Jussie Smollet: or, How Narratives Unravel

[Scomagia]

Oh, really? Was the media politically neutral during the Cold War? Or World War 2?


Professionalism and personal politics aren't mutually exclusive forces by definition.


No. Although you might want to rethink your one left-wing example, since Mother Jones has existed since the 70s.



Point taken. I do, however, often consider it a dog-whistle of sorts when it's directed towards supposedly left-leaning outlets because it's the sort of claim that usually gets thrown at news reporting that was not actually dishonest or noticeably marred by left-leaning biases.

Media bias will always exist. The problem is that they try and pretend that they're objective, which they aren't. CNN obviously isn't objective, but pretends like it is. MSNBC obviously isn't objective, but pretends like it is. Fox obviously isn't objective, but pretends like it is.

If you favor a particular side then fine, but state it up front and be honest about it.

Yes, they're all sort of dodgy. A small point for Fox, though, is that their opinion journalists usually refer to themselves as such. CNN and MSNBC? I don't believe they often do, representing themselves instead as being objective journalists. I could be wrong.

[Scomagia]

Except this specific hate crime was never even plausible from the start.

Except it was. Some details known at the start were subjected to skepticism (mostly from bad faith actors), but there were no immediate signs of it being implausible.

Retroactively projecting the knowledge you have now onto the past is bullshit.

There were multiple things that were implausible from the beginning. Carrying liquid bleach at sub zero temperatures, Smollett walking around with the noose on and still carrying his sandwich, Smollett not calling the police until nearly an hour after he got home. There were more reasons to be skeptical than not from the outset.

[Yagon]

There were multiple things that were implausible from the beginning. Carrying liquid bleach at sub zero temperatures, Smollett walking around with the noose on and still carrying his sandwich, Smollett not calling the police until nearly an hour after he got home. There were more reasons to be skeptical than not from the outset.

To be fair, sometimes the bread at Subway would be suitable as a defensive implement, sort of like a buckler but with your choice of cheese.

[Byzconia]

Dude definitely lied, and should be punished. That said, we all know reactionaries are gonna bring this up everytime a hate crime happens in the foreseeable future. As W.E.B. DuBois once said, "When a white man falls off his bar stool, he's a drunk. When a negro does it, it's the whole damn negro race."

[Vetalia]

Dude definitely lied, and should be punished. That said, we all know reactionaries are gonna bring this up everytime a hate crime happens in the foreseeable future. As W.E.B. DuBois once said, "When a white man falls off his bar stool, he's a drunk. When a negro does it, it's the whole *** negro race."

Not even reactionaries, just people with common sense...the problem is going to be the legitimate hate crimes that are met with skepticism because so many fakes have occurred. Maybe we need to start punishing these false reports with the same aggravating factors as actual hate crimes?

[Byzconia]

Dude definitely lied, and should be punished. That said, we all know reactionaries are gonna bring this up everytime a hate crime happens in the foreseeable future. As W.E.B. DuBois once said, "When a white man falls off his bar stool, he's a drunk. When a negro does it, it's the whole *** negro race."

Not even reactionaries, just people with common sense...the problem is going to be the legitimate hate crimes that are met with skepticism because so many fakes have occurred. Maybe we need to start punishing these false reports with the same aggravating factors as actual hate crimes?

"So many fakes"?

Hoaxes are not tracked formally, but the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino, said that of an estimated 21,000 hate crime cases between 2016 and 2018, fewer than 50 reports were found to be false. The center believes that less than 1 percent of all reported hate crimes are false.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/22/us/f ... rimes.html

Hoaxes are extremely rare. That doesn't mean you should just ignore them, but no, as of right now treating them on same level as actual hate crimes would be a bit overkill.

Also, this is unrelated to the point, but why did you go through the effort to bleep out the "damn" in my quote?

[Vetalia]

"So many fakes"?

Problem is, the fakes are always high-profile so they're doing a lot more damage than their number suggests, as the article you quoted mentioned.

Hoaxes are not tracked formally, but the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino, said that of an estimated 21,000 hate crime cases between 2016 and 2018, fewer than 50 reports were found to be false. The center believes that less than 1 percent of all reported hate crimes are false.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/22/us/f ... rimes.html

Hoaxes are extremely rare. That doesn't mean you should just ignore them, but no, as of right now treating them on same level as actual hate crimes would be a bit overkill.

I disagree as noted above, especially when someone fakes one for personal gain like Smollett...the sheer magnitude of his lying is quite frankly disgusting. He was able and willing to send innocent men to jail to keep up the charade until the Chicago police presented him with the actual "suspects". That's way beyond the pale.

Also, this is unrelated to the point, but why did you go through the effort to bleep out the "***" in my quote?

Beats me, I think there must be some kind of auto-censor going on with one of the filters I use for pop-up ads...I saw it on ZeroHedge recently. Let me try to see if it works...Jussie Smollett is a jackass.

[Byzconia]

"So many fakes"?

Problem is, the fakes are always high-profile so they're doing a lot more damage than their number suggests, as the article you quoted mentioned.

Yes, but that's not what you said. Your comment implied that there was a high number, rather than a small number with high profiles (in fact, it could be argued that their high prominence is due to their small number in relation to the larger amount of actual hate crimes).

Hoaxes are not tracked formally, but the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino, said that of an estimated 21,000 hate crime cases between 2016 and 2018, fewer than 50 reports were found to be false. The center believes that less than 1 percent of all reported hate crimes are false.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/22/us/f ... rimes.html

Hoaxes are extremely rare. That doesn't mean you should just ignore them, but no, as of right now treating them on same level as actual hate crimes would be a bit overkill.

