KatieNov 28, 2022
Caroline Orr Bueno
As right-wing extremists are re-platformed everywhere from Twitter to Mar-a-Lago, it’s more important than ever that we hold our journalists, researchers, & others to high standards of accountability when it comes to reporting on extremism and extremists. We need journalists who will tell us the truth, not stake out a position in the middle of two unequal sides. I keep coming back to this quote about reporting on the weather, but it was missing something — so I modified it to make it complete.
Nov 27, 2022 at 1:02pmWeb
Show threadDr. CNov 27, 2022
@rvawonk
Yes. Wouldn’t it be great if all mass shooting reporting included the politicians representing that area and a record of their votes related to gun safety?! I would subscribe to papers that included that very important and pertinent information.
Show threadMistidinNov 27, 2022
@DrCScience @rvawonk maybe you can report on it and fill in the ingo gap.
Show threadbysteveguthrieNov 27, 2022
@DrCScience @rvawonk I’m sure Kennedy of Louisiana would be interested in the 5 people shot in the Quarter last night. #neworlreans #LouisianaShooting #corrupt
Show threadBart GrahamNov 27, 2022
@rvawonk Well said! I think the concept of news two-sideism fails as it assumes that both sides have a moral/ethical equivalency. Rarely is that the case. Please wake up journos and be brave enough to assess/analyze situations against your stated moral/ethical framework (another element that should be standard fare by now).
Show threadBrent Guernsey, Artrocity StudioNov 27, 2022

@rvawonk

I am SO glad you left the Twitanic. It appears to be rapidly devolving into another version of Parler or one of the -Chans.

I deleted my account three weeks ago, and I haven't looked back.

Show threadC.D. LewisNov 27, 2022
@rvawonk I recently saw a major outlet report as news the ruSSian propaganda that Putin met with the mothers of deployed conscripts without mentioning that the women depicted in the photos had previously been cast in other Putin photo ops or showing how their appearance had apparently been staged. Why is a major outlet repeating unvarnished propaganda? Especially when there’s serious reason to doubt it?
Show threadhaggis2Nov 27, 2022

@rvawonk Crazy that this even has to be said, but here we are.

And we have news mogul Murdoch announcing that his company won't support another Trump run--no pretense anymore.

So sad.

Show threadKean BeanNov 27, 2022

@rvawonk
#alt4you

Black text against a newsprint background:
"Journalism 101:
If someone days it's raining and another person days it's dry, it's not your job to quote both. Your job is to look out the window and find out which is true."
Added to this, in red text:
"...And it's also your job to tell us who lied about the weather."

Show threadBaukeNov 27, 2022
@rvawonk
Can you add this alt-text to the image, so people who use a screen reader can also read what the image says?
Show threadKean BeanNov 28, 2022
@bcmpinc
@rvawonk
She may need to add it to the post itself, I'm not sure if Mastodon allows you to edit alt text.
Show threadBaukeNov 28, 2022
@KeanBean
I meant to ask Caroline. I guess I should've added her name in my message. Unfortunately she hasn't updated her message yet.
Show threadMistidinNov 27, 2022
@rvawonk aaaaayyy not so simple...wish it was.
Show threadlakeladyNov 27, 2022
@rvawonk @rvawonk I would hope a journalist would also understand the purpose of Alt Text. Please consider using the Delete & Redraft function to add the full text on this image. You won't have to rewrite your post, just the Alt Text. What you have adds nothing for those who are blind or visually impaired. You're literally leaving them in the dark which is antithetical to the point you're making. Thank you.
Show threadteledyn 𓂀Nov 27, 2022

@rvawonk

Would be nice to have journalists who don't simply parrot press-releases (I've had journalists tell me to write my own because "writing about news is not their job" 🤔)

@twotone

Show threadPhilip Ives 🖖Nov 27, 2022
@rvawonk so very true.
Show threadHermesNov 27, 2022
@rvawonk coincidentally I just read this article: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/nov/27/jaron-lanier-tech-threat-humanity-twitter-social-media
‘Extinction is on the table’: Jaron Lanier warns of tech’s existential threat to humanity

The American computer scientist, who coined the term ‘virtual reality,’ cautions against online ‘psychological operatives’

The Guardian
Show threadSecular_Girl (Marg)Nov 27, 2022
@rvawonk nice to find you here Carolyn!
Show threadKristi Nov 27, 2022

@rvawonk good point information is power, no surprise someone is trying to control its flow.

We need journalists to dig deep to tell a more complete picture. Citizens need to seek out the complete picture as well. Empower the people.

Show threadRogue MedicNov 27, 2022

@rvawonk It is important to also point out when the side that appears to be consistently wrong does something right. Research is an attempt to falsify hypotheses and that is the approach we need to take. Hey, Wile E. Coyote does get delivery of his products from Acme Co. He isn't a total failure, but betting on a bad outcome for Wile E. Coyote is usually a low risk bet.

