I agree with Parker here: a significant chunk (if not most) of the leopards-eating-faces stories we are seeing right now are better framed as "the mainstream media knowingly misled their readers/viewers by covering Trump's obviously false campaign statements as though he weren't a pathological liar - ThreadSky

juliaserano.bsky.social • 80 days ago

I agree with Parker here: a significant chunk (if not most) of the leopards-eating-faces stories we are seeing right now are better framed as "the mainstream media knowingly misled their readers/viewers by covering Trump's obviously false campaign statements as though he weren't a pathological liar

Reposted from Parker Molloy

The problem I have with these sorts of pieces is that they don't acknowledge the role that the press played in spreading Trump's obvious lies. Like yeah, this lady in WaPo thought Trump was going to make IVF free. I wonder where she got that idea...

Comments

earwicga.bsky.social•77 days ago

They knew he was a rapist. And liked that fact.

angusm.bsky.social•77 days ago

Many people who voted for the Leopards Eating People's Faces party later said they had no clear idea what the party stood for, but had been swayed by news reports showing beautiful, well-fed leopards frolicking in lush tropical environments. The issue of the leopards' diet had not been discussed.

sssandier1.bsky.social•80 days ago

I’ve always known Americans can be pretty stupid at times, but I never expected it to be this bad…

blgrieb.bsky.social•80 days ago

It’s “bothsidesism” until after the election, then the country is “shocked” when they read what has been going on the whole time. The Medicaid disaster could lead to single payer within four years, as they are now showing poor rural voters their real colors.

islastefania.bsky.social•80 days ago

If you didn't learn during Trump I that every single word coming out of his mouth is preposterous bullshit then you my friend deserve Trump II

pirate-steve.bsky.social•80 days ago

The Leopards Eating Faces party has spent decades undermining reputable journalism and promoting their own dishonest alternatives, and a lot of people have been tricked by this gargantuan deception engine into thinking that the leopards would only eat immigrant/trans/Muslim/etc faces.

serrata.org•80 days ago

bunkerd.bsky.social•80 days ago

I wouldn't talk about “the mainstream media” when those are the right-wing outlets (including mainstream ones) while left-leaning ones were more informative (on this topic).
(Also, let's not forget the rhetoric people were fed was still a racist and transphobic one.)

ehs06702.bsky.social•79 days ago

This narrative y'all are blindly latching on to ignores the fact that Black people roundly rejected these stories and while openly pushing back on them,while being ignored by everyone.

People made a deliberate choice to listen to the media, & simply want to avoid accountability for their choices.

ehs06702.bsky.social•79 days ago

At the end of the day, nothing is going to change until we stop blaming everyone BUT the people who intentionally chose ignorance.

jessdee.bsky.social•80 days ago

There's this vibe that a lot of these pieces have of like "look at this poor idiot and how stupid they were"; but it obscures that like the writer and their peers credulously believed and spread that bullshit like 6 months ago.

It's the same vibe I got from like... 2006 era Iraq war coverage.

jessdee.bsky.social•80 days ago

"Look at these troops dying a stupid death in a stupid war. Can you believe they believed in this shit (that we were still spreading like a year ago)?

If nothing else, people re-rationalizing their prior actions like that is a sign that they are changing I guess... Might be too late tho...

bvmoore.bsky.social•77 days ago

Exactly!

benkester.bsky.social•77 days ago

It's so much easier to punch down than punch up.

ea213.bsky.social•77 days ago

Just stop. Everyone knew who he was. No one was mislead

leftiblog.bsky.social•80 days ago

Remember that he said free IVF was going to be paid from tariffs. Which were also going to pay for no taxes on tips, overtime, or Social Security. But all the time tariffs were really going to pay for tax cuts for billionaires. And every reporter knew that. And omitted it.

lanarmoss1019.bsky.social•77 days ago

All the felon does is lie, it's hard to even listen to him, how does the press cover him when he's not truthful.

sue-2cats.bsky.social•77 days ago

Yes when you know someone is likely lying and has made false statements before, to only cover what they say is not factual. But WAPO, not worth reading at all anyway.

untimelygamer.bsky.social•80 days ago

Though in the WaPo story that is going around, this particular voter of the Leopards Eating Faces Party saw the video on TikTok. No MSM relationship was established in the piece.

tlatshaw.bsky.social•80 days ago

Thanks for the context

psgamer92.bsky.social•80 days ago

I think the argument being made is in a larger context though. Though I do think that while WaPo, NYT, and legacy media are still relevant there has to be a conversation of quote, unquote ‘New’ media that is having a greater influence on Millennials and younger. This is why there’s a sudden and

tjb0607.bsky.social•80 days ago

most "new media" sources still get their stories from legacy news in the first place. there's just an added layer in the middle

psgamer92.bsky.social•80 days ago

This is true but they do frame it in a specific way. Like the Knowledge Fight podcast goes over how Alex Jones does this each time he’s on air. I think the bigger issue that isn’t talked about as much is how ‘New’ media has basically been consolidated by the rich to propagate their own agenda.

