Wired’s Gee-Whiz High-Tech Militarism
In Wired’s imagination, military weapons resemble otherworldly creations, high-tech spectacles, the stuff of science fiction.
NBC News Whitewashes Colombia’s Right-Wing President
NBC News readers were given no indication of Ivan Duque’s unpopularity or the opposition movement against him.
Decades After False Convictions, ‘When They See Us’ Highlights Media Failure
The conversation around When They See Us would be incomplete without a serious reckoning with corporate media’s role in fanning the flames of racist hysteria and misinformation.
A Million Extinctions Eclipsed by One Royal Grandbaby
As many as 1 million of the estimated 8 million plant and animal species on Earth are at risk of extinction — many of them within decades — according to the scientists and researchers behind a new UN report. The assessment by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services is the most comprehensive […]
There’s Far More Diversity in Venezuela’s ‘Muzzled’ Media Than in US Corporate Press
The international corporate media have long displayed a peculiar creativity with the facts in their Venezuela reporting, to the point that coverage of the nation’s crisis has become perhaps the world’s most lucrative fictional genre.
Media Setting Up Iran as New ‘Threat’ That Must Be Confronted
If we can still call things “surreal,” that would describe watching corporate media do the same things they did in the run-up to the Iraq War, things they later disavowed–like the credulous repetition of administration claims about the supposed threat.
For Corporate Media, Space Belongs to Washington
Another day, another opportunity for our perpetually “behind” and “vulnerable” military/industrial/media complex to assert the need for yet another military upgrade–this time in outer space!
Distorting ‘Democracy’ in Venezuela Coverage
That corporate media manage to portray Juan Guaidó and his regime-change cohort as a “pro-democracy movement” is both a tragedy and a farce.
‘Bernie Speaks’—and Politico Hears Deviations From Cold War Orthodoxy
It’s very possible that Bernie Sanders said something “startling” in the 51 episodes of Bernie Speaks–but if he did, Politico didn’t find it. Instead, the publication showed us its own failure to dislodge from the corporate media’s anti-Communist, neo-Cold War worldview.
Corporate Media Are Here to Warn You: Medicare for All Is a Very Bad Idea
Election Focus 2020: Corporate media appear to be almost univocally against Medicare for All, with the flow of doom-mongering stories increasing to a roaring flood as the notion gains more traction among the public.
Facebook Wants You to Know if You’re Getting Your News From the Wrong Government
If you’re thinking that Facebook–90 percent of whose customers are not in the United States–should treat Russian-backed outlets differently than US-backed outlets because the US supports peace and democracy, or doesn’t use social media to try to manipulate other nations…. Well, this is why it’s important to get your information from a variety of sources.
Transgender Lives Are Not Up for Debate
Many in the media have been quick to denounce the Trump administration’s attempts to define away transgender people—without, however, assessing the ways that media coverage of trans issues have set the stage for this formalized discrimination.
Media Parroting ‘$1000 Bonus!’ Stories Helped Give Trump’s Tax Cuts Majority Support
How did a tax cut that mainly benefits a small group of top earners become broadly popular? One reason is the nonstop deluge of stories over the past two months, cheerleading alleged “tax cut bonuses” from large corporations.
Mass Arrests of Protesters: Outrageous in Russia, Barely Worth Mentioning in US
The eagerness of US media to disproportionately cover and empathize with detained protesters in Russia, while either ignoring or toeing the government’s line when it comes to mass arrests stateside, speaks to the nationalistic blinders at work.
In Nine Democratic Debates, Not a Single Question About Poverty
Over 45 million Americans live in poverty—but you wouldn’t think potential leaders of the country are expected to know or care anything about this, listening to the questions asked by the elite journalists who moderated the Democratic debates this primary season. A FAIR analysis of all nine democratic debates over the past seven months shows that not one question was asked about poverty.
The Myth That Sanders Hasn’t Been Criticized Won’t Go Away
As Donald Trump caught up with Hillary Clinton in the polls over the past two weeks, the Bernie Sanders campaign has reiterated its last-ditch argument to win over superdelegates and secure the nomination: The Vermont senator is walloping Trump in the polls by over ten points, in contrast to Clinton’s dead heat. To counter this increasingly messy fact, several Clinton boosters in the media have dusted off an old talking point: that Sanders hasn’t been properly “vetted”—thoroughly examined for political faults—rendering the polls meaningless.
NYT: Protesters and Prosecutor Should Be Friends
The New York Times sneered at a growing movement against Brooklyn District Attorney Kenneth Thompson, who is now being criticized for recommending—and getting—a no-jail sentence for the police officer who killed Akai Gurley in 2014.
Bill Clinton Brought Democrats Back to Life: A Zombie Idea That Won’t Die
A New York Times op-ed claims that “no one doubted” that Bill Clinton “had given new life” to the Democratic Party. Actually, plenty of people have doubted this. But since corporate media keep pushing the fantasy of Bill Clinton as savior of the Democratic Party, it’s worth going over the reality once again.
First, Do Some Harm: How to Smear a Disfavored Candidate on NYT’s Front Page
This is Bad Journalism 101: You come up with a thesis, like “Bernie Sanders is going to hurt Hillary Clinton’s chances of beating Donald Trump.” You take your thesis to your source, and ask them to agree with it; like any sensible spokesperson, they decline to comment on it. You take their no-comment as an endorsement of your thesis—and that becomes the lead headline in the nation’s most influential newspaper.
Despite Confession, CIA’s Role in Mandela’s Capture Can Still Hardly Be Told
In 1990, FAIR (Extra!, 3-4/90) noted that in all the coverage of Nelson Mandela’s release from 27 years of prison, virtually no one mentioned the role of the CIA in his capture. When Mandela died in 2013 (FAIR Media Advisory, 12/10/13), we asked, “Can the Story Be Told Now?” The answer was still no.
