[Karah]

IT’S BEEN FOUR YEARS SINCE TRUMP SUPPORTERS TOOK TO THE CAPITOL ON JANUARY 6 2021 – IN PROTEST OF THE 2020 ELECTION.

THE EVENTS THAT UNFOLDED THAT DAY – WILL GO DOWN IN HISTORY BOOKS.

BUT JANUARY SIXTH – IS A HIGHLY POLITICALLY CHARGED EVENT – WITH THE LEFT AND RIGHT REFLECTING ON THE DAY IN VERY DIFFERENT WAYS.

AND SAME GOES FOR THE MEDIA.

THE CONTRAST IN HOW NEWS OUTLETS HAVE COVERED JANUARY SIXTH – AND PRESENTED DIFFERENT SETS OF FACTS –

THAT’S THE FOCUS OF TODAY’S BIAS BREAKDOWN.

HERE’S THE CONTRAST IN COVERAGE IN THE HEADLINES.

NEWS OUTLETS WITH A LEFT POLITICAL BIAS –

LIKE THE NEW YORK TIMES. “A DAY OF LOVE”: HOW TRUMP INVERTED THE VIOLENT HISTORY OF JAN. 6”

NPR – “AS TRUMP REWRITES HISTORY, VICTIMS OF THE RIOT SAY THEY FEEL BETRAYED”

AND POLITICO – “JAN. 6 2021 IS IN THE REARVIEW. THE BATTLE TO DEFINE IT FOR HISTORY IS IN FULL SWING.”

NOW – HEADLINES FROM RIGHT-LEANING OUTLETS –

LIKE THE WASHINGTON TIMES – “HOW THE HOUSE GOP UPENDED DEMOCRATS’ JANUARY SIXTH NARRATIVE”

THE FEDERALIST – “The Legacy Of Jan. 6 Should Be Massive Reform Of The FBI And DOJ.”

AND THE DAILY WIRE – “A TALE OF TWO JANUARY SIXTHS”

EVENTS OF THAT DAY – HAVE BEEN TOLD DIFFERENTLY FOR YEARS NOW.

THE LEFT LARGELY PRAISED THE JANUARY SIXTH COMMITTEE’S INVESTIGATION WHICH FOUND TRUMP INCITED THE RIOT AND RECOMMENDED CRIMINAL CHARGES FOR THE FORMER PRESIDENT.

THE RIGHT – LARGELY WORKED TO DISCREDIT THE JAN 6 COMMITTEE – WITH HOUSE REPUBLICANS RELEASING A REPORT ACCUSING MEMBERS OF “DELETING” AND “HIDING” EVIDENCE TO “PROMOTE A POLITICAL NARRATIVE.”

THE LEFT HAS LARGELY CONDEMNED JANUARY SIXTH PRISONERS WHILE MANY ON THE RIGHT HAVE CALLED FOR THEIR RELEASE.

THE LEFT LARGELY BLAMES TRUMP FOR AN INSURRECTION.

THE RIGHT LARGELY BLAMES LACK OF PROPER CAPITOL SECURITY FOR THE BREACH.

EVEN DEATHS HAVE BEEN POLITICIZED.

FOUR POLICE OFFICERS COMMITTED SUICIDE IN THE DAYS AND MONTHS THAT FOLLOWED THE BREACH AT THE CAPITOL.

WHETHER TO LINK THEIR DEATHS TO JANUARY SIXTH HAS BECOME A POLITICAL FOOTBALL.

AND ASHLI BABBIT WHO WAS SHOT AND KILLED BY A CAPITOL POLICE OFFICER INSIDE THE CAPITOL DURING THE RIOT WAS MENTIONED ON THE FOUR YEAR ANNIVERSARY MOSTLY BY THOSE ON THE RIGHT. 

WHEN SOMEONE IS READING AN ARTICLE TO GET THE NEWS –

IT’S IMPORTANT TO DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN OPINION ARTICLES AND NEWS REPORTS.

NEARLY EVERY NEWS ORGANIZATION HAS OPINION SECTIONS.

BUT THESE EXAMPLES OF NEWS ARTICLES WE’RE USING – ARE **NOT OPINION PIECES.

SO THE FOLLOWING EXCERPTS ARE PRESENTED AS FACTUAL STATEMENTS.

BUT THE FACTS – READ DIFFERENTLY BASED ON THE OUTLET’S POLITICAL BIAS.

THE NEW YORK TIMES – A LEFT-LEANING NEWS OUTLET – WROTE –

“Violent rioters — prosecuted, convicted and imprisoned — somehow became patriotic martyrs. This inverted interpretation defied what the country had watched unfold, but it neatly fit the persecution narrative that binds Mr. Trump to many of his faithful. Once he committed to running again for president, he doubled down on flipping the script about the riot and its blowback, including a congressional inquiry and two criminal indictments against him, as part of an orchestrated victimization. That day was an American calamity.”

