Media Misinformation

Anarchist Airtime?

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Article in Status by Oliver Darcy, 9/23/25

Headline:  “You Don’t Know Jack”

Subhead:  “CNN’s interview with Jack Posobiec prompted internal backlash, while raising larger questions about how mainstream outlets cover far-right figures”

“Earlier this month, in the chaotic aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s assassination, CNN correspondent Meena Duerson sat down with far-right media personality Jack Posobiec to discuss his friend’s murder. Posobiec, of course, was no ordinary grieving ally—he has spent years spreading misinformation, promoting conspiracy theories, and inciting harassment against journalists.

“So it was jarring, to say the least, to see him appear on CNN’s air. What was more surprising was that the network, which gave the package prime placement on ‘Erin Burnett OutFront,’ didn’t note any of his long history of pumping toxic waste into the information ecosystem, nor did it confront him with tough questions about his well-documented behavior as an online MAGA troll. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.status.news/p/cnn-jack-posobiec-interview-backlash

Shots at the Media

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Article in Media Matters by Gideon Taaffe. et. al., 9/18/25

Headline:  “How right-wing media sow distrust and confusion around vaccines and science”

Subhead: “As Florida ends school vaccine requirements and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s leadership comes under fire, the right has repackaged anti-science talking points as well-meaning skepticism”

“Amid the rise of the so-called ‘Make America Healthy Again’ movement, right-wing media figures have employed a variety of tactics that sow doubt and confusion around vaccine efficacy and science more broadly. These efforts to capitalize on existing distrust of public health institutions and pharmaceutical companies have gained renewed momentum following Florida’s elimination of vaccine requirements for schools . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/coronavirus-covid-19/how-maha-media-sow-distrust-and-confusion-around-vaccines-and-science

Media in a Sea of Scandal

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Article in Media Matters by Matt Gertz, 9/1625

Headline:  “Another massive Trump corruption scandal for right-wing media to bury”

Subhead:  “How many orders of magnitude worse is Trump’s corruption than various Hunter Biden claims the right said justified his father’s impeachment: An investigation”

“. . .It goes without saying that the volume of coverage right-wing media outlets give to these shady deals won’t be proportionate — or even inversely proportionate — to what they provided for those Biden stories. Indeed, when House Democrats issued a report last year showing that China directed millions of dollars straight to Donald Trump’s businesses during Trump’s first term, Hannity promptly excused him and moved on. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/another-massive-trump-corruption-scandal-right-wing-media-bury

Media Not Scoping it Out Right?

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Article in The New Republic by Perry Bacon, 9/12/25

Headline:  “The Media Is Totally Blowing Its Coverage of Charlie Kirk”

Subhead:  “Some pundits are arguing that Charlie Kirk practiced politics ‘the right way.’ This only serves to whitewash the ideas that he promulgated. “

“. . .TNR contributors Ana Marie Cox and Meredith Shiner say that the press is largely whitewashing Kirk’s actual politics, citing a column by The New York Times’ Ezra Klein as a prime example. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://newrepublic.com/article/200411/media-blowing-coverage-charlie-kirk

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Yona TR Golding, 9/12/25

Headline:  “How News Streamers Covered the Killing of Charlie Kirk”

Subhead:  “The hugely popular world of online news and commentary offers a window into how young people consume current events.”

“. . .network television was struggling to find the right words to respond to the horrific events, falling into predictable patterns. Fox News held Kirk up as a martyr. . .”

“. . .The streamers carry none of that burden. Their audiences know Kirk well—Kirk, too, was a product of this world, with a popular podcast and a social media presence wherein he posted prolifically, offering often extreme right-wing takes on political hot topics . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/analysis/charlie-kirk-twitch-streamers-reaction.php

MAGA Media Hate Trans-People?

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Article in Common Dreams by Stephen Prager, 9/12/25

Headline:  ” ‘WSJ, Media Outlets Slammed for Spreading Feds’ False Claim That Kirk Shooter Expressed ‘Transgender Ideology’ “

Subhead:  “ ‘What a truly disgusting week for American journalism,’ said one transgender writer.”

