Does the News Media Give Us Any News At All?

If the internet has had one effect upon politics more than any other, it’s the degree to which what politicians say is now magnified and distributed throughout the digital universe, no matter how stupid, aimless, or just downright silly a particular remark happens to be.

The other day, Trump put up a comment on his Truth Social page, which said (and I quote): “This is the most dangerous time in the history of our country. World War III is looming, like never before, in the very dark and murky background. Leadership’ is solely responsible for this unprecedented danger to the USA, and likewise, the World. HOPELESS JOE BIDEN IS LEADING US INTO OBLIVION!!!”

This entire statement was reposted, word for word, by Newsweek, as if it represented some kind of news. But worse, to give the comment even more credibility and more newsworthiness, Newsweek said that it “reached out to representatives for Trump for clarification, and to the White House for a response.”

The article then went on to state that perhaps Trump was referring to the situation in Ukraine as the places where World War III would break out. Or maybe he was referring to some other place and Newsweek was reaching out to him to get clarification and figure this out.