Influential Winners, Massive Error, GA Outrage, Russian Anger

Three major media figures made it onto the annual Time 100 Most Influential People list this year.

Viral podcaster Joe Rogan, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO and President David Zaslav, and media mogul Oprah Winfrey all made the list of 100 most influential as the only 2022 honorees who are primarily in the media business.

Rogan is in the “Leaders” category of the list, in between Vice Premier of the People’s Republic of China Sun Chunlan, and President of the United States Joe Biden, along with other major figures like Russian President Vladimir Putin, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, and Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson.

Both Oprah and Zaslav are under the Titans heading on the list, alongside Apple CEO Tim Cook, actress Michelle Yeoh, and matriarch of the Kardashian marketing empire Kris Jenner.

New York Times columnist and podcaster Kara Swisher wrote about podcast "pioneer" Rogan, Chip and Joanna Gaines described their boss Zaslave as "the titan next door," and former First Lady Michelle Obama wrote that Oprah connecting with something "validates" it, and "no matter where you go, everyone knows her name."

Being primarily a media figure isn't a big plus in popular opinion these days. So in the rarefied air of the Most Influential list, these three stand out even more.

The Washington Post falsely stated on Monday George Floyd died two years ago this week after he was “shot and killed” while in the custody of the Minneapolis Police Department.

The paper tweeted the rewrite of history late Monday evening but it was taken down after a swift, loud reaction.

“On May 25, 2020, George Floyd was shot and killed in police custody,” the tweet read. “His death sparked outrage, wide scale protests and calls to change policing. Two years later, what has — or hasn’t changed?”

Floyd was not shot, but was instead murdered by former former Minneapolis cop Derek Chauvin kneeling on his neck until he died.

Within minutes of deleting the initial tweet, the paper did share another post about Floyd.

The paper vaguely noted, “We’ve deleted a previous tweet for this form that included language that was changed after publish.”

It wasn't just in the tweet, however, the error was on the paper's website as well.

That's not a minor error or oversight. The murder of George Floyd is one of the most significant stories of the last 10 years, with enormous impact on American society.

It's the kind of thing you are supposed to get right and, as a member of the press, you should recognize as wrong before it ever hits the public.