The Fake News Era

I'm placing this in the USA Politics subforum -- I don't think of this as a 'current event' or a 'social issue,' this is political -- and it's the proliferation of biased or slanted reporting. What I see mostly comes from the right.

Example - There's a local web-based news media named Daily Voice in the New York Metropolitan Area. I have noticed over time -- I get one of the editions in my email -- that they often seem to tailor stories to appeal to a right-wing audience. While I wouldn't describe the Voice as being right wing, they do seem to pander to right wing biases although it's probably just to gain traffic to their site. As a for instance, whenever they have a story about Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, they almost always describe her as, "the Yorktown High school graduate." Example:

Quote:

Freshman Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is getting her very own action figure. A kickstart fundraising campaign that was started on Tuesday, Oct. 15, by FCTRY - which launched a series of political action figures - quickly earned enough money to allow the company to add the 2007 Yorktown High School graduate to their collection. Link

They never let up on reminding people, AOC claimed to be a Bronx girl though she grew up in suburban Yorktown. Ocasio-Cortez has strong ties to the Bronx but bashing her for being a suburban girl who tried to pass herself off as being from the Bronx is a standard right wing talking point.

Another frequent target is New York governor Andrew Cuomo. The Daily Voice publishes a never-ending series of stories that appeal to people who despise Andrew Cuomo. And with Trump badmouthing him, Cuomo has become a figure of contempt on the right. Today the Voice ran a story about New York's declining population which the wingers love to blame on Cuomo. Here's the first paragraph-

Quote:

The mass exodus of New Yorkers leaving the Empire State has reached a new fevered pitch, with nearly 80,000 choosing to move out to cheaper pastures, according to a new study. Link

Here's the first two reader comments-

Quote:

Quote: Gov. Fredo's brother New York has been losing residents because of high taxes and expenses way before the SALT Tax. If you are so concerned try doing something about the high taxes instead of blaming others. Keep spending are[sic] hard earned money on illegals and litigation for sanctuary status. How's that bail reform doing for your dismal popularity to NYers. Quote: Not to mention Cuomo's "fix" for the disaster that is Medicaid in this state placing more of the funding burden on counties. NY State's absurdly lavish mandated array of Medicaid benefits is to blame. Not that Cuomo or the morons in the legislature would ever think to address the real issue. Too many Dem votes at stake....

Notice these two readers don't waste any space explaining that they blame the drop on Cuomo, they just go right on the attack. They obviously presume their fellow wingers know what this is an opportunity to dump on Cuomo.

Only wait a minute. The news story says the population dropped by 80,000 residents last year. In a state with a population of almost 20 million that's an 0.4% decline. An 0.4% decline is a mass exodus at a fevered pace? This stuff is so blatant it's insulting. :(

via International Skeptics Forum https://ift.tt/2VMk2Tp