Part-Time Pundit: Yet Another Journalistic Fraud?

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May 16, 2006

Yet Another Journalistic Fraud?

It appears another drive-by media attempt to discredit the President and advance the claim that Republicans are trying to usher in a new era of fascism has fallen flat on its face. Claims by USA Today using sources with “direct knowledge of the program” that the NSA has been collecting massive databases of phone calls don’t appear to match with the records of two of the three apparent participants, Verizon and Bell South.

Sure, they could be lying but that would be stupid considering they’re going to be on the frontline for litigation over this issue as it is easier to sue a company for breach of privacy then getting anything out of the NSA. If they took the time to search their records (as it appears they did) all they would have done was generate more evidence for such a relationship. However, it appears now that there really was no relationship at all, or for that matter, any requests by the NSA in the first place. Some of the bitter-enders will still insist the program exists and there is a massive cover-up, just like some continue to insist that 9/11 was staged despite the release of flight recorders, telephone calls, and video feeds that show the opposite.

Once again, we are faced with an “objective” journalistic medium that didn’t do enough footwork to verify the claims that were made before it splashed them on the front page and riled the population. The irony is that it appears the population would support such a database if it existed.

Time after time there are those who continue to make up claims (i.e. KoranGate and RatherGate) in the media who never seem to be held to account on their frauds. If the media wishes to continue to be seen as a serious medium of information (and more and more people are turning elsewhere for news) it needs to take seriously its responsibility to report accurately the news instead of pandering to the worst elements of the left.

Posted by John Bambenek at May 16, 2006 10:23 PM