Tag: mainstream media

Teens Didn’t Just Discover Weed. So Why Is The Wall St. Journal Acting Like They Did?

The Wall Street Journal has a new teen-cannabis panic on offer: vape clouds in school bathrooms, sneaky hits during class and administrators playing cat-and-mouse with students who keep finding ways to get high. The gadgets are newer. The hardware is newer. The hiding spots may be newer, too. But the underlying behavior? Please. American teenagers did not just discover weed because a dispensary opened in town. What the Journal really found is an old adolescent ritual in updated packaging, then stretched it into a referendum on legal cannabis.

Let’s get the obvious part out of the way. Teen cannabis use is real. The risks are real. THC can be harmful to developing brains, and schools have every right to care about what students are doing on campus. But that is not the same as proving legalization created some brand-new youth cannabis crisis. That leap is where the piece gets slippery.

Because once you leave the anecdote and look at the trendline, the panic starts to wobble. The University of Michigan’s Monitoring the Future report shows past-year marijuana use among 12th graders at 26.0% in 2024, down from 35.7% in 2019. Among 8th graders, it was 7.0% in 2024, down from 11.8% in 2019. That is not an explosion. That is a decline.

Zoom out further and the same pattern holds. A 2026 Addictive Behaviors paper, “Trends in US adolescent cannabis use, 1991–2023”, found that youth cannabis use rose through the 1990s, peaked in 1999 and then broadly declined. Lifetime use fell from 47.3% in 1999 to 30.1% in 2023. Recent use dropped from 27.1% to 17.8%. Early initiation fell too. In other words, if you want to tell a dramatic story about teen cannabis, the most inconvenient fact is that the peak is a quarter-century behind us.

And if the argument is specifically that legalization caused kids to start using more, the best recent policy literature does not back that up either. A 2024 JAMA Psychiatry study, “Recreational Marijuana Laws and Teen Marijuana Use, 1993-2021”, found no evidence that recreational marijuana laws were associated with current or frequent teen use. A separate 2024 JAMA Pediatrics study, “Recreational Cannabis Legalization, Retail Sales, and Adolescent Substance Use Through 2021”, found no net increases in adolescent cannabis, alcohol, cigarette or e-cigarette use tied to recreational legalization or retail sales. That does not mean every concern is fake. It means the Journal is hinting at a causal story the evidence does not support.

That is the framing trick. The article keeps pointing to real things, then attaching them to the wrong villain. Teens getting THC vapes from older friends? Real. Peer-to-peer sales through Snapchat? Real. Bad packaging that looks too much like candy? Also real. But none of that means adult legality itself is the root problem. If a kid gets cannabis from an older sibling, a sloppy adult or some classmate running a side hustle through social media, that is a diversion problem. A safeguards problem. An adults-failing-kids problem. It is not proof that legal access for adults was the mistake. If an eighth grader grabs a parent’s car keys and takes off, the problem is not that cars are legal for adults. The problem is access, supervision and adults failing to secure something meant for grown people.

Keep reading

Three Massive Funds Control a Chunk of Most Media: Maybe that’s why you might not have heard of them

Recently, FAIR (2/3/26) took a look at the owners of the biggest online media outlets. It focused on the controlling owners of those outlets, which are mostly publicly traded corporations. But a lot of the money—about $2 trillion dollars—invested in the top 50 online media outlets in the US is not the controlling owners’. Rather, it is possessed by minority institutional investors that manage assets for others.

Take BlackRock, Inc., for instance. Innovation & Tech Today (7/8/22) called it “the biggest company you’ve probably never heard of.” The multinational’s influence comes from the $13.5 trillion it manages on behalf of retirement funds, governments, other corporations and individual investors. That figure is enough to purchase every share of Amazon five times over.

BlackRock is just one of the Big Three US asset management firms. The other two, the Vanguard Group and State Street Corporation, are similarly big financial players. Vanguard manages $12 trillion and State Street manages about $5.5 trillion. Collectively, the Big Three “steward” almost 7% of all of the wealth in the entire world: stocks, bonds, cash, everything, everywhere. And while they are not a cartel, they hold the same interests, by dint of owning a small slice of almost everything.

