Some Liberals Now Willing To Admit They Were Duped By Media About Kyle Rittenhouse
“Just got a call from the media asking if my Twitter account was hacked. That is, the reporter couldn’t conceive of the idea that I could believe that Kyle is innocent because I am not a right winger. Crazy,” investor Bill Ackman tweeted.
Professor Jacobson wrote a spot-on column last week that was published in the New York Post where he rightly excoriated the mainstream press for their slanted coverage of both the Jacob Blake and Kyle Rittenhouse cases from the start and which has continued on during the trial:
Kyle Rittenhouse’s trial for the shooting deaths of two people and the wounding of another is nearing its end, with the jury expected to get the case soon. The shootings took place as riots, arson and looting shook Kenosha after police shot Jacob Blake on August 23, 2020. The violence fed off the nationwide riots and looting that followed the May death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody.
From the start, the media misrepresented the [Jacob] Blake case and ensuing riots. They portrayed Blake as an unarmed man who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, subjected to police brutality due to racism.
The truth was far different.
[…]
It’s happening again with the Rittenhouse case, which was born in the Kenosha riots. From the media coverage leading up to the trial, one would think Rittenhouse was a white supremacist militia member who traveled to Kenosha to shoot up peaceful protesters.
[…]
With trial evidence inconsistent with the news’ narrative, there could have been a major media mea culpa. Instead, headlines and framing continue that pre-trial narrative, even if inconvenient facts appear deep down in the articles. As the editors who run these stories and draft the headlines know, many if not most people don’t get far beyond the headlines and opening paragraphs.
As a former liberal who used to buy what the media reported without much if any questioning as to whether or not what they were reporting was accurate or biased, and as a conservative who gets messages from non-political junkie friends almost every day asking me if I’ve seen this headline or that, I can confirm just from my own experiences that this is the mindset for many people who are misinformed.
For various reasons, whether they’re too busy to scan down into the meat of an article or beyond the headline/edited video clip they see on Twitter, or are just too lazy to do so, a substantial number of Americans are being spoonfed heaping doses of fake or half-baked news on a weekly basis and most don’t know it, and oftentimes deliberately so on the part of the media – with the Rittenhouse case being a prime example of this.
The same day Professor Jacobson’s column was published, liberal investor Bill Ackman, who has nearly 350,000 followers on Twitter, wrote a lengthy thread explaining how his and his wife Neri’s opinions on Kyle Rittenhouse had changed directly as a result of being able to watch the trial on TV. In the thread, Ackman directly pointed the finger at the media’s slanted coverage as the reason why his and his wife’s perceptions about Rittenhouse were so off:
Last night, Neri and I watched several hours of .#Kylerittenhouse direct testimony and cross examination. We came away believing that #Kyle is telling the truth and that he acted in self defense. We found him to be a civic-minded patriot with a history of
— Bill Ackman (@BillAckman) November 11, 2021
Our first hand impressions of Kyle were materially different from those we had previously formed based on media reports and opinion pieces that we had consumed. I have always been frustrated to read an inaccurate press report about a subject I know well, yet somehow I continue to
— Bill Ackman (@BillAckman) November 11, 2021
by the jury. Often times, communities react negatively and even violently after a jury verdict where they are surprised by the outcome based on what they have previously read in the newspaper, seen on TV or more likely been served on social media. I encourage you
— Bill Ackman (@BillAckman) November 11, 2021
removing loopholes in the sale of guns. Unfortunately it seems that society’s view of #kyle ‘s innocence depends more on one’s views about gun control rather than on what actually took place last August.
— Bill Ackman (@BillAckman) November 11, 2021
He followed up a few hours later by noting a member of the media actually contacted him to find out if his Twitter account had been hacked because of what he wrote about his reassessment of the particulars of the Rittenhouse case:
Just got a call from the media asking if my Twitter account was hacked. That is, the reporter couldn’t conceive of the idea that I could believe that Kyle is innocent because I am not a right winger. Crazy.