I disagree as noted above, especially when someone fakes one for personal gain like Smollett...the sheer magnitude of his lying is quite frankly disgusting. He was able and willing to send innocent men to jail to keep up the charade until the Chicago police presented him with the actual "suspects". That's way beyond the pale.

True, I'm not saying what he did was acceptable or justifiable in anyway, it's merely a question of magnitude. I simply disagree that a false report is equally bad as the real deal and deserving of equal punishment (especially when they're so rare--if they were more prolific, it might be a different discussion).

Also, this is unrelated to the point, but why did you go through the effort to bleep out the "***" in my quote?

Beats me, I think there must be some kind of auto-censor going on with one of the filters I use for pop-up ads...I saw it on ZeroHedge recently. Let me try to see if it works...Jussie Smollett is a jackass.

Nope, didn't do it to you, but it did it to me again. That's hilarious lmao.

[The South Falls]

There are little fakes, but these make people think every single one is fake.

[Vetalia]

Yes, but that's not what you said. Your comment implied that there was a high number, rather than a small number with high profiles (in fact, it could be argued that their high prominence is due to their small number in relation to the larger amount of actual hate crimes).

Honestly, that was wrong on my part, I should have clarified that I meant high-profile cases.

True, I'm not saying what he did was acceptable or justifiable in anyway, it's merely a question of magnitude. I simply disagree that a false report is equally bad as the real deal and deserving of equal punishment (especially when they're so rare--if they were more prolific, it might be a different discussion).

For this one, I think it is equally as bad because of the circumstances...a lot of the other fakes are done by immature people or people with serious mental issues, but this was motivated because Jussie wanted a bigger salary. He was willing to send innocent men to jail and incite potential retaliation resulting from his lie, and appeared on GMA crying and bald-face lying before the whole country. He needs to be sentenced to some serious prison time for this.

Nope, didn't do it to you, but it did it to me again. That's hilarious lmao.

I've got no clue then, it's definitely not happening to me anymore.

[Neu Leonstein]

Beats me, I think there must be some kind of auto-censor going on with one of the filters I use for pop-up ads...I saw it on ZeroHedge recently. Let me try to see if it works...Jussie Smollett is a jackass.

The solution is to stay away from ZeroHedge.

[Vetalia]

The solution is to stay away from ZeroHedge.

How am I going to replace my morning comedy routine if I leave the Hedge?

It's the best investment advice available outside of the Goldman-recommended trade...whatever the Hedge writers say to invest in, I do the opposite. I could have made a killing if I shorted gold/silver the entire time they were bitching about the Fed and Yellowstone/Peak Oil/Fukushima but I just didn't have the money for most of 2011-2013.

[Liriena]

Not even reactionaries, just people with common sense...

Oh, what's this? A blatant attempt to shift the overton window?

[Liriena]

There are little fakes, but these make people think every single one is fake.

It's the hate crime equivalent of how rape culture often operates.

[LiberNovusAmericae]

Dude definitely lied, and should be punished. That said, we all know reactionaries are gonna bring this up everytime a hate crime happens in the foreseeable future. As W.E.B. DuBois once said, "When a white man falls off his bar stool, he's a drunk. When a negro does it, it's the whole *** negro race."

Not even reactionaries, just people with common sense...the problem is going to be the legitimate hate crimes that are met with skepticism because so many fakes have occurred. Maybe we need to start punishing these false reports with the same aggravating factors as actual hate crimes?

Maybe not the same aggravating factors, but punishments for wasting police time in this manor should be made more stringent.

[Imperium of Dragonia]

Reactionary media jumps to conclusions, especially if it's race based, before any facts are brought up because said media really needs that ratings boost.

In other news, water is wet.

[Nanatsu no Tsuki]

My skepticism came when Smollet tried to politically milk this incident. I'm guessing he did it to promote a political agenda.

From what I've heard, he did it to get himself a raise.

He got a raise indeed. A raise to the unemployment line.

[Western Vale Confederacy]

There are little fakes, but these make people think every single one is fake.

The severe punishment of hate crime hoaxes should be more than enough to deter them, we can’t grow skeptic to actual hate crimes because some dumb schmuck thought he was some sort of criminal mastermind.

[Mystic Warriors]

There are little fakes, but these make people think every single one is fake.

The severe punishment of hate crime hoaxes should be more than enough to deter them, we can’t grow skeptic to actual hate crimes because some dumb schmuck thought he was some sort of criminal mastermind.

Being a skeptic of all victims will make Black people hate the GOP more. Trump and Fox should keep that in mind.

[Gravlen]

Ouch! The Onion is brutal!

Chicago Police Credit Their Extensive Experience Falsifying Evidence For Helping Solve Smollett Case

[Big Jim P]

It's been fun watching another hoax hate-crime pushing a false agenda unraveling.

[Aclion]

Dude definitely lied, and should be punished. That said, we all know reactionaries are gonna bring this up everytime a hate crime happens in the foreseeable future. As W.E.B. DuBois once said, "When a white man falls off his bar stool, he's a drunk. When a negro does it, it's the whole *** negro race."

Not even reactionaries, just people with common sense...the problem is going to be the legitimate hate crimes that are met with skepticism because so many fakes have occurred. Maybe we need to start punishing these false reports with the same aggravating factors as actual hate crimes?

All accusations of crime should be met with scepticism. You can be sceptical and still give victims the benefit of the doubt.

It's good however, to see people openly stating they were not doing this.

[Novus America]

From what I've heard, he did it to get himself a raise.

He got a raise indeed. A raise to the unemployment line.

That is not entirely true. He has a job opening making liscense plates and office furniture for the state and federal governments.
Pay is a tad bit less than what he probably hoped for.

But he has a future working here
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal ... Industries