“A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.”

[sheshe2]

CNET Reporter Posts Wildly Inaccurate Yet Totally Viral ‘Bombshell’ About NSA Eavesdropping
Posted on June 17, 2013 at 2:20 pm by Bob Cesca

The last ten days or so of NSA coverage represents a dark chapter in the short history of digital journalism. This is the era of link bait — the exploitation of the viral kneejerk outrage of readers who accept headlines at face value and circulate those headlines without questioning the accuracy of the reporting as long as it confirms their bias. The false, misleading reporting that’s been hurried into the tubes recently has taken on a Fox News Channel publicity model: be the first to get the attention of the audience no matter what, then suss out the facts later (if at all) when no one’s paying attention any more.

SNIP:
It happened with the Washington Post‘s initial PRISM story, it happened with Glenn Greenwald’s story in which he wrote that the NSA has “direct access” to servers owned by the various tech giants and, over the weekend, it happened in spectacular fashion with a bombshell article posted on CNET by chief political correspondent Declan McCullagh.

SNIP:

It’s entirely unclear who or which entity made the “opposite” statement to what Mueller testified. Nadler could’ve been referring to an NSA official in the meeting, or he could’ve been referring to a screening of the Snowden video during the meeting, or he could’ve simply been flummoxed about the complicated process. As you can plainly see in the above transcript, Nadler appeared to be confused between the notion of “listening” to calls and acquiring “information” from a phone, which are two very different things with varying layers of oversight. But the details and word usages were vague and scrambled and the meaning was lost. Somehow, though, McCullagh took a super-colossal leap from this perplexing back-and-forth to the bombshell conclusion that the NSA admitted to listening to phone calls at any time without a warrant.

SNIP:

However, the NSA admitted no such thing, and there was nothing from the NSA in McCullagh’s article confirming such an admission. Nadler didn’t even say the acronym “NSA” during the exchange. But… too late. The untrue version was out there already, hyperlinked and retweeted at light speed by otherwise smart, respectable sources.

Please read on!

http://bobcesca.thedailybanter.com/blog-archives/2013/06/cnet-reporter-posts-wildly-inaccurate-yet-totally-viral-bombshell-about-nsa-eavesdropping.html

FYI~ This is Posted in The Barack Obama Group~

[Tx4obama]

1. K&R n/t

[BumRushDaShow]

2. As expected, dropped like a rock. K&R

[Android3.14]

3. Wow. Another wrong-headed epiphany

So what you're saying is that the NSA is unable to access the internet activity of almost everyone because the NSA hasn't admitted that they can.
And after all, "information" would never include voice data along with all the other intel. And even if they lack the voice data, that doesn't matter because even if they have your location, call length, who you called, their location, people's purchase history, reading history, and everything except the recording...well as long as they don't have the conversation recorded, then it's not spying, right?
Do these fascist wannabes even listen to themselves?

[Hydra]

6. lol, don't even bother

They basically said "Ya, we're doing it...what of it?" and now that they think they can discredit the messengers...well, it's not really happening again, right?

The Djinn is out of the bottle. We'll get to see that FISA ruling that said they were violating the 4th Amendment, either fairly soon or later if they fight it successfully. Booz-Allen might lose their bid for the UAE spying they're going for. The EU is going to sue all the companies that are doing business with them that are helping the NSA spy.

The people holding the line for the US Gov't have already been overrun. Truth will do that in the end

[Cha]

14. No, "nothing is out of the bottle" but a bunch of damn lies from the media that

some people are just itchin' to spread.

Right away, I noticed that instead of posting the exchange between Nadler and Mueller verbatim, McCullagh wrote passages in which he used parts of sentences and filled in the rest himself, like so:

So here is the ACTUAL TRANSCRIPT..

Nadler: If you wanted to listen to the phone —

Mueller: Then you would have to get a special, a particularized order from the FISA Court directed at that particular phone and that particular individual.

Nadler: Now is the answer you just gave me classified?

Mueller: Is what?

Nadler: Is the answer you just gave me classified in any way?

Mueller: I don’t think so.

Nadler: OK, then I can say the following. We heard precisely the opposite at the briefing the other day. We heard precisely that you could get the specific information from that telephone simply based on an analyst deciding that and you didn’t need a new warrant. Other-words is what you just said is incorrect. So there’s a conflict.

Mueller: I’m not sure it’s the answer to the same question.

The reporter has Discredited himself.

And, I know "don't even bother" with you.

This is a reality based Group.

[sheshe2]

7. There are many posts in GD,

that would embrace you comments.

However this is the Barack Obama Group, clearly stated in the OP.

I thank you for refraining your posts in this group, in the future. You have been here since 2006, you know the groups rules.

[NYC_SKP]

8. 2006...

And yet I never heard of this member before today, after years as a moderator.

It makes one wonder.

[greatauntoftriplets]

9. I'd never heard of them either.

Makes me wonder, too.

[sheshe2]

10. Sigh~

I never know if I should warn first, and if they come back then block. Or just block, greataunt~

Yup, 2006 was what his bio said.

[greatauntoftriplets]

11. Block is fine, she.

You had clearly stated that this was in the BOG in your OP. This person did not respect that.

