Take a gander at these tweets, sent out in tandem.
They came from the fingertips of the president of the United States, Donald J. Trump. The president wants us to unite. He wants us to set aside our differences, or speak with civility to each other about them.
Why, then, does he insist on calling the media the “true enemy of the people”? Why does he keep insisting that the media’s mission is to spread “fake news” and to engage in “open hostility ” toward his administration?
This is the kind of message that runs directly counter to any phony calls for unity and harmony and for civil discussion.
The president and first lady will go Tuesday to Pittsburgh to speak to the survivors and family members of the victims of the massacre at Tree of Life synagogue. He’ll say the right things in the moment. Then he well could return to the type of messaging we keep seeing, reading and hearing.
If the president really intended to lower the temperature, he would stop sending messages like this into cyberspace. He would cease this endless, relentless Twitter tantrum/tirade against the media and his opponents.
I believe you could this “cyber bullying.” Isn’t that correct, Mme. First Lady?
The news media has a reputation of, for lack of a better word, “Fake News” I have seen it personally. I’ve been interviewed in the past by l radio, television and the local newspaper. Often, I’ve been misquoted, important elements of my statement omitted and facts changed. Look at headlines like “DOW Drops 300 points.” Sounds more alarming than DOW drops 2/10th of 1%. Fake News isn’t a new concept. Thomas Jefferson in his writings, warned us of the News Media. The media has the ability to slant a story to fit what their editors, publishers or owners want it to say. I would like to see responsible reporting. Include ALL the facts , “Good and Bad” What ever happened to what we were taught in Journalism Class. “Who, What, Where, When and Why?” Journalists today seem to change the facts to much of these. Report the facts and let the reader decide. Let the editorials and opinions run on the Op-Ed page and not the Front Page. Return to responsible journalism and refrain from sensationalism. The era of “Yellow Journalism” has passed. And for God’s sake, with our technology, “Why can’t reporters use Spell Check and Grammar Check.”