Saturday night’s shooting at the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner raises so many questions.
First and foremost, was it real or was it staged?
My friend Ted, a longtime journalist, posted that same night on Facebook that his wife, Mary Ann, a college professor, announced over dinner: “I think Trump is going to get shot at again.”
Ted was surprised. He felt that claim came out of nowhere.
But she explained that with Trump’s approval ratings at an all-time low, compounded by his profoundly unpopular actions, he’s probably going to do something to garner sympathy.
“I think it’s going to happen,” she said. “And I think it’s going to be faked, like the first one.”
Mary Ann makes no claims of psychic abilities. And I don’t know that I agree with her that these assassination attempts were staged.
But soon after the shooting, social media platforms lit up with questions worth a few head scratches.
How did it take only 20 minutes after the shooting for Sleepy Trump to put together an impromptu press conference, leveraging the incident to promote his crazy ballroom, which would supposedly keep our leaders safer?
Why did Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt say prior to the event that “shots will be fired,” referring to jokes Trump would deliver?
I’m not a conspiracy theorist. I agree with the folks who study conspiracy theories, who say that they’re generally embraced by people looking for simple answers to the random complexities in our insane universe.
I would also argue that it’s hard to pull off a conspiracy. It takes both smarts and discipline, attributes not generally assigned to this administration.
Still, the larger question here is “how do we know?”
The truth, and not just about this incident, has become more elusive than ever.
Not surprising to any regular follower of this column, I blame Trump. Since he emerged from his TV reality-show to embrace a larger reality show, he’s waged war against the truth.
The MAGA crowd will no-doubt respond to that claim with their usual what-about-isms, suggesting that all politicians lie.
While it’s true that most presidents have made false or exaggerated statements at one time or another, none have done it on the scale, and with as much intention, as Trump. It’s his brand. He’s proud of it. He considers it controlling the narrative.
Consider that Trump’s team is burying the most damning parts of the Epstein Files, essentially pulling off a conspiracy in plain sight.
The media outlets that still attempt to fact-check Trump’s speeches write pieces that end up longer than the original speeches themselves.
The very activity of fact-checking a president has tarnished the image of the mainstream media. By moving further to the right than any president in recent memory, Trump has made the middle look radical. Many Americans think the staid and conservative New York Times has become a voice for socialism.
So, in that environment, where do you go to find the truth?
We have more voices, through online publications, podcasts, YouTube videos, and alternative press outlets, than ever before. But how do you know which ones to trust?
I once trusted my old stomping ground, The Gazette, where I worked as a reporter and entertainment editor. But with MAGA billionaire Phil Anschutz and his family calling the shots there, you end up with reports and editorials involving Anschutz’s many local properties (such as The Cog Railway) that don’t even disclose that connection.
To help you navigate the ever-changing media landscape, here are some tools:
Ad Fontes Media has done some front-line work evaluating podcasts, and provides a simple chart to see which podcasts are leaning left or right.
You can put journalism through the CRAAP ( Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, and Purpose) Test, developed by librarian Sarah Blakeslee at the Meriam Library at California State University, Chico.
You also look for how to detect media bias, using some media literacy guidelines from FAIR, a watchdog group.
Finally, look for truly independent media, like the Pikes Peak Bulletin, which are beholden to nobody and live and die by your contributions.
But remember to distinguish news from editorial. This column, for instance, is purely my opinion. Still, I strive to be fair. I strive to back up my opinions with facts.
And if I start to spread conspiracy theories about Pizzagate, false-flag assassination attempts, or Big Foot, it’s time to do your own research.
All opinion columns are the opinions of the writer and not the Pikes Peak Bulletin. The writer was not compensated for this opinion piece.
