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Pathological Media Amnesia – MS NOW
Ken is going to be extremely cross with…himself.
The resident intelligence correspondent for MS NOW, Ken Dilanian, has very firm opinions about the news released by the FBI. Note the use of the plural form of “opinions”.
A few years ago, there was some contested acceptance of the national crime stats put out by the Bureau, because it was seen (by those who actually looked) that after a new data collection system was employed, several larger cities were not submitting their crime numbers. This led, unsurprisingly, to sharp drops in crime, which the Biden administration was taking credit for, despite no real crime initiatives being put into play. At the time, Ken was bitter about anyone who dared question the efficacy of FBI statistics.
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Now, flash forward to the current day. As the FBI comes out with numbers showing a drop in most major crimes, Mr. Dilanian is casting severe doubt on the data, in what he would call “a Republican fashion”.
This is not surprising at all but it's still pretty amazing to see.
— MAZE (@mazemoore) May 21, 2026
September, 2024. Ken Dilanian criticizes Republicans for questioning the crime data put out by Biden's FBI.
"The FBI doesn't make these numbers up...The Republicans and others are pushing the narrative that… pic.twitter.com/nC8GYP3RoE
Gilded Reframe – USA TODAY
This was written by A.I., wasn’t it???
Sometimes you just end up shaking your head at the activity in the press; we here at RFTH are torn between it being a case of audaciousness or obliviousness. For this example, we lean on the latter, but that is in no way excusable.
On Tuesday, Pennsylvania held primary elections, and USA Today posted the results…sort of. The outlet has claimed that Democrats swept the elections and that many Republicans had been “ousted” from office.
One — major — problem.
These were, again, primaries, and the state holds closed primary balloting. No office was declared, no party “won” any seat, and certainly no party switches have taken place. It would seem this was crafted using A.I., because in many areas, they simply were using the voter turnout numbers in the races.
Since the original posting, the outlet has changed the headline and altered some of the copy to reflect that. Now it announces that this story was updated for clarity and to add new information.
Unofficial results of Pennsylvania's 2026 primary election are in. Here's how Pittsburgh residents voted. https://t.co/7rJPUnygJP
— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) May 20, 2026
News Avoidance Syndrome – CNN
We want to suggest they do a follow-up investigation, but really it would be the initial investigation.
In one of the more pathetic examples of the condition of our press industry, back in January, when Nick Shirley had made tectonic impacts on the fraud found in Minneapolis, the news outlets took action to start investigating – Nick Shirley. The desire not to report on a Democrat-run state committing rampant fraud meant discrediting the “MAGA YouTube blogger” was the goal.
So Shirley was dismissed as a valid news source, and the scant investigation CNN undertook involved asking the people who ran these bogus centers if they had committed any fraud. In a pathetic segment on the network, they filmed their reporter calling the centers to ask if they were committing fraud; that led to predictable results.
Reminder: After Nick Shirley’s reporting in Minneapolis, CNN sent a 'reporter' to ‘investigate' by making calls from a hotel.
— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) May 21, 2026
But instead of being interested in actually investigating any fraud, they were hoping to discredit Shirley.
This is CNN.pic.twitter.com/VS86CuTnbY https://t.co/xTDtP0rq6g
SHOCKINGLY, none of them admitted to criminal behavior. Well, there is now an update, as it turns out, those centers claiming innocence have become charged with federal crimes.
Minnesota fraud: Minneapolis day care owner featured in Nick Shirley video federally charged https://t.co/PCGrcXKEtd
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 20, 2026
Legalized Press-titution – VARIETY
Look, we know you guys are an entertainment outlet, but you need to learn when something is newsworthy.
Amid the incessant coverage of Stephen Colbert’s last week on the air (really folks, we are ALMOST done…), there was this (un)needed report by Variety on the appearance of actor Robert De Niro on the set.
De Niro, on with Stephen Colbert…just what are the odds he would say something negative about President Trump? We would have guessed that on Kalshi, you would actually lose money by correctly betting on that to happen.
If De Niro went the entire segment without a word on the president, then THAT would have been the news to report.
Robert De Niro Sends Off Stephen Colbert by Slamming Trump With Epstein Jab https://t.co/LLgHsNWcAk
— Variety (@Variety) May 21, 2026
DNC PR Firm – LOS ANGELES TIMES
Your position is already obvious - how about some facts, maybe?
It is now becoming an almost daily effort from the LA Times; the paper has made it clear that they do not want Spencer Pratt to become mayor of Los Angeles. In the latest salvo (not “silo”), the Times has columnist Gustavo Arellano stepping up. While he is not completely lashing out at Pratt, and even gives some tepid praise, the overall impression is that it is wrong of Pratt to sell the concept of L.A. being a troubled city.
But then, deeper in his column, Arellano makes a disqualifying turn. He comments on how a former Times writer, now at The Atlantic, is on Team Pratt, and states he serves as a factory reset for the city. Arellano challenges this, but manages to illustrate that the city has a long history of being a mess.
Resetting to when, Meghan? The 2000s of the Great Recession? The 1990s of anti-immigrant policies, the Northridge earthquake and the riots? The 1980s and their out-of-control gangs? The white flight of the 1960s? The 1950s of legal segregation and hideous smog?
"Pratt’s loudest fans fundamentally loathe modern-day L.A., and that should chill all other Angelenos," writes The Times' columnist Gustavo Arellano.
— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) May 20, 2026
Read his latest column: https://t.co/Uc75s8FN9l pic.twitter.com/KZQ3Nzhj5K
Glossary Over things – REUTERS
The reason you use that term is for prior legal decisions, gang.
The current dose of outrage in the press involves the president and the IRS. There is the settlement arrived at, the payouts, and then the move to have Trump and his family protected against any future weaponization of the tax service.
To see how bothered this is to journalists, Reuters covered this activity and said that this was rooted in the alleged mishandling of Trump’s tax records.
U.S. President Donald Trump's administration created a nearly $1.8 billion fund to compensate victims of political "weaponization" to settle a lawsuit Trump had filed against his own government over the alleged mishandling of his tax records.
— Reuters (@Reuters) May 21, 2026
Democrats and some Republicans have… pic.twitter.com/Zmyj6Nuo9R
Okay, gang? At this stage, you can drop the “allegedly” qualifier. Trump’s taxes were lifted from the agency; they were given to the NY Times, which printed them before the election, and the person who stole them was sentenced to five years in prison.
