This Is What Fake News Looks Like

[Guest]

Have a look at this land shark-turned-YouTube nerd's vlog about CNN's hatchet job on Elon Musk. Please watch the WHOLE THING before you start pigeoning here. I have yet to see where CNN has retracted this bald-faced but not-quite libel. If you see it, please post it here.

It's why I try to get the news (mostly) unfiltered by the media via Associated Press (a non-profit over a century old) or UPI back in the day. One also has the benefit of seeing the news sooner in many cases.

Keep in mind that most media-hack outlets (and yes, Fox too) don't go and get the stories themselves, they get them from others who actually do the tedious and sometimes difficult and dangerous work (such as https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_Colvin), and then put their own opinionated editorial spin on them, and in many cases, twisting them so that they bear no relationship to the truth at all. Just like Pravda, then and now. When called out on their BS, they can always print a retraction, but they'll put it in fine print on the back pages long after the damage is done. They get away with this time after time because the law works in their favor: the one being attacked must give the attacker an opportunity to retract, but even if this doesn't happen, the plaintiff must still prove to a civil court's satisfaction that there was malice aforethought. That takes time and money and the BSers in the media know it and constantly use it to their advantage. The ironic thing is that outlets like CNN just don't care. They don't care about truth, and where truth is in doubt, liberty is in peril (my own remark - feel free to quote me) - mh

Edited April 17, 2020 by Guest
Additional remarks, spelling, grammar, parsing

[Phil1111 1,192]

Well i skipped through most of that enormously painful video. Ignoring most of the comments on lawyers, which I despise as much as trump.

California governor says ventilators promised by Elon Musk never made it to hospitals Separate coverage on the same story from The Hill

It appears as if the original story originated from The Sacramento Bee  so I'll quote directly from their latest amendment on the story:

Two days after The Bee Editorial Board reported on Musk’s ventilator fiasco – and one day after the Associated Press also reported it – Musk protested on Twitter and demanded a positive response from the governor. But if Musk really wanted to clear the air, why didn’t his press office respond to questions from The Bee or the AP? The best time to clear up a “misunderstanding” is before it gets published, but Musk’s office made zero effort.

Musk’s office also did not respond to reporters from the venerable Financial Times newspaper in London. On April 2, the FT reported that Musk had apparently purchased and shipped the wrong type of medical device to hospitals in New York. Musk, the FT said, had actually purchased Bilevel Positive Airway Pressure (BPAP) machines, which he plastered with Tesla stickers and shipped to New York. The paper identified the devices as a discontinued BPAP model known as the ResMed S9 Elite. Even worse, according to the FT: “The American Society of Anesthesiologists on Feb. 23 issued guidance warning that CPAP and BPAP machines ‘may increase the risk of infectious transmission.’”

A real ventilator can cost up to $50,000, according to the FT. The machines Musk supplied cost around $800. On April 7, the FT wrote that Musk now appears to have delivered at least one “invasive” ventilator to New York...

During his daily press conference on Thursday, Newsom was asked about Musk’s tweet demanding clarity. The governor performed a cowardly dodge, refusing to say whether the state had received “ventilators.” Instead, he thanked Musk for providing “resources” – after days of telling reporters the state had not received any. So, were they real ventilators or BPAP machines?

Neither Tesla nor Gov. Newsom’s office responded to requests for clarification."

I like Elon, Tesla and love SpaceX. He is a genius. But this story is like the Elon Musk and the Thai cave rescue: a tale of good intentions and bad tweets

I never expect a accurate representation about anything from a You-Tube video. You need to remember that the AP gets its stories from full time journalists like CNN, The Sacramento Bee, Washington Post and freelancers.

Edited April 17, 2020 by Phil1111

[gowlerk 2,283]

The fact is real ventilators are complex machines with fine levels of control. Most of the hero produced rush made machines are nothing but simple pumps that will do for a short time in a pinch but are not safe to use on a person for more than a few hours. Elon Musk is almost as full of himself as Trump is. (Although with far more to justify his self promotion.)

[Guest]

I appreciate the diligent replies to this thread (and the relative lack of pigeoning - heh) - thanks for taking the time to broaden the picture. Things are seldom as simple as media or social media make them out to be, and in the clickbait 24x7 news cycle, nuances are easily lost. This unfortunately is where we are today. When I wrote for Skydiving I did my best to be accurate and tell the truth. I lost some friends and made a couple of enemies along the way because I didn't sugar-coat it when it wasn't pretty (who wants bad news about their business being read by thousands?). Fortunately I had time to research and get a good story together because even though I was a freelance I knew I was subject to the law like everyone else - it would have been my ass in the deli slicer if I'd published lies. Sue Clifton, bless her heart, almost never changed a word of anything I ever wrote in the five years I freelanced for her.

Today's news media have little integrity, partly because they don't have time.

Edited April 17, 2020 by Guest

[Phil1111 1,192]

4 minutes ago, markharju said:

...

Today's news media have little integrity, partly because they don't have time.

I feel sorry for students who went to journalism school as you're somewhat right.News corporations have target markets. State media has the state view. I subscribe to the local paper and online NYT. IMO the NYT and WP are absolutely outstanding. It goes rapidly downhill from there. Facebook IMO has destroyed journalism but equal responsibility lies in the failure of schools to teach critical thinking.

With the internet you can go to a site like this  Then with little effort travel the world and get local views on any issue. Not necessarily the truth but a local view. Twenty years ago no newsstand would carry every newspaper. Let alone let you read them for free.

Parents obviously bear the most responsibility. The foundations of a BS detector, character and judgement. Are the most valuable skills parents can teach their children.

[Guest]

Hear, hear, right here. Critical thinking and BS detectors taught early would make a huge difference. Sadly, many "graduate" from high school and are functionally illiterate, let alone possessing the skills to think critically. Easy times make weak people, I guess. Hard times to follow...such is life.