THE FEDERALIST – A NEWS OUTLET ON THE RIGHT – WROTE – 

“For Democrats and the left, Jan. 6 is the events that vindicates their hatred of Donald Trump and his supporters. They would have us believe it was among the darkest days in our nation’s history…the real tragedy of Jan. 6 wasn’t what happened on that day but what happened afterwards, when the Biden administration weaponized the Justice Department and the FBI to prosecute more than 1,500 people, the vast majority of whom did nothing wrong.”

THE POLITICAL DIVIDE OVER THAT DAY – WAS EVIDENT IN HOW LAWMAKERS COMMEMORATED JANUARY SIXTH.

HERE ARE SOME OF THE MESSAGES FROM LAWMAKERS ON THE FOUR YEAR ANNIVERSARY.

DEMOCRATIC SENATOR AMY KLOBUCHAR POSTED ON X “Four years ago, the electoral vote certification was interrupted by a violent mob. Police officers were injured and killed. Our democracy hung in the balance.”

A COMMUNITY NOTE ON X WAS PUT ON KLOBUCHAR’S POST – THAT READ “NO OFFICERS WERE KILLED.” 

REPUBLICAN CONGRESSWOMAN MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE POSTED ON X –

“Four years ago today, a military veteran and unarmed protestor, Ashli Babbitt, was murdered in cold blood by a disgraced police officer…We will never forget Ashli.” 

SENATE MAJORITY LEADER CHUCK SCHUMER POSTED – “It is utterly shameful that the president-elect is considering pardons for January 6 rioters. Pardoning criminals who waved Confederate flags, donned Nazi symbols, assaulted police officers, and tried to halt the democratic process would be a dangerous endorsement of political violence.”

REPUBLICAN CONGRESSMAN MIKE COLLINS POSTED IN PART –

“On #ThisDayInHistory in 2021, thousands of peaceful grandmothers gathered in Washington, D.C., to take a self-guided, albeit unauthorized, tour of the U.S. Capitol building.

Since then, hundreds of peaceful protestors have been hunted down, arrested, held in solitary confinement, and treated unjustly.”

IT’S NOT JUST MEDIA AND LAWMAKERS WITH DIFFERENT TAKES ON THAT DAY.

BUT PEOPLE – LIKE VIEWERS OF **THIS STORY – DISAGREE ON TRUMP’S ROLE AND THE CONSEQUENCES  FOR JANUARY RIOTERS – DEPENDING ON POLITICAL VIEWPOINTS. 

ACCORDING TO A YOUGOV POLL RELEASED LAST WEEK –

79 PERCENT OF LIBERALS POLLED SAY TRUMP INCITED VIOLENCE –

COMPARED TO 11 PERCENT OF CONSERVATIVES.

AND A CBS POLL RELEASED THIS WEEK FOUND 72 PERCENT OF REPUBLICANS SUPPORT PARDONS FOR JANUARY SIXTH PRISONERS COMPARED TO 41 PERCENT OF DEMOCRATS.

HOW THE HISTORY OF THAT DAY WILL BE TOLD IN 50 OR 200 YEARS – THERE’S NO WAY OF KNOWING.

BUT HOW ITS BEING TOLD FOUR YEARS LATER –

DIFFERS GREATLY DEPENDING ON THE POLITICAL BIAS OF THE MEDIA AND PEOPLE.

WHICH MEANS THE STORY COULD DIFFER YEARS FROM NOW – DEPENDING ON THE POLITICAL BIAS OF WHICH HISTORIANS TELL THE STORY.

AND THAT’S YOUR BIAS BREAKDOWN.

HEY THANKS FOR WATCHING THIS WEEK’S EPISODE.

REMEMBER YOU CAN FIND MORE EPISODES OF BIAS BREAKDOWN ON ANY PLATFORM WHERE YOU LISTEN TO PODCASTS –

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REMEMBER – I’M HERE TO SHOW HOW MEDIA OUTLETS CAN TELL THE SAME STORY IN SEVERAL DIFFERENT WAYS DEPENDING ON THEIR POLITICAL PERSPECTIVES.

SO IF YOU WERE TO ONLY READ ONE NEWS ARTICLE, YOU MAY HAVE GOTTEN A SLANTED VIEWPOINT.

THAT’S WHERE THE INDUSTRY IS CURRENTLY AT.

NEWS OUTLETS HAVE LEANED INTO THEIR OWN POLITICAL BIASES.

SEVERAL MEDIA WATCH DOG ORGANIZATIONS “RATE” NEWS OUTLETS DEPENDING ON THEIR POLITICAL BIAS.

STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS HAS BEEN RATED AS BEING DOWN THE CENTER.

IT’S A RARE FIELD THESE DAYS BUT SOMETHING WE’RE PROUD OF.

SO FOLLOW US, SUBSCRIBE, AND IF YOU LIKED THIS VIDEO, THEN GIVE US A LIKE OR REVIEW SO WE CAN CONTINUE TO GROW FROM THE GROUND UP.

I’M KARAH RUCKER. THANKS FOR HAVING ME AS YOUR HOST.

HAVE A GREAT DAY AND I’LL SEE YOU NEXT TIME!