“The Wall Street Journal and other media outlets are facing widespread criticism after publishing a false report that the assassin who shot right-wing activist Charlie Kirk in Utah this week had left behind symbols of ‘transgender ideology’ at the scene of the crime. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.commondreams.org/news/charlie-kirk-2673989947

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Article in The Verge by Elizabeth, Lopatto, 9/12/25

Headline:  “The WSJ carelessly spread anti-trans misinformation”

“While I generally respect The Wall Street Journal, every once in a while it sees fit to remind me that it is, in fact, owned by Rupert Murdoch. This time, it printed something dangerously close to anti-trans blood libel in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s shooting. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theverge.com/politics/777630/wsj-trans-misinformation-charlie-kirk

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Article in Media Matters by Gideon Taafe, et. al., 9/12/25

Headline:  “Right-wing media rushed to blame killing of Charlie Kirk on trans people”

Subhead: “Authorities pushed back on unverified claims that the alleged shooter’s ammunition was inscribed with ‘transgender ideology’ ”

“. . . Some media figures seized on the scant reporting as key evidence of the suspect’s motivations, with right-wing commentators and outlets claiming the killer was a ‘leftist Trans radical,’ labeling the killing an act of ‘trans terrorism,’ and calling for the ‘trans movement’ to be labeled ‘as a terrorist movement’. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/charlie-kirk/right-wing-media-rushed-blame-killing-charlie-kirk-trans-people

Media Gulf-Confusion

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Article in NOTUS by Dave Levinthal, 9/11/25

Headline:  “Behind the Apparent Media Blackout Around Trump’s ‘Gulf of America’ Name Change”

Subhead: “New internal emails obtained by NOTUS detail confusion at the U.S. Geological Survey and the State Department.”

“Three days after Donald Trump’s inauguration as president, a State Department official sent a seemingly exasperated email to Michael Tischler, director of the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Geospatial Program.

“The problem: How to manage press inquiries ‘left and right’ about Trump’s plan to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the ‘Gulf of America’. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.notus.org/donald-trump/gulf-of-america-mexico-name-change-foia-documents

Simple Trans Math

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Article in Daily Beast by Will Neal, 8/31/25

Headline: ‘It’s Simple Math’: CNN Anchor Shuts Down Trump Aide’s Wild Rant

Subhead:  “Sebastian Gorka got himself ruthlessly fact-checked by the network after claiming there’d been an uptick in mass shootings by transgender individuals.”

“President Donald Trump’s counterterrorism czar got into a fiery clash with a CNN anchor after he was accused of fixating on the trans identity of the Minnesota school shooter. . .”

“But network anchor Brianna Keilar said he ‘missing the bigger picture,’ pointing out that of the 32 school mass shootings that have occurred in the country since 2020, only two others were carried out by perpetrators who identified as transgender or gender-diverse. . .”

” ‘It’s simple math. Two of 32,’ Keilar responded, adding that the network ‘could not stick with your facts because they are not accurate.’

“This appeared to particularly incense Gorka, who accused CNN of making up ‘fake news’ on the spot in order to discredit his argument.  . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.thedailybeast.com/its-simple-math-cnn-anchor-shuts-down-trump-aides-wild-rant/

Did Media Panic?

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Article in Mediaite by Ahmad Austin Jr., 8/28/25

Headline:  “CNBC Analyst Rips Media’s Trump Panic After Latest Jobs Report Turns Out Good: ‘Not Sending Any Smoke Signals’ “

“CNBC Analyst Rips Media’s Trump Panic After Latest Jobs Report Turns Out Good: ‘Not Sending Any Smoke Signals’ . . .”

“At the end of his report, Santelli noted how the drama surrounding President Donald Trump’s feud with the Federal Reserve — despite all the media attention — has had little impact on the economy itself. . .”

Read the ull article at:

https://www.mediaite.com/media/tv/cnbc-analyst-rips-medias-trump-panic-after-latest-jobs-report-turns-out-good-not-sending-any-smoke-signals/

Murdoch Blames Renewable Energy

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Article in Media Matters by Ilana Berger, 8/27/25

Headline:  “Murdoch media find a scapegoat for New Jersey’s high electric rates”

Subhead:  “As data centers demand enormous energy outputs and Garden State grid operators reportedly slow-walk new projects, right-wing media take shots at renewable energy”

“Murdoch media outlets are blaming high electricity bills in New Jersey on ‘green-energy mandates.’ But experts and local politicians say price hikes are being driven by data centers, which ‘guzzle electricity around the clock,’ and decisions made by the regional operator. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/rupert-murdoch/murdoch-media-find-scapegoat-new-jerseys-high-electric-rates

Journalists Can Make a Choice

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Article in FAIR by Staff, 8/27/25

Headline:  “On the Ethics of Embedding With Génocidaires”

“On Sunday, August 10, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a dramatic announcement: After 674 days of barring foreign media from Gaza, Israel was planning to begin staging guided tours, under Israeli military control, for embedded members of the foreign press. . .”

“Just seven hours later, Israel assassinated the beloved, world-renowned Palestinian Al Jazeera reporter Anas al-Sharif, along with five other journalists, in a targeted airstrike as they sheltered in a tent for members of the press just outside al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://fair.org/home/on-the-ethics-of-embedding-with-genocidaires/