Censorship, fake news, false claims – not things that used to be associated with credible news sources. But in today’s world, it’s publish the story first and worry about small-print corrections on Page 9 later. The media just are not as trusted as in the days of Walter Cronkite. Changing the narrative has become commonplace, and MSM’s quest to protect Democrats has been demonstrated over and over again. The most recent example is brought to us by The New York Times, which decided to alter a tweet so that presidential candidate Joe Biden looked more favorable.
The Times claimed to have conducted extensive interviews with Tara Reade, the former 1990s Senate staffer for Biden who has alleged sexual assault charges against the former vice president. The left-leaning media predictably have been mostly silent on the topic, in contrast to the “guilty until proven innocent” free-for-all fiasco they pulled during Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s hearings.
On Sunday, April 12, The Times reported:
“No other allegation of sexual assault surfaced in the course of our reporting, nor did any former Biden staffer corroborate Reade’s allegation. We found no pattern of sexual misconduct by Biden, beyond hugs, kisses, and touching that women previous said made them uncomfortable.”
After online criticism, the report was changed and the “beyond hugs, kisses, and touching that women previously said made them uncomfortable” was taken out so that it basically said they found nothing to suggest any of the allegations were true; however, the tweet still remained and still showed the original report.
This altering of the report did not sit well with other media influencers, including Jeremy Scahill from Fox News, and co-founder of The Intercept said, “The [New York Times] deleted this tweet and also did an unacknowledged edit of this out of their story. Brave. What would the correction even say? ‘An earlier version of this story contained a true statement that the Biden campaign demanded we remove so we cut it without alerting our readers.’ Something like that?”
Glenn Greenwald, a journalist, opined:
“Do you think people won’t notice that liberal institutions and media outlets spent months maligning Brett Kavanaugh’s defenders as misogynistic rape apologists, only to now invoke all their arguments to defend Joe Biden [and] demean Tara Reade? Do you think people are that dumb?”
The Times did acknowledge the goof, sort of. It addressed just the “touchy-feely” phrase, saying it had been deleted because it “had some imprecise language that has been changed in the story.” Reade, who says in 1993 Biden “pinned her to a wall in a Senate building, reached under her clothing and penetrated her with his fingers,” filed a formal complaint against the Democratic candidate on April 9. NYT said the complaint did not mention Biden by name, but she told the newspaper it was about him. Then the Gray Lady further tarnished her credibility by suggesting Reade was lying and said, “Filing a false police report may be punishable by a fine and imprisonment.”
This isn’t the first time the news conglomerate has had to backtrack to fix misreporting or misrepresenting. During the Kavanaugh trials, it published an article on Sept. 14 from reporters Robin Pogebrin and Kate Kelly, which helped to advertise their new book The Education of Brett Kavanaugh: An Investigation. As Liberty Nation’s Graham J. Noble wrote, “Realizing it had been busted for publishing what was obviously a dishonest hit-piece about Kavanaugh – a man who the left was hell-bent on destroying from the moment he was nominated for the nation’s highest court – the paper updated the story on September 15.”
Seven women have accused Biden of sexual misconduct, yet where is the outcry from the left? Where are all the #MeToo movers and shakers? Are women to be taken seriously only if their complaints are against a Republican or conservative? NYT’s reporting on Reade’s allegations differs vastly from that on Kavanaugh’s accuser Christine Blasey Ford. The justice had a pristine record without a single blemish to mar his reputation in regards to treatment of women; Biden is “fondly” known as “Creepy Uncle Joe” and the internet is filled with pictures of him sniffing hair and other antics that obviously make some women uncomfortable – if their facial expressions are any indication. Yet, one is judged guilty until he can prove his innocence while the other’s narrative makes him appear in the best light. Should one woman’s complaint be taken any less seriously than the other’s?
Sexual misconduct or harassment is a serious charge that shouldn’t be demeaned and used to further a political agenda. Yet, as Liberty Nation’s Managing Editor Mark Angelides wisely said, “Whether it’s hiding details of the sexual assault allegation against Joe Biden or running damage control for the World Health Organization (WHO), the American Fourth Estate appears determined to undermine President Trump and damage his electoral chances in November.”
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Read more from Kelli Ballard.
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