— Bill Ackman (@BillAckman) November 11, 2021
Ackman wasn’t the only one. Self-described progressive Sarah Beth Burwick also took to the Twitter machine last week and noted that the “progressive bubble” she was in made the Rittenhouse case out to be something that it’s not:
I am highly educated and reasonably perceptive, and it was only today that I learned the Kyle Rittenhouse victims were white.
My progressive bubble made this seem like a very different case than it is.
— Sarah Beth Burwick (@sarahbeth345) November 11, 2021
you realize you need to question everything you’ve been told, which is what is keeping me very, very busy of late.
— Sarah Beth Burwick (@sarahbeth345) November 11, 2021
Burwick, who is now being openly harassed on Twitter by “tolerant” leftists for speaking her opinion, has the “#HowTheLeftIsLosingMe” in her Twitter bio. That’s proof enough for me that she’s a liberal currently getting mugged by reality, not just on the Rittenhouse case but on a lot of other issues. It’s a heady feeling and one that I can attest to from my own conversion from liberalism to conservatism some time ago (we won’t get into the actual number of years or I would severely date myself 😉 ).
In any event, kudos to both of them and any other liberal who is waking up to the actual facts of the Rittenhouse case and not just the spin and biased “reporting” we’re constantly being subjected to by supposedly “objective” reporters with obvious agendas.
Sadly, the Rittenhouse case won’t be the last time we see this kind of overt bias on display by the MSM, but fortunately – as we’ve seen just from the two people above – people’s minds can still be changed if they’re willing to listen to the facts and be open-minded. That doesn’t mean they have to become card-carrying, rock-ribbed, red-meat conservatives in the aftermath, but anytime you have anyone willing to turn their backs on destructive media narratives after being hit with a reality check is a good thing, regardless of their political leanings.
— Stacey Matthews has also written under the pseudonym “Sister Toldjah” and can be reached via Twitter. —
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Comments
Too little, too late. Rittenhouse is screwed unfortunately.
Then once they’ve locked him away your all fucked next.
No.
They’ve now made the new rules clear, and drawn the line in the sand.
When we finally show up to accept their terms, they will not be happy.
Prosecutor never got past self defense. If he does get convicted of anything, it will be for political reasons.
I’m supposed to believe that Ackman was duped by the liberal media? Hogwash. He simply sees that the tide is turning on this one, so he’s doing the old weasel two step.
I trust proof that the trial has caused a shift in public opinion will be provided or perhaps the author here knows what she is talking about and Ackman has proved to be a significantly better man than I thought he was.
Never mistake a handful of raindrops for a storm.
> trial has caused a shift in public opinion
Unfortunately, does not seem so. Check comments in this article, for example: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2021/11/rittenhouse-trial-judge-disallows-ipad-pinch-to-zoom-read-the-bizarre-transcript/ – and note that this is IT blog (and if IT guys can no longer follow a simple logic of self defense and evidence rules – our civilization future is in a big question).
I believe him. He’s not the only one who has completely turned around, from simply watching the trial.
Disagree there, E Howard Hunt. If all of your “news” comes from the MSM, Twitter, Facebook at the like, one can easily be duped. Granted, it is a choice not to investigate for yourself, but those outlets twist coverage, block out dissenting opinions and create a like-minded bubble of “thought.”
Once Ackman looked at the actual trial record and evidence for himself, he starts to see how the corrupt media complex (my words, not his) is reporting only what they want and only through a very specific rose-colored lens.
Last year, the counterculture was just starting to rise, but it is now underway and will continue apace, as will the tactics based on the Democratic/East German model. It has damaged the Democrats so much, but like the article shows, they are too insulated to understand just how out of touch they and their ideas and policies are.
They’re not out of touch. They well know what their fanboys want and could care less about anyone else. They’re taking the ball and runnin’ with it.
Jury verdicts are iffy. I was on a jury where one person wasn’t willing to convict for any reason regardless of the evidence. Others distrusted police so much they could not return a guilty verdict. I’m sure there are others who will go the other way, pretending to be objective but have their own biases.
After reading LI’s coverage I was astonished to hear ABC’s slanted coverage of the trial.
