Media top headlines August 16
In media news today, CNN gets accused of 'fear porn' for hyping story about Florida teachers who died from COVID without context, MSNBC's Joy Reid compares America's religious right to the Taliban, and Snopes catches its co-founder plagiarizing
MSNBC host Joy Reid continued her efforts to deflect criticism away from Democrats Sunday as pressure mounted on President Joe Biden's administration over the turmoil in Afghanistan following the U.S. troop withdrawal and subsequent Taliban takeover.
In a lengthy rant on social media, the far-left host implored her followers to not lose focus on domestic issues she claimed were a threat to Americans at home, as well as trying to redirect criticism onto Republicans.
"Meanwhile, we are gonna have to walk and chew gum at the same time, folks. At this hour, voting rights in the U.S. are still hanging by a thread. Gerrymandering is about to disenfranchise millions of Americans of color who the Census show should be gaining more power, not less," Reid wrote on Twitter. "We are facing a national security threat from white nationalists who feel empowered and emboldened, thanks to a former president of the United States and a major political party that's willing to ride violent extremism into power."
Reid claimed "religious extremism" was attempting to push theocratic rule in the U.S., blasted those not yet vaccinated against the coronavirus, and accused the right of becoming violent in their opposition to local and federal government entities implementing measures to fight the pandemic.
She added climate change to her list of issues, citing heatwaves, fires, earthquakes and "other Earth-devastating Hell" caused by humans.
"Our plate is so damned full, America. And to add to it, we've got this huge and urgent moral obligation to save as many Afghans from the sheer hell of a Taliban Gilead on top of it all. God help us all," she wrote.
The hyperpartisan Reid also compared the religious right in the U.S. to the Islamists terrorizing Afghanistan.
Reid's apparent deflection comes as the Biden administration faces increasing scrutiny, even from the liberal media, over his handling of the crisis in Afghanistan and the removal of U.S. soldiers before all American civilian personnel were evacuated.
CRITICS BLAST MSNBC HOST'S COMPARISON OF AMERICA'S RELIGIOUS RIGHT TO THE TALIBAN: ‘DUMB OR EVIL?’
It also follows prior attempts to deflect criticism away from Democrats amid New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's sexual harassment scandal and subsequent resignation.
In a monologue on Aug. 5, Reid attempted to turn the conversation away from Cuomo to instead criticize conservatives who wanted him gone but didn't call on former President Donald Trump or Supreme Court Justices Brett Kavanaugh or Clarence Thomas to resign amid the "credible" claims against them.
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"My point is none of these holy, holy MAGA Trumpers ever spoke a word about any of this, so you're just gonna have to forgive me if my response to their demands that Democrats answer for Andrew Cuomo is to tell them to kindly fart off," Reid said.
Fox News' Joseph A. Wulfsohn contributed to this report.
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