Yesterday, Buzzfeed ran a nutty piece of unverified garbage concerning President elect Donald Trump and told readers to decide for themselves whether or not it was true.
It was a crappy moment for American journalism. Media organizations like Buzzfeed are supposed to be full of professionals who investigate this information and responsibly disseminate it to consumers. It was the sort of thing that happens at the “fake news” sites Buzzfeed editors love to hate, but it indulged liberal fantasies about a president they very much dislike, and it drove traffic, so they ran with it anyway, abdicating any credibility they had left.
Donald Trump was none too happy. First, he tweeted this:
‘BuzzFeed Runs Unverifiable Trump-Russia Claims’ #FakeNews https://t.co/d6daCFZHNh
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 11, 2017
and this:
Intelligence agencies should never have allowed this fake news to “leak” into the public. One last shot at me.Are we living in Nazi Germany?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 11, 2017
But that wasn’t all. At a press conference at 11am this morning, the shit hit the proverbial fan. When Trump was asked to discuss the tweet, he elaborated.
Well said, Mr. Trump. We stand with journalists who are pursuing legitimate stories that hold the powerful accountable. We welcome journalists calling Mr. Trump on the carpet if he abuses his power. But that’s not what Buzzfeed did. Buzzfeed made stuff up, and making stuff up is just “garbage.”
