United States | News & Politics

The New York Times deleted a video of violence in Amsterdam it published once it realized that the perpetrators were Israelis and not an anti-Semitic mob.

The Times had falsely claimed that the video showed Israeli football fans being attacked while in the Netherlands to support their team. What the video actually showed was a group of Israelis chasing and attacking locals. Instead of changing their story and highlighting the bad behavior of the Israelis, the Paper of Record decided to delete the video.

Crucial to understanding why corporate media outlets cover some events and not others is the sociological concept of “Worthy Victims.” If the perpetrator is our enemy, and there is political capital to be made from highlighting their crime, then the media will deem the victim “worthy” — especially if the victim is a pro-U.S. figure. If, however, you die at the hands of the U.S. or its allies, you can expect little sympathy or coverage from the press.

Former Rep. Matt Gaetz, a Florida Republican who briefly stood to become President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to be attorney general, was found by congressional ethics investigators to have paid numerous women — including a 17-year-old girl — for sex, and to have purchased and used illegal drugs, including from his Capitol Hill office, according to a final draft of a comprehensive investigative report obtained by CBS News.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/23937251

By Santul Nerkar and Noam Scheiber
Dec. 21, 2024

[gift article - link can be shared. Expires in 30 days.]