Competent research and competent journalism require delivering bad news when that is supported by the available evidence.

.

Show threadKathy GriffinNov 27, 2022
@rvawonk Hi Caroline!
Show threadSabNov 27, 2022
@kathygriffin @rvawonk Then again, why would anyone spread lies about the weather.
Show threadCaroline Orr BuenoNov 27, 2022
@kathygriffin Kathy!!!! Hiiii! I’m so glad to see you here! How are you? ❤️❤️
Show threadMarmelNov 27, 2022
@rvawonk ::Chuck Todd leaves the chat::
Show threadAmol Nov 27, 2022

@rvawonk Left extremists are leaving Twitter and coming to mastodon.

: This is what the right extremists are saying.

Show threadDirk-Jan SwagermanNov 27, 2022
@rvawonk these are only journalists that deserve to be funded. But which journalists exist in this category?
Show threadKellie BurkeNov 27, 2022
@rvawonk Would that we could successfully avoid Ashley Parker, for example.
Show threadEdward BurrowNov 27, 2022

@rvawonk

Bravo. So very true.

Show threadShawn NelsonNov 27, 2022
@rvawonk I appreciate the sentiment. Our problems stem from the abolishing of the fairness doctrine in 1987. Which made it possible for partisan news networks like FOXNEWS.
Show threadThere Is No Spoon☕Nov 27, 2022
@rvawonk If someone says it's raining and that is demonstrably false, the story is that that person is lying and the question is why.
Show threadNovel1Nov 27, 2022
@rvawonk As a former journalist, we were taught to tell the truth and be able to back it up with reliable sources. Today anyone can start a media newspaper, blog, podcast, with no requirement to be truthful. It saddens me to see where politics have taken us.
Show threadbysteveguthrieNov 27, 2022
@rvawonk and stop sensationalizing headline. Believe me the reality is freaky enough to grab everyone‘a attention. I’ve seen so many headlines lately that are blatant clickbate for no reason. Stop it.
Show threadBritish Tech GuruNov 27, 2022
@rvawonk Sadly we have toxic rags like The Daily Mail, Daily Express etc that will lie about everything.
Show threadRiverNov 27, 2022
@rvawonk Love this! Would you mind adding the text of the image to the alt text?
Show threadIan DesrocheNov 27, 2022
@rvawonk …and why.
Show threadCamille TschaggenyNov 27, 2022
@rvawonk Yep!!!
Show threadKay MarquardtNov 27, 2022
@rvawonk
Show threadBarbaraCKNov 27, 2022
@rvawonk very 👍 true@
Show threadFongabooNov 27, 2022

@rvawonk

Well the one who lied about the weather works one office down from the reporter.

Show threadSmintedNov 27, 2022
@rvawonk one thing with that quote tho.. all people in that quote could be right, from their perspective.. e.g. it’s sunny where one lives but raining where the other does.. 🫠
Show threadseedsinputinspocketNov 27, 2022
@rvawonk When journalists work for privately owned media companies, they're not the free press anymore. They are mouthpieces for favoured politicians.
Show threadSallyNov 27, 2022
@rvawonk Excellent! So very true.
Show threadThe Redcaps Podcast (Prime)Nov 27, 2022
Largely agree - the problem is while "is it raining or is it dry" is pretty easy to be objective one way or the other while many of the things that get discussed by the extremes on both sides of the political aisle are much more subjective and nuanced and unfortunately in most public discourse nuance / context is completely discarded and many clearly subjective topics get treated as objective ones.

Facts not feelings meme gets used by everyone on all sides - and quite often those who use it are guilty of not being able to admit that something they feel strongly about isn't an objective truth about the world and accept that others may disagree with them on it.

So yes 100% call out liars (and while the extremists on the far right have been most recently guilty of the most laughable and easy-to-spot lies apply this standard equally to everyone), you also have to accept that not everything you personally view as a "truth" is in FACT a truth, in time it may be proven to be, but just because it's a popular thought or one that seems morally correct doesn't make it fact yet.
Show threadCaroline Orr BuenoNov 27, 2022
@theredcaps this is definitely true, and a lot of the most pernicious disinfo — and some of the most pressing “hot button” issues/controversies in society — are not matters of black & white, but grey areas. My post was inspired primarily by the reporting on Nick Fuentes, and the hesitance among some mainstream journalists to describe him accurately and without softening his image, but more generally, I think we need more journalists who are objective but not neutral.
Show threadGuy BergerNov 27, 2022
@rvawonk Good point, especially in age of disinfo, journalists not only need to establish truth to the extent possible, but also to expose lies.. And go even deeper into what interests are fostering falsehoods. Finally, to also recognise that issues of perspective, ideology, gender, class, country etc are at work in the recognition and structuring of salient facts into news narratives and self-check for assumptions plus consideration of what it looks like from other sides...
Show threadCaroline Orr BuenoNov 27, 2022
@GuyBerger great points. Much of what we’re dealing with in terms of pervasive societal problems are not yes/no or black/white, and they require journalists (and researchers) who are willing to chase a story down regardless of where it leads, and tell us the findings in a way that is objective but not neutral. False balance is a form of bias that, for whatever reason, is not only acceptable but rewarded in many media/journalism circles. That needs to change.
Show threadPlayer1Nov 27, 2022
@rvawonk I think the right and left wing have had the same platforms for some time… one more than the other, but neither has gained or lost, and both are equally extreme with equal levels of misinformation. The quicker we wrap our heads around that, the better we will all be. Calling out one end of the political spectrum in the US is just adding the the problem.
Show threadRonja A-R (e/em/eir ; hen)Nov 27, 2022

