This week has seen the public immolation of two prominent right-wing media provocateurs, Andrew Breitbart and Tucker Carlson.<\/p>\n
Both were outed for disseminating “exposes” of liberal wrong-doing that turned out to be deliberately edited so as to create an outright deception.<\/p>\n
Carlson printed parts of emails written by mainstream journalists on a private listserv, purporting to show that they wanted the government to “shut down” Fox News.<\/p>\n
Breitbart disseminated a now-famous video that claimed to show an African American Agriculture Department staffer discriminating against a white farmer.<\/p>\n
Turns out both were deliberately, unambiguously false. Which brings me to my problem with conservative media.<\/p>\n
I happen to like the evolution of more ideologically-driven journalism.\u00a0 I still think there’s a place for “straight” news, but it’s interesting to have good reporters chasing a wide range of narratives and facts and issues.<\/p>\n
I’m even comfortable with the Right’s conviction that most mainstream reporters (like myself) are closet-liberals.<\/p>\n
I happen to think they’re wrong.\u00a0 But if that’s what motivates a conservative blogger (or editorial writer for the Wall Street Journal) to get up a little earlier and dig a little deeper, that’s great.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, that’s not what’s happening on the Right.\u00a0 Far too often, conservative journalists are pushing narratives and arguments which simply have no basis in fact.<\/p>\n
It’s not just that they’re copping to an ideological bias and going with it.\u00a0 No, they’re actually telling lies.<\/p>\n
They use the techniques of populism (when Fox News producers secretly cheerlead crowds to chant slogans) or propaganda (when videos are selectively edited) or deceptive framing (omitting important fact and context) to paint a picture of issues that are, simply and uncomplicatedly, false.<\/p>\n
Here are some of those narratives currently being circulated:<\/p>\n
1.\u00a0 White people are being victimized by people of color.<\/p>\n
This kind of thing used to be the purview of fringe racists, but it’s now a common theme on Fox News (showing constantly recycled images of a couple of Black Panther goofs) and Rush Limbaugh.<\/p>\n
Yes some whites have experienced discrimination in various forms.\u00a0 But by every accepted metric, black and Hispanic Americans face far more challenges (including racism) than their white neighbors.<\/p>\n
2.\u00a0 Illegal immigration has created chaos on our southern border.<\/p>\n
Yes, illegal immigration is a serious problem and policy fixes are needed.\u00a0 And yes, Mexico is wrestling with an incredible wave of drug-related violence.<\/p>\n
But crime rates in American border cities are actually down and there is zero evidence that some kind of lawless Mad Max zone is developing in Arizona and New Mexico.<\/p>\n
3.\u00a0 The President of the United States is a foreigner and perhaps a Muslim sleeper agent who has infiltrated our political system.<\/p>\n
The conservative media has recycled this bugaboo for two years, despite conclusive evidence that Barack Obama was born in Hawaii to an American mother.<\/p>\n
As recently as July 19th, the Washington Times ran an illustration of his Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan wearing a turban, suggesting that she — a Jew — might be planning to promote Islamic sharia law.<\/p>\n
4.\u00a0 American democracy has been so debased by Democrats and liberals that armed conflict may be necessary or appropriate.<\/p>\n
This may be the most irresponsible conservative narrative of them all.\u00a0 From Fox News commentator Sarah Palin to Glenn Beck, conservative media personalities have winked and nudged repeatedly at the idea that “our country” may need to be “taken back” by some means other than the ballot box.<\/p>\n
They repeat narratives about “taxation without representation,” while side-stepping the fact that America is a nation of laws, written and approved in majority-votes by officials we have elected.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
So the problem with the conservative media isn’t that it’s conservative — but rather that the most prominent TV and radio shows and blogs simply aren’t telling factual, accurate stories about American life and American problems.<\/p>\n