Forever blurring the lines between “journalist” and “activist,” CNN’s Brian Stelter once again proved himself to be a far greater fan of the latter, proclaiming on Twitter that the news industry is responsible of “protecting the public” from President Trump’s “dangerous, democracy-eroding lies,” saying some outlets are “failing these tests.”
“East Coast news companies and West Coast tech companies are increasingly being put in the position of protecting the public from the American president's dangerous, democracy-eroding lies,” Stelter tweeted Monday.
“Trump's lies about the election and the pandemic are tests. Some outlets are passing these tests and others are failing. All of us are watching it happen in real time,” he added.
Reminiscent of MSNBC's Mike Brzezinski letting it slip that it's "our job" to control what the American people think, Stelter linked to an article co-written with fellow CNNer Oliver Darcy, in which the pair slammed Facebook for “letting” the president “lie” to the American people about the coronavirus.
“I admit, ‘protecting the public’ feels like a very strange thing to write in this letter. News outlets and tech firms are not in the "protection" business – to the contrary, viewers and users typically benefit from being introduced to diverse and different points of view,” Stelter wrote.
“But news segments and social media discussions can cause harm. Sometimes do cause harm,” he added.
He then goes on to quote various liberal media pundits and anti-Trumpers in a myriad of claims that Trump has lied about everything from COVID to the election – all while, of course, peddling the unsubstantiated claim that Trump is actively engaging in “voter suppression” in order to steal the election.
But I suppose if you’re in the business of “protecting” the American people, a white knight complex is likely to provide you with all manner of justification for publishing myths – and, apparently, infantilizing the American public, who are, according to "news" types such as Stelter, too stupid to be allowed to think for themselves.