As I am sure you are aware, yesterday there was a shooting at a Catholic school in Minneapolis. The shooter, who killed two children, injured 17 or 18 other children and adults, then killed himself, left a video and a “manifesto”.
The material he left made it clear he was filled with hatred. Within that material, there was an image of a gun, with the words “kill Donald Trump” on it.
Now, here is how ABC News “journalist” aaron katersky reported this (the bold print is mine):
“23-year-old Robin Westman was able to leave what police called a video manifesto that they’re now going through to try to establish motive.
“We’ve also been going through it, and I can tell you there are crude diagrams of the church. There are also photos of the weapons, and they include all sorts of writings, the names of past mass shooters, criticism of Israel, the name of President Trump written on the guns.
“There are also racial slurs, nihilistic statements, all painting the picture of a disturbed individual who carried out this mass shooting on the first week of school at the Annunciation Church in Minneapolis.”
What would you conclude from that “news” report?
The wording used by katersky clearly leads you to a conclusion that the shooter was some right wing, hate-filled Trump lover, who shot and killed people on his behalf, doesn’t it? After all, he wrote “the name of President Trump written on the guns” used to shoot those peope, right? Just like he was doing Trump’s bidding.
See, all you have to do is leave out the actual context of Trump’s name being there; what it actually said. That way you can lead viewers to believe the shooter was operating on Trump’s behalf.
The reality, of course, is that this sick lunatic hated Trump and wanted him dead – just as much as he hated “filthy Zionists” (his term, not mine). The exact opposite of what katersky intentionally led you to believe.
If that were my newsroom, aaron katersky would be cleaning out his desk right now and wondering where his next job would be. But does this “journalist” still have a job at ABC News? You bet he does.
And does this give you another reason not to trust a thing that comes out of ABC News (among other media venues)? You bet it does.
Congratulations, aaron katersky and congratulations, ABC News, for reconfirming my attitude about the current state of your profession.
