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The Pot Calling The Kettle Black: The Negligent Practices of Mainstream Media

Yet again, mainstream media is revealing just how negligent and irresponsible it can be by releasing a story about President-Elect Trump planning to meet with the Republic of Congo President, Denis Sassou-Nguesso. This information comes solely from a tweet sent out by a spokesman for Sassou-Nguesso. The fact of the matter is that Trump never planned such a meeting, and his team has stated as much. The story itself is not necessarily one of import, or even one that will have major repercussions, at least as of yet, but the issue rests on the fact that many mainstream media outlets chose to publish this story with only a single source coming from the president’s spokesman. All that would have been required to double check the validity of the tweet would have been to simply ask the Trump administration, and it would have been quickly realized that no such meeting was ever scheduled. 

Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks said there had never been a meeting scheduled and would not be one before Trump takes office on Jan. 20.

This is otherwise know as doing one’s due diligence, or good journalistic practice, or even just basic journalistic integrity. Most did assert that this information came from a tweet alone, yet if any alternative outlet had done exactly that, choosing to use a largely misleading headline, that is not backed by the facts, using only one untrustworthy source, it would be heralded as the dangerous “fake news” that is leading everyone astray. Yet, when the situation is reversed, it’s all about who can get the story out first and get the most views, and the truth a mere afterthought.

Here are a few of the Fake News outlets that chose to forgo the common practice of vetting the information they choose to sell as fact: The Hill, International Business Times, Reuters, Yahoo, as well as others. Reuters is the only one so far to issue a follow up story with the truth, that this meeting was never set, and was never planned, yet more are certainly soon to follow. However, they still failed to address the fact that the previous headline was not only misleading, but 100% false. 



Again, this story is not one of groundbreaking content, but clearly President Sassou-Nguesso had some measure of an agenda. What that agenda was is yet to be seen, but mainstream media was all too happy to play the pliable stooge spreading their message for them. Given this was a small, seemingly inconsequential story, that does not change the fact that instead of simply doing what any journalist should, which is immediately calling the Trump administration for follow up, and that iconic second source that seems to longer play a role in mainstream media “investigation,” they just said screw it, publish. It could be that they thought this was too small a detail to actually double-check, or maybe they just no longer care about the truth, and only the over-arching agenda. Both are equally alarming, as the corporate media is currently carrying out a massive attack on alternative media for doing–they claim–the exact same thing; quickly releasing information that hasn’t been vetted as fact. 

This by no means is this meant to be revolutionary, but rather just one example in a long list of examples that demonstrate just how truly hypocritical and negligent the majority of mainstream media can be when the deep state strings are being pulled. As well as to point out that all of the traits being demonized as specifically alternative media practices in this un-Constitutional war on free press, are in fact old hat to these psyop veterans. There are certainly alt media groups that choose to mislead, but to pretend that mainstream media is somehow exempt from this is just naive. It is on every American to begin making their stance known; to begin calling out the lies that all see as such, yet few choose to voice that distrust on a public forum. It is not until all can see a clear majority in the people’s corner, the alternative corner, that the world will begin to take notice. 

Sources: http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-trump-congorepublic-idUKKBN14G1FM, http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-congorepublic-idUSKBN14F167, http://www.ibtimes.com/who-denis-sassou-nguesso-republic-congo-president-meet-donald-trump-discuss-libya-2465634, https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-meet-republic-congo-president-tuesday-sassou-spokesman-034443586.html

Ryan Cristián
Ryan Cristián
"Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see." - John Lennon Driven by a desire for accuracy, chef and independent news stalwart Ryan Cristián has a passion for the Truth. As a recent recipient of the Serena Shim Award For Uncompromising Integrity In Journalism, he understands that Americans want their news to be transparent, devoid of the opulence frothed out by today's corporate media. A cultured and insightful man with a worldly sense, Ryan's unjaded approach offers common sense to the individual racked by the ambiguous news cycle - a vicious and manipulative merry-go-round that keeps trenchant minds at a manageable distance from the truth. Avid writer & editor by day, Truth seeker by night, Ryan's reality defines what it means to be current.
https://www.thelastamericanvagabond.com/category/ryan-cristian/

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