THE DAILY NEWSLETTER  - FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2020

Media Winners & Losers

MEDIA WINNER:
Donie O'Sullivan

"Fake News!" has become a favorite rallying cry of President Donald Trump and his supporters, but actual fake news is a growing problem, especially when it goes viral on social media -- sometimes because it's been promoted by the president himself.

CNN reporter Donie O'Sullivan did an excellent job shining a light on this issue, going to a Trump campaign rally in Bemidji, Minnesota to ask Trump supporters about their social media habits. 

O'Sullivan's video interviews with the rally attendees captured their skepticism about attempts by Facebook and other social media platforms to fact-check political messages -- and a troubling lack of skepticism regarding messages pushed by the Trump campaign. 

One woman openly laughed at a Facebook fact-check message, and another man scoffed at fact-checks as whining about context and mentioned a video purporting to show Joe Biden falling asleep on live TV. That particular video was completely fake, however, and when O'Sullivan showed him the proof it still didn't change his opinion of the Democratic nominee.

O'Sullivan deserves credit for asking pointed questions of these Trump supporters without being abrasive or overly confrontational but still highlighting gaps between their perceptions and reality. Fake news didn't start with Trump and won't automatically end when he's out of office, and understanding how the stories spread and gain traction is a valuable journalistic function. 

MEDIA LOSER:
Kayleigh McEnany

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany has a stressful and challenging job, but she made matters so much worse for herself by resorting to petty personal attacks on the press instead of sticking to the issues.

Forced to respond to Trump's refusal to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he loses the election, McEnany dodged the question by making snarky comments about the reporter who had asked Trump the original question, Brian Karem, because he worked for Playboy magazine. Jokes aside, Playboy does have a decades-long history of news-making interviews and articles, and Karem has been a member of the White House Press Corps for years.

That "Playboy reporter" asked Trump a legitimate question and his answer was newsworthy. McEnany's response was unprofessional and petulant. 

But it was her attack on CNN's Brianna Keilar that was truly beyond the pale. McEnany called Keilar's comments on the situation in Louisville, following the grand jury decision in the Breonna Taylor case, "outrageous" and "irresponsible" -- and then attempted to make a connection between what Keilar had said and two Louisville cops being shot during the protests the previous evening. 

Besides the glaring fact that Keilar didn't actually say what McEnany claimed she had -- even if McEnany had quoted her correctly, that still wouldn't make her at fault for the police being shot. 

Keilar had a pitch-perfect response, tweeting at McEnany, "The Breonna you should be talking about today is not me."

🎤  The Interview 🎤

‘I’m Not Part of the Resistance’:
Jon Karl Talks Trump, SCOTUS, and MEDIA BIAS

The A-Block

MAGA Masks

Trump had a rally in Jacksonville, Florida Thursday evening, and just like his other campaign events this year, few of the atendees wore face masks -- with the notable exception of the people standing directly behind him in the camera view.

The president didn't let the pandemic get him down, and reveled with his supporters, seeming to have a great time attacking Biden, mocking MSNBC's Ali Velshi for being shot with a rubber bullet at a recent protest, and even dancing around

'You really believe that?!'

CNN's Anderson Cooper was incredulous when NYT's Tom Friedman said America was on the brink of a "potential second Civil War" on Thursday night's episode of AC360. Watch and see Friedman's reasoning here

Big Tobacco, Big Social

CNN's Don Lemon had an eye-opening interview with former Facebook head of monetization Tim Kendall, who denounced the social media giant for "[taking] a page from Big Tobacco’s playbook, working to make our offering addictive at the outset.” Like Friedman, Kendall also worries that America could be headed towards a second civil war, and blames his former employer for fomenting much of the division. 

Troye on The View

Olivia Troye — a former aide to Vice President Mike Pence who has heavily criticized Trump since leaving the White House —fired back at the administration’s efforts to discredit her in an appearance on The View Friday. 

RIP RBG

A memorial service was held at the U.S. Capitol for Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Friday. Lots of moving moments, including many of her law clerks showing up to honor her legacy and this video clip of her personal trainer doing push-ups next to her casket. 

Breonna Taylor's family speaks out

The decision of a Kentucky grand jury to indict only one of the officers involved in the shooting death of Breonna Taylor -- and only for the "wanton endangerment" of the shots that went into neighboring apartments -- was met with disappointment and outrage from Taylor's family and supporting activists. They had some especially harsh criticism of Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron.

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Who you gonna call?

Former NBA star Charles Barkley has made a post-pro-sports career for himself with not just sports commentary but unfiltered political opinions, and he was blunt in his criticism of the "defund the police" movement, saying that it would leave Black communities with no options to protect their neighborhoods except to call the Ghostbusters. Yes, really

Prayers for Ron Paul

Former Texas congressman and presidential candidate Ron Paul has been hospitalized in Texas for "precautionary reasons" following an apparent medical incident during a livestream interview. 

Prayers and well-wishes for Paul poured in from fellow Texas politicians and his supporters around the country. We here at Mediaite join them in hoping for a quick and full recovery. 

Must See Clip

‘What happens when justice is not justice?’

Late-night host Trevor Noah reflected on the Kentucky grand jury’s decision not to charge any Louisville police officers in the death of Breonna Taylor — questioning, “What happens when justice is not justice?”

“They’ll only get in trouble for the shots they missed,” Noah pointed out. “If only the criminal justice system valued Black people as much as drywall.”

Noah continued, discussing the troubling implications the case has for many people, noting how "exhausted" many Americans are protesting these issues and waiting for justice. 

It was a heartfelt commentary, and worth watching in full.  

Links We Like

The Awful Realities of the Breonna Taylor Case
- David French, via The Dispatch
Correcting the misinformation about Breonna Taylor
- Radley Balko, via Washington Post
What we can learn about QAnon from the Satanic Panic
- via Vox
Unlock the Damned Playgrounds, Already
- Matt Welch, via Reason
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