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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsThe Guardian: How the conservative media transformed the Covington students into heroes
Last edited Wed Jan 23, 2019, 08:53 PM - Edit history (1)
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jan/23/how-conservative-media-transformed-the-covington-catholic-students-from-pariahs-to-heroes?CMP=fb_gu&fbclid=IwAR1pJB-LPtmZN_rLEd0mxPb9jpY_fwT907DLidRL1wCU3kFuQQ69tDinR0c
On Tuesday night, Fox News hosts continued to feast on the controversy, which was sparked by a standoff between Covington Catholic high school students and a Native American veteran called Nathan Phillips. Footage show students wearing pro-Trump Maga hats taunting the Omaha tribe elder. The relentlessly repeated talking point that there was a collective rush to judgment on the boys because they were Trump supporters was used by conservative anchors Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham to attack mainstream media and left leaning social media users.
On Wednesday morning, Sandmann got almost nine minutes of airtime on a national breakfast program to make his case, after his family hired a Republican-linked PR firm.
In making this happen, conservative media have normalized the boys aggressive form of political expression, and tried to further discredit both fact-oriented media and high-profile liberals. Media outlets have been effectively gaslighted, and many climbed down from coverage which was based on the most clear and obvious interpretation of the boys chanting, making gestures and making tomahawk chops.
What it tells us is that in 2019, conservatives understand they can construct a parallel reality and have it accepted. They can act in bad faith and prevail, using tried and tested tactics that liberal media continue to fall for. Those are:
SNIP
guillaumeb
(42,641 posts)From the article:
What it tells us is that in 2019, conservatives understand they can construct a parallel reality and have it accepted. They can act in bad faith and prevail, using tried and tested tactics that liberal media continue to fall for. Those are:
And given that the US corporate media is conservative, it is easy for these parallel realities to become accepted.
underpants
(182,843 posts)To avoid confronting reasonable arguments or new evidence, conservatives emphasize the worst of the other side like tweets calling for violence or doxxing. Tweets calling for violence or doxxing against high school students are obviously and clearly unacceptable, but nor are they typical of the criticisms made of the boys, their school and their conduct. They also focus the audience on liberal journalists and celebrities mostly women who their audience feel comfortable in deriding and dismissing.
guillaumeb
(42,641 posts)there was the clip of the boys taunting a girl at the march, as well as the black face incidents. Yes, incidents, plural. So this is not an isolated incident, but a part of a larger pattern of racist and misogynistic behavior.
octoberlib
(14,971 posts)Pat Cipollone, CovCath class of 1984, recently took over as White House general counsel. He had previously served as an informal adviser to the president on the special counsel investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 elections.
https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/politics/2019/01/22/covington-catholic-trumps-white-house-lawyer-went-kentucky-school/2650238002/
underpants
(182,843 posts)Same old playbook but this time they had no choice but to come out savagely.
The MAGA was just too clear as were the initial reporting. The Parkland murderer and the bomb mailer both had MAGA hats and paraphernalia but those images were late in coming and were not highlighted by much of the media (at least not for days). Covington was too much for them. There was no way to miss it.
procon
(15,805 posts)brand name celebrity hosts, politicians, and even liberal audiences, learn this vital lesson?
Cha
(297,375 posts)Docreed2003
(16,866 posts)And ignore events like the MAGA bomber or the synagogue shooter that they can't manipulate. It's astounding how readily people eat their crap up and their version of events seems to take hold.
underpants
(182,843 posts)Typical RWers get up and watch Fox News (Fox & Friends), get in their car and hear the morning drive time talk radio, if they go to lunch they get some Rush, on the way home they get Hannity or maybe a local host, then they watch Fox again. All have some sort of the same message. Either the topic of the day or whatever they are on between big stories.
It works. In sales if you get the same message or product to someone 12 times (some say 16) their likelihood of buying shoots through the roof. Time shares live off this. The most vivid examples are Snuggies and Trump's campaign.
pecosbob
(7,541 posts)Jerome Corsi, Carter Page, Michael Caputo, Sam Nunberg, all telling us night is day and day is night...