Associated Press Shattering Obama Myths

[babylonsister]

http://mediamatters.org/strupp/201008200010


Associated Press Shattering Obama Myths

August 20, 2010 9:47 am ET by Joe Strupp


The Associated Press, which has recently taken extra strides to make the facts clear in the lower Manhattan Islamic Center controversy, offers a great piece today examining several myths surrounding President Obama, and blames both media outlets and the public's acceptance of unverified reports for their existence:

Blame it on the media, or on human nature. All presidents deal with image problems -- that they're too weak or too belligerent, too far left or far right. But Obama also faces questions over documented facts, in part because some people identify more with the rumormongers than the debunkers.

"Trust and distrust -- that explains almost all of it," says Nicholas DiFonzo, professor of psychology at the Rochester Institute of Technology and an expert on rumor and gossip research. "We are in such a highly polarized political environment. Our country is sorting itself into more closely knit, opposing factions each year" -- factions, DiFonzo suggests, that in turn become "echo chambers" for factoids that aren't fact at all.

The piece later notes some conservative pundits influence:

Others have helped keep rumors about Obama's religion and birth alive. Conservative commentators including radio talk show host Michael Savage have repeated debunked claims that Obama attended a radical Muslim madrassa in Indonesia. Rush Limbaugh has facetiously referred to "Imam Obama" in recent days, and last year praised a woman who at a Delaware town hall meeting questioned Obama's citizenship. Lou Dobbs gave significant air time to such "birther" claims on CNN -- despite his own insistence that he believed Obama was born in the U.S. ...

We have never been without misperceptions, but they are speeded and multiplied in the Internet age. Last month, right-wing bloggers -- citing unnamed sources within the Laredo Police Department in Texas -- reported that the Mexican drug cartel Zetas had captured two Laredo ranches. The story was picked up by author-pundit Michelle Malkin and other conservatives.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wirestory?id=11441102&page=1
Obama a Muslim? Rumors Gain Steam, Defying Facts

[babylonsister]

1. Wow. Not one comment? MM rawks! nt

[AtomicKitten]

2. You're being rec'd from afar!

Glad to see someone in the media biz giving a crap about accuracy as opposed to the inaccuracy smorgasbord courtesy of too many of the various media outlets.

K&R

[babylonsister]

3. I love MM. They are always on the case, pointing out

so many inconsistencies while applauding those who do the right thing.

I'm glad I'm not alone.

[WorseBeforeBetter]

4. Too tired to comment, but here's a kick for Media Matters. (n/t)

[Parker CA]

5. Nice to see someone reporting not only the facts, but the manufactured lies being tossed around

as well.

Great post Babylon, although I did wonder for a minute if the MM you said rawks was Michelle Malkin ;-)

[rasputin1952]

6. It goes back to psych 101...

repeat the same thing, and after a while people start to believe it is true. If I had any kind of "following", I could report that from "unnamed sources" Rush Limbaugh was caught having sex with a goat. Whether he uses said goat for pleasure or not, is beside the point, I just keep repeating the "story" and some people will pick it up and run with it.

If we lived in a just world, where the media only reported facts, and those that pull these silly stunts were told to substantiate their claim w/in 24 hours or be fired, this garbage would not be put out there. What used to be news is little more than pundits slandering people for essentially no good reason. If I had the money, I'd get a gaggle of lawyers and press for accountability of these cretins. Put up, or shut up; be exposed for the lying jerks they are, naked in an alley...I'll heat up the tar, who's going to bring the feathers...:evilgrin:

[sasquuatch55]

8. Did anyone see Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL) on Washington Journal?

Aug 20 2010, in his interview every other sentence he said "state sponsor of terrorism" when referring to Cuba. It was disgusting to observe.

[rasputin1952]

19. Ghouliani...

a noun, a verb and 9-11...:D

didn't work for him thank god.

