Feeding the FAKE NEWS narrative?
There's so much happening this week -- the death of Charles Krauthammer (kudos to the Washington Nationals for honoring him with a moment of silence), Melania Trump's "I Don't Care Do U" jacket, etc. -- but I think it's worth commenting on this Time magazine cover.
As the Washington Post reported, the crying Honduran girl was never actually separated from her mother.
There are thousands of examples of children who actually were separated. But it turns out the most compelling image (snapped by an award-winning photographer) is not at all representative of the very thing it has come to symbolize.
NPR's Evan Dawson is asking that Time pull the cover, tweeting: "Assuming this report is true, the most iconic image of one of the most important news stories of the year is... fake news. Come ON, TIME. Don’t provide ammunition to the 'Fake news!' crowd."
Journalism is increasingly a tough business, and we all make mistakes. But just as people who in politics must be smart about optics (again, see Melania's weird jacket), the media's credibility depends on not making the kinds of mistakes that might confirm the "fake news" narrative.
Last year in Austin, Texas, I spoke to the International Symposium on Online Journalism (ISOJ) and tried to stress the fact that (instead of just complaining about Trump's attacks on the media) journalists should focus on holding themselves and their peers accountable so we can all get better and trust what we read, watch, and hear. You can watch my talk here.
On the Podcast
This week, I talked to Jeremy Dys, Deputy General Counsel of First Liberty, about religious liberty cases being taken up by the Supreme Court this year.
I also chatted with Mona Charen about her book Sex Matters: How Modern Feminism Lost Touch with Science, Love, and Common Sense.
As always, please rate and review (and subscribe, if you haven't already!) on iTunes or Stitcher -- and please support the podcast on Patreon.
Conservatives who want the GOP to lose in 2018
This week, I wrote about the growing list of conservatives who are rooting for Democrats to win in November. “I have never voted for a Democrat for a federal or state office in my life,” wrote conservative columnist John Ziegler last week. “This year, much to my amazement and disappointment, not only will I be likely be voting for Democrats at that level, I will actually be rooting for Democrats to win back at least the House of Representatives.”
“I do hope Democrats win the House,” proclaimed Pete Wehner, the former deputy director of speechwriting for President George W. Bush, during a recent conversation with Democracy Journal. “I say that not because I’m a liberal or pro-Democrat, but because it’s important for the Republican Party and for the country.”
Read my full column at the Daily Beast.