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I constantly hear the comment-- "You just can't find the truth about things anymore."
That's true---no pun intended---you can't.
It has been said, "Truth is a lonely warrior."
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis gave ABC's "The View" a little "truth" serum last week.
Be informed, not misled.
The pursuit of truth often isn't a pursuit of truth.
When asked to appear as a guest on ABC's "The View," Gov. DeSantis declined outright and told them why.
This was a change of pace for the media. They meet few if any politicians who say no to a camera.
The Governor's Deputy Press Secretary Bryan Griffin explained to the booking person at ABC he understood that she was sending the invitation on behalf of the team, so his following comments wouldn't appear personal to the employee.
Then he said this:
“But are the hosts of the View really interested in hearing from Governor DeSantis about all of the important work he is doing on behalf of Floridians to protect their health and livelihoods, to stand up for parents and children, and to defend freedom?” He asked, noting that the hosts have taken a public disliking to the governor and his initiatives.
“Which of the below statements from the hosts of the View do you recommend our team consider when deciding if the interview will be a genuine pursuit of the truth? Or worth the time?” He asked, before listing some remarkable statements from the team that seeks his presence on its ABC show.
“Joy Behar, August 2021: ‘You’re just short of calling [Governor DeSantis] a negligent, homicidal sociopath because that’s what he is.’ She added: ‘What is he doing? He’s risking the lives of children, children’s parents, their grandparents, and anyone they may come into contact with, so he can appeal to his white supremacist base, so he can continue in his career and get reelected.’
“Sunny Hostin, June 2022: ‘Death-Santis… I think he’s a fascist and a bigot.’
“Ana Navarro, April 2022 (on Governor DeSantis’s policies): ‘It’s anti-Black, it’s anti-gay, it’s anti-LGBTQ+ community. And for some reason, the Republican base responds to it.” And ‘It’s anti-American. It’s what happens in Venezuela. It’s what happens in Nicaragua.’
“Sunny Hostin, February 2022 (on Governor DeSantis’s policies): ‘It started with CRT. Let’s remember that — and those are anti-history laws, anti-Black history laws, really,” she said. “If you start coming after Black people, what comes next, right? Of course the LGBTQ+ community, and then women, and then other marginalized groups.’
“We will pass on this offer,” Griffin states in conclusion. “Also please note – we don’t coordinate appearances or events of a political nature from the official office. Our role is to serve the people of Florida. Thank you.”
The truth is, every mainstream media company wants to interview Ron DeSantis because his popularity draws ratings and clicks.
He has been very clear about his opinion on the mainstream, or "legacy" media. He will not assist failing media outlets in growing their audience for their smear pieces and biased reporting that is laced with contempt for everyday Americans.
DeSantis, who is wildly popular in his state and has achieved national popularity among parents who appreciate his dedication to parental rights and American families, has been widely slammed by legacy media outlets that seek to reduce that popularity to partisan propaganda.
The tale of the Jewish couple.
In 2016 just prior to President-Elect Trump taking office, a story erupted from Lancaster County that supposedly confirmed how conservative news organizations had caused a Jewish couple to flee the county for their life. A familiar storyline during the Christmas season.
The tale went something like this: A Jewish couple was forced to pull their child out of school so the family could "flee" town over fears stemming from "fake news" stories blaming them for the cancellation of a Christmas play.
Conservative news outlets had earlier seized on local reporting that indicated some parents believed a Pennsylvania elementary school's production of "A Christmas Carol" had been shuttered over the Jewish parents' alleged complaints over its line "God bless us, everyone."
The idea the performance was canceled over the famous line — which the school denied — caused outrage and, as the story went, left the Jewish family so worried for their safety that they decided to skip town.
It hit all the desired notes for left-leaning publications and personalities. It demonized outlets like Breitbart and Fox News while supposedly putting on display the real-life consequences of "fake news."
It was everywhere.
The only problem? The story wasn't true.
The Anti-Defamation League investigated it and, after speaking with the family, determined they had not fled town over fears of retribution. What they had done was go on a "previously planned vacation for the holidays."
"News reports alleging that a Jewish family has 'fled' Lancaster County are untrue and damaging," said Nancy Baron-Baer, a regional director for the ADL.
"News environment hurts the ability to find the truth."
Example: Conservatives are less able to distinguish political truths from falsehoods than liberals, mainly because of a glut of right-leaning misinformation, a new national study conducted over six months shows.
He said, "Researchers found that liberals and conservatives in the United States both tended to believe claims that promoted their political views, but that this more often led conservatives to accept falsehoods while rejecting truths.
He said the news media is the driver of this inability to get to the truth.
“Both liberals and conservatives tend to make errors that are influenced by what is good for their side,” he says.
“But the deck is stacked against conservatives because there is so much more misinformation that supports conservative positions. As a result, conservatives are more often led astray,” he says.
What? He then pivots and makes the case that because conservative news organizations, which are considerably less in number than mainstream or "legacy" news organizations, spread most of the "un-truths" conservatives "are more susceptible to believing falsehoods."
So in his "search for truth," he makes a very subjective conclusion: Conservatives are not as discerning as leftists.
He uses Hillary Clinton as an example of being the "victim" of such deception.
He says conservatives pushed the false idea that "While serving as Sec. of State, Hillary Clinton colluded with Russia, selling 20% of the US uranium supply to that country in exchange for donations to the Clinton Foundation."
He concluded his study report with this: "We show that the media environment is shaping people’s ability to do this very basic, fundamental task. Democracy depends on people being able to tell the difference between what is true and false and it falters when people have difficulty agreeing on what’s real."
This, while he is using this study to "shape people's ability to tell the difference between what is true and what is false."
Takeaway
"Fact Check" goes to great length to explain Hillary's uranium issue, but concludes its long explanation with this:
It may be that individuals and companies sought to curry favor with Hillary Clinton and even influence her department’s decision on the Uranium One sale. But, as we’ve written before, there is no evidence that donations to the Clinton Foundation from people with ties to Uranium One or Bill Clinton’s speaking fee influenced Hillary Clinton’s official actions. That’s still the case. We will update this article with any major developments.
Bill's speaking fee on one of several occasions was $500,000 for a 20-30 minute speech.
Be informed, and discerning. And "Prove all things, hold fast that which is good" (I Thess. 5:21).