My Grandfather, a very wise yet very quiet man, handed out advice sparingly. He was always of the notion that life itself would teach me what was right and wrong, and because I was brought up in a common sense household, I would know the difference. If I chose wrong, then it was his belief that the harsh lesson would be the best teacher.
Having plenty of dealings with and being part of an "inner circle" trusted by certain people of certain nefarious means, which wasn't uncommon at all in New York City of that era, he did manage to take his lessons and put it into a few succinct words for me when it came to the topic of trust.
"Edward, don't ever be a sucker".
It was Grandpa's admonition to me that I needed to question everything and not allow myself to be taken in by those with ulterior motives. Don't be a fool. Don't be so easily duped like so many people. Keep your wits about you and take nothing for granted.
What is now, and has been for some time, the standard of "citizen journalism" thanks to infernal social media, racks up plenty of suckers every single day. The distressing thing about it? It's all avoidable with some simple common sense. That reminds me one of the other snippets of advice Grandpa doled out. "Common sense isn't so common".
Todd Starnes is one who makes a living out of breeding chaos. A former radio reporter who holds tight to a number of conspiracies and propaganda dogma, he has carved out quite a lucrative living on being a poster boy for leading people over the common sense cliff. He was fired as a writer for "The Baptist Press" when he filled an interview with U.S. Secretary Rod Paige with what the publication itself noted were "factual and contextual errors" and "misrepresentations". In simpler terms, he lied.
In his self-appointed role to "spice it up a little bit", Starnes summed up the film "American Sniper" as one where Jesus would tell the "God-fearing, red-blooded American sniper, 'Well done, thy good and faithful servant". He opined that removing Confederate statues from public places was a "cultural cleansing". He wrote that protestors who interrupted the Supreme Court confirmation hearings for Brett Kavanaugh "should be tasered, handcuffed, and dragged out of the building".
This was all just a silly prelude to the moment in 2019 when he was fired from FOX News Radio for agreeing with one of his guests who said that Democrats were not Christians because they worshiped the Pagan God, Moloch.
Certainly someone I would trust to deliver an unbiased account of the news. For a person on the fingernail-clinging fringes of a current political movement to be fired from FOX News, there has to be a new and hysterical standard set for nonsense.
For some still to be investigated reason, a post from Starnes showed up in my LinkedIn feed. It caught my attention as I know of Starnes and his blather, and would rather follow B2B stories about the latest odor free kitty litter than anything from him. However, the headline of his story caught my attention and gave me pause. "Female Trump Volunteer Brutally Beaten in ‘Politically Motivated’ Attack".
As a purveyor of news, a watchdog over the news media, and one who opines on the intersection of news in our society for my speaking and teaching engagements, I had to look into this. Noting the story was now three days old and not having read nor heard of any such story on any level of legitimate news, and knowing Starnes' predilection for hyperbole and inaccuracies, I dove in.
The original story was found on AI.com, the Alabama Media Group "catch-all" webpage for their various local newspaper efforts. Putting the two side-by-side, and dishing in just a smidgen of common sense, revealed the propaganda-esque level of hyperbole and assumption given to Starnes' rehash.
The words "politically motivated" never emanated from any actual investigation of the case, rather inserted as incendiary and partisan clickbait by the Alabama Republican Party. It was their OPINION, and sorry for the screaming text but the point has to be made emphatically, and not backed up by any actual evidence.
There was indeed a reported "attack", and what we know of it in this story came from a press release issued by the Alabama GOP. Even that wording referred to it as an "apparent" politically motivated attack, because it happened outside the Limestone County GOP Trump Headquarters. It was assumed, (my emphasis, not theirs), that the attack was (and here we have to dip into assumption as there is no concrete evidence to back this up) the result of someone in disagreement with the local GOP, Donald Trump, the national divide between Left and Right, take your pick.
However, there is no evidence to back that up. Even local law enforcement downplayed the incident as a possible "road rage" case. The lack of evidence did not deter Starnes, and many others on the same wavelength, from making this a political focal point.
Could it be politically motivated? Of course. Anything is possible. Once again, at this stage, we can only base the facts on what local law enforcement found in their invetigation. There is no proof that politics was involved. It could be a wack job on a day pass. It could be a domestic dispute. It could be an attack of the Mole People. The "politically motivated" part of this is nothing more than opinion, hyperbole, and incitement aimed at the masses who fall for such nonsense.
The most distressing part of all this is how many people will be taken in by Starnes and those of his ilk. They will read that headline and be convinced this is a political attack. Our national bend towards believing in hysterical headlines and "fast food" propaganda will have tempers flaring by mid-story.
This despite the local television report on WHNT which digs into much more of the meat in this story, and leaves no question this was a road rage incident. That is called "evidence", as presented by a legitimate sources of actual news, not opinion.
I'll wager more than a few will find their way to Starnes' statement in his telling of the tale, "Watch your back, Trump supporters. The Marxists are on the prowl and they mean to do us harm", followed by the push to buy his new book about how he will save America.
Follow the money, my friends.
Starnes and many like him have a history of such incitement, and it has served their causes and their bank accounts very well. Those who follow him will continue to do so, even at the expense of their own level of common sense and ability to know the facts with ease.
Thanks to social media, we remain awash in the propaganda nonsense of these self-affirmed "citizen journalists" who want us to believe they are here to make sense of the noise. In reality, they are here to confuse, alienate, and profit from their shady efforts. What they know or ascribe to in journalism would fit in the head of a pin and still have room left for the Grand Canyon.
This isn't about your politics. A case can certainly be made there are plenty of similar examples from other partisan angles. This is about how you are being manipulated by those with something other than truthful and honorable intentions when it comes to how you ingest your news. The effects such influence can have on your personal and professional lives can be devastating.
Do your research. Don't be taken in by one source. Seek out the legitimate sources of news that will paint a factual picture.
Don't be a sucker.
Ed Berliner is an Emmy Award winning broadcast journalist who speaks, teaches and opines on the interesection between the media and personal/professional branding & reputation. His opinions are his own.
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