Russiagate and the Dry Rot in American Journalism

http://www.counterpunch.org/2019/05/24/russiagate-and-the-dry-rot-in-american-journalism/
Date Written:  2019-05-24
Publisher:  CounterPunch
Year Published:  2019
Resource Type:  Article
Cx Number:  CX23683

The idea that Trump colluded with Russia to steal the 2016 election is used by both liberals and the right to maintain the status quo. Comparisons to Hunter S. Thompson show how staid mainstream news has become.

Abstract: 
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Excerpt:

Although it would've been helpful to reflect on why the most unpopular political candidate in the history of opinion polls won against the well-funded and connected Clinton empire, the technicalities behind Trump's ascendancy were overshadowed in the mainstream by the now-debunked conspiracy that Trump colluded with Russia -- a narrative that completely engulfed the D.C. media establishment for most of Donald's presidency....

Long before the false narratives of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction and Russian collusion took over the U.S. airwaves and minds, [Hunter S.] Thompson watched traditional journalism fail to properly cover the Nixon-Kennedy debates, JFK's assassination, LBJ's Vietnam escalation, and Nixon's political comeback, Brinkley points out. Unsatisfied with the complacency of "elite" writers, the Kentuckian aimed to stand above literary movements....

Some of those who advanced the narrative of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq in 2003 are the same ones who pushed conspiracy theories about Russia after the 2016 elections—they showed they can be trusted to disseminate the desired narrative and were rewarded accordingly. The results are evident? -- ?a 16-year military conflict based on false pretenses, and a three-year media time warp in which Russia (and Trump) occupied much of mainstream media's attention.