Local TV stations across the country set to air discredited ‘Plandemic’ researcher’s conspiracy theory about Fauci

[kmetz 5]

I hope this is in the right section.
 

Local television stations owned by the Sinclair Broadcast Group are set to air a conspiracy theory over the weekend that suggests Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top expert on infectious diseases, was responsible for the creation of the coronavirus.
 

https://wsvn.com/news/us-world/local-tv-stations-across-the-country-set-to-air-discredited-plandemic-researchers-conspiracy-theory-about-fauci/

[Technically A Director 164]

I'm going to temper my anger here, and simply say I hope Sinclair is dismantled from the ground up and sold to the lowest bidder.

 

Disgusting.

[tyrannical bastard 3763]

They caved and pulled it the day before it was set to air.

https://www.thewrap.com/sinclair-stations-to-air-discredited-conspiracy-theory-blaming-dr-fauci-for-coronavirus/

[Superdude 108]

So much for giving two sides of a story.   Instead of silencing her they should let her speak and fact check or explain WHY she's wrong.  Its called journalism.

[C Block 1545]

2 hours ago, Superdude said:

So much for giving two sides of a story.   Instead of silencing her they should let her speak and fact check or explain WHY she's wrong.  Its called journalism.

 

No. Just because you can put someone on TV doesn't mean you always should.

 

If this doctor were in some position of power accountable to the public (a health department director or the head of a notable research institution, for example), a case could be made that her claims would be worth examining and scrutinizing. But she is not. She is a discredited researcher who is being used by right wing factions to instill fear and cast doubt on the best science we have during a pandemic. She is otherwise a relatively unknown whose opinions are already well documented and dismissed. Putting her on a national platform (even if she's somehow fact-checked afterward) is only going to amplify her views and is a puzzling editorial choice. There are so many better people to ask for insight on this issue. If Sinclair is having trouble finding them, then I'd be happy to share my rolodex.

[mrschimpf 2232]

3 hours ago, Superdude said:

So much for giving two sides of a story.   Instead of silencing her they should let her speak and fact check or explain WHY she's wrong.  Its called journalism.

Eric Bolling is as much a journalist as Mike Lindell is a somnologist. It's one thing if they just have one of their local reporters or a neutral anchor examining the researcher's claims. Bolling has a certain agenda, along with the show and thought they could get it by viewers...but news alerts caught their PR and those who do follow that researcher called them out immediately (the show is usually webcast Wednesday evenings before it ever airs on the weekends; SBG forces their stations to push-alert the live stream). You don't give oxygen to claims like she's making, nor do you give her a platform where you can mock her, because someone won't get the joke. You don't put people like that on anything. Simple as that.

 

But let's be honest; ATW is in reality an obligation show as non-promoted by Sinclair stations as the Armstrong Williams Show and Full Measure with Sheryl Atkinson and is usually shoved to late Sunday nights after a Ring of Honor repeat to be watched by few, outside the important stations which Sinclair forces it to run as a Sunday morning show. This was another failed attempt to build their credibility.

[tyrannical bastard 3763]

Classic Sinclair....expect to air something controversial, then they pull it at the last minute, in order to produce a more "balanced" point of view.

 

Same thing happened with the Stolen Honor flap right before the 2004 election.  Sinclair claimed "...Oh, we weren't planning on airing the WHOLE thing!" 

 

They think they can pull a fast one, but it's too late.

[GoldenShine9 1509]

They make Fox News look moderate by comparison with antics like this. I feel for all the journalists at local stations owned by Sinclair, many of whom were there before Sinclair owned that station.

[WWUpdate 1290]

11 hours ago, Superdude said:

So much for giving two sides of a story.   Instead of silencing her they should let her speak and fact check or explain WHY she's wrong.  Its called journalism.

 

You cannot hand over your air to an unqualified person claiming that the Earth is flat, have someone else fact check her, and then say you are merely giving two sides of the story. Responsible gatekeeping is an integral part of journalism.

[tyrannical bastard 3763]

And now the whole story is dead.  Sinclair will not air it at all.

https://www.thewrap.com/sinclair-broadcast-group-scraps-report-falsely-blaming-fauci-for-covid-19-pandemic/

[GoldenShine9 1509]

6 minutes ago, tyrannical bastard said:

And now the whole story is dead.  Sinclair will not air it at all.

https://www.thewrap.com/sinclair-broadcast-group-scraps-report-falsely-blaming-fauci-for-covid-19-pandemic/

 

Sounds like the FCC was threatening them there.

[Technically A Director 164]

I would love to know who let it get this far. As stated above, one of the key elements of reporting is being a responsible gatekeeper of information - good and bad. Things are changing, but all this would have done was deepened the divide between fact and fiction, and you don't give a voice to fiction. We're 22 years removed from one quack doctor saying "vaccines cause autism," and an ever growing number of people believe it, even though it is proven FALSE.

 

Imagine the type of damage that would have been done if you put the 'Plandemic' tape on air, even if you followed it up with top notch fact checking. It's so wild, and so factually incorrect, it should never have been given the time of day or consideration to air on any rational television station in the first place.

[Mrtraveler01 738]

11 hours ago, TheGuru said:

I would love to know who let it get this far. As stated above, one of the key elements of reporting is being a responsible gatekeeper of information - good and bad. Things are changing, but all this would have done was deepened the divide between fact and fiction, and you don't give a voice to fiction. We're 22 years removed from one quack doctor saying "vaccines cause autism," and an ever growing number of people believe it, even though it is proven FALSE.

 

Imagine the type of damage that would have been done if you put the 'Plandemic' tape on air, even if you followed it up with top notch fact checking. It's so wild, and so factually incorrect, it should never have been given the time of day or consideration to air on any rational television station in the first place.

 

Simple, Sinclair thought they could get away with it. Just like they thought they could get away with that must-run speech they had their anchors do about "fake news" that turned out to be such a joke it probably jeopardized their acquisition of Tribune because someone complied a video of Sinclair anchors all over the country reading that same script verbatim.

 

Sinclair will never learn. They really are a company run by arrogant people. 

[Yankees4life 548]

Yeah...Sinclair trying to out-do themselves here. Don't worry, tho. Their syndicated "news" show is coming soon. That's a "hold my beer" moment waiting to happen

[compubit 672]

Gate keeping is key...

 

If Sinclair had broadcast it, even with the fact checking element, I’m pretty sure that bits and piece s would have shown up in political ads (one way or another), and/or, the story would have been edited down and passed through the internet as fact, since it appeared on ABC7 or Fox45 (most likely with a station bug in the corner for “credibility”...