Dear U.S. Media: Please stop reporting both sides.
I know you want to appear impartial. I know you want to be trusted.
But here’s the thing: by reporting ‘sides’ instead of facts, you reinforce the idea that having sides is legitimate. Instead of pushing both sides to acknowledge the truth, you let their opinions stand.
The result? Neither side trusts you. Because you’re no longer digging for the truth, you’re just a parrot, repeating what you’ve been told.
This idea that you need to repeat both sides is itself a political one. It goes back to the days of President Nixon, when his staff used the threat of the loss of FCC licenses to get tv news organizations to spend more time giving the President’s “side” of things. Instead of just sticking to facts.
I know, I know. You think the “truth is in the middle.”
But that’s false.
There was no middle ground between Saddam Hussein having nukes or not.
There’s no middle ground about where President Obama was born.
And there will be no middle ground about the lies a President Trump will tell.
So please, stop pretending to be impartial.
The facts aren’t impartial. The facts always support one side over another.
It’s time you started supporting them.
