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The blue check journalist who suggested that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was lying when he said that reporters make up anonymous sources was dragged on Twitter following his accusation, the latest failed attack on the Sunshine State Republican.
During a Friday speech before the National Conference of State Legislatures, DeSantis tore into the media, specifically over the Russia collusion hoax, a travesty during which all principles of journalistic ethics were discarded in the vicious, coordinated effort to take down former President Donald J. Trump, the nation’s duly elected leader who sprang a historic upset against Hillary Clinton.
New indictments of figures connected to Clinton who played integral roles in promoting the infamous Steele dossier to the media that provided hysterical coverage on the scam only served to further diminish a press than no longer functions as a check on abusive power and now serves as propagandists and political attack dogs who often make things up and nearly always, base their deceptive reportage on anonymous sources.
DeSantis hammered the media, “You’re looking at this Russia collusion stuff – they’re finally indicting these people – you know they did that for two years, round the clock and it was all a lie.”
NEW @GovRonDeSantis lights up corp media:"They think they should be able to control the narrative. They should be able to elevate the people they want, & if you're not in that club, they can smear you so people won't like you. But people believe what they see with their own eyes" pic.twitter.com/Dm9MKC2pfz
— Christina Pushaw 🐊 (@ChristinaPushaw) November 5, 2021
He added, “And they knew it was a lie, they knew there was no evidence there, they always use these anonymous sources,” he said, “they make up anonymous sources but they don’t have sources most of the time, they’re printing gossip and they’re using anonymous sources to do it and that’s what they did.”
He continued, “So you’re seeing those, and they really get upset about it because they think that they should be able to control the narrative, they think they should be able to elevate the people they want and if you’re not in that club, they can smear you and the public won’t like you, but what’s happening is you know, people believe what they see with their own eyes, they believe the truth and they’re not going to be gaslit anymore.”
DeSantis’ scourging of the mouthpieces of the establishment didn’t sit well with Ted Birdis who teaches investigative journalism at the University Of Florida who took to Twitter to accuse the governor of being a liar, tweeting that “he was a journalist in Washington for 20 years. Sources speaking on condition of anonymity are identified, vetted internally by editors before they could be cited in news articles.”
“They make up anonymous sources,” says @GovRonDeSantis, which is false. I was a journalist in Washington for 20 years. Sources speaking on condition of anonymity are identified, vetted internally by editors before they could be cited in news articles. https://t.co/LVoaFNwCZZ
— Ted Bridis (@tbridis) November 5, 2021
While Birdis is a respected reporter with his decades of experience and the news organizations that he worked for may have practiced professional standards, he did not specifically mention the Russiagate when the entire concept of fair coverage and honest reporting were abandoned in the scorched earth war on Trump.
DeSantis press secretary Christina Pushaw pointed out Birdis’ omission of the Russia hoax.
On the other hand, Russiagate 🤡
For what it’s worth, I consider Ted Bridis a good journalist and I fully believe he vetted all his anonymous sources. But bad journalism also exists, and it would be nice if good journalists wouldn’t defend it. https://t.co/b0M4OGZKmw
— Christina Pushaw 🐊 (@ChristinaPushaw) November 5, 2021
Then in a response to Pushaw, Birdis stepped on a rake, admitting that journalists DO make up anonymous sources.
Governor wasn't distinguishing cases like USA Today's Jack Kelley in 2004, New York Times' Jayson Blair in 2002. He was speaking categorically, and it never happened categorically in any newsroom where I've ever worked.
— Ted Bridis (@tbridis) November 5, 2021
Twitter users pounced, delivering a sound flogging to Birdis who either doesn’t realize how much journalism has changed since he departed the profession for academia. .
Perhaps YOU did that. I don’t know who you even are. But your profession in general has burned the trust that is required in order for anonymous sources to be used.
As a result, anonymously sourced stories must be assumed fabricated until proven otherwise. Those are the rules.
— Brandon Letsgo (@E__Strobel) November 5, 2021
Why should anyone take your word over DeSantis? Nothing about having been a journalism confers credibility and what was common place in the past is no loner the norm. The MSM is mostly a partisan advocacy group and their tactics are reflective of that.
— The Captain’s Blog (@williamnyy23) November 6, 2021
That may have been the case in the past. But today’s mainstream media has lost all credibility with a large portion of people. And they have no one to blame but themselves.
— Brenda Frost (@BrendaFrost18) November 6, 2021
It’s a new kind of journalism out there Ted. Most journalists are now activists. It’s very difficult to trust any of them.
— Jan Brady (@GeorgeGlass23) November 6, 2021
"Anonymous" was fawned over as some major high up official, with keen in the room knowledge and close to Trump.
He was a staffer at DHS.
Identified and vetted by main stream media doesn't mean much these days. pic.twitter.com/rvtfxRNcsd
— Magnus (@JacksonTDawes) November 5, 2021
Dan Rather could not be reached for comment.
— Sgt Falcon (@Sgt_Falcon_1) November 6, 2021
#1 rule of interpreting and reading news is to never believe anything attributed to anonymous sources.
— Rudolph Troha ⚔️ (@RudolphTroha) November 6, 2021
The fact is that no institution has failed America as badly as the media and the consequences have been nothing short of catastrophic for the nation.
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Chris Donaldson is an ordinary American who is concerned about rampant corruption as well as the ongoing attacks on our way of life by those who have contempt for our hard-earned freedoms. A Navy veteran, he has been a frequent contributor to conservative websites and resides in Florida.
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