This is a tough column to write, because I don’t want to demean or insult those who write me in good faith. I’ve started it a half dozen times since November but turned to other topics each time because this needle hard to thread.

…

This is a tough column to write, because I don’t want to demean or insult those who write me in good faith. I’ve started it a half dozen times since November but turned to other topics each time because this needle hard to thread. No matter how I present it, I’ll offend some thoughtful, decent people.

The north star here is truth. We tell the truth, even when it offends some of the people who pay us for information.

The truth is that Donald Trump undermined faith in our elections in his false bid to retain the presidency. He sparked an insurrection intended to overthrow our government and keep himself in power. No president in our history has done worse.

This is not subjective. We all saw it. Plenty of leaders today try to convince the masses we did not see what we saw, but our eyes don’t deceive. (If leaders began a yearslong campaign today to convince us that the Baltimore bridge did not collapse Tuesday morning, would you ever believe them?) Trust your eyes. Trump on Jan. 6 launched the most serious threat to our system of government since the Civil War. You know that. You saw it.

The facts involving Trump are crystal clear, and as news people, we cannot pretend otherwise, as unpopular as that might be with a segment of our readers. There aren’t two sides to facts. People who say the earth is flat don’t get space on our platforms. If that offends them, so be it.

As for those who equate Trump and Joe Biden, that’s false equivalency. Biden has done nothing remotely close to the egregious, anti-American acts of Trump. We can debate the success and mindset of our current president, as we have about most presidents in our lifetimes, but Biden was never a threat to our democracy. Trump is. He is unique among all American presidents for his efforts to keep power at any cost.

  • ZeroCool@slrpnk.netEnglish
    12·
    6 months ago

    Much as it offends some who read us, we will continue to tell the truth about Trump.

    To quote Ben Shapiro if I may… “Facts don’t care about your feelings.” Trump’s a traitor who incited a violent insurrection and continuing to support him after what happened on 1/6 makes you one too.

    • phoenixz@lemmy.ca
      31·
      6 months ago

      Don’t quote Ben Shapir, he’s an ass who thinks he debates people very well because he can yell louder. He’s not the type of person you’d want to quote

      • Passerby6497@lemmy.worldEnglish
        8·
        6 months ago

        It’s apt in this case, because old Benchy is a massive right wing hypocrite who cares infinitely more about feelings than facts. Using his stupid words against him and his ilk when they do the very thing they bitch about is ok in my book.

      • Ragnarok314159@sopuli.xyz
        2·
        6 months ago

        Yeah, but remember that one time he had a zinger against an 18 year old kid at a college Q&A? It’s really been downhill since then for him.

  • squid_slime@lemmy.world
    10·
    6 months ago

    Being British but having to talk american politics ive started looking to Wikipedia for somewhat non bias information, or more so I am able to easily follow the source which often leads to first hand testimonials, court documents and some such information.

    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/January_6_United_States_Capitol_attack

    I find doing so gives me an advantage when combatting misinformation.

    My uncle who seems to get all his insight from Ben Shapiro or as I say dry muff man, and Russell brand/Howard which ever is doing a pod cast theses days.

    Anyway a lot of the right wing ideologs tend to side on conspiracy, hearsay. So be well informed and hopefully we can pull the working class away from these grifters.

    • GladiusB@lemmy.world
      7·
      6 months ago

      Ben Shapiro is an idiot and not a model American. He says shocking things for ratings and then acts like he’s a victim. He is no different than Howard Stern but on the opposite end of the spectrum.

        • GladiusB@lemmy.world
          21·
          6 months ago

          He was back before Serious XM. People were flipping out for how progressive he was. How he is now? I don’t know. I was picking a known entity that was a shock jock.

          • whoreticulture@lemmy.world
            4·
            6 months ago

            Honestly most of what I know of him is that he seems to to be extremely misogynistic. I guess during the Bush administration you could get away with that and still seem like a raging liberal.

            • Huckledebuck@sh.itjust.works
              1·
              6 months ago

              Stern became big during the Clinton administration. This was when we learned that women were just cum rags.

              Stern pushed that and really nothing else. He only ever stood for misogyny.

  • PhAzE@lemmy.ca
    4·
    6 months ago

    There are two sides of a fact. One side is the fact, the other side is the spin. Spinster work had to make the spin look like fact and bend the opinions of those who can’t separate fact from fiction.

    One side is based on evidence, while the other is based on conjecture and opinion.

  • takeda@lemmy.world
    1·
    6 months ago

    Kind of related: On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder book also talks about WW1 and WW2 and a lot of that rings bells. He doesn’t mention trump by name, and frankly it applies to what’s happening in other Western countries as well.

    Highly recommend it, the book is also quite short and to the point.

    If you don’t want a book, he is reading it on his channel: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhZxrogyToZsllfRqQllyuFNbT-ER7TAu

  • Ultragigagigantic@lemmy.world
    44·
    6 months ago

    Trump is the best thing to ever happen for the mainstream media. They don’t have to report on much else but his shenanigans.

    Less news stories about building housing

    Less news stories about the abysmal Healthcare scamcare system.

    Less news stories about a digital bill of rights

    Less news stories about empowering worker co-ops and other labor movements.

    Trump spam all day.

      • Ragnarok314159@sopuli.xyz
        3·
        6 months ago

        Imagine trying to explain to Benjamin Franklin that yellow journalist super star will get elected and then sell classified documents to our biggest enemies for only his gain.

    • ceiphas@lemmy.world
      34·
      6 months ago

      But the underlying problem is, you could literally elect a can of beans into the oval office, and it would do a better job than donald “dictator on day one only” trump. So there is no pressure on biden to even move… The lines are drawn between a fascist and a corporate shill. Choose your poison, Americans

      • ReluctantMuskrat@lemmy.world
        6·
        6 months ago

        The difference though is the most important. We can change our minds and vote someone else in after Biden. If we elect Trump he will do his best to completely dismantle our democracy, something he almost accomplished the first time.

      • Djtecha@lemm.ee
        3·
        6 months ago

        For a corporate shill he is really helping out the union movement. I would say that here’s more for workers rights then Obama is. And with less of the drone strikes. I think he could do more sure, but I don’t see this guy going full corporate stooge and I feel like it’s a knee-jerk reaction to claim he is.