In no particular order, here are the biggest hoaxes and misinformation campaigns run by corporate media hacktivists this year.
Americans who have lived through Donald Trump’s political career are no strangers to legacy media disinformation. From the Russia collusion hoax to the “very fine people” Charlottesville lie, the litany of dishonest info ops from left-wing activists masquerading as journalists is too long to count.
And despite Americans’ waning trust in their ability to report news accurately and fairly, these Democrat Party yes-men show no signs of stopping.
Like years before it, 2024 saw no shortage of media hijinks. Whether it was their coverage of the 2024 presidential campaign or participation in Democrats’ war on the Supreme Court, America’s propaganda press maintained its ethically bankrupt reputation.
So, in no particular order, here are the biggest hoaxes and misinformation campaigns run by legacy media hacktivists this year.
1. Bloodbath
Taking Trump’s remarks out of context is one of legacy media’s favorite pastimes — and March’s “bloodbath” nontroversy was no exception.
Speaking to rallygoers in Ohio, the former and soon-to-be president warned that the U.S. automobile industry would face an economic “bloodbath” if Democrats won the White House in 2024. Media acolytes quickly jumped on the former president’s comments, which they distorted to make it appear as if Trump was threatening a literal bloodbath if he lost his reelection bid.
Left-wing outlets such as NBC News, CBS News, The New York Times, and others ran headlines using this dishonest framing.
“Trump says country faces ‘bloodbath’ if Biden wins in November,” a March 16 Politico headline reads.
2. War on SCOTUS
While Democrat mouthpiece ProPublica kickstarted a media war on the Supreme Court last year with smear attacks on Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, The New York Times took its hysteria to a whole new level.
In May, the outlet fabricated a controversy about an upside-down American flag flown at the Virginia residence of Alito and his wife, which the outlet claimed was a symbol adopted by “some” “Stop the Steal” protestors on Jan. 6, 2021. Justice Alito told the paper that he “had no involvement whatsoever” in flying the flag, but that it was placed there by his wife to protest a neighbor’s profane yard signs.
Despite claims of ethics violations from so-called “experts,” The Federalist’s Legal Correspondent Margot Cleveland — who researched judicial ethics rules as a law clerk for years — noted that the Gray Lady’s “effort to smear Justice Alito as unethical based on the flag incident cannot withstand scrutiny” and “[t]he calls for Alito to recuse from [Jan. 6-related] cases have no basis in sanity.”
America’s “newspaper of record” wasn’t done attempting to tarnish Alito, however. A few days later, the Times ran another hit piece against the justice over an “Appeal to Heaven” flag flown at one of his homes. While well-known and originating from the Revolutionary War, the Times attempted to gin up controversy over the flag by claiming it represents “a push to remake American government in Christian terms.”