The sheer amount of capital the Big Three can throw around gives them weight. When President Donald Trump went off on an extended tirade about Chinese control of the Panama Canal, BlackRock was there with a solution: “An investor group led by BlackRock will acquire two ports near the Panama Canal,” the New York Times (3/4/25) reported. And when the US economy went into a financial tailspin in 2007–08, BlackRock’s CEO Larry Fink was the person that central bankers and presidents had on speed dial. They’re invested in private prisons and residential real estate and Kellogg’s cereals, to name just a few.

Keep reading

Biden Autopen Investigation is Ongoing and NOT Closed

Fox News reported on Thursday that the Justice Department’s investigation into Biden’s autopen is ongoing – NOT closed – as previously reported by The New York Times, CBS News, and NBC News.

Fox News cautioned that Joe Biden is not the target of the investigation.

On Wednesday, The New York Times and other outlets, citing sources, reported that prosecutors in Jeanine Pirro’s office dropped the criminal case into whether Joe Biden’s aides unlawfully used the autopen to issue pardons.

According to Fox News, the Biden autopen investigation is ongoing.

Per Fox News: It is also clear that the target of any potential prosecution would NOT be former president Biden himself, “It’s hard to imagine how [Biden] could be criminally liable for pardon power,” said the senior DOJ official, describing that power as basically limitless.

The Oversight Project broke the story about the Biden autopen scandal wide open after they discovered thousands of acts of clemency and executive actions were signed with an autopen rather than a wet signature.

Keep reading

Covering for International Abusers, Media Reverse Victim and Offender in Iran

People who study domestic violence have an acronym, DARVO, for the set of tactics abusers use to avoid accountability: Deny, Attack, and Reverse Victim and Offender.

It’s that last tactic that came to mind while reading news reports of the United States and Israel’s unprovoked and illegal attack on Iran, and the assassination of Ali Khamenei, its leader. US corporate media frequently presented Iran as responsible for the predictably violent consequences of the US/Israeli aggression.

Sometimes the reversal is straightforward, as when an NBC News “analysis” (2/28/26) warned that “Iran’s Retaliatory Strikes Threaten an Escalation Across the Region”—as though it is Iran’s response, and not the ongoing attacks by the US and Israel, that poses a threat to the region.

Another NBC analysis (2/28/26), by Richard Engel, more subtly tried to pin the blame on Iran, noting in the headline that “Iran Is Now in Conflict With Pretty Much All of Its Neighbors.” Wrote Engel:

Today Iran has launched drones and missiles not only at Israel, but also at US military installations in Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and Iraq…. It puts Iran in a difficult position, because now it is at conflict with pretty much all of its neighbors.

Pretty much all of its neighbors, that is, except for Turkiye, Armenia, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan. (Azerbaijan said Iranian drones crashed in its territory on Thursday; Iran denies targeting the country.) And if we’re going to count Jordan as Iran’s “neighbor,” then Georgia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan as well. Aside from those, though, pretty much all of them.

The point of depicting Iran as “in conflict” with “pretty much all of its neighbors,” of course, is to paint it as the country that no one can get along with. In reality, the countries Iran isn’t getting along with are the ones allowing the US to use them as platforms for launching bombs and missiles at it—behavior that will put a damper on any relationship.

Keep reading

Whoopi Goldberg Defends Bill Clinton After He Testified He Had ‘No Idea’ About Epstein’s Crimes

ABC’s The View co-host Whoopi Goldberg wasted no time to defend former President Bill Clinton after he testified to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee that he had “no idea” about the crimes Jeffrey Epstein had committed despite his close ties to the deceased pedophile.

“You know, say what you want about the Clintons. Have any of the women or has anything in those emails pointed to them as being guilty or having anything to do other than knowing?” Goldberg said on Tuesday while her co-hosts highlighted myriad photos between Bill Clinton, Epstein, and his longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell.

Goldberg doubled down, saying “But my question is, has he been accused by any of the accusers?”

