On Sarah Palin's Death Threat Claims

[deminks]

http://www.thenation.com/blog/157732/sarah-palins-death-threat-claims#node-157732

ABC's decision, yesterday, to run a piece titled "Death Threats Against Sarah Palin at 'Unprecedented Level,' Aides Say," based on hearsay from Palin's aides without any corroborating evidence, is irresponsible at best. Worse yet, U.S. News & World Report picked up on the story today—again, without once questioning the information itself or its source.

If Palin is receiving death threats, especially at allegedly "unprecedented levels," all of us should be concerned. But Palin should be calling the police or the FBI, not mere "security experts," as reported. To neglect engaging law enforcement is a disservice to her own safety and the safety of her staff and family. Yet neither Palin's staff nor the news outlets elaborate on this point, except to admit that the former has not signed off on changing Palin's security arrangements. The media, however, has clearly been alerted. (Note: at 3:16 pm today, Thursday, ABC finally updated its story with the added sentence, "The aide did not provide details concerning the volume of threats, how much have they increased or whether they are being referred to the authorities.")

By repeating the Sarah Palin death-threat meme sans evidence, both major news outlets mislead the public, continue to lower journalistic standards, divert the country from more pressing issues related to the attempted Giffords assassination (gun control, violent rhetoric and its consequences; mental illness) and reward the right-wing bloggers who have been trying nonstop to legitimate this meme, sans evidence, all week long—again, with zero corroborating evidence.

[RagAss]

1. I smell a rat !

[Octafish]

16. Me too. What's the Secret Service say?

Aide: Uptick in Death Threats Against Palin

Is it true? If so, who is making the threats? Are they the same people who threaten Democrats?

We the People need to know the answers.

[malaise]

2. Tell her to ask the Secret Service about threats to the President

Unless police, FBI, whoever mention threats to Palin, I'll take it as BS.

[fascisthunter]

3. She's a Sociopath without shame and guilt

[emulatorloo]

4. Palin reps have talked to many media outlets about this, I hope they called the FBI first

about these twitter threats.

[Ineeda]

5. Remember Ashley Todd?

The girl who supported John McCain and faked an attack? Just asking. No reason *cough*.

[RufusTFirefly]

9. She's the first person I thought of as well!

Whenever Palin feels her publicity flagging, she sets herself up as the victim, and then bingo! She's back in the headlines. It happens time and time again.

[spanone]

6. she's full of......her

[2Design]

7. yes I am tired of false news and her picture and words - she is

such a media darling

[monmouth]

8. Called her teabag friends and asked them to twitter. Easy...n/t

[kestrel91316]

10. From the start I believed this claim to be a lie concocted to garner sympathy.

IIRC it only came out AFTER her video yesterday proved to be a FAIL.

[petronius]

19. I agree. "First there were none, but then we made one up to get sympathy.

That's a brazillion percent increase!" :)

[Poboy]

11. Eric Cantor

[bushisanidiot]

12. I wonder what the penalty is for reporting false death threats to the police or FBI

hmmmm...

maybe they don't want to get their lying asses thrown in jail, so they aren't bothering to inform the authorities of the supposed threats.

[Ruby the Liberal]

15. I may have missed it, but the only people I have seen this 'reported' to is the media...

[somone]

13. What death threats? "All of them"

[Ruby the Liberal]

14. One step closer to marginalizing her from the national scene.

Good on The Nation for calling her out on her daily quest to lead the news cycle with her made up bullshit.

K&R

[elehhhhna]

17. ALL SHE TALKS ABOUT IS DEATH. She crayzay.

[spanone]

18. the media needs to feed their cash cow