@player1 @rvawonk

There is no left in US mainstream news. The most liberal big papers and channels are at most only slightly left of US centrists, which equals clearly right of EU centrists. The rest of US mainstream media are varyingly blatantly extreme right, wannabe fascists and outright fascists ("[Why] can't we just kill these people?" & Co.).

Show threadPlayer1Nov 28, 2022
@ronja @rvawonk I’ve heard this before but not sure it applies. Mainstream media is _extremely_ detached from a U.S. Centrist. True independents generally align more closely with the US right(this does not include Trump conspiracy toting right wing), than they do of the left. I struggle with why I should be comparing this to other countries.
Show threadRonja A-R (e/em/eir ; hen)Nov 28, 2022

@player1 @rvawonk

You made a claim about "US left wing" platform(s). My point is that no such thing exists, because actual leftists are such a minuscule group in the US. How do I know? Because in Europe we do have actual socialists and even some communists (who are no more dangerous than any other people, BTW).

Show threadPlayer1Nov 28, 2022
@ronja @rvawonk "Actual leftists" in relation to what? Other countries? This is the part I get hung up on. I understand the political spectrum is very different elsewhere, but does that mean we cannot define OUR political spectrum in a way that represents our culture? It's entirely possible I'm missing some fundamental knowledge of the history of left/right, but I genuinely don't understand why it's so important for some to point out 'there is no left in the US'. Not trying to be rude.
Show threadRonja A-R (e/em/eir ; hen)Nov 28, 2022

@player1 @rvawonk

In relationship to what US left was before Trump:

https://youtu.be/_v-hzc6blGI

How Trump makes extreme things look normal

YouTube
Show threadPlayer1Nov 28, 2022
@ronja @rvawonk Hmm.. The argument of the video related to the Overton Window was that it shifted 'right' because Trumps antics 'extended' the right side of the political spectrum. I don't see much in there that describes what the left 'was'. The Overton Window concept certainly stands however, and Trump craziness certainly shifted that.. The left Craziness has done the same in that direction. But I still don't see how this relates to an entirely different political system's scale.
Show threadRonja A-R (e/em/eir ; hen)Nov 28, 2022

@player1 @rvawonk

TTYL, it's almost 3 AM here and I do need some sleep tonight.

Show threadPlayer1Nov 28, 2022
@ronja @rvawonk Yikes late night! Thanks for the chat.
Show threadCaroline Orr BuenoNov 27, 2022
@player1 so I will agree with you that journalists should not be afraid to chase down stories regardless of where they lead or which “side” they benefit. Both sides have problems, but when it comes to extremism, the problem is overwhelmingly one of far-right extremism, not far-left extremism, and it would be biased to present the problem as if it exists equally on the left and right, or as if we need to talk about left-wing extremism as much as right-wing extremism.
Show threadPlayer1Nov 27, 2022
@rvawonk hmm.. not sure I agree. The extremes have different topics of interest, yet they are extreme none-the-less. Some extremes are pushed (or attempted) into the mainstream… yet they are still very much extreme. This probably boils down to your political leanings. QAnon craziness is absolutely extreme. But isn’t dressing in stripper attire and dancing in front of small children, having them stuff money in your underwear also extreme? The crazy is on both sides.
Show threadSam AdamsNov 28, 2022
@player1 @rvawonk This is demonstrably false. The problem is almost exclusively right-wing extremism, and it's world-wide, not just in the US.
Show threadPlayer1Nov 28, 2022
@Sameagle @rvawonk ahh.. the right wing is exclusively responsible for todays problems. Ok. It’s impossible to say it’s demonstrably false, when there is an enormous amount of “left” wing extremism being forced on the country. Or do you not consider men dressed in women’s stripper clothes dancing for small children, teaching them to tuck money in their underwear, extreme? It is willful ignorance to claim extremism is a right-only problem.
Show threadSam AdamsNov 28, 2022
@player1 @rvawonk Perhaps you have some proof of this. My bet is you don't, and are instead regurgitating propaganda.