How the media should respond to Trump's lies

[elleng]

Last edited Mon Nov 19, 2018, 04:54 PM - Edit history (1)

A linguist explains how Trump uses lies to divert attention from the “big truths.”

'President Donald Trump has hacked the media.

As Vox’s Ezra Klein argued recently, the press is in a lose-lose situation — and we all know it. Trump thrives on opposition, and often the media plays right into his hands, feverishly chasing every lie and half-truth he utters or tweets.

George Lakoff, a professor of linguistics and cognitive science at UC Berkeley and the author of the 2004 book Don’t Think of an Elephant, recently published an article laying out the media’s dilemma. Trump’s “big lie” strategy, he argues, is to “exploit journalistic convention by providing rapid-fire news events for reporters to chase.”

According to Lakoff, the president uses lies to divert attention from the “big truths,” or the things he doesn’t want the media to cover. This allows Trump to create the controversies he wants and capitalize on the outrage and confusion they generate, while simultaneously stoking his base and forcing the press into the role of “opposition party.”

I reached out to Lakoff to talk about Trump’s media strategy, but also, more importantly, about solutions. If the president has indeed turned journalistic conventions to his advantage, how can we, the media, respond constructively?

A lightly edited transcript of our conversation follows.'>>>

https://www.vox.com/2018/11/15/18047360/trump-lies-media-strategy-george-lakoff?

[libdem4life]

1. It's a welcome paradigm shift.

Great article and expose...although the media has known it for some time, glad it's risen to the level of reasoned discussion, thus action.

[elleng]

2. The media has known something about it,

but providing a strategy for media (and all of us) should be useful.

[libdem4life]

3. And probably encouraged by the Midterms...

It will be interesting watching how it unfolds...something entirely new and unique...how not to report Fake News. Fitting.

[elleng]

5. No, much too 'simple.'

START with FACTS, then state their misstatement, then reiterate FACTS.

Do NOT 'call them out,' do not try to shame them, deal with FACTS.

[canetoad]

6. Good read

Thank you for posting.