What should the response be when the MSM wields children as if they are weapons, spraying their audience with bullets of disinformation, while also using them as shields against criticism with claims that any attempt to correct these children, are actually attacks against them?
MSM REFUSES TO CORRECT MISLEADING STATEMENTS BY 'SHOOTING SURVIVOR'
David Hogg, on the network news almost every day, sometimes multiple shows in the same day, has been allowed to publicly make a number of misleading, and contradictory statements, without any correction by those interviewing him, and in one case we know of, the media was actually caught coaching the student gun control activist, although social media and Google's YouTube has done it's best to try to scrub the proof off the internet. (See LiveLeak video here)
False Statement: Mr. Hogg went on CNN to attack NRA Spokeswomen Dana Loesch, and in doing so claimed as CNN's own tweet promoting the interview states, that Ms. Loesch "owns these congressmen. She can get them to do things. It's just she doesn't care about these children's lives."
It is not surprising that CNN would publicly promote such a blatantly false assertion, after all their increasing habit of publish outright fake news has been well documented over the last year, but in this case they are holding young Mr. Hogg up as their very own weapon, aiming him at the audience to spew fake news, as CNN is fully aware that Ms. Loesch is the NRA spokesperson, she is not the NRA lobbyist hired to advocate positions in hopes of influencing legislation.
A lobbyist is defined as someone that is paid as an advocate to argue for or against legislation in Congress. A spokesperson is someone that speaks for or on behalf of a group or organization to the public.
Hogg being 17 years old, most likely doesn't understand the difference, which is one reason children should not be used to promote political agendas, but CNN absolutely does know the difference, yet in the interview, they never once correct the young man, nor clarify for their audience, using the fact that Hogg is a "shooting survivor" as their shield to disseminate categorically false information to their audience to promote their own gun control agenda.
Contradictory And Misleading Statements: In an MSNBC interview young Mr. Hogg first defended the Broward Country deputy that stood outside the building, armed, rather than attempting to go confront the shooter as he was killing and shooting students, by saying "Who wants to go down the barrel of an AR-15, even with a glock? And I know that's what these police officers are supposed to do, but they're people too."
Then Hogg joins MSNBC's Morning Joe show and insisted that "Gov. Rick Scott should be “held accountable” for the failure of three sheriff’s deputies to confront the gunman," as reported by MediaIte.
Second point: The disconnect here is that Hogg first defends the deputies for not entering the building, but then claims the governor should be "held accountable" for actions that Hogg himself claims was excusable?
Hogg continued:
Hogg, appearing on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, said the news is “raising concern” in his community, before accusing elected officials of attempting the blame the shooting on “bureaucracy.”
“They’re in charge of them,” Hogg said of those elected officials. “This is their fault.”
“They should have been regulating them,” he continued. “I’m not going to allow them to pressure these people because at the end of the day it’s their fault. These elected officials are the boss of these sheriff personnel and just like the president is the boss of the FBI, Governor Rick Scott is essentially the boss of Scott Israel, the sheriff, and as such he should be held accountable.
“He can’t just blame this on the bureaucracy and expect to get re-elected.”
Third Point: Governor Scott is not up for reelection because he has served two consecutive terms and in Florida, "a governor who has been elected to two consecutive terms must be out of office for at least one election cycle before being eligible once again for re-election." (Source)
In an outstanding series of social media statements, National Reviews Charles C.W. Cooke, explains why Hogg's arguments are "incoherent," misleading and inaccurate, but the thread with responses to Cooke, provide an excellent example of the difficulty in correcting, these types of statements from Hogg and others, because the media and others, are not only using them as weapons to promote their gun control agenda, but also using their "shooting survivor" status as shields against criticism by claiming that to argue the facts, even politely, is an "attack" on these poor children.
Fourth Point: This point is made by Cooke, where he addresses the "bureaucracy" mistake that Hogg referenced, with Cooke stating "This talking point, like most of Hogg’s contributions during this segment, is incoherent, and it is not an “attack on a kid” to point that out. Sheriff Israel is directly elected; he is not a member of Governor Scott’s 'bureaucracy'."
Governor Scott can remove the Sheriff now, but does anyone think he could or should have preemptively? Was he supposed to have a crystal ball to know that Sheriff Israel would have screwed up so badly over something that hadn't occurred yet?
Cook then addresses the point made above under my Second Point, when he states in that same thread regarding the MediaIte story, "Hogg’s argument doesn’t make any sense at root. His view, stated on TV on Saturday, is that the cop shouldn’t have gone in because the shooter had an AR15. Now he blames Gov. Scott for the cop not going in. But if the cop shouldn’t have gone in, what’s there to blame Scott for?"
While the media never bothers to correct the contradictions or inaccuracies of Hogg's statements, claims and assertions, anyone else that does, no matter how politely, like Cooke did, is accused of attacking Hogg, rather than attacking the falsehoods, as evidenced by some of the responses to Cooke, as seen over at Twitchy.
One user said to Cooke: "I must say that verbally dismembering a 17 year old kid has really burnished your credentials as a political commentator. I mean what Florida teenager does’t know the sheriff is directly elected? He’s right there on the ballot! Oh, wait..." Cooke's response: "This young man is engaged in a national political debate, and should be treated as such."
Another user criticizes Cooke for daring to debate the facts: "He’s a child who just saw a horrible tragedy. Let this pass." Cooke responded "No. That’s condescending." The user then comes back with "It is not. I’m a parent. Hogg is a child, who went through something horrible. He isn’t a professional writer or author. Your criticism is misdirected, despite his inconsistencies. Have you no compassion?"
Cooke's response to that argument brings us to why the MSM is using these children as not just a weapon but as a shield to hide their disinformation campaign behind.
Cooke: "The on-the-heels switch from “these eloquent young Americans are making a mass movement and must be extended the right to vote” to “why engage with weak and irrelevant little kids you meanie?” is transparent and cynical, and should be rejected as such.."
Read the entire thread, it is enlightening as to how any criticism, based on facts, any legitimate debate, no matter how respectful, turns ugly as the "survivor" status of these children is used by the media and other gun control advocates, to justify ignoring the dissemination of blatantly false information for fear of being perceived as "attacking" a child who is traumatized.
Fifth Point: The claim that one cannot criticize nor correct Hogg or the other children being exploited by the MSM, because they are traumatized, brings me to my fifth point: Traumatized children should be put in therapy, supplied with counseling, yet these parents are allowing their children to be used as tools for gun grabbers rather than getting them the help they obviously need.
Another important point here is that any other survivor that isn't pushing the gun control agenda for the MSM, is being attacked BY the MSM.
BOTTOM LINE
While the media most definitely should be held accountable for allowing this kid to push utterly false assertions, claims and information out to their audiences without correction or challenge or even a gentle reprimand for speaking about things he has no clue about, there should also be widespread criticism for Hogg's parents, who are 1) Allowing their child to be used as a tool of the MSM to promote their agenda; 2) Not teaching him the basics, and; 3) letting him go out and make a fool of himself by pushing narratives that takes two minutes to disprove.
Children that do not understand how Congress nor legislation works should not be used as weapons to spit out bullets of political disinformation, nor should the MSM be allowed to use them as shields against criticism for allowing them to push fake news.
Finally, to those that excuse the misinformation being spewed by these children with claims that they are too young to know this fact or that fact, somehow miss the irony that if they are too young to "know" the facts, they should not be out there in the public eye hailed as "leaders" of the gun control movement.
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