[mikehiggins]

14. Was it a teenaged Caribean male goat? Just sayin...n/t

[rasputin1952]

20. Some of that Viagra...

was missing...Rush, the Alpha goat...:evilgrin:

[Arugula Latte]

23. Hey, I heard that Rush Limbaugh had sex with a goat thing from a friend of mine.

She said her brother knew the goat personally, and it was true.

[formercia]

24. Nah, he's always fucking the Sheeple

I personally heard him say:"There will never be another Ewe."

[Cali_Democrat]

7. Unfortunately it's probably too late

The media should have done their jobs earlier and we shouldn't even be talking about Obama's religion or place of birth.

The media should have known that when you have a black man in the White House, he will be held to a different standard and the rumors will fly.

The damage has been done.

[Hansel]

13. No, it's never too late. nt

[Enthusiast]

15. I agree. the turnaround would

be dramatic if the media decided to treat Obama with fairness.

At the same time the media has a responsibility to inform the viewer that Fox News is a propaganda arm of the Republican Party. I am not advocating that the media do anything unfair, just report the true nature of Fox.

[Doctor_J]

16. Of course it is

Jesus Christ on a bike. What the fuck good do you think this little bit of truth is going to do now.

Step one: Face reality

[GoCubsGo]

9. AP are the ones who invented "Ground Zero Mosque"

They were first to shout that term into the Echo Chamber. I find it hilarious that they're now trying to cover their own asses in an attempt to get out the "facts".

[pleah]

10. K&R for Media Matters.

[liberal N proud]

11. Obama suffers from FAUX News syndrome

It comes from a 24/7 propaganda machine broadcasting hate and lies.

[Stellar]

12. Bob Schieffer on 'Face the Nation' acknowledges the LIE about

the President being a Muslim. Watch:

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6795173n&tag=contentMain;contentBody


I hope Scheiffer learns a valuable lesson and not let Fox 'News' try to bully him around about what he should be saying or reporting on his news program. And btw: I've even noticed on all the network new reports last week, CBS, NBC and ABC, correcting any fake assumptions on the President religion. The President is a Christian!

[Doctor_J]

17. Scheifer is a close friend of the Bush family - the most malignant in US history

he has been a terrorist enabled for decades, and watching his bag of lies validates him

[BumRushDaShow]

18. Using their twisted point of view, Reverend Wright was a "muslin"

And while all this nonsense was going on, they (the media) did nothing to report the facts and preferred to take phony poll after phony poll to perpetuate the crap.

The media keeps forgetting that they continue to promote the prevaricating lunatic fringe RW gasbag talkshow hosts, and even looped distorted excerpts from Rev. Wrights's sermons 24/7 for months, calling him a "radical Christian" and demanding that Obama renounce him. Then they turn around and say nothing when Obama is called a radical muslim. The same goes for their allowing the drumbeat nonsense of the same fringe to call Obama a "CommieNaziSocialistFascist". And I blame outlets like AP that have gone viral in every newspaper and radio/tv outlet by perpetuating this idiocy and never or rarely correcting it or at least teaching people what things are (forget the internet, AP was the originator of "viral" news).

Ironically, CNN is running a headline piece on their main website page about past "intolerance" in the U.S. Why bother? It merely points to archive Time magazine pictures with sound bite descriptions, is by no means instructive, and neglects to note that they are the very ones that have and always will escalate the intolerance.

Oh what a tangled web they have woven.:eyes:

[swilton]

21. Personality rumors - but the same thing goes on with science -

global warming, creationism to name just a few - history as well - the Vietnam War.

When you look at the broader context, the Obama birther/Muslim rumors should not be surprising

[liberation]

22. Innuendo is part of the Conservative repertoire:

Lincoln was rumored to be "catholic" and FDR was supposed to be a "secret" Jew. So nothing is new, reactionaries are too chickenshit to come out in the open and say out loud those accusations, as usual... plausible deniability is one of their MO like the vermin they are.

[dhill926]

25. AP?.....a pig just flew by my window.......n/t

[Hekate]

26. KnR