Various incidents have displayed the decline of standards in the news media, such as industry layoffs, decreasing ratings, the aftermath of the November election, and technology and publishing giants sympathizing with the former president. One standout event was CNN being held accountable in court for disseminating false news with malicious intent.
Despite numerous instances prompting a reevaluation of their practices and a need for industry-wide improvements, there has been a conspicuous absence of any meaningful actions taken. The media’s coverage of Monday’s presidential inauguration illustrates their continued behavior as if they still dictate the national narrative. This misguided belief is concerning, with an apparent lack of awareness shown by prominent figures like Jake Tapper.
A recent incident in a Florida courtroom where CNN was found guilty of defamation and malice is particularly noteworthy. This ruling carries significant weight, surpassing even Fox News’ settlement with Dominion voting systems. A jury carefully examined internal documents that revealed a deliberate effort by CNN reporters and editors to propagate a false narrative, including on “The Lead,” a program hosted by Jake Tapper.
This has not become a teachable moment for Jake, nor CNN.
Immediately after the network was forced to pay $5 million in damages and an additional sealed amount in a punitive settlement, Tapper was out today and had the audacity to suggest we might be about to experience a wave of false news and misinformation. In coverage of the inauguration, Mr. Tapper looked over the gathered members of the tech industry and publishing figures and stipulated that they represent a change about to hit the country. This borders on the astounding.
WATCH: CNN’s Jake Tapper melts down at the fact X’s Elon Musk, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Apple’s Tim Cook, and Google’s Sundar Pichai attended the inauguration church service with @realDonaldTrump and @JDVance:
“We’re about to enter an era of deepfakes and… pic.twitter.com/qIQcEnjokW
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) January 20, 2025
Jake here provides one of those moments that evokes a paradox within me; I am at once amazed and yet not the least bit surprised at the absence of pragmatic thought in the press. How can one operate by being this oblivious or deluded, and yet we see it with such quotidian regularity that it is entirely expected?
Look, the examples of press falsehoods are legion, but Tapper behaving like this on the heels of the court settlement is bad enough, and it is not the only contemporary example. Last year, we watched as the collective press industry behaved in unison in tossing out journalistic ethics and protecting Joe Biden from being exposed by his mental decline. More than avoiding covering the story, they covered it up, going so far as to attack those displaying accurate video portraying Biden’s decline. With all of the lying becoming exposed as Biden fell apart on live television, the media were gutted.
The inauguration showed the press has no inclination to repair things as yet. Nick Arama detailed the Nazi narrative is still a preferred gambit for the press. There will still be the reliance on the impotent racism charges. They continue to rage against promised abuses Trump may commit, after ignoring Biden actually committing abuses. They refuse to fix their problems. It will only lead to more people refusing to listen to them any longer.
