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Friday, November 01, 2024

"Democracy Dies In The Dark": A Sign Of Our Times

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Recently, I quoted the Associated Press promising to organize left-leaning news organizations so they will be ready to combat "misinformation" as we near Election night.

AP promised, "As news outlets get ready for election night, they’re not only focusing on what happens. They’re keeping watch over what doesn't."

Tucker Carlson, Ben Shapiro, and Mike Davis of the Article III Project have revealed that a New York Times reporter reached out to them for comment regarding an upcoming hit piece about so-called "misinformation." The likely objective is to get conservative commentators demonetized or possibly removed from YouTube.

Bezos's Washington Post slogan, "Democracy Dies In The Dark," comes to mind.

So does the demon of censorship.

Be informed, not misled.

Associated Press assured the uninformed, "Several plans to combat misinformation are in place across newsrooms that will follow the climax of a hard-fought campaign on Nov. 5. The Associated Press and others will take special steps to explain what they do. The New York Times is assigning reporters to comb the Internet for the first sign of new conspiracies. An NPR reporter will look for mischief created by artificial intelligence. ABC News has tried “pre-bunks” to prepare its viewers."

"False stories that infected the political debate after Hurricane Helene this fall were a sobering reminder of how quickly things can spread," AP said.

The New York Times is taking their assignment seriously.



They are "combing the internet."

Tucker Carlson had some choice words for the Times, which appears poised to attack conservatives using leftists' 'misinformation' claims.

So did Ben Shapiro. 

Shapiro pre-emptively attacked the paper and its apparent collaborators at the leftist outfit Media Matters, while Carlson shared screenshots of his fiery textual exchange with Times reporter Nico Grant.

"Would I like to participate in your attempt to censor me?" Carlson wrote to Grant. "No thanks. But I do hope you'll quote what I wrote above and also note that I told you to [expletive] which I am now doing. Thanks."

Grant apparently opened with an introduction and the following note to Carlson on Monday: "I wanted to give you an opportunity to comment for an upcoming article that takes a look at how political commentators have discussed the upcoming election on YouTube. We rely on an analysis conducted by researchers at Media Matters for America."

The Blaze notes, "Media Matters for America is a leftist organization founded by Democratic operative David Brock. It claims to document 'conservative misinformation throughout the media' and to notify 'activists, journalists, pundits, and the general public about instances of misinformation, providing them with the resources to rebut false claims and to take direct action against offending media institutions'."

Media Matters, now led by Angelo Carusone — the former Democratic National Committee employee who fought to get Bill O'Reilly and Glenn Beck ousted from Fox News and was responsible for the "#DumpTrump" campaign in 2012 — now serves as an attack dog for the Democratic Party, characterizing dissenting views as "misinformation."

Grant asked Carlson to comment on the following points, which will apparently be included in the planned Times piece:

  • "Media Matters identified 286 YouTube videos between May and August that contained election misinformation, including narratives that have been debunked or are not supported with credible evidence."
  • "Researchers identified videos posted by you in those four months that contain election misinformation."
  • "We feature a clip of you saying: '...All the sadness we've seen after the clearly stolen election. All these bad things happen, but people I know love each other more.'"

Shapiro and Davis appear to have been asked to comment on the same points but on different quotes.

Shapiro referred to the anticipated Times-Media Matters hit piece as an "October surprise."

The Blaze said this:

"What, precisely, is NYT doing?" wrote Shapiro. "It's perfectly obvious: using research from Media Matters, a radical Left-wing organization whose sole purpose is destroying conservative media ... in order to pressure YouTube to demonetize and penalize any and all conservatives ONE WEEK FROM THE ELECTION."

While noting that he supported the view that Biden won the 2020 election, Shapiro emphasized that the Constitution guarantees the right of Americans to suggest otherwise.

"This is totally scandalous. In 2020, the legacy media shut down the dissemination of the Hunter Biden laptop story and laundered the claim that it was all Russian disinformation, all to get Joe Biden elected," continued Shapiro. "In 2024, they're even more brazen: they're openly trying to intimidate YouTube, one of the most dominant news platforms in America, into shutting down anyone who isn't pro-Kamala."

Shapiro worked his way up to echoing Carlson's sentiment, concluding, "The New York Times wants comment? Here's my comment: kindly, go [expletive] yourself."

Signs of our times.

The Bible contains several passages that relate to misinformation and false teachings, including:

  • Proverbs 19:5: "A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall not escape." 
  • Proverbs 11:13: "He who goes about as a talebearer reveals secrets, but he who is trustworthy conceals a matter." 
  • Proverbs 17:9a: "He who covers a transgression seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates intimate friends." 
  • 2 Peter 2:12: Peter calls false prophets "unreasoning animals." 
  • Jude 10: Jude calls false prophets "unreasoning animals." 

The Bible also warns against false teachers and false prophets, who are described as dangerous and capable of perverting thinking and poisoning the soul. 

Deception was present at the original sin.

The end times are characterized as a time of "misinformation."

Jesus said in "Matthew 7:15: “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.” 

And the word beware means all of us should be alert, especially shepherds, to identify not just false teaching but false teachers, whose ways are subtle.

"Disinformation," "misinformation," and "deception" all characterize the times in which we live.

Be Informed. Be Prayerful.