There are more folks than these who are unable to ignore what the MSM narrative is v the observable reality is. Lot’s of topics to choose from: Afghan withdrawal, Covid, Gas Prices, Energy Policy, CRT/Equity, supply chain, ‘mostly peaceful riots’. The d/prog went too far, too fast and much too openly. Previously they went incrementally but since Jan have abandoned that in favor of a full steam ahead approach. Folks who normally don’t pay close attention to politics are having divisive policies shoved down their throat and according to the polls are very aware and pushing back.
“Folks who normally don’t pay close attention to politics are having divisive policies shoved down their throat and according to the polls are very aware and pushing back.”
I read that all the time … but I think those that resist are by far in the minority.
Definitely still the minority, but growing. If people can change their minds in our current highly polarized environment, there is hope.
Well that depends on how we define resisting. VA, a +10 d State, just elected a r to the top three constitutional offices on the strength of 75%+ r voting in red rural counties and many voters in the suburbs and cities moving away from the d/prog CRT/Equity, ‘Parents shouldn’t have a role in education’ message.
NJ, a +16 d State very nearly elected a r as Gov following similar voting patterns. Had a higher investment been made in that race to overcome the substantial financial advantage of the d/prog they might have closed the sale.
That’s evidence of pushback to me. IMO, more is coming in the mid terms as other folks in every State and CD get their own opportunity to express their displeasure with the Biden Admin and d/prog policies along with some Gov races; MI for one. Along with that are the r primaries with 6, so far, retiring SR r Senators as well as those Senators and Rep in the crosshairs of a MAGA primary challenge like Murkowski.
Our challenge is to take advantage of the opportunity presented to find, support and elect the most MAGA candidate possible in these primaries that can win a general election. If we don’t work for it then the establishment will ram through another weak sauce, chamber of commerce approved rino.
Ackman states in a little different way an aphorism to which I subscribe:
Why do people continue to be fooled?
• They give the benefit of the doubt to the press, that although it may fail to understand the complexities of their “esoteric” area of expertise, certainly it must understand traditional newspapery issues such as politics, crime, and economics;
• Their personal expertise is in some soft or even “studies” field, where there actually are no right or wrong, save that which “the consensus” (read, the press itself) defines;
• They have no particular expertise in anything, or at least nothing legitimate that any newspaper would report on.
“Never believe the media” is the number two rule for life, under “never speak to the police.”
(Number three is “never speak to the media,” there’s zero potential upside to it.)
This is what Michael Crichton named the Murray Gell-Mann effect. Nothing to do with the actual Murray Gell-Mann, but if you give something a memorable name it will stick in people’s minds.
Judge release email threats does not bode well for the jury who think they will be next.
The powers that be want this kid in jail by any means necessary.
He had too much courage, was not feminized and acted with skill.
Its only a matter of time before rioters are met in the battlefield by Patriots who are sick of their shit!
from your lips to God’s ears!
Far too many are locked into the lies they see in the media. They are ignorant to the idea there is news out there that wasn’t provided by The View and the alphabet media
My friends wife is one of them. There’s simply no way to convince her that what she sees isn’t the gospel truth
I seldom see them anymore for that very reason
because Librulls are mentally ill
A statistic by 2 universities (man on the street style random) asking “are you more influenced by what others say” or “do you evaluate and think for yourself”, data showed 84% said “others” 16% said “self”. Then we have literacy level in U.S. today Average Adult Comprehension level; it’s at 7th-8th grade ages 12-13 NOT A GOOD SIGN for independent, reasoning & logical thinking.
The criminally insane pedophiles of antifa couldn’t stand the sight of an armed kid.
“I am highly educated and reasonably perceptive, and it was only today that I learned the Kyle Rittenhouse victims were white.”
No, you’re not.
Highly educated apparently equals “dumb-ass”.
She has a degree in CRT.
She means “highly-credentialed.”
It’s easy to confuse the two, especially if your life has never involved actual physical work.
The bozo being quoted is a pathetic narcissist:
“How could I be wrong? – ME, the BRILLIANT, HIGHLY EDUCATED SCHUMCK that I am! How could MY head be up my ass?? It must be the MEDIA’S fault! Yeah, that’s it! It’s someone ELSE’s fault!!”
I wonder if she knows the difference between the words educated, and credentialed?
More proof that education is a poor measure of intelligence.