[Cha]

13. No, what the OP is saying, Android.. Is that Lies are going around

the Internet and getting sucked up by those who don't give a shit whether they're LIES or not.

Got it.

[SkyDaddy7]

4. K&R!!

K&R

[Major Hogwash]

5. Sad, but true . . . he used the word 'journalism' as if it means anything these days.

What is even worse, most of them are parroting Sister Sarah with their brain stuck in neutral, while spewing non-stop in an out of breath, "ohh muh gawd, did you hear this new shit about Obama" sprint to the internet so they can bang out pure bullshit on their keyboards, thinking they are striking a blow for freedom.

When in fact, they are only displaying their ignorance.
If they really wanted to talk about a scandal -- a huge scandal -- they could talk about the inept jackasses that are in control of the House of Representatives nowadays.

But, then that probably wouldn't generate much traffic to their websites.

[1StrongBlackMan]

12. What amazes me ...

is that the very people that were castigating the media, not 2 months ago (and throughout the entire 2012 election season) have suddenly found a new respect for the truthiness and accuracy in reporting of that very same media! Even when, as the article indicates, a deeper look at the "reporting" demonstrates holes, inaccuracies and out-right falsehoods.

I guess we really do believe what we believe, facts be damned. And, questioning of the first reports out (that have time and again proven inaccurate) is no longer a Democratic virtue; but rather, a sign of (President) Obama cheering and enabling, if not secretly desiring a totalitarian, fascist state.

[Cha]

15. Oh yeah, you "authoritarian".. cnn is the place to go to for bad polling

on the President now. You know, cnn.. that teabagger "Too Close to Call" place.

Jane @yeswecanjane

CNN's Poll about Pres. O decline was wrong!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/17/barack-obama-cnn-poll_n_3456322.html … No one ever investigated why pollsters are getting it wrong and Who pays $

POLLSTER UPDATE: CNN Poll Exaggerates Obama Approval Decline
Obama's approval rating has declined since May but not nearly as much as implied by a new CNN poll. Americans are just as opposed to military aid to the Syrian rebels now as they were before Friday.

HuffPost Politics @HuffPostPol
16 Retweets 1 favorite Reply

http://theobamadiary.com/2013/06/18/the-charlie-rose-interview/#comments

[1StrongBlackMan]

17. No ...

You're the authoritarian, (President) Obama cheer leading secret desirer of a totalitarian state ... you proved it by placing this piece; rather than pile onto the other pile.

[Cha]

19. Ya

got me. Busted.

Now where's my cheerleading outfit for the Totalitarian State?

[1StrongBlackMan]

18. After reading the link ...

I can imagine CNN saying, "Oh! You caught that? Gots to be more careful and produce my results on Friday afternoon ... when the statisticians are headed out of town!"

[sheshe2]

21. Oh, my, CNN

Exaaaaaaagertates Obama's Approval Decline!

I am shocked, Shocked I say!

Thank you for the links Cha!

amk4obama @amk4obama

Right trolls with fake scandals 24x7 + Left falls for them 24x7 = Left is a loser. Wake the fuck up, left.
1:34 AM - 18 Jun 2013

Left, out, every damn time!

http://theobamadiary.com/2013/06/18/the-charlie-rose-interview/#comments

[Cha]

22. Brwawawaaa

Right trolls with fake scandals 24x7 + Left falls for them 24x7 = Left is a loser. Wake the fuck up, left.

the "left" that falls for that is definitely The Loser in this battle, she. And, they want to bring others down with them.

[Cha]

16. Thanks for Bob Cesca, she! He has really been keeping

us informed on the shoddy reporting from Greenwald and other assorted hacks stemming from the Leaker in China, Edward Snowden.

[Lady Freedom Returns]

20. Sad part is, at least for me is that...

It is not so much the Journalists as much as it is a pushy Sales Department.

Once upon a time the Sales team was to stay far away from the Newsroom. Now they are right there. They see just a little piece of the Story they want it out right then. They don't care about checking the facts, they want the grab-ability of a shocking headline.

And they know how to push it on the air by calling the Bosses/Owners and plead with them by stating how much they would/will make. That makes it where a Story goes out with little to no investigating. And this is how we end up with all these non-scandals.

The Sales Dept. get used by the GOP to push this crap as well. The repukes spin doctors know that id they want to push a non story for the sack of trying to make the President look bad, they can rely on leaking "much to do about nothing" to them so they will push it for them. Thus messing up airing of real news.

Today's Sales Dept. makes real Journalism next to imposable!

[Cha]

23. Nadler's Statement, She..

Rep. Nadler clarifies NSA ‘cannot listen’ to calls without warrant

Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) said Sunday he does not believe that the National Security Agency can listen to Americans’ phone calls without a warrant.

“I am pleased that the administration has reiterated that, as I have always believed, the NSA cannot listen to the content of Americans’ phone calls without a specific warrant,” Nadler said in a statement to several news outlets.

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/305855-house-dem-nsa-cant-listen-to-calls-without-warrants

[LeftInTX]

24. Thanks for posting this, Sheshe

It's safe here

(Kinda sad that on DU this thread would get thrashed in GD)