Media Misinformation

Snapping at the Media

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Article in The New Republic by Greg Sargent, 2/6/26

Headline:  “Trump Press Sec Snaps at Media as Spin on Threat to Rig 2026 Goes Awry”

Subhead:  “After Trump called for Republicans to “nationalize” the midterms, Karoline Leavitt struggled to spin it away. We talked to an election law expert who explains the nightmare scenarios we should fear the most.”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt lost her temper with a reporter who asked if Donald Trump intends to flood polling places with ICE agents during the midterms. She called the question’silly’ and ‘hypothetical’ and ‘disingenuous,’ even though Steve Bannon, who’s influential in the White House, explicitly said this week that this will happen. This comes as Trump himself called for Republicans to ‘nationalize the voting.’ Leavitt also struggled to spin this threat from Trump, suggesting that’s not what he meant, only to have Trump undercut her by reiterating his demand soon after. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://newrepublic.com/article/206228/trump-press-sec-snaps-media-spin-threat-rig-2026-goes-awry

Both Sides Right at Same Time?

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Article in FAIR by Jim Naureckas, 2/4/25

Headline:  “At NYT, Pretending You Don’t Know Makes You a Real Reporter”

“The New York Times is addicted to bothsidesing. Even when you have examples on video of people being shot down on the street by federal agents, the paper has to pretend there’s a valid case for justifying murder: on the one hand, on the other. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://fair.org/home/at-nyt-pretending-you-dont-know-makes-you-a-real-reporter/

Which Road for CBS News?

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Article in Status News by Oliver Darcy, 2/4/26

Headline:  “The Weiss Way or the Highway”

Subhead:  “As speculation swirls over whether CBS News will take any action after new health contributor Peter Attia was ensnared in the Epstein Files, Status has learned what Bari Weiss’s silence actually signals—and what it says about her leadership.”

“On Friday, the Department of Justice released millions of new pages from the Epstein Files, ensnaring some of the world’s wealthiest and most well-known men in the ever-growing scandal. . .”

“But over at CBS News, another name quickly caught the eye of staffers: Peter Attia, the YouTube wellness influencer whom Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss just proudly named as a network contributor.

Attia, it turns out, had exchanged dozens of emails with the disgraced financier and convicted sex offender. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.status.news/p/peter-attia-epstein-files-bari-weiss-cbs-news

Rt. Wing Media – Whistle = Assault?

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Article in Media Matters by Payton Armstrong, 2/3/26

Headline:  “Right-wing media figures are furious at activists for using whistles during ICE activity”

Right-wing media figures are lashing out at community members in Minnesota for using whistles to alert others of federal immigration enforcement in the area, asserting that whistles should be ‘considered a violent weapon and that their use constitutes ‘interference” with immigration enforcement operations or even “assault.’

“Activists and residents have explained that whistles are ‘a way to quickly draw witnesses and cameras when enforcement activity happens in neighborhoods.’. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/immigration/right-wing-media-figures-are-furious-activists-using-whistles-during-ice-activity

MAGA Media Distorting Minnesota?

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Article in Media Matters by MAtt Gertz, 1/30/26

Headline:  “MAGA media demand Trump put down the Minnesota ‘revolution’ “

“A week after Border Patrol officers gunned down nurse Alex Pretti on the streets of Minneapolis, MAGA media’s biggest stars are portraying locals who oppose immigration enforcement officers’ brutal tactics as China-backed ‘revolutionaries’ seeking ‘the complete overthrow of Western civilization’ which they are urging President Donald Trump to put down at all costs…”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/maga-media-demand-trump-put-down-minnesota-revolution

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Jem Bartholomew, 2/2/26

Headline: ” I Might Get Arrested, People’ “

Subhead: “How MAGA media outlets are fueling Trump’s crackdown on the press.”

“. . .In the immediate aftermath of the church protest, the right-wing, MAGA-aligned mediasphere reacted with fury. ‘Don Lemon storms the church, rushes the altar in the middle of the sermon, harasses and threatens the pastor on a live feed,’ Benny Johnson, the right-wing YouTuber, posted on X, twisting the facts as aggressively as a powerlifter wringing out a wet towel. Johnson called for Lemon to be “frog marched before the cameras” and face “full federal charges with decades of prison time.’. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/the_media_today/don-lemon-georgia-fort-arrests-church-st-saint-paul-ice-pastor-dhs-maga-media-benny-johnson-tim-pool.php

Noem Media Interview Trouble?