Or, more appropriately, education is not a substitute for intelligence.
Book learning does not equate to intelligence or above average comprehension level!
MEDIA RECKONING
I don’t understand the MSM business model.
Once people realize they have been lied to – they seek other sources of information. Slowly but surely, they loose audience. They they die.
That’s why FOX keeps getting more viewers. FOX has some spin – but it does a reasonable job of keeping facts straight.
I started watch Fox 5 years ago when my friends told me they’d “never watch Fox” So I decided to see what it was like. Now I watch MSM sometimes but I balance it by a hefty viewing of FOX. It helps me expose the lies and spin. Sadly, you must watch 2 or 3 media channels and read 3 or 4 news papers in order to get the real story these days.
Those under 21 years old are in trouble because they are “Tok-Tok” consumers of news – meaning they only devote 30 to 60 seconds per story – and they rarely read – they prefer to watch video. So they end up being easily manipulated. Of course the MSM knows this. This next generation is turning out to be the most intelligent and also the most willfully ignorant of any generation. God help America.
Let’s Go Brandon.
Ben, the media is not a ‘business’. It’s an arm of the swamp, serving the greater goals of the swamp. It’s a cost, not a profit center – like advertising, only for evil.
That Ackman fellow is the embodiment of Michael Chrichton’s Gel Man Amnesia Theory…
https://www.epsilontheory.com/gell-mann-amnesia/
Burwick is one of many who is educated beyond their intelligence.
Yet, when you mention Liberal bias in media, eyes just glass over..
And the dumbest President in my lifetime, with his Bimbo in Waiting, received more votes in history, campaigning from the basement. Sure, that happened.
She recieved ZERO votes. Her Wall St handlers had her drop out before Iowa to save her for the insert because she is for sale and always has been.
Trust me I am from San Francisco and have known this cretin since the 90s.
I was a waitress in the city back then and she and Willie Brown tried to pick me up in 3 different jobs I had. Somehow he liked my vibe, I was young and pretty. She sat there with him and smiled at me as he made moves on me. She was part of it. I was married with a small child just trying to help support my family.
She refused to seek the death penalty for a cop killer, the cop was hispanic.
She refused to prosecute Catholic priests who molested kids, rumored the SF archdiocese paid her off.
She is a vile and corrupt lizzard.
Robert Barnes, their lawyer, tried to help the Rittenhouse defense. They basically told him to fvck off.
If he is convicted, it is because his defense sandbagged him and refused help from self defense experts all over the country, and failed in jury selection.
Even with all of the additional help that was available, the state failed to provide any non-self defense evidence. Kyle should be found not guilty of all charges, but the jury is most likely tainted. However, sometimes justice does work properly (Zimmerman). Hopefully this will be another case.
This is the acid test of the court system.
mark my words….
We’ve lost that a long time ago. Even if Kyle gets off.
It is usually over for them when Bill Maher comes out with a different opinion than the one he originally held. I guess it is the same as the I’m not sorry that I was wrong, I’m sorry that I got caught being wrong.
I, for one, have had it with two systems of justice. There is but one system and one system only, if you did the crime you do the time. Failure to obey lawful police commands often results in serious escalation often resulting in death. We need to increase the penalty for resisting arrest or ignoring a lawful police command without a serious reason. Being black is not a reason to ignore police commands or the law.
“duped” implies a passive process. It is done to someone.
But the left, even if you only speak of the consumers of leftishness, actively pursue the lies, make up more as necessary, and actively resist contradictory facts.
They are considerably more at fault than merely consuming nonsense as it comes to their attention.
Ackman observes that the public view of the Rittenhouse case is basically divided along the lines of how people feel about the gun control issue. I tend to agree with him, at least insofar as we’re talking about those uninformed or solely informed by MSM outlets (I know, that’s redundant).
So let’s carry that through to it’s logical conclusion, shall we? Gun control advocates believe a 17 year old kid should be subjected to violent physical assault by a convicted child rapist, bashed over the head with a skateboard, and have a loaded .45 stuck in his face, and NOT be allowed to defend his life and liberty?
WTF? How do we ever reconcile with the half of this country that thinks like that?