Posted in: Opinion, streaming, TV, TV | Tagged: biden, cnn, opinion, trump

CNN: Fact-Checking Not Tapper, Bash's Job; That's Up to Biden, Trump

CNN issued a statement saying it wasn't Jake Tapper and Dana Bash's job to fact-check during the debate - that was up to Biden and Trump.

UPDATE: Shortly after we ran our thoughts on the trainwreck of a debate that CNN and moderators Jake Tapper and Dana Bash held on Thursday night between President Joe Biden and ex-reality show host, multi-impeached ex-POTUS, and convicted felon Donald Trump, the news network is responding to the smackdown it's receiving on social media and in the mainstream press for allowing Trump to spew misinformation unchecked. In fact, CNN's own accounting – when it actually did fact-check (after the debate was over and as part of their post-debate coverage) – found Trump dropping more than 30 steaming piles of lies during the disaster, to Biden's at least nine.

But it doesn't matter because, as the news network sees it, it's the role of the candidates to fact-check one another – not the journalists moderating the debate… journalists whose job it is to get to the truth and inform the viewers. "The role of the moderators is to present the candidates with questions that are important to American voters and to facilitate a debate, enabling candidates to make their case and challenge their opponent. It is up to the candidates to challenge one another in a debate," shared a CNN spokesperson to Variety. In fact, the statement goes on to say that "CNN offered robust fact-checking coverage in post-debate analysis on TV and across our digital platforms during and following the debate's conclusion."

CNN, Tapper, Bash Debate Debacle Sparks Biden/Trump Dumpster Fire

Knock-knock. Who's there? CNN's Jake Tapper and Dana Bash. "CNN's Jake Tapper and Dana Bash" who? And that really is the biggest question coming out of Thursday night's "debate" between President Joe Biden and ex-reality show host, multi-impeached ex-POTUS, and convicted felon Donald Trump, isn't it? Let's get the debate out of the way first, though. From Biden, we got exactly what we would've expected from an old guy who spent most of the day making campaign stops and then had to get on the stage for debate. From Trump, we got the same flowing wave of nonsensical bullshit and outright lies that we've come to expect from the convicted criminal with absolutely no record to stand on. If you were expecting some kind of "The American President" moment, then I don't know what to tell you other than the real world isn't a Marvel movie – or is it? Because rarely does real life give us a choice that is so painfully easy to make that if it was a script being pitched, it would be rejected for being righteously too unrealistic. Freedom or fascist dictatorship. In simpler terms? A delicious slice of pizza or a punch to the face. This year's election isn't an "issues" election – it's a "survival" election. And that's where CNN, Tapper, and Bash come in…

In terms of being a "news network," Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav's CNN continues its drive to be mentioned in the same conversations as FOX "News" – maybe that's a good thing ratings-wise, but it kinda tanks any chances you have at "journalistic integrity." In fact, from now on, let's refer to CNN as "Cnn" due to how small it's gotten over the years. As for Tappper and Bash, I would like a chance to ask them this. What would the difference have been if we just had two coats on hangers replacing you? Oh, you need someone to ask the questions? You could've had literally anyone record them ahead of time. It's not like Tapper and Bash were doing any pushback or real follow-up – and fact-checking? Tapper and Bash weren't having any of that – because why would you want the American voters to actually know when someone's telling the truth and someone's lying? That would actually mean that Cnn would… have to do its job?!? 

So, where do things stand at this point? Moving forward, any debate that doesn't have real-time fact-checking isn't worth the screen time – they just become glorified infomercials for the candidate, no different than those "town halls." I'm sure Tapper and Bash's Cnn colleagues will rally around them and try to paint them as being unfairly treated and how they were put into a "tough position." Stop it. They put themselves in that position by sitting on their journalistic responsibility to cut through the lies and get to the truth for their viewers – the voters. Instead, Cnn used the truth as a sales tactic to get viewers to check out their post-debate coverage.

Yes, that's right – Cnn did do fact-checking… after the debate was over. I saw a clip of it on Twitter – not from Cnn but from someone else. Because Cnn couldn't even get around to posting a fact-checking video on its YouTube channel (at least at the time that this was written). But it was never really ever about the voters or even the candidates – it was never about the substance. Cnn wanted "sizzle." What we all got was a dumpster fire.

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