Tag: fake news

NBC News Misrepresents Internal DHS Memo About Their Response to the Kyle Rittenhouse Case

NBC News misrepresented an internal memo given to Department of Homeland Security officials that was meant to brief them on the Kyle Rittenhouse situation the week it occurred in August. 

NBC News reported “officials were directed to make public comments sympathetic” about Rittenhouse and it included quotes from the document:

“Federal law enforcement officials were directed to make public comments sympathetic to Kyle Rittenhouse, the teenager charged with fatally shooting two protesters in Kenosha, Wisconsin, according to internal Department of Homeland Security talking points obtained by NBC News.

“In preparing Homeland Security officials for questions about Rittenhouse from the media, the document suggests that they note that he ‘took his rifle to the scene of the rioting to help defend small business owners.’

…

“The Rittenhouse talking points also say, ‘Kyle was seen being chased and attacked by rioters before allegedly shooting three of them, killing two.’

‘Subsequent video has emerged reportedly showing that there were ‘multiple gunmen’ involved, which would lend more credence to the self-defense claims.'”

Townhall has obtained the DHS memo and it is different from how NBC News described it. There are two sections of the memo, “Situation” and “Response,” a fact not included in their story.

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CNN airs photo of Biden and son with Washington Redskins logo removed from son’s hat

CNN appears to have altered a widely-seen photograph of Joe Biden with his young son to remove the logo of the Washington Redskins.

The Democratic nominee and former vice president initially shared the photo in June to commemorate Father’s Day.

However, when CNN featured the photograph in its Monday night special “Fight for the White House: Joe Biden’s Long Journey,” the Redskins logo was removed from the hat.

CNN did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment.

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U.S. govt-linked PR firm ran fake news networks for right-wing Latin American regimes

Another CLS Strategies partner, Juan Cortiñas, boasted on the firm’s website that he has represented top right-wing leaders and major corporations in Latin America, including the Venezuelan opposition.

Since the fake news ring was exposed, however, CLS Strategies has edited its website to scrub some of these compromising materials, removing the bios of associates like Feierstein and Cortiñas.

This controversy underscores how US PR firms, elite Washington insiders, and foreign opposition groups work in tandem to promote right-wing regimes in Latin America while astroturfing opposition to democratically elected left-wing governments.

Given the extensive links CLS has to the Democratic Party, this scheme also highlights the bipartisan consensus around regime change and support for corrupt neoliberal leaders linked to death squads and drug trafficking.

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The ‘Highest Single-Day of COVID-19 Deaths’ That Wasn’t

Under the best of circumstances, reporting on COVID-19 is tough. There are simply too many unknowns, and even when officials aren’t manipulating the truth they aren’t always willing to cop to the fact that they really don’t have solid answers.

But there’s really no excuse for journalism as sloppy and misleading as the August 13 ABC News segment whose headline blared “US reports highest single-day of COVID-19 deaths.” This video was widely shared, appearing not just on the main ABC News site, but also on Good Morning America, MSN.com, and elsewhere. And it simply wasn’t true.

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Facebook Fails to Fact Check Fake News Claiming Cannon Hinnant’s Father Did Drugs With Alleged Killer

After the Wilson Police Department confirmed the prevalence of a doctored press release–fraught with typos, spelling mistakes, and grammatical errors–to swing the narrative away from Cannon Hinnant’s coldblooded murder, another meme attempting to paint the murdered child’s parents in a bad light has surfaced.

The unsubstantiated meme which alleges that Cannon’s father, Austin Hinnant, was a meth dealer responsible for inducing a psychotic state of mind for Cannon’s alleged murderer, Darius Sessoms.

Sessoms is alleged to have shot the five-year-old in the head at point blank range for riding his bike on Sessom’s front yard.

Those in defense of Sessoms’ unprovoked crime claim that he is being singled out for his skin color; with some dubbing Sessoms as a “political prisoner” and other accusing Hinnant’s family of racism.

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