A look at the growing disinformation wars

The right has long accused the media of bias, but now some on the left, including Bernie Sanders, are echoing accusations of media bias. New York Times media columnist Jim Rutenberg says the “Trump era forces us to be a little more aggressive” about the telling the truth because journalists are met with “so much disinformation.”But Roll Call columnist Mary C. Curtis adds that journalists have to be cognizant of their own biases, “every journalist frames their story, and we have to be honest about that.” Adam Serwer and Bari Weiss also join.

What Are We Thankful for? Decorum, Trump’s New Favorite Word

As a record-breaking number of travelers hit the road, the rails and the skies for Thanksgiving, it is probably with no small amount of dread. How will families keep the peace amid the inevitable clashes over politics and faith, at least until the turkey is eaten and the football games completed?  Never fear. It’s President Donald Trump to the rescue, brandishing his new favorite word: decorum.

As you might have heard, the administration of the man whose tweet replaced letters in a congressman’s name to spell an expletive (can’t you see him rushing to a Cabinet meeting to show off his “clever” handiwork, which would not pass muster for fifth-grade humor) has issued a list of rules for White House reporters in the press room. Play nice or you will have your credentials snatched. Usually, when I think of the president grabbing something from someone he doesn’t know, my thoughts drift to his infamous Access Hollywood tape before I forcefully fill my head with pleasant images — say, puppies or meadows.

Mary C. Curtis: Governments and the Media

CHARLOTTE, NC —  The president and the press.

It was not the first time. When President Trump recently praised Montana Congressman Greg Gianforte for body-slamming a reporter during Gianforte’s campaign last year, calling him his kind of guy, it was not that surprising. The president has called the press enemies of the state. He has called journalists “sick people,” accused the news media of “trying to take away our history and our heritage” and questioned their patriotism. “I really think they don’t like our country,” he has said.

And in his rallies, he often makes members of the press his foil, pointing them out to the crowd.

When Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi went missing (and now it is clear he was killed) after he entered the Saudi Arabian consulate in Turkey, Trump at first was muted in his response, though he has now called it a terrible “cover-up,” and his administration has revoked visas for some of the country’s agents.

What will be the eventual fallout from the antagonistic relationship between the president and the press, in a country where freedom of the press is protected in the first amendment to the Constitution?

Roy Moore Dilemma – And a Changing Culture

CHARLOTTE, NC — As more women continue to charge Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore with inappropriate behavior, Moore continues to remain defiant and in the race – and he could win. Alabama is a solid red state. But a growing number of his fellow Republicans in the Senate have called for him to leave the race. If he does win, that might trigger an ethics investigation. (Mary C. Curtis)

In the arts, media, politics and pretty much everywhere – no profession is immune – sexual harassment is getting called out. Is it the sign of a cultural shift?