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Article in Raw Story by Robert Davis, 1/29/26

Headline: “Analysts blown away by Kristi Noem’s ‘unbelievable’ Fox News interview”

“. . .Then administration officials like Noem and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller smeared Pretti by calling him a “domestic terrorist” and claiming he brandished a weapon at immigration officers, two claims that the administration has since distanced itself from.”

“Noem attempted to clean up her part of the mess on Hannity’s show on Thursday, but it appears she may have made it worse. . .”

” ‘So @Sec_Noem, you publicly call the dead protester a “domestic terrorist” right away, and THEN you investigate to see if the person really was a domestic terrorist? That’s how you do things? That’s really ass-backwards,’ former Republican congressman Joe Walsh posted on X. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.rawstory.com/kristi-noem-2675060811/?utm_source=front-sidebar-watch

Media discuss “help” or havoc?

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Article in FAIR by Ben Fernandezm 1/29/26

Headline:  “US Media Keen on Iranian Unrest—Less So on US and Israel’s Role in It”

“. . .On January 10, Donald Trump—fresh off his abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro—took to his preferred social media platform to showcase his signature manic reliance on random capitalization and exclamation points: ‘Iran is looking at FREEDOM, perhaps like never before. The USA stands ready to help!!!’. . .”

“The protests have since dissipated, without any successful ‘help’ thus far in the form of regime change or US/Israeli military attack, although Trump has dispatched a ‘massive fleet’ to the Middle East ‘just in case.’ . . .”

Read the full article at:

https://fair.org/home/us-media-keen-on-iranian-unrest-less-so-on-us-and-israels-role-in-it/

For CBS – Germs Are Now “Woke”?

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Article in The Guardian by Jason Wilson, 1/29/26

Headline:  “Bari Weiss’s new CBS hires include ‘germ theory denialist’ doctor”

Subhead:  “Dr Mark Hyman, who claimed he reduced his biological age by 20 years, brought on as a contributor”

“Among the new hires at CBS announced by Bari Weiss is a doctor who has claimed that he has reduced his biological age by 20 years with therapies including cold plunges; that cod liver oil can treat autism and that conditions like Alzheimer’s and dementia can be reversed with the kind of nutritional supplements he also sells on his online store.

“Dr Mark Hyman, who has been called a “germ theory denialist” by the medical author Harriet Hall, and has been brought on as a contributor in Weiss’s revamping of CBS’s news division. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/29/bari-weiss-cbs-mark-hyman

Rt. Wing Media Justify Murder?

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Article in Media Matters by Noah Dowe & Isabela Sherk, 1/28/26

Headline:  “The right-wing media figures who have justified Alex Pretti’s killing by Trump’s DHS”

Subhead:  “MAGA media and far-right figures smeared Pretti, calling him a “race traitor” who aimed to ‘commit a mass murder’ “

“Following the January 24 killing of Alex Pretti by Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis, many right-wing media figures jumped to blame Pretti for his own death and spread false information about his actions.

“ ‘Shame on that individual for creating the very consequences that ultimately cost him his life,’ said one Newsmax guest. Former Fox host Megyn Kelly remarked, ‘Do you know why I wasn’t shot by Border Patrol this weekend? Because I kept my ass inside and out of their operations.’. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/immigration/right-wing-media-figures-who-have-justified-alex-prettis-killing-trumps-dhs

Getting the Propaganda Right?

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Article in Poynter by Tom Jones 1/27/26

Headline:  “Opinion | How bystander video and newsroom analysis undercut the White House narrative on Alex Pretti”

Subhead:  “The administration tried to shape the story, but evidence and detailed analysis appear to have forced a rare recalibration”

“. . .In the minutes and hours and days after ICU nurse Alex Pretti was shot 10 times and killed by Border Patrol agents on Saturday, many inside the Trump administration immediately pointed fingers at Pretti. They said he was ‘brandishing’ a gun. They called him a ‘domestic terrorist.’ They said he meant to ‘massacre law enforcement.’

“Some conservative media outlets ran with that storyline.

“None of these statements were rooted in truth. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2026/video-evidence-alex-pretti-white-house-messaging/