Why Do We Pay Attention to the Fake News?

One of my Medium colleagues has put up a story in which he chastises the media for having a double standard when it comes to criticizing Kamala by discrediting parts of some of her proposals while Trump is allowed to go through the campaign without issuing any specific proposals at all.

I quote: “The underlying sexism in the coverage suggests that a woman — especially a woman of color like Harris — must be more prepared, more polished, and more detailed to be seen as legitimate. At the same time, men like Trump can present themselves as chaotic and unprepared and still receive serious consideration.”

Don’t get me wrong. I’m just as pissed off as the next guy about the Fake News faking their coverage of Trump, but let’s not take their shabby efforts to ‘report’ the news as some kind of ‘threat’ to American democracy, which is how this particular story ends: “The future of American democracy depends on a fair and balanced assessment of all candidates, regardless of their gender, race, or political affiliations.”

This may come as something of a shock to the Medium writer who thinks that our democratic system is hanging in the balance between the disciplined, thoughtful rhetoric of Kamala Harris versus the incendiary bombast of Donald Trump, but the GOP has been promoting Trump’s agenda without the rhetorical nonsense…