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Bothsiderism is Helping to Kill Democracy

Why is reporting on objective reality so hard?

Steven L. Taylor
15

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Via Scott Lemieux at LGM, I note the following.

Should the New York Times be sold to Pennysaver and its editors sent to work in Amazon warehouses? It depends on who you ask.

— Popehat Agitates And Irritates (@kenwhite.bsky.social) 2025-10-11T19:41:41.662Z

It is hard to find a better example of faux objectivity than this. Both sides have a narrative, dontcha know!

But one “narrative” is utter bullshit, while the other is objectively true.

The newspaper job should be to note which is which, not engage in this kind of utter false equivalence.

And the subhead is almost as bad as the headline. Trump brought influencers in as propagandists, pure and simple.

I mean, according to my eyes and other senses, it isn’t raining outside as I type this. That doesn’t depend on the narrator; it is a solid fact.

I do not expect the NYT to be an organ for the anti-Trump opposition, but I do expect it to report on reality, not kowtow to the notion that there are real alternatives to how to view Portland at the moment.

As a reminder, here is what they were looking down on in that photo:

https://twitter.com/bennyjohnson/status/1975662466874175498

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15 responses to “Bothsiderism is Helping to Kill Democracy”

  1. Mikey Avatar
    Mikey

    Whenever reading or listening to anything coming from Benny Johnson, one must remember he took hundreds of thousands of dollars of Russian money to spout his bullshit. He claims he didn’t know the true source of the money, but I think he’s lying.

    10
  2. HelloWorld Avatar
    HelloWorld

    I know it’s only loosely related to this post but does anyone have Antifas membership list or dues structure? Im also curious about it’s leadership structure, too.

    3
  3. Daryl Avatar
    Daryl

    I have been saying so, on this very forum, for ages.
    I am pretty sure Democracy, if not dead, is already in its final throes.
    And, yes, both-siderism was a contributing cause.

    6
  4. Kevin Avatar
    Kevin

    @HelloWorld: What, you want to get in on that sweet, sweet antifa money like the rest of us?

    5
  5. gVOR10 Avatar
    gVOR10

    @HelloWorld: @Kevin: My last check from Soros bounced.

    I can’t find this print story in the online edition. Anybody read it in print? Is it that bad, a FTFNYT story? They could write a fair story about both sides pushing narratives while making the reality clear. Did they? Is this one of those NYT deep dive specials where they get around to the facts in the 30th paragraph, long after everyone stopped reading?

    4
  6. becca Avatar
    becca

    @gVOR10: I have been out as a liberal for decades and have yet to ever get an invite or even hit for a donation.
    I was approached by an Amway rep once, though.

    7
  7. becca Avatar
    becca

    The whole antifa myth is fascinating. I guess those who are pro fascist are just creating a false narrative that will get a lot of innocent people hurt or worse.
    They have done it before. What was the name of that pizza place that Qanon propagandists got shot up?

    4
  8. Gustopher Avatar
    Gustopher

    Why is reporting on objective reality so hard?

    Because the NY Times owners and editors like this administration and its policies, and reporting objective reality would undermine that.

    14
  9. steve222 Avatar
    steve222

    I think that legacy media want to maintain older norms and try hard to avoid obvious favoritism. However, when one party ignores norms and lies so obviously and frequently it just doesnt work. To be fair to legacy media if they tell the truth or point out Trump’s lies they get accused of persecuting Trump, and he sues them.

    Steve

    4
  10. DK Avatar
    DK

    I do not expect the NYT to be an organ for the anti-Trump opposition

    The NYT had no problem being an organ for the anti-Hillary Emailgazagatepalooza Clinton Cash opposition. Opposing an incompetent pathological lying fascist pedo is the least they could do as a corrective.

    7
  11. gVOR10 Avatar
    gVOR10

    @DK: Not to mention the “Joe Biden is old” story. I swear their style guide said his name was “Joseph R. Biden Jr., 81”. Now, Biden really is old, but so is Trump, and “Trump spoke gibberish” doesn’t seem to get the same play.

    7
  12. Michael Cain Avatar
    Michael Cain

    @Gustopher: Two-thirds of adults in the US carry a camera in their pocket every time they leave the house. Yet none of them can get pictures of Trump’s “cities burning down everywhere” daily claims for the media to use.

    11
  13. al Ameda Avatar
    al Ameda

    But one “narrative” is utter bullshit, while the other is objectively true.
    The newspaper job should be to note which is which, not engage in this kind of utter false equivalence.

    I am of the opinion that the so-called Main Stream Media, the Legacy Media, or whatever you want to call ‘them,’ is basically cowed and intimidated by the rightwing, by MAGA and Trump. Years of being accused of liberal bias has resulted in their reporting of Trump’s innumerable lies and basic facts with equal weight.

    ‘Both Sides Do It’ is both lazy and cowardly.
    If one side blatantly lies or presents dis-and-mis information 95 times and the other side does it 5 times it is fundamentally dishonest to say both sides do it. It’s the journalistic equivalent of empty calories, the meaning of the phrase rendered useless without value.

    6
  14. ChipD Avatar
    ChipD

    @Gustopher:
    “That they like Trump and want him to rule as a dictator” sounds dramatic, but it is the simplest explanation.

    6
  15. DrDaveT Avatar
    DrDaveT

    The newspaper job should be to note which is which, not engage in this kind of utter false equivalence.

    Let’s be blunt here — your co-host James Joyner has explicitly disagreed with this position in the past. His claim is that this exceeds the mandate of journalism, and puts it into the realm of Opinion, which belongs only on the Editorial pages.

    If calling out lies as lies is not journalism, we are doomed.

    1

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