(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Opinion: WSJ Allows Propaganda in Opinion Pieces [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2023-10-21 The Wall Street Journal has been a respected newspaper for a long time and it has always been clear their editorials have a conservative lean. It is sad to say that many of their editorials and opinion pieces are simply not fact-checked, some can even be considered outright propaganda. For instance, lobbyist and Fox News commentator, Steve Milloy, a well-known big oil advocate and climate change denier, recently published an article in the WSJ opinion section titled, Hottest Days Ever? Don’t Believe it. Throughout this short article, he claims that the average global temperature is meaningless and that global warming is a political concept. Milloy cites no sources and is not even a climate scientist, in one passage, he writes: “Another problem is that our temperature data are imprecise. It has been estimated that 96% of U.S. temperature stations produce corrupted data. About 92% of them reportedly have a margin of error of a full degree Celsius, or nearly 2 degrees Fahrenheit. The lack of precision of reported temperatures, whether estimated or measured, is not reassuring.” He claims that 96% of temperature stations produce corrupted data, yet he has no source. Why would anyone believe this man over climate scientists? PolitiFact debunked this claim, they state: “Although not all temperature stations are stationed in areas with ideal research conditions, experts said those that aren’t are maintained in order to provide a consistent historical record of temperature changes over time. The data is also evaluated and adjusted for potential biases. Research does not reflect that data used from poorly sited temperature stations yields biased conclusions.” It is irresponsible that the WSJ would even publish someone's opinion denying global warming, given there has been a long-standing scientific consensus that the planet is warming. This is one of the most egregious examples of failed fact-checks in the WSJ opinion section, but others can be more vague at times. Another more subtle example of propaganda would be in a recent article by the WSJ’s Editorial Board, titled, The Big Meat Conspiracy Theory Unravels. It is well known that Tyson Foods is an oligopoly, which means there is a state of limited competition in that industry. But the WSJ’s Editorial Board thinks that is impossible given that Tyson had lost money in a given time period. The article states: “Tyson’s stock has fallen by nearly half over the past year and is trading at the lowest levels since 2015. This doesn’t look like an antitrust conspiracy or market oligopoly, but the meat packers and their shareholders will never get an apology from Washington.” They do not cite any sources or quote any economists backing up their claims. They simply hope the reader assumes that an oligopoly can never lose money. Even when there is a limited number of competitors (which is an oligopoly), that does not mean the industry as a whole by definition cannot lose money. Even staff members at the WSJ have had enough of the propaganda on the opinion side of the newspaper. Just a couple of years ago, over 280 editors, journalists, and other employees at the WSJ wrote a letter to the publisher with regard to concerns over misinformation in the opinion section. The Editorial Board at the WSJ dismissed their concerns as “cancel culture.” Despite the fact that no one even wanted anyone to be canceled, they just wanted basic fact-checking. The Editorial Board writes: “It was probably inevitable that the wave of progressive cancel culture would arrive at the Journal, as it has at nearly every other cultural, business, academic and journalistic institution. But we are not the New York Times. Most Journal reporters attempt to cover the news fairly and down the middle, and our opinion pages offer an alternative to the uniform progressive views that dominate nearly all of today’s media… the opinion pages will continue to publish contributors who speak their minds within the tradition of vigours, reasoned discourse.” But is it really reasoned discourse if it is filled with misinformation and outright lies? Part of the reason so many editors, journalists, and other employees decided to write a letter to the board was that former Vice President Mike Pence had written an article in the WSJ opinion section in 2020, titled, There Isn’t a Coronavirus ‘Second Wave.’ In that article, Pence writes: “In recent days, the media has taken to sounding the alarm bells over a ‘second wave’ of coronavirus infections. Such panic is overblown. Thanks to the leadership of President Trump and the courage and compassion of the American people, our public health system is far stronger than it was four months ago, and we are winning the fight against the invisible enemy.” That did not age well, given there obviously was a second wave and it is well documented that the Trump administration handled COVID-19 poorly. Vice President Mike Pence It appears The Wall Street Journal does not care if there is misinformation and propaganda in their opinion section. In their non-opinion section, most information is generally factual. But do not take the statements made in their opinion section at face value. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/10/21/2200897/-Opinion-WSJ-Allows-Propaganda-in-Opinion-Pieces?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=latest_community&pm_medium=web Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/