Taking Journalism’s ‘Specialists Mentioned…’ Chicanery About Info to Its Pure, Absurd Conclusion
Yesterday, the NY Occasions printed an article about Donald Trump’s menace to remove citizenship from a US-born citizen: Trump threatens to strip Rosie O’Donnell of U.S. citizenship. The Occasions Bluesky account posted a hyperlink to the article accompanied by this textual content:
President Trump stated on Saturday he was contemplating revoking Rosie O’Donnell’s U.S. citizenship. Trump has feuded with the comic and actress since earlier than he grew to become president. Specialists stated the president doesn’t have the ability to remove the citizenship of a U.S.-born citizen.
Giant media corporations, and the NY Occasions particularly lately, like to make use of the phrase “consultants stated” as a substitute of merely stating info. The factor is, many different statements of plain reality in that temporary Occasions submit lack the affirmation of experience. To assist the paper in steering their readers away from notions of goal reality, right here’s a recommended rewrite of that Bluesky submit:
Donald Trump, who consultants stated is president of the US, which consultants stated is a sovereign state on the planet Earth, which consultants stated is an oblate spheroid and revolves across the Solar, which consultants stated is a G-type main-sequence star about 93 million miles from us, stated on what consultants stated was Saturday that he was contemplating revoking (which consultants stated is a course of of creating invalid) the U.S. citizenship of an individual with the final identify of O’Donnell, who consultants stated is a dwelling human individual and U.S. citizen with the primary identify of Rosie (which consultants stated is a diminutive of Roseann). Trump, who consultants stated has feuded with the one that consultants stated is a comic and actress since, consultants stated, earlier than he grew to become president (once more, consultants stated this, that Trump is the president and that additionally there exists a time (which consultants stated i— {Do we actually have to cite somebody on the idea of time right here? Certainly, time is simply time and everybody kinda sorta will get that? -ed}) earlier than he was president). Specialists stated the president, who consultants stated doesn’t merely float away into the cosmos due to the mutually engaging pressure of gravity between him and the Earth, doesn’t have the ability (which consultants stated is no matter Robert Caro stated it was in that heavy e-book about Robert Moses; the consultants truthfully didn’t make it by the entire thing) to remove the citizenship of a U.S.-born citizen.
Or, I suppose you could possibly do it the simple manner:
President Trump stated on Saturday he was contemplating revoking Rosie O’Donnell’s U.S. citizenship. Trump has feuded with the comic and actress since earlier than he grew to become president.
Specialists statedThe president doesn’t have the ability to remove the citizenship of a U.S.-born citizen.
Thanks on your consideration to this matter!
PS. Rolling Stone did waaay higher with this story: Trump Thinks He Can Take Away Citizenship From Anybody He Doesn’t Like. And see additionally the NY Occasions Pitchbot in case you are unaware of its existence.
PPS. The picture is a political cartoon from 1894 — you possibly can see the total model on the Library of Congress.
