The Hill can't stop spreading misinformation about Trump's impeachment

[turbinetree]

The site’s social media strategy sows confusion and spreads lies

Written by Parker Molloy

Published 12/20/19 8:37 AM EST

President Donald Trump lies. A lot. On topics big and small, consequential and petty, Trump can’t seem to help himself from saying things that are just flat-out disconnected from reality. The Washington Post’s running total as of December 10 is 15,413 false or misleading claims from the president since he took office. By the time you read this, that number will likely have inched higher. He will lie tomorrow just as he lies today, just as he lied yesterday.

While there isn’t much journalists and news outlets can do to make him tell the truth—especially since he tends to grant his interviews to friendly outlets—there’s something they can do to stop his lies from infecting the public consciousness. Namely, the press can stop printing lies free from context.

In May, Media Matters published a study highlighting how frequently major news outlets amplify Trump’s lies on Twitter. While we found that nearly every outlet we considered was guilty in some form or another, none pumped out the president’s false talking points with more regularity than The Hill. (A follow-up study we published this month again found The Hill to be the worst offender at amplifying Trump misinformation.)

Earlier this week, Trump conducted a rally in Michigan while the House of Representatives was voting to impeach the president over the Ukraine abuse of power scandal. In response, The Hill did what it always does: Promote the president's spin about the events without any context, pushback, or attempt to assess the validity of what he was saying.

https://www.mediamatters.org/hill/hill-cant-stop-spreading-misinformation-about-trumps-impeachment

[Dennis Donovan]

1. The disinfo in 2020 will come like a blizzard and will be dizzying. n/t

[turbinetree]

2. After seeing what Maddow said last night about TheSoul Publishing.........was another wake up call

https://www.lawfareblog.com/biggest-social-media-operation-youve-never-heard-run-out-cyprus-russians

[Dennis Donovan]

5. If Trump approval rating stays around 40%, there's no chance he could be legitimately re-elected

...however, that's not to dismiss the significant social media ops underway.

[gab13by13]

3. I've been trying to tell everyone here about the Hill,

That article that Solomon wrote for them should have clued people here in, but I still see articles posted here.

[Dennis Donovan]

7. I stopped posting Hill links a few months back when all of this came to light.

Sketchy stuff happening at the Hill.

[crickets]

11. Thank you. Every time I see a Hill link, I just move on to the next thread.

Or I go search for another source with the same news. It can be tempting to link the Hill when they seem to scoop so quickly sometimes, but people need to stop doing it. That news source is a poison pill.

[empedocles]

4. Wapo in particular, is getting more accurate. The issue following

trump's Battle Creek, Michigan rally was remarkable. Three separate articles on the speech, each noting the erratic jumping from one set comment, to another disparate complaint about witch-hunts, etc., etc. The writers gave a real sense of being right there, without a 2 hour transcript of horrifying reading.

Seems like some mags, blogs, and some cable news are all getting more accurate.

[Dennis Donovan]

8. WaPo has done the *best* work on the impeachment!

They have a great team - you always see 3 - 4 bylines per article (meaning they work well together).

[kimbutgar]

6. Between that site and Politico

Everything I have ever read, I read with caution that it could be bs. I remember those sites during the bush years definitely a right wing perspective.

[dalton99a]

10. +1. Both are well-known RW propaganda/disinformation vehicles

[Wellstone ruled]

12. So true,

one of our board posters a couple years ago produced a graphic linking these story producing Sites and how these misinformation stories work there way into the NYTimes,Washington Post,and other News Agencies especially ABC and NBC as well as CBS. Amazing how a Breitbart Story becomes a Breaking News headliner. Looks like a money laundry operation.

[Hortensis]

9. Good article, but Trump's the metastatic tumor

of the cancer the Republican leadership has morphed into. The Hill and the others are covering and carrying water for them also.

[greenjar_01]

13. The Hill is a Trump campaign organ

[hvn_nbr_2]

14. I don't know how they can spread any info or disinfo

When I've gone there, I have to play whack-a-mole for five minutes with ads that cover up the story and then spawn new ones as soon as I whack one. I can't even see the article for the ads and eventually I just give up and close it.