Hate being ‘managed’? Yeah, me, too. I hate media manipulation, where our news media let the people in power shape the outcome. If you can, try to sidestep the worst bits. With some work, you can find the puppet strings.
Carrying Their Water
For today’s example, here’s a puff piece in the Washington Post:
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin presses hard on Ukraine — but quietly
He has taken on a major, behind-the-scenes role in countering the Russian invasion, officials say.
Six days before the invasion of Ukraine, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin took a final crack at getting his Russian counterpart to admit that the Kremlin was about to launch a massive assault after assembling more than 100,000 troops at the border with its neighbor.
“I know what you’re doing,” Austin told Sergei Shoigu in an icy, deep baritone.
“Lloyd Austin presses hard on Ukraine — but quietly,” Washington Post, April 23, 2022.
My first response? Bang-up job there, Lloyd! The Russians were utterly cowed when they immediately invaded Ukraine, looted, bombed population centers, targeted hospitals and schools, and executed fleeing civilians. Your deep steely voice left them quivering. Or was that another artillery strike?
But my second response is to roll my eyes. “…An icy, deep baritone?” Dude, really? If I wanted to see that level of fawning, I’d rerun Dr. Ronny Jackson frothing about Trump’s “Good Genes.”
So, who does the Post cite as the source for this proctological exercise?
This portrait of the defense secretary is based on interviews with 15 current and former government officials, some of whom have known Austin for years. Some spoke on the condition of anonymity in order to discuss sensitive issues. Austin, through a spokesman, declined to be interviewed.
“Lloyd Austin presses hard on Ukraine — but quietly,” Washington Post, April 23, 2022.
What fun. “Anonymous sources” again. How many were listening to that one conversation? You have to wonder. And did they all agree that Austin sings baritone? Did someone hand the Post a voice recording?
Here’s a later description:
In the E-Ring of the Pentagon, Austin’s office projects a sense of humility and history. Few personal photographs or effects are present, despite a 40-year military career that includes a Silver Star for valor earned during the 2003 U.S. assault on Baghdad…
“Lloyd Austin presses hard on Ukraine — but quietly,” Washington Post, April 23, 2022.
The reporters said they didn’t interview Austin. Maybe the Anonymous Fifteen described the DefSec’s office decoration in detail?
Austin’s blunt, forceful manner with Shoigu, and his near daily engagement with allied defense officials, stands in sharp contrast to his public image in Washington as a taciturn, sometimes silent partner on President Biden’s national security team who serves in the shadow of Secretary of State Antony Blinken, national security adviser Jake Sullivan and CIA Director William J. Burns.
“Lloyd Austin presses hard on Ukraine — but quietly,” Washington Post, April 23, 2022.
Blunt and forceful! Wowsa!
If you want to know the source of a leak, consider who comes out looking like roses.
Austin appears content with a backstage role.
Seriously, that’s laugh-out-loud funny. It’s obviously not true, given that the good gentleman leaked this monstrosity to the Post.
Corrosive Media Manipulation
So yeah, I think the way the Post rolled over and begged is annoying as shit. Shame on them. Caving to this wink-wink self-promotional shit corrodes their reputation. What calculation led to this ugly and corruptly self-serving lie? Were the reporters on their collective backs, looking at the ceiling and thinking of England?
Corruption is falsely using your power or position for gain. Lying is a giveaway. The Post was willing to lie to us and print this sludge because it gained them something. I don’t know the details of that particular transaction. Nor do I want to know.
Each lie damages the Washington Post’s reputation. And I have to ask what other media manipulation they’ll allow if the pickings are good enough.
