10/10/17 — Casual Inference =/= Challenge
#1: May I challenge you to an IQ test good sir?
Fox News: Trump challenges Tillerson to battle of IQ tests over reported ‘moron’ jab
Vox: President Trump challenges his own secretary of state to compare “IQ tests”
CNN: Trump boasts of a higher IQ than Tillerson
Breitbart: Who’s the moron? Trump challenges Tillerson to IQ test
CBS News: Trump says if Tillerson’s “moron” comment is true, “We’ll have to compare IQ tests”
The media doesn’t always pit itself against one another. Sometimes, they hold hands and skip together when they find a good click-bait worthy story. On Tuesday, Forbes released an exclusive interview with POTUS. In the interview, President Trump was asked about NBC’s story saying Sec of State Tillerson called him a ‘moron’ (Tillerson has denied). POTUS told Forbes, “I think it’s fake news. But if he did that, I guess we’ll have to compare IQ tests.” Somehow the media read that as Trump challenging Tillerson to a battle of the wits! I guess we’ll have to compare is very different than challenges, can we all agree? However, most of the media decided to go with a headline that would get the most clicks. CBS News had the least misleading headline. Thx.
#2: Hollywood n’ politics
Mediaite: Former Clinton Campaign Manager: ‘Disappointing’ Hillary Hasn’t ‘Condemned’ Weinstein
Fox News: Bill and Hillary Clinton Silent on Harvey Weinstein
CNN: As Democrats denounce Weinstein, Clintons and Obama stay mum
Hollywood Reporter: Hillary Clinton’s Former VP Pick Is “Sure” She’ll Discuss Harvey Weinstein Allegations
The Hill: Kaine to CNN: Hillary will speak on Weinstein ‘when the time is right’
The Daily Caller: Hillary Clinton Finally Speaks On Harvey Weinstein
CNN: Hillary Clinton condemns longtime Democratic donor Harvey Weinstein
Fox News: Hillary Clinton breaks silence on Harvey Weinstein: ‘I was shocked and appalled’
Hold your horses people. Everyone is always in a rush to publish a story. In this case, the media was on edge wondering why Hillary Clinton had not condemned Harvey Weinstein (a Clinton supporter and donor) for sexual harassment accusations. After only a few days, the media was jumping on her for a statement. The statement came today (I imagine after Clinton was sure this was true), but that didn’t stop the press from getting the click-bait out ahead of time.
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