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'Do not book liars on the air': Soledad O'Brien calls out Lou Dobbs during hearing on 'media extremism'
February 24, 2021
In testimony on Wednesday, Anchor Soledad O'Brien called on news organizations to ban known liars.
At a House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing on "extremism in the media," O'Brien began her testimony by recalling that then-anchor Lou Dobbs had falsely reported about the number of case of leprosy among undocumented immigrants when both journalists were working for CNN in 2005.
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"Dobbs's lie advanced his agenda of demonizing undocumented immigrants so it stuck and he got away with it," O'Brien explained. "It was disheartening and degrading and it was also only the beginning."
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According to the veteran anchor, Dobbs had helped to usher in an era of "lies and liars" being embraced by some media.
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"It's only gotten worse as reporters and anchors chase ratings, toss aside objectivity to divide us into false categories, I believe, of left and right, manipulating facts and debating the liars they booked for their very own shows," she continued. "And when news organizations make decisions based on ratings rather than responsible reporting, disinformation flourishes in dangerous ways."
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O'Brien made it clear that she opposes congressional action against news organizations.
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"Here's what we can do," she added. "Don't book liars or advance lies. Cover the fact that lies and propaganda are being disseminated but do not book people to lie on your show because it elevates them and presents a lie as another side."
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"Every perspective does not deserve a platform," the anchor insisted. "Media thrives on the open exchange of ideas. But that does not mean you have to book a Neo-Nazi every time you book someone who is Jewish. Balance does not mean giving voice to liars, to bigots and to kooks."
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O'Brien advised newsrooms to "stop saying you want a diverse staff and go hire one fast."
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Watch the video below.
</p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/l17rDUn6-0w" width="560"></iframe>
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Manhattan DA ramps up investigation of Steve Bannon's alleged border wall crowdfunding scam
February 24, 2021
The investigation into Steve Bannon is ramping up after the Manhattan district attorney's office subpoenaed financial records related to his crowd-funding border-wall effort, CNN reports.
Subpoenas were issued after former President Donald Trump pardoned Bannon in January for federal conspiracy crimes related to the southern border-wall project.
<p>Subpoenas were sent to Wells Fargo, who handled some of the accounts used in the fundraising effort, and to GoFundMe, the crowdfunding platform where Bannon's project, "We Build the Wall," once raised money. The move by Manhattan district attorney Cyrus Vance comes at the same time his investigation into alleged financial crimes committed by Trump and his businesses.</p><p>"Prosecutors alleged Bannon diverted more than $1 million to pay a co-conspirator and cover hundreds of thousands of dollars in personal expenses," CNN reports. "They alleged the victims, including some in New York, were falsely told that all the money donated would go toward the construction effort."</p><p> "The defendants allegedly engaged in fraud when they misrepresented the true use of donated funds. As alleged, not only did they lie to donors, they schemed to hide their misappropriation of funds by creating sham invoices and accounts to launder donations and cover up their crimes, showing no regard for the law or the truth. This case should serve as a warning to other fraudsters that no one is above the law, not even a disabled war veteran or a millionaire political strategist," the DOJ <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/leaders-we-build-wall-online-fundraising-campaign-charged-defrauding-hundreds-thousands" target="_blank">said in a statement</a> last year.</p><p>Out of the four men charged in the case, Bannon was the only one pardoned. But Trump's pardon does not prevent Bannon from being charged by state-level prosecutors. </p>
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Why QAnon followers have become fixated on a new date: March 4
February 24, 2021
The startling impacts of former President Donald Trump's presidency and conspiracy theories reach deep into the lives of many families. With the disgraced president out of office, many people are sharing how the QAnon conspiracy theory — built with him at the center and with his support — has torn apart close relationships. And despite the fact that Trump has lost the presidency, which many QAnon believers never thought would happen, many have moved the goalposts and started hoping for his return. In this way, adherents to the delusion believe its vindication is always just a little further in the future.
According to The Washington Post, family members feel that relatives who fall for QAnon become like "cult members or drug addicts, sucked in by social media companies and self-serving politicians who warped their views of reality."
<p><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/interactive/2021/conspiracy-theories-qanon-family-members/?itid=hp_mr_1" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"></a>Only identified as "Tyler" of Minneapolis, Minn., one 24-year-old man said that he noticed a distinctive change in his mother during the critical time leading up to the presidential election, and "it kept growing until it felt like she was preaching the Bible to me":</p><p><em>At first, she insisted that Trump, not Biden, would be inaugurated on Jan. 20, and for a while, Tyler held out hope that Biden's swearing-in would jolt his mother back into reality. She would put away her gun and life would return to normal. But, the ceremony in Washington seemed to make little difference at his house in Minnesota.</em></p><p>Now, Tyler has revealed his mother is waiting for March 4—another date being circulated by QAnon believers. So what does the date signify?</p><p>Apparently, QAnon believers are convinced it is the date Trump will become the "new world president," according to Tyler.</p><p>Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash), who also serves as chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, recently <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/dc-national-guard-standby-for-potential-qanon-violence-march-4-2021-2" target="_blank">expressed concern about the impending date as the conspiracy theory poses another national security threat.</a></p><p>"Some of these people have figured out that apparently 75 years ago, the president used to be inaugurated on March 4," Smith said, according to Business Insider. "OK, now why that's relevant? God knows. At any rate, now they are thinking maybe we should gather again and storm the Capitol on March 4 … that is circulating online."</p><p>During the interview, Tyler also expressed concern about the upcoming date because he does not believe his mother will snap out of it anytime soon.</p>
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