Spicer accuses media of ‘false reporting’ in fiery briefing

[JoelR]

Published January 21, 2017 | FoxNews.com | Credit

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer angrily accused the media Saturday of “false reporting” on the inauguration as part of what he called a “shameful” attempt to minimize enthusiasm for President Trump, beginning his tenure as the administration’s top spokesman on a combative note.

Spicer summoned the press to the briefing room at the end of Trump’s first full day in office to specifically condemn two pieces of reporting – a reporter’s erroneous claim, since retracted, that an MLK bust was removed from the Oval Office; and photos appearing to show light crowds at Friday’s inauguration.

 

Do you think mainstream media is heavily biased against Trump's administration?  And how do you think this contentious beginning bodes for the rest of Trump's presidency and its media cover?  

 

[wolfe]

There were light crowds ,no false reporting there.

[macnice]

This was headline news on the BBC this morning.

[JackFTwist]

 

On 1/21/2017 at 11:34 PM, JoelR said:

Do you think mainstream media is heavily biased against Trump's administration?

“Heavily biased” is probably putting it too strongly, but it’s relatively well-known that the mainstream media have a least a slight liberal bias.  On the other hand, throughout his campaign, Trump continually verbally condemned the press in very strong, demeaning terms.  In a speech at CIA headquarters yesterday (Saturday), he called journalists “the most dishonest human beings on Earth.”  Considering his numerous strongly critical comments about the press and his aggressive behavior toward them, it wouldn’t be surprising if many reporters focused even more attention on analyzing and evaluating the Trump administration than they otherwise might have done.

On 1/21/2017 at 11:34 PM, JoelR said:

Spicer summoned the press to the briefing room at the end of Trump’s first full day in office to specifically condemn two pieces of reporting – a reporter’s erroneous claim, since retracted, that an MLK bust was removed from the Oval Office; and photos appearing to show light crowds at Friday’s inauguration.  [Emphasis added.  JFT]

It’s worth noting that Spicer delivered his strongly worded statement (and warning), then immediately left the press briefing room without taking any questions.  Many columnists have expressed surprise that Spicer would issue a formal statement containing numerous false claims that could easily be disproved, such as assertions about the size of the crowd at the inauguration, the use of floor protectors over the grass on the National Mall* for previous inaugurations, and the number of riders that day on Metro, as Washington’s public transit system is called.  (Not all of those riders would’ve been going to the inauguration.)

"The Washington Post’s" fact-checker’s post about Spicer’s claims gave them “Four Pinocchios,” its most critical rating:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2017/01/22/spicer-earns-four-pinocchios-for-a-series-of-false-claims-on-inauguration-crowd-size/?hpid=hp_rhp-top-table-main_fc-spicer-1203pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory

The above post also contains side-by-side photos comparing the crowds at Pres. Obama’s first inauguration in 2009 (left photo below) with Trump's inauguration Friday (right photo).

  

The two photos are taken from roughly the same vantage point and camera angle, looking west to east, toward the Capitol Building.  (Two of the Tweeted photos included in the post above show the absence of crowds at 10th Street and 12th Street, west of the Capitol.  These photos are also looking east, toward the Capitol. The higher the street number, the farther west it is away from the Capitol.)

The photo below is from ABC’s live TV feed at shortly after 11:00 A.M., less than an hour before Pres. Trump’s swearing-in.  It’s taken from a few blocks farther away from the Capitol than the two photos above.  (The buildings closest to the Mall on the left and right are the various Smithsonian Institution museums.  Many of the other buildings are government offices.)

The photo that Trump supporters prefer to show is taken from the Capitol, looking west, and is from a much lower camera angle.  As a result, it’s almost impossible to tell where the crowd ends, and it does make the crowd appear larger.  (Looking at this photo alone, the crowd indeed seems to stretch all the way to the Washington Monument, 14 blocks to the west of the Capitol.  If this were the only photo someone saw, or if they were actually on the stage at the inauguration, they would get a mistaken impression of the crowd’s size.)

Politifact.com’s fact-checker’s post rated Spicer’s claims as “(Liar, liar) Pants on Fire” and provides a variety of metrics about presidential inauguration attendance going back to Pres. Clinton’s first inauguration in 2002:

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2017/jan/21/sean-spicer/trump-had-biggest-inaugural-crowd-ever-metrics-don/

Politifact says the Metro ridership numbers the Trump administration is quoting are for all day Friday, which would include people going home from the inauguration, but they’re using only half a day’s ridership for Obama’s 2009 inauguration.  Those people didn’t go home after the ceremony and parade?

And it thrills me to no end to learn that the number of Metro riders for Saturday’s “Women’s March” in Washington significantly outnumbered the crowd for Trump's inauguration.  So did each of 3 separate days for the 2010 Cherry Blossom Festival.

* Floor protectors are often put down to cover the grass on the National Mall (sometimes referred to as the “Nation’s Front Yard”).  The Mall is used so frequently for large exhibitions, demonstrations, and other events that the grass has been severely damaged and worn away over the years, and the floor protectors are intended to prevent further wear and tear.

Edited January 23, 2017 by JackFTwist

[Bingo1]

Get used to it- we're going to be force fed lies for the next 4 years.

[JackFTwist]

I’ve also posted this in the topic about Trump’s border wall, but it seems appropriate here, too.  It’s by controversial author Micah Wright from a series of posters he did soon after the 2003 US invasion of Iraq.  They're based on World War II propaganda posters from both the Allies and the Nazis.  (Sorry about the small dimensions, but they’re typical of the file sizes and bandwidth of the early 2000s.)  The source's filename “FAUXnews.jpg” seems apropos, besides the obvious play on words.

“We Distort — You Comply!” seems quite appropriate to the times too.

Edited January 28, 2017 by JackFTwist

[Doug]

On 1/23/2017 at 2:09 PM, Bingo said:

Get used to it- we're going to be force fed lies for the next 4 years.

Of course you are that is what  (most) politicians do best. In my view President Trump is not a politician. Now he is President it seems he feels he can do anything he wishes. So when will USA become a Dictatorship?.

I wouldn't worry too much my comments are purely the average views of an uninformed European.