Good to see. And not nearly enough.

[dajoki]

With impeachment looming, the news media is growing a spine. It needs stiffening.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/with-impeachment-looming-the-news-media-is-growing-a-spine-it-needs-stiffening/2019/10/01/f096296c-e463-11e9-b403-f738899982d2_story.html?wpisrc=nl_rainbow&wpmm=1

<<snip>>

How can journalists rise to the challenge?

First, by being quick on their feet and utterly prepared, and, as noted, we’re seeing more of that.

<<snip>>

“The New Right media isn’t just an opposition force to the mainstream media — it’s a parallel institution armed with its own set of facts that insists on its own reality,” he wrote in BuzzFeed News.

So, too, Trump’s surrogates, some of whom are members of the media themselves.

One only has to tune in for an evening to Fox News prime-time shows to see this in full swing.

“Totally untethered from reality,” is the accurate description by Oliver Darcy, a reporter who focuses on right-wing media for CNN.

“If The Gateway Pundit and Infowars formed a cable news channel, it’d look something like the 2019 version of Fox prime time programming,” he tweeted.

The second way that news organizations can meet the challenge of this moment is to stop booking those surrogates who are the worst of the inveterate liars. I’d put Trump shills Corey Lewandowski and Kellyanne Conway in this ever-growing category.

Conway famously touted her allegiance to “alternate facts” early in the Trump presidency — and has stayed right with the program.

And Lewandowski recently admitted lying to the media in recent congressional testimony: “I have no obligation to be honest with the media because they’re just as dishonest as anyone else.”

Third — and this goes well beyond TV interviews — the mainstream media must end its addiction to both-sides journalism, which gives falsehood the same opportunities as truth.

<<snip>>

[Newest Reality]

1. Just a reminder...

I am not a Mr. Spock, but I appreciate the value of logic to a certain degree and in proper context. So, in support of a tactical response to the onslaught of propaganda being used as a weapon:

I would suggest that the time spent learning logical fallacies, (flaws in reasoning) provides you with one of the most important tools you can use to thwart this plague of belief, opinion and propaganda. Once you understand a fallacy and can cite examples, they can act like a windshield wiper flinging mud off the windshield. You will automatically note what kind of fallacy is being used to support a claim.

The other benefits are evident when you are using logic to make a point to others. Even if they are not using logic, you can arm yourself with enough reason to have more immunity to being merely reactive. You will know when to continue a conversation or just stop. You won't get snared into the ploys some people use to distract you from the point and to get personal about it.

For some reason, logic seems to be neglected, (or is it just ignored/forgotten?) in basic education, so the time has come to learn, promote and reinforce the essential fact that logic is the cure to the propaganda techniques of Faux Noise and Republican fantasy talking points. Without logic, our facts have less capacity to hold sway or make the necessary impact on this culture.

There are many defined fallacies, but deflection and false equivalencies are among the prevalent ones being used right now. Note that logical fallacies are not only errors people make with logic, but can be used deliberately as tools of persuasion as you will see.

There are plenty of resources so all it takes is determination and persistence:

https://philosophyterms.com/logical-fallacies/

https://yourlogicalfallacyis.com/