This is a recent story which illustrates some of the ways in which the traditional media actively misinforms and deceives its consumers. The context for this is the UAW strike, which is described as the largest autoworker strike in decades. Both of the presumptive presidential nominees (Joe Biden, a Democrat and the current US President and likely Republican nominee Donald Trump) travelled to Michigan in response. Joe Biden actually joined the picket line to address the striking workers. By contrast, Donald Trump travelled to a non-Union shop and delivered a speech critical of the strike and union leadership. Despite this obvious difference, many mainstream media outlets treated Biden and Trump as engaging in equivalent activities with headlines such as the following:
Biden, Trump to woo union workers in Michigan as auto strikes grow | Reuters
The New York Times ran with a similar headline, and even posted the following on the site formerly known as Twitter:
.@realDonaldTrump greets union members at Drake Enterprises in Clinton Township Michigan. pic.twitter.com/5ggIOQ3nOc
— Doug Mills (@dougmillsnyt) September 28, 2023
As local newspapers reported, the individuals in the picture (including individuals claiming to be union members and autoworkers) were not, in fact, union workers or autoworkers.
All of this demonstrates, again, the unfortunate truth that we need to be very skeptical of the media and the ways that it reports on stories.
h/t to Eschaton (eschatonblog.com)
