Hook: Friends, let’s cut the chase and highlight the recent viral video chaos stirred by the mainstream media, spearheaded by NBC. The media is going in overtime to defend President Biden, portrayed in an uncomfortable cognitive state in Italy’s G7 summit. What’s even laughable is the media’s attempting to term the video as forged despite evident proofs.
Body: Cast a glance at the video that spread like wildfire in no time. The clip showed President Biden at the G7 assembly in Italy, appearing aimless before the Italian Prime Minister pulled him back into the group. Now, NBC steps in and states that Biden was not lost, but trying to greet skydivers just landing from their exhibition. Somehow, this counter-narrative best suited the media, ignoring the fact that Biden was clearly not fully present during the photo op. Italian Prime Minister Meloni had a whale of a time pulling Biden back into the frame.
NBC’s Gabe Gutierrez took an interview with Biden’s top aide. He boldly termed the video as a “cheap fake” which was a selectively cut video. However, Gutierrez graciously delved into the G7 mishap and acknowledged the other examples that left everyone questioning Biden’s cognitive health.
In a fragment of just propaganda, Gutierrez attempted to undermine the G7 video’s credibility. Nevertheless, the media could hardly shield Biden from his biggest liabilities: ageing and cognitive decline.
NBC Nightly News aired the report we are discussing on June 20, 2024. Both Biden and NBC seemed hell-bent on labelling the video as “cheap fake.” However, the term is yet to be appropriately defined. Rob Flaherty, Biden’s deputy campaign manager, quite conveniently stayed vague on the matter. His primary focus was on criticising the Trump campaign and accusing it of taking every opportunity to vilify Biden’s image.
However, the Trump team presented a solid argument that no misleading or manipulative editing techniques were applied to the videos. They merely broadcasted unaltered videos that raised suspicions about Biden’s cognitive health, laughs at the media scrambling to safeguard Biden’s impairment.
The Trump campaign also accused the Biden team of twisting Trump’s words out of context. Here we see an irony in the world; the allegation of misinformation was the very tool they used to fight back.
Moreover, the 2024 election may fall prey to false information, including untraceable A.I.-generated deep fakes, according to the FBI and Department of Homeland Security.
Conclusion: Long story short, the media, especially NBC, needs a reality check. It’s high time they put down their self-assumed role of defending Biden’s cognitive mishaps. Instead, as professional news outlets, they should uphold the principles of journalism: accuracy and impartiality. It’s okay to report the unfiltered version of Biden stumbling at the G7 sourced from a legitimate clip rather than becoming the grandmasters of the propaganda chessboard.