“Has any of the women come out and said, ‘This is what Bill Clinton did’?” Goldberg continued. The Epstein files don’t include credible accusations from abused women against President Donald Trump, a point Whoopi Goldberg didn’t bother mentioning.

Bill Clinton was a guest on The View on June 5, 2025 along with author James Patterson, promoting their latest book.

Keep reading

Elisabeth Hasselbeck HUMILIATES The View’s Open-Borders Leftists with Cold Hard Facts — Reminds Them Their Own Audience Needed Security Clearance to Enter

Former The View co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck detonated a truth bomb on live television, leaving the far-left panel scrambling as she dismantled their open-borders talking points and delivered a blunt defense of strong border security.

The former co-host lectured the panel after the far-left hosts began trashing Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and criticizing the administration’s tougher immigration policies.

Instead of going along with the usual script, Hasselbeck delivered a blistering reality check.

Hasselbeck deconstructed the logic of the far-left panel by pointing directly to the people sitting in the studio. In a masterful move, she turned the camera on the audience to illustrate the necessity of vetting and boundaries.

“How many people in the audience here had to go through security to get here? Raise your hand, just be honest,” Hasselbeck challenged. “Otherwise you go to jail, I guess, for illegal trespassing, right? This is an authorized audience. They had to go through security to get through the border to get right here to just hear us talk. We need strong borders more than ever right now.”

The silence from the co-hosts was deafening as Hasselbeck drove the point home: If a daytime talk show requires a “border” to ensure safety, why doesn’t the United States of America?

Elisabeth Hasselbeck:
I think all lives matter to God, and we’re in uncommon times, so we need to have uncommon sense about things like this. Yes, there will be mistakes made, but I think if Kristi Noem were up for promotion right now and she put forward the statistics that zero illegals released into the U.S. for 10 months straight have crossed, that nearly 3 million aliens have left the United States, that we have the lowest murder rate in 125 years, that fentanyl trafficking is down 56% at the border, and that daily encounters have gone down 96%—hang on one second.

We need a strong border, especially now with our current global situation. And I believe that you may say you don’t want border control and you’re against ICE, but I actually don’t believe you in your daily lives. How many people in the audience here had to go through security to get here? Raise your hand. Just be honest. Otherwise you go to jail, I guess, for illegal trespassing, right?

This is an authorized audience. They had to go through security to get through the border to get right here just to hear us talk. We need strong borders more than ever right now.

Elisabeth Hasselbeck:
We are being infiltrated by terrorists.

Sunny Hostin:
But listen, we were not on the border when Renee Goode and Alex Peretti were murdered, and death is not a mistake. That was murder. That was murder.

Elisabeth Hasselbeck:
As were those killed by illegal immigrants. Murder.

Keep reading

Megyn Kelly Under Fire After Claiming US Service Members ‘Died for Iran or Israel’ — “This Feels Very Much to Me Like it is Clearly Israel’s War”

Megyn Kelly is facing fierce backlash after suggesting that American service members killed in the escalating conflict with Iran “died for Iran or for Israel,” rather than for the United States.

During a recent episode of her show, Kelly questioned the purpose of U.S. involvement, arguing that the war effort appears to be driven by foreign interests rather than American national security.

Megyn Kelly:
Look, there are massive divisions over what we’ve done here, and people are going to change their minds over the coming days and weeks, one way or the other. But my own feeling is that no one should have to die for a foreign country. I don’t think those four service members died for the United States. I think they died for Iran or for Israel.

I understand how this helps Iran perfectly well. I get it. I mean, I hope long term we’ll see. But they seem rather jubilant. Eighty percent of the country does not support the Ayatollah. He was a terrible, terrible man. No one’s crying that he’s dead — no normal person.

But our government’s job is not to look out for Iran or for Israel. It’s to look out for us. This feels very much, to me, like it is clearly Israel’s war. Mark Levin wanted it. It’s his war. Ben Shapiro, Lindsey Graham, Miriam Adelson — that’s obvious. They’re the ones who’ve been pushing us into it.

