“Few themes arise” in mainstream media “organically,” said Attkisson in this TEDx talk video. She relates a story by a propagandist. “It’s like a movie,” the propagandist explained, giving her chills at that moment. “Nearly every scene or image that crosses our path in our daily life was put there for a reason,” he said, per Attkisson, who is an award winning journalist. Those themes, per the propagandist, are “authored by someone that paid a lot of money to put them there.”
She proposes the whole fake news campaign could be aimed to make people doubt one particular side of a narrative, news source, or website.
Attkisson explains that when she connects the dots, she finds it useful to “follow the money.” That’s a theme that Marty Lavin has hammered for years, and that MHProNews has particularly utilized in 2018 and before.
“Who was funding the non-profit First Draft and its anti-fake news effort?” the seasoned journalist rhetorically asked.
It was Google.
Google exec Eric Schmidt, a Hillary Clinton supporter and campaign adviser, was behind the First Draft platform, explained the investigative reporter.
Now for those on the progressive side of politics, keep in mind that Attkisson came from CBS News. She strives to be unbiased, independent, in her perspective as a mainstream journalist is supposed to be trained to do. David Brock, Clinton’s surrogate at Media Matters and Clinton were both on the “fake news train.”
“I’m not the only one who thinks the whole thing smacked of a roll-out of a propaganda campaign,” the reporter says in her TEDx talk. Glen Greenwald of the Intercept said that those who denounce fake news are often the ones guilty of it.
There’s tons of content like what she says online, but not all of it is from sources as reputable as Attkisson. We found this particular-gem today. She says Donald Trump co-opted the “Fake News” term, he didn’t create it. The ploy, she argues, backfired on the left’s purported proponents.
Powerful Interest Trying to Manipulate
Attkisson says she is not trying to litigate who is correct. Rather, she is saying that “powerful interests are trying to manipulate your opinion.”
As regular, longer time, Daily Business News on MHProNews readers know, we’ve been on this theme that predates this TEDx talk by some time. We were already following facts, evidence, history, and the money. We admit that there was some things – that are arguably fake – that we were either blinded to, or distracted from. It was industry voices – people in positions of knowledge – that patiently told us the lay of the land on some issues we didn’t have completely right.
Now, we seek to be patient with those who wonder what’s wrong with the industry that ought to be doing many times better than it is.
Attkisson gives expert tips.
These go beyond industry divisions, or national politics, by striking at the heart of seeking the truth.
That’s what our industry should be focused on, getting the truth out about our products and services. We’ll paraphrase some of her takeaways, while encouraging you to see and hear what she’s observed and discovered.
- Is the media trying to shape or censor facts, rather than report them?
- When it seems that everyone in the media industry is using the same words, the same narratives, even the same phrases, “it might be the result of an organized campaign.”
- She warns against “media literacy,” an effort to get laws passed to make one side’s version of reality to be taught and accepted in public schools. She says they are developing websites, working with journalists, and universities. This is a red flag, she argues. Attkisson says these are people who want to tell you what to believe.
“What you need to remember,” the journalist said, “is that when interests are working this hard to shape your opinions, their true goal might just be to add another layer between you and the truth.”
Question authority. Analyze what a source is saying, including this source that you are reading. If you see an factual error, let us know. We routinely challenge MHI, Clayton, et al to offer any fact or evidence based corrections.
Crickets. That speaks volumes.
Try to be objective, share that notion with your team mates that don’t already see what you get, and tell them to go where the evidence, money, and logic point. As a related note, the industry obviously suffers from problematic reporting inside MHVille and aimed at it. Both of those need to be proactively addressed, see the related reports, further below.
We strive to do the fact-checks day by day for our readers, as we provide “News through the lens of manufactured homes, and factory-built housing,” © where “We Provide, You Decide.” © See how this TEDx talk fits with prior related reports, further below. ## (News, analysis, and commentary.)
NOTICE: Readers have periodically reported that they are getting a better experience when reading MHProNews on the Microsoft Edge, or Apple Safari browser than with Google’s Chrome browser. Chrome reportedly manipulates the content of a page more than the other two browsers.
(Related Reports are further below. Third-party images and content are provided under fair use guidelines.)
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