Fake news alert!
So, ABC first poisoned the airwaves with the news that candidate Trump ordered Mike Flynn to speak to the Russians, which was completely false. It was “President-elect” Trump (big difference) who issued the order. There is absolutely nothing improper with a President-elect issuing such a directive.
ABC’s scoop was reported by news outlets across the country and around the world. The stock market nosedived as a result.
Then, to make matters much worse, ABC waited until the black hole of weekly news, Friday night, when the fewest possible people are watching or listening, to correct their stunning violation, even though they obviously knew about their false reporting hours earlier.
It is my guess that ABC knew their report was false BEFORE they blasted it across the airwaves, and they intentionally waited until Friday night to correct it, knowing that no one would be listening and that media outlets who repeated their fake news would likewise reach the fewest viewers.
In a perfect world, the FCC would fine ABC a billion dollars for this monumental violation of journalistic ethics, which should eventually put a stop to the mainstream media fake news, all aimed at damaging the Trump presidency. While the President does not control the FCC, it is a part of the executive branch, and if it has any oversight responsibility at all, then it must deal with this.
When intentional fake news from the mainstream media causes the stock market to tank, a corrective response is required, lest they destroy the nation’s economy. Fine ABC into bankruptcy!
From Mediaite
ABC News’ major report on Michael Flynn and President Trump‘s direction on reaching out to the Russians has been corrected. Hours later. And Twitter is ripping the network over it.
Per multiple reports earlier, Brian Ross‘ report that Flynn is expected to testify Trump directed him to meet with Russians “as a candidate” was followed minutes later by a drop in the stock market.
But as Ross clarified on World News Tonight (video here), it was as President-elect, not as a candidate, and that is kind of a major difference.
ABC News also tweeted out a clarification and deleted its earlier tweet:
CLARIFICATION of ABC News Special Report: Flynn prepared to testify that President-elect Donald Trump directed him to make contact with the Russians *during the transition* — initially as a way to work together to fight ISIS in Syria, confidant now says. https://t.co/ewrkVZBTbc pic.twitter.com/GQAKwT1Eda
— ABC News (@ABC) December 2, 2017
Twitter pretty much flipped out over the major correction:
That's a huge correction https://t.co/EIMaE0EkGu
— Peter J. Hasson (@peterjhasson) December 1, 2017
ABC News and Brian Ross did more to help Trump today with their irresponsible Flynn plea deal reporting than Trump could've ever asked for.
— Josh Jordan (@NumbersMuncher) December 2, 2017
Astonishing. The story moved markets, set off a media frenzy, suggested worst possible outcome. This is called a massive correction, or retraction, not clarification. https://t.co/uVUamf4jYY
— Jim VandeHei (@JimVandeHei) December 2, 2017
https://twitter.com/kyletblaine/status/936748751804395521
Mainstream media lost trust a long time ago. Regaining it will be a decades-long effort. First, there must be an established record of HONEST reporting. Second, the liberal bias must go! There is a reason the MSM is dying and the right-wing blogosphere exploding. HONESTY!
— Powdered Wig Society (@Patreeit) December 2, 2017
What makes it worse is that ABC won’t admit its error and now tries to sugar coat it with now calling their correction just a ‘clarification’ – (and other news organizations of course repeated ABC original story) https://t.co/bgZhtK40wB
— Greta Van Susteren (@greta) December 2, 2017
Yep! It's what the mainstream media does, which is also why they are dying.
— Powdered Wig Society (@Patreeit) December 2, 2017
Sigh, actually more like a mind numbing primal scream. But that's just me. https://t.co/vzd0ZDyjSA
— SalenaZito (@SalenaZito) December 2, 2017
https://twitter.com/KFILE/status/936767307946385408
This is not a “clarification,” this is a huge effing difference. ABC report first said Trump direction came *during the campaign*. Market literally ranked because of that. https://t.co/1iymWUL50Q
— Anthony Zurcher (@awzurcher) December 2, 2017
This is in no way a clarification. It is a massive correction. https://t.co/W4GEx8lCX6
— Jessica Huseman (@JessicaHuseman) December 2, 2017
https://twitter.com/SopanDeb/status/936748041251577858
Great job, fellas. Really first class. It's been what, seven hours or so? On a Friday evening? Spectacular. https://t.co/FSAqZimVUw
— Ed Morrissey (@EdMorrissey) December 2, 2017
Very differenthttps://t.co/eBaVka0nih
— Stephen Hayes (@stephenfhayes) December 2, 2017
That's not a clarification. That's a retraction. A totally different story. https://t.co/0dJAB7wEvq
— Adam Davidson (@adamdavidson) December 2, 2017
ABC News' correction to bombshell Flynn report came after I had contacted them to ask why @BrianRoss' initial reporting wasn't in network's online story: https://t.co/qZRjfEBbwA pic.twitter.com/lqdVi0163H
— Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) December 2, 2017