Keep reading

US Media Mostly Care for Iranians When They Can Be Used to Justify Bombing

The United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran on February 28, propelling the entire region into a predictable cataclysm of unprecedented proportions.

This puts paid to the alleged “peacemaking” project of US President Donald Trump, who was supposed to be keeping the country out of international wars rather than actively seeking to expedite the end of the world.

The attacks put an abrupt end to the negotiations underway between the US and Iran—to the delight of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has always viewed as anathema anything remotely resembling diplomacy or the pursuit of peace.

‘Trigger Iran to retaliate’

Three days before the joint strikes, a Politico exclusive (2/25/26) reported that “senior advisers” to Trump “would prefer Israel strike Iran before the United States launches an assault on the country.” As per the report, administration officials were “privately arguing that an Israeli attack would trigger Iran to retaliate, helping muster support from American voters for a US strike.”

So much for subsequent US/Israeli attempts to cast the assault as “preemptive” in nature. Indeed, there is nothing at all “preemptive” about forcing Iran to retaliate; this is instead what you would call a deliberate provocation.

Unfortunately for the “senior advisers,” Trump and Netanyahu ultimately opted to pull the trigger simultaneously, thus depriving the US administration of its fabricated casus belli.

Keep reading

SCATHING: CBS Contributor and Target of an Iranian Assassination Plot Masih Alinejad SHREDS Radical Rep. Ilhan Omar for Sympathizing with Terrorist Regime

Masih Alinejad, the courageous Iranian-American journalist and current CBS News contributor who has survived multiple Tehran-backed assassination plots, took to X to expose the staggering hypocrisy of “Squad” member Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN).

Alinejad, who recently faced her would-be assassins in a New York federal court, did not hold back.

She issued a “letter from an Iranian woman wounded by the regime,” accusing Omar of maintaining a cozy ambiguity toward the Islamic Republic while the regime systematically slaughters its own people.

The heart of Alinejad’s message centered on the tragic story of Sara Saeidi, a 39-year-old mother of two who was executed by the regime while peacefully protesting.

At the time of her death, she was reportedly wearing a sweatshirt that said “MANHATTAN” with an American flag, which some activists claim symbolized her desire for freedom.

Following her death, Iranian authorities allegedly falsified her death certificate, listing the cause of death as a “collision with agricultural machinery” to mask the shooting.

Alinejad’s critique highlights a growing frustration among Iranian dissidents who see far-left U.S. lawmakers as “anti-war” only when it benefits the mullahs in Tehran. She slammed Omar’s “No War With Iran” campaigns as a shield for the regime’s internal massacre of over 30,000 civilians.

Keep reading

HEROIC: CBS Austin Reporter Caught on Hot Mic Allegedly DEFYING Direct Orders from Higher-Ups to Censor Pro-Trump, Pro-Israel Crowds Following Iran Strikes

A local news reporter in Austin, Texas, was caught on a hot mic allegedly refusing to follow orders from his corporate overlords to bury the truth.

As the world reacts to the decisive joint U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran, the fake news media apparatus is working overtime to suppress the massive wave of public support for President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu.

But at CBS Austin, the narrative hit a major roadblock in the form of reporter Vinny Martorano.

During the live feed staging, Martorano was seen being handed a phone by a crew member, who appeared to relay a directive from higher-ups regarding how to frame the unfolding demonstration at the Texas Capitol last weekend.

CREW MEMBER: [Hands Martorano a phone, likely showing a directive from the newsroom]

VINNY MARTORANO: What does that mean?

CREW MEMBER: It means they don’t want us to focus on this.

MARTORANO: All right. Well, I am.

Despite the clear orders from his “higher-ups” to deemphasize the pro-American, pro-Israel sentiment, Martorano refused to be a puppet for the radical left’s agenda.

Martorano then delivered a balanced report that acknowledged the reality on the ground.

Martorano told the viewers (presumably in the live shot):

All right. There are a lot of mixed opinions across Austin about the joint attack between the United States and Israel against Iran that happened earlier this morning. Some people like this group behind me are thanking Trump and the United States government for following through with this attack against Iran.

Keep reading