Saying that there is a serious and insidious issue within the journalism industry is not a conspiracy theory. This pathology is becoming more prevalent and the examples are increasing. The news media should have recognized their problems at some point and taken steps to repair the damage to their credibility. Instead, they are dumping more sodium on the wounds.
We watched with amazement a few months ago as the media self-immolated when they reported that Israel had bombed a hospital and killed 500 Palestinians. This was a total failure of reporting that had international implications. The news outlets then repeated the same action stunningly just a few days later when they claimed that dozens of people were killed by the collapse of a church.
The church was still standing at dawn. Journalism’s reputation was also being reduced to rubble.
We seem to be experiencing a similar situation on our shore. For days, it was reported that Governor Greg Abbot had been responsible for drowning a mother and two children who were trying to cross the Rio Grande into Texas. The Biden administration, as well as the media, were outraged after Abbott took control of certain entry points in his own state and forced out the Border Patrol. Governor Abbott prevented these federal agents…from not enforcing…their duties, was their argument. Let’s not forget the Biden authorities who sued Texas for enforcing border laws.
Biden and the media had the perfect ammunition. According to reports, the Texas Military Department had prevented BP from reaching the Shelby Park entry point, where the family was in distress. This led to drownings. Matt Funicello explained yesterday that this whole story was a lie.
- The TMD searched for episodes but found none.
- The drownings occurred on the Mexcian riverside
- Mexico alerted US authorities an hour after the bodies had been recovered.
It is a case of journalism malpractice at its worst (highest) level. This directly mirrors the inacceptable charges that have been made against the Israeli reports, which were compromised to the core. How did this all play out? Camilo Monteya-Galvez, a reporter for CBS News who first reported the story on Saturday, was the one to break the story.
A woman and two children drowned near an area where Texas has blocked Border Patrol from processing migrants.
Rep. Henry Cuellar said Texas prevented Border Patrol from trying to rescue them. A CBP official tells me Cuellar’s account is accurate.https://t.co/4PMbE6UODm
— Camilo Montoya-Galvez (@camiloreports) January 14, 2024
Joe Biden then weighed in. Joe Biden was quoted by multiple news agencies, who also cited DHS officials. The White House released statements regarding the actions taken to block federal agents. Press chirped along with all the invective, despite the fact that there was disqualifying proof. TMD released its initial statement Saturday. This should have prompted media to investigate the issue. They chose to focus on the story of Texas killing immigrant.
The press continued to attack the TMD report, even after it was released on Sunday. This second report provided more information on the issue. The press refused to change its position despite all evidence pointing to inaccurate reporting and disputed factual information. CNN made a shocking display when four reporters contributed to its report on Monday, spending the majority of the article quoting Democrats while criticizing Texas authorities. The TMD version of the events was not revealed until nearly 20 paragraphs into the report.
The full story wasn’t revealed until Tuesday, and these details were reported with much less energy. This initial CBS News story is typical of what we’ve seen in the media on this issue. Montoya Galvez posted a half-dozen posts on his Xitter account about the story Saturday. But as facts became clear, he only added a few notes and showed less enthusiasm. After a media frenzy, his initial CBS News report now has a corrected headline and a new correction. Yet we see that even this repair job attempts to maintain the anti-Abbott/anti-Texas narrative line.
Update: This article and headline have been updated in order to reflect the information that federal officials shared with the Supreme Court Monday, January 15. The Justice Department stated in that filing that the three drownings of migrants had already happened when Border Patrol requested to access Shelby Park to assist other migrants. However, it noted it was “impossible” to know what would have happened had Border Patrol been able to access the area previously.
The drownings were already underway before BP was even informed of the incident. It’s NOT impossible to say that nothing would have changed if BP had been given access. The initial CBS Post on Xitter is unchanged from the original accusation.
It is disturbing to see this in the media. Would it not be important to check the facts before moving forward with a story that claims that the governor’s actions caused the death of a whole family? It is clear that the frame was already in place, and the need to collect facts was overshadowed by the framing. The story was too perfect for the narrative. Why let accuracy get in the way? !
Remember: These are the very same journalists and media outlets who decry misinformation and lecture on the dangers of false information circulating. As we have seen with the Israeli incident, they do not hesitate to accuse political opponents of murderous activities. This kind of ethical malpractice, which is evident by the absence of accountability, is acceptable.
