The coming campaign to plant false stories in the media
MSNBC’s Joy Reid has been subjected to a campaign to discredit her based on offensive blogs she may have written many years ago. There is evidence that it is a smear job, but as she acknowledged on her show on April 28, she might never be able to definitely prove it. The culprit could be Bernie Sanders’ supporters who are enraged by her criticism of their preferred presidential candidate. But two other alternatives should send chills up the spines of any member of the media who have been critical of President Donald Trump.
The campaign to discredit members of the media is likely to intensify as more damaging revelations about Trump are revealed. For a President who stoops to giving out “Fake News Awards”, finding actual examples of this phenomenon are critical to preserving any semblance of credibility outside his delusional base of supporters.
Trump almost got his wish with MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, who was given an explosive forged National Security Agency documents back in July 2017. If she fell for the hoax and aired the segment, Maddow’s career would have been ruined. A persistent media thorn in Trump’s side would have been sidelined.
The steady trickle of embarrassing and potential criminal investigative articles and television segments are going to become a flood. Trump’s “no collusion” mantra will get more ludicrous by the day. Make no mistake, the President spends an inordinate amount of time plotting how to preserve his presidency, personal freedom and reputation that is almost in tatters. Every trick in the book will be tried. Maddow is hardly the first or last media figure who will be targeted. If you are on the Trump beat in the New York Times, Washington Post or other outlets, watch out. Double, triple and quadruple check your sources.
J.H. Norton is a communications professional, life-long Democrat, and married father of two boys living in Washington, D.C.