Was the 2020 election rigged? That may be something we never find out for sure. Despite hundreds of sworn statements under penalty of perjury, statistical anomalies that would have Einstein cursing, and admissions from the Dominion voting machine CEO that “human error” occurred multiple times, the Fourth Estate remains largely silent. Worse even, the trusted media seems intent on pooh-poohing any suggestion that a single thing could have possibly gone wrong. The question is why … The answer is simple: Fear.
All Or Nothing
Imagine a deadbeat gambler who has cast his entire bankroll on one hand of Texas Hold’em. His whole future, financial and reputational, rests on the right card filling the river slot. For this desperate man, he sees either fortune or failure, life or death. And such is the case of the wantonly ignorant media class who have clung on so desperately for the last four years.
They are faced with a choice. Go all-in on backing Biden, or go broke.
On December 16, a Senate hearing met to question witnesses on irregularities during the election. Following what an impartial observer might regard as a damning session, the nation’s leading publications refused to note a single supporting point (of which there were many) and go straight for the defensive headlines:
"Senate hearing elevates baseless claims of election fraud"
"How Republicans are spinning their election fraud falsehoods now that many are acknowledging Biden’s win"
"The election is over, but Ron Johnson keeps promoting false claims of fraud"
Media NewSpeak
But the malaise goes much deeper than writing tempting clickbait for their faithful audience. A new language has evolved with which media outlets guide precision narrative as a tool of propaganda. For example, the now-ubiquitous “no evidence of widespread election fraud” heard daily has a plethora of Orwellian indicators.
“Widespread” is used in a couple of ways; firstly, by denying something is widespread, it displays a minimization bias – the audience internally registers it as something small. Second, it ignores the antonym: targeted. So far, not a single major case made from the pro-Trump side has suggested voter shenanigans were “widespread;” they have all claimed “targeted” fraud and targeted specifically at certain big population cities within five swing states. It is, according to the accusers, the very definition of targeted.
And what of “no evidence”? Here the legacy media has created a specific definition to mean any information that has not been accepted as proof by a court of law. It is linguistically putting the cart before the horse and is as dishonest a practice as it sounds.
Silencing Dissent
Any who veer from the narrative are considered a threat and must be dealt with. The media view dissenting voices as an attack on their own stability, security, and future prospects.
Lawyers who support the president in legal actions are mocked, doxed, and likely never to work on a big public case again, all because of the media’s fear. As Plato wrote, “We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.”
The Fourth Estate is no longer a child; it needs to grow up and let the final card be drawn without a sense of fear. The value of an honest and brave media, one not afraid to follow where the clues lead, nor in terror of the answers it might discover, strengthens us all. One that cowers like a thief in the night leaves the nation weaker and poorer.
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Read more from Mark Angelides.
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