prominent MAGA supporters are falling out of love with the cable network over its backing for Donald Trump’s war on Iran.

“Trump’s friend-turned-foe MTG accused the network of peddling ‘fake news’ and ‘brainwashing boomers’ over Iran. She wrote on X Sunday, ‘Fox News is now the fake news. Brainwashing boomers to support what we voted against.’. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.thedailybeast.com/mtg-brands-fox-news-fake-news-as-maga-iran-civil-war-deepens/

Fabricated Media are Here!

Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Emily Bell  3/26/26

Headline: “Did I Really Say That?”

Subhead:  “A European journalist apologized for using AI to fabricate quotes—including from me. But there’s little accountability in blaming a chatbot.”

“Three weeks ago, a Dutch freelancer named Menno van den Bos contacted CJR and the Tow Center for Digital Journalism to tell us he had found a writeup of our Journalism 2050 issue in his country’s press that he suspected of containing AI-generated inaccuracies. In itself this is not surprising. As we have written here before, the incidence of fake quotes and citations from journalists and academics is a growing menace. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/tow_center/did-i-really-say-that-dutch-journalist-ai-fabricate-quotes-vandermeersch-mediahuis.php

Fairness in Broadcasting?

Article in Babylon Bee by Staff, 3/13/26

Headline: “To Save Time, CNN Will Now Run Retractions Simultaneously With News Stories”

“ATLANTA, GA — As part of the channel’s ongoing quest to ensure accurate media reporting, CNN has elected to run live retractions simultaneously with the news stories being reported at the time.

“Retractions will appear on an additional ticker at the bottom of the screen, retracting the usual live news updates with corrections of everything the on-screen anchor is saying. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://babylonbee.com/news/to-save-time-cnn-will-now-run-retractions-simultaneously-with-news-stories

Demanding Good News

Article in Rolling Stone by Nikki McCamm Ramirez, 3/13/26

Headline:  “Hegseth Demands Favorable Coverage As Iran Death Toll Increases”

Subhead:  “Following the death of six more American service members, the Secretary of Defense is stressing over negative headlines”

“The American death toll in the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran climbed to 13 on Friday, and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth would like everyone to tell him he’s doing a very good job. . .”

” ‘More fake news from CNN. Reports that the Trump administration underestimated the Iran war‘s impact on the Strait of Hormuz. Patently ridiculous, of course,’ Hegseth said, referencing reporting that officials within the Defense Department had underestimated Iran’s willingness to blockade the critical commercial strait, causing wild fluctuations in global energy prices. Hegseth added that he looks forward to Trump-aligned billionaire David Ellison taking control of the network. . . ”

Read the full article at:

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/pete-hegseth-berates-press-iran-death-toll-1235530124/

– – – – –

“Pete Hegseth attacks media for not being positive enough about US attacks on Iran”

“US defense head is eager to frame operation as a success – and slam journalists for not portraying it in a positive light”

More from The Guardian at:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/13/pete-hegseth-iran-was-us-press