this post was submitted on 28 Jan 2025
323 points (98.2% liked)

World News

40061 readers
2061 users here now

A community for discussing events around the World

Rules:

Similarly, if you see posts along these lines, do not engage. Report them, block them, and live a happier life than they do. We see too many slapfights that boil down to "Mom! He's bugging me!" and "I'm not touching you!" Going forward, slapfights will result in removed comments and temp bans to cool off.

We ask that the users report any comment or post that violate the rules, to use critical thinking when reading, posting or commenting. Users that post off-topic spam, advocate violence, have multiple comments or posts removed, weaponize reports or violate the code of conduct will be banned.

All posts and comments will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. This means that some content that violates the rules may be allowed, while other content that does not violate the rules may be removed. The moderators retain the right to remove any content and ban users.


Lemmy World Partners

News [email protected]

Politics [email protected]

World Politics [email protected]


Recommendations

For Firefox users, there is media bias / propaganda / fact check plugin.

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/media-bias-fact-check/

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 

Summary

Elon Musk’s address to Germany’s far-right AfD party, where he downplayed Germany's Nazi past and criticized multiculturalism, has sparked global alarm.

Halie Soifer, CEO of the Jewish Democratic Council of America, called the remarks “incredibly dangerous,” warning of their potential to embolden right-wing extremists and threaten Jewish security worldwide.

Critics highlighted Musk’s alignment with far-right ideologies, including his Nazi salutes at Trump’s inauguration.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] [email protected] 121 points 4 days ago (2 children)

This is the part the American press can’t seem to learn. They’ve appeased and both-sided these dangerously bigoted fools for so long that they’re incapable of actually changing their coverage strategy.

“They don’t deserve the benefit of the doubt when it comes to this alignment. It has been a steady stream of signaling to rightwing extremists that they have an ally now in the White House.”

We all have eyes, it’s the job of the press to tell us what we’re seeing and why, not tell us we didn’t see what we all know we saw. Cover Nazis like they’re Nazis.

[–] [email protected] 43 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (1 children)

Yeah but this is more profitable. Remember, the major news orgs like Fox News are controlled by people like Rupert Murdoch. They benefit from this.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 4 days ago (3 children)

But I’m not sure why it has to stay that way. Reality doesn’t have to be less profitable than bigoted fantasies, and news was never really meant to turn a profit anyway. Regardless, Fox News and Murdoch properties are a lost cause in my opinion. I care more about the traditional press that calls themselves free and fair but hasn’t acted that way in years.

[–] [email protected] 24 points 4 days ago (2 children)

Reality is always going to be less profitable.

Traditional journalism is dead. It doesn't pay nearly enough to survive these days, not to mention the stress from being attacked by politicians and their followers.

Can it change? Yes. But that means taking down the oligarchy and capitalism.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Traditional journalism is dead.

Funny enough, I was just reading a book that went over, in part, journalism in late 19th century America.

It's... probably never been great. Yellow Journalism was a term that arose then, after all.

It is a problem we should address, I agree! Just... maybe honest journalism wasn't all that lively in the past either, and the population was just less capable of parsing that than we are.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 4 days ago

The honest journalism of the 20th century was an historic outlier.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 4 days ago

Unfortunately I think you’re probably right. I still have some hope left in the tank for new outlets like 404 Media and Zeteo, but in general I think you’re right.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

news was never really meant to turn a profit anyway.

Ever heard of capital? It literally creates ideological narratives for profit under a system called capitalism.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 days ago

After repealing the fairness doctrine and the conglomeration of news networks into multinational corporations, profit is now all that matters to them.

All those campaign bribes which corrupt our politicians and prevent them from doing things to materially improve our lives? Mostly going right into the pockets of news corps as ad revenue.

It’s a dangerous downward spiral of misinformation, gaslighting, and grifting.

[–] ogmios -5 points 4 days ago (3 children)

it’s the job of the press to tell us what we’re seeing and why

That's a pretty dangerous way to approach other people. Journalists are just as capable of error or corruption as everyone else.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 4 days ago

They aren’t bloggers. Journalism is (was) a profession with standards and ethics. Doing what’s feasible to avoid error and corruption is part of their job and training.

They aren’t fulfilling a responsibility of the profession just like a doctor and their oaths.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Of course they’re capable of error and corruption, every human being is. That’s why they ideally need institutions behind them to protect them and ensure they’re only reporting the truth. The point of a free press is to describe events as they happened and provide context, which serves as the first draft of history. They’ll certainly make errors here and there, but as long as they accurately describe reality, offer explanations based on history and uncompromising contemporary interviews, as well as promptly correct any mistakes with humility, then they’ve done their job. I don’t see how that’s the least bit dangerous.

[–] [email protected] -5 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

they ideally need institutions behind them to protect them and ensure they’re only reporting the truth.

lol you should check out who owns and runs the institutions sometime.

as long as they accurately describe reality, offer explanations based on history and uncompromising contemporary interviews, as well as promptly correct any mistakes with humility, then they’ve done their job. I don’t see how that’s the least bit dangerous.

What's dangerous is believing in this nonsense.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (1 children)

They don't even need error or corruption to be unknowingly biased, using hegemonic framing, working within capitalist/racist/patriarchical institutions, etc.

That's the far worse and far realer danger than people just making individual mistakes.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propaganda_model#Filters

[–] ogmios -2 points 4 days ago (1 children)

I'd argue that you've just described one source of error, but it still furthers my point that allowing strangers to tell you what you're seeing and why will not result in providing you an accurate picture of reality, and potentially return a highly distorted one.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 days ago (1 children)

So do you have an alternative in mind, or are you just arguing that we shouldn't read?

[–] ogmios 1 points 4 days ago

Read as much as you like, so long as you don't mistake the words on a page for an accurate representation of the real world.