You know, I enjoy “fake news” as much as anybody. The
Daily Show on Comedy Central is my favorite tv show, in fact. And lots of great fake news sites abound on the internet, like
GiantNapkin.com and
UnconfirmedSources.com, etc. Heck, we even have our own fake news section in our
Humor Times publication, called “Faux News.” It’s a very entertaining form of political satire, and a great way to make fun of the corporate news sources we’ve come to love to hate, with their “if it bleeds it leads” format and their “all terror all the time” fear-mongering (because, after all, fear sells). It’s also a great way to lampoon politicians and their phony concern for real issues, as they continue to shill for their corporate sponsors.
Reading and viewing these “news” sources, we
know it’s just for fun. However, when the government gets into the fake news act, it’s a travesty. (Even if it
does make for fertile ground for more great satire.) And this administration has taken the practice to new heights of arrogance and deception (like it tends to do with everything).
We’ve endured slick tv “news” spots produced by the government and distributed to news outlets around the country, reporting glowingly about administration initiatives, with no indication of it’s source. The
New York Times has reported that “In all, at least 20 federal agencies, including the Defense Department and the Census Bureau, have made and distributed hundreds of television news segments in the past four years, records and interviews show.” The stations broadcasting this nonsense are just as guilty deception, of course.
We were treated to a staged photo-op crowd when Hussein’s statue was toppled early in the Iraq war, a precursor of many more lies on the war to come. White House-credentialed fake news reporter “Jeff Gannon” was revealed to be James Guckert, who ran gay porn sites and a gay escort service when he wasn’t tossing softball questions to Mr. Bush and remarking about how Democratic Senators are “divorced from reality.” Shills like Armstrong Williams have been paid by the administration to report favorably on their policies.
Of course, you know the latest. FEMA just held a “press conference” regarding the California fires. They wanted to show the world how much they learned since Katrina. Problem is, they used their
own employees as “reporters!” They let real reporters listen in, but not ask questions. Heckuva job, FEMA!
Never fear,
FEMA has adopted new guidelines that look suspiciously like the old guidelines they should have been following in the first place.
And now we’re asked to believe it when the White House feigns indignation. They are so
shocked! Uh-huh. Yeah, right.
The entire reign of the Bush administration has been based on lies. They’ve been doing it so long, they probably don’t even know they’re lying anymore. But you gotta admit, once you’re onto the game, it can be awfully funny at times.
Tell us another one, George!