untimelygamer.bsky.social•80 days ago

For sure. I just wonder if journalists (who are predisposed to talk about journalism) are overemphasizing the media environment angle. It matters, but I wonder if it mattered that much in this case. Fact is, Americans are not used to politicians that lie about their plans like Trump does.

untimelygamer.bsky.social•80 days ago

Also Trump has a unique ability to be a blank slate to loads of America, so that they attribute what they want to him? It's mystifying, but real.

psgamer92.bsky.social•80 days ago

I have to disagree with this. People that aren’t in the MAGA cult which is most Americans can articulate Trump lies. They might excuse it or rationalize it, but they don’t outright deny it like the cult does. I agree with you that while a factor the media environment for most Americans is

psgamer92.bsky.social•80 days ago

overplayed (though definitely much more of a factor for conservatives or conservative leaning Americans). I just think since most Americans are politically inept they just think voting the party out of power will change and thus fix things.

psgamer92.bsky.social•80 days ago

drastic increase of Republican men wanting women to return to ‘traditional gender roles’ in society.

stemthebleeding.bsky.social•77 days ago

The problem is that if this voter saw the tiktok and then did a Google search, the first article she'd have seen was this article, completing the information bullshit cycle.

And that's the problem.

untimelygamer.bsky.social•77 days ago

Yes, but there is no indication that was the case here.

liamliamwood.bsky.social•77 days ago

Of course they did because the mainstream media is actually right wing media because right wing media controls. Everything and MSNBC and CNN are run by right wing.

oobayly.bsky.social•80 days ago

I agree, but (and it's a big one)…
We had the exact same in the UK after Brexit. Fishermen, farmers, etc used the "but the politicians and papers lied to us" kind.
"Yes, yes they did lie to you, but unlike 48% of the voters you choose to believe that lie" is what I wanted to reply with.

gabbklein.bsky.social•77 days ago

Yeah, I think a better word than "misled" is "enabled".

prairieguy2623.bsky.social•77 days ago

Nah. The fact that Trump is a pathological liar means his statements should never be presented straight. The media does it all the fucking time, though.

They massively aided his campaign by pretending he “moderated” on abortion and by taking his disavowals of Project 2025 as genuine.

katstheory.bsky.social•77 days ago

But, but I thought he was the Father of IVF. 🤦‍♀️

brianvan.bsky.social•77 days ago

And asking the media to cover themselves as unreliable repeaters of intentionally misleading statements... not gonna happen

nhmama.bsky.social•77 days ago

Anyone paying enough attention knew Trump was never going to pay for IVF treatments. This is part of the problem with the American public. But I agree the media should be held to account. But I didn’t need someone to explain it to me.

heyaries325.bsky.social•80 days ago

She had a grasp on the hugely negative consequences everyone else would endure if Trump won, and she still prioritized a slim chance to not have to spend her own money an elective medical procedure. She literally cared only for herself and not for the world her potential child would be born into. 1/

heyaries325.bsky.social•80 days ago

Like…yeah, there are cases where I’m inclined to have empathy. I can see how people got duped. But she was clear-eyed and had a “fuck everyone else” attitude. I mean, she figured other government employees were expendable and didn’t care until she got fired. She needs to do some serious reflection.

ellelistic.bsky.social•79 days ago

I don't understand US media. Meanwhile here in Canada Trump was fact checked before journalists reported anything. What happened America?

northsleuth.bsky.social•77 days ago

It's still happening. Just listen to how they are covering the US-Ukraine fiasco in the WH. Sane-Washing.

hellscapenavigator.bsky.social•77 days ago

headline: trump promises perpetual motion machines in every household! paragraph 25: according to this physicist, a boring woke nerd, perpetual motion machines are impossible. opinion piece: trump makes ambitious promises that challenge the assumptions of big science

gigismile.bsky.social•77 days ago

They were just ratings whores. They gave him far too much TV time. And even though many warned about not normalizing him, that's exactly what they did. He had 100% free campaigning as the daily top story.

lmagson.bsky.social•77 days ago

He only wants to cover it for white babies. That's one of the tenets of the 2025 bullshit.

bestillandknow.bsky.social•77 days ago

But like..you were STILL willing to overlook the thousands of lies he told in his first term couples with his overall criminality and history of being a terrible human...just so IVF could be paid for. Single issue voters are the worst.

psgamer92.bsky.social•80 days ago

I agree but it has to be coupled with people’s biases and cognitive dissonance blinding them to the point of being willfully gullible.

shrimpmeatmom.bsky.social•80 days ago

https://bsky.app/profile/shrimpmeatmom.bsky.social/post/3lj73476whs2k

firebirdsdaughter.bsky.social•77 days ago

But that’s some hardcore eugenics infrastructure if he does and that would be on brand for this administration.

carlyjdubois.com•77 days ago

📌

aotearoa-nz.bsky.social•80 days ago

All those the-leopards-have-promised-not-to eat-your-faces think pieces.

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