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These are lies and they are serving a purpose: to stoke racism and fear among his base ahead of the elections. (Photo: Shutterstock)
Journalists Say Trump's Caravan Claims Are 'Evidence-Free.' It's Worse Than That.
Reporters know the president is telling racist lies to rile up his base. Why won’t they just say that?
Oct 24, 2018
As the GOP's fears of a progressive wave in November grow, Donald Trump has made it his personal mission to make everyone else afraid, too.
Over the past few week's he's been telling evermore fantastical tales of dangerous riffraff inching their way up to the U.S. border.
In reality, there is a caravan of Honduran migrants -- fleeing violence and economic strife so bad that they'd risk our own horrific family separation policies -- making its way through Mexico. Traveling in the thousands has helped protect the group from the usual dangers of border-crossing, like getting lost or robbed on the way.
Meanwhile, the media has been reporting on Trump's response.
He's called them "criminals." They're not. They're desperate men, women, and children forced to flee their homes, many of whom have legally applied for asylum in Mexico.
He's accused them of being paid for by the Democrats, to increase votes in the midterm elections. They're not. They're people fleeing death who, when asked about this by a reporter following the caravan, said they didn't even know what "the Democrats" meant. (Not to mention that non-citizens can't vote.)
And recently, he's warned of "unknown Middle Easterners" in the group.
Reporters from the progressive Mother Jones to the mainstream New York Times assure us these claims are "without evidence."
As someone who studied journalism myself, I have to say the journalists who stop there are doing the American public a disservice. "Without evidence" leaves the door open to the possibility of evidence. That is to say, these things could be true, but he hasn't given us any proof.
But we know that isn't the case. It's our duty to say flat out: These aren't just lies, they're fantasies. They don't deserve an iota of consideration.
Beyond being unwilling to call out obvious lies, they're leaving out any reporting on the impact of these words from the president of the United States.
These are lies and they are serving a purpose: to stoke racism and fear among his base ahead of the elections.
Consider closely what Trump said in his latest remarks: "unknown Middle Easterners." He didn't say Middle Easterners who are "extremists" or even "affiliated with extremist groups." He's sending the message that any and all Middle Easterners are dangerous.
This isn't an accident. He didn't just forget to use some of his favorite words.
And by letting that phrase sit in a fact-checking article, criticized only for its "lack of evidence," what journalists are telling Americans is: No, you don't have to be afraid, because there are probably not Middle Easterners in this group.
It begs the question: if there were, would your fear of them be totally reasonable?
Journalists have a duty to give context, not just to report on whether a sound bite contains truth on a sliding scale. It's unacceptable not to unpack the racist and xenophobic claims that come out of the mouths of the most powerful.
In fact, it's journalistic malpractice.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
This column was distributed by OtherWords.
As the GOP's fears of a progressive wave in November grow, Donald Trump has made it his personal mission to make everyone else afraid, too.
Over the past few week's he's been telling evermore fantastical tales of dangerous riffraff inching their way up to the U.S. border.
In reality, there is a caravan of Honduran migrants -- fleeing violence and economic strife so bad that they'd risk our own horrific family separation policies -- making its way through Mexico. Traveling in the thousands has helped protect the group from the usual dangers of border-crossing, like getting lost or robbed on the way.
Meanwhile, the media has been reporting on Trump's response.
He's called them "criminals." They're not. They're desperate men, women, and children forced to flee their homes, many of whom have legally applied for asylum in Mexico.
He's accused them of being paid for by the Democrats, to increase votes in the midterm elections. They're not. They're people fleeing death who, when asked about this by a reporter following the caravan, said they didn't even know what "the Democrats" meant. (Not to mention that non-citizens can't vote.)
And recently, he's warned of "unknown Middle Easterners" in the group.
Reporters from the progressive Mother Jones to the mainstream New York Times assure us these claims are "without evidence."
As someone who studied journalism myself, I have to say the journalists who stop there are doing the American public a disservice. "Without evidence" leaves the door open to the possibility of evidence. That is to say, these things could be true, but he hasn't given us any proof.
But we know that isn't the case. It's our duty to say flat out: These aren't just lies, they're fantasies. They don't deserve an iota of consideration.
Beyond being unwilling to call out obvious lies, they're leaving out any reporting on the impact of these words from the president of the United States.
These are lies and they are serving a purpose: to stoke racism and fear among his base ahead of the elections.
Consider closely what Trump said in his latest remarks: "unknown Middle Easterners." He didn't say Middle Easterners who are "extremists" or even "affiliated with extremist groups." He's sending the message that any and all Middle Easterners are dangerous.
This isn't an accident. He didn't just forget to use some of his favorite words.
And by letting that phrase sit in a fact-checking article, criticized only for its "lack of evidence," what journalists are telling Americans is: No, you don't have to be afraid, because there are probably not Middle Easterners in this group.
It begs the question: if there were, would your fear of them be totally reasonable?
Journalists have a duty to give context, not just to report on whether a sound bite contains truth on a sliding scale. It's unacceptable not to unpack the racist and xenophobic claims that come out of the mouths of the most powerful.
In fact, it's journalistic malpractice.
As the GOP's fears of a progressive wave in November grow, Donald Trump has made it his personal mission to make everyone else afraid, too.
Over the past few week's he's been telling evermore fantastical tales of dangerous riffraff inching their way up to the U.S. border.
In reality, there is a caravan of Honduran migrants -- fleeing violence and economic strife so bad that they'd risk our own horrific family separation policies -- making its way through Mexico. Traveling in the thousands has helped protect the group from the usual dangers of border-crossing, like getting lost or robbed on the way.
Meanwhile, the media has been reporting on Trump's response.
He's called them "criminals." They're not. They're desperate men, women, and children forced to flee their homes, many of whom have legally applied for asylum in Mexico.
He's accused them of being paid for by the Democrats, to increase votes in the midterm elections. They're not. They're people fleeing death who, when asked about this by a reporter following the caravan, said they didn't even know what "the Democrats" meant. (Not to mention that non-citizens can't vote.)
And recently, he's warned of "unknown Middle Easterners" in the group.
Reporters from the progressive Mother Jones to the mainstream New York Times assure us these claims are "without evidence."
As someone who studied journalism myself, I have to say the journalists who stop there are doing the American public a disservice. "Without evidence" leaves the door open to the possibility of evidence. That is to say, these things could be true, but he hasn't given us any proof.
But we know that isn't the case. It's our duty to say flat out: These aren't just lies, they're fantasies. They don't deserve an iota of consideration.
Beyond being unwilling to call out obvious lies, they're leaving out any reporting on the impact of these words from the president of the United States.
These are lies and they are serving a purpose: to stoke racism and fear among his base ahead of the elections.
Consider closely what Trump said in his latest remarks: "unknown Middle Easterners." He didn't say Middle Easterners who are "extremists" or even "affiliated with extremist groups." He's sending the message that any and all Middle Easterners are dangerous.
This isn't an accident. He didn't just forget to use some of his favorite words.
And by letting that phrase sit in a fact-checking article, criticized only for its "lack of evidence," what journalists are telling Americans is: No, you don't have to be afraid, because there are probably not Middle Easterners in this group.
It begs the question: if there were, would your fear of them be totally reasonable?
Journalists have a duty to give context, not just to report on whether a sound bite contains truth on a sliding scale. It's unacceptable not to unpack the racist and xenophobic claims that come out of the mouths of the most powerful.
In fact, it's journalistic malpractice.
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