How to Lose Credibility on your blog, the Huffington Post way

summer2007 (summer's new blog) | Feb 17, 2007 | summer

[summer]

Editorial written by summer

Whenever I start writing something I hope can be appreciated by both sides of the aisle, it seems like my hope quickly fades, because of a bad situation I can’t ignore from one side, which more often than not is the liberal side. For example, FreeRepublic.com enforces a strict policy of not allowing a news headline to be discarded; but, over at Huff Post, they literally “eat” the press.

When I surfed over to Huffington Post last night, I saw a front page news headline I hadn’t seen posted anywhere else, screaming about Jeb Bush. Apparently Jeb! is being “pressured” by his father and brother to run for president in 2008. Thinking this was actual “news” since it was featured as such, and had the byline of a well-known AP journalist, I clicked on the article.

It turned out to be an article I’d already read – published with a different headline, about Mitt Romney, the GOP presidential candidate. Included in the article was a quote about Romney from Jeb Bush, and background that Bush family members had previously “encouraged” Jeb to run for president. This was a fleeting sentence about the past -- in a lengthy article featuring Mitt Romney.

I immediately realized Huffington Post had ditched the actual headline, and written a new headline, about Jeb Bush, to incite a near riot. Hundreds of howling Huff posters then screamed their heads off about Jeb! becoming president. It was a knee-jerk reaction Huff wanted from them – and got.

Those people posting comments looked ridiculous, to me. They allowed themselves to be used and manipulated. Her blog’s fake news headline and tiny article excerpt made them shriek in protest. Clearly, almost all of those bloggers posting hadn’t even read the article.

When things like that happen – and happen deliberately, as this reaction was obviously incited – it makes the blog look staged, and lose credibility. And, it really looks bad to independent voters. It also looks bad to other voters. In fact, a number of the liberal bloggers complained about the manipulation right on that thread. You would think a blog that does this could not possibly be widely read in the blogosphere. But, it is, and, it does have an influence. The only problem for the left is that these kind of situations tend to turn off open-minded voters. And this kind of deception by a blog also turns off first-time visitors.

Of course, two weeks before the election, Arianna will write an impassioned editorial on how everyone should get out and vote. But, in the months prior to that, she’s engaging in this deceitful baiting and scream fest-mongering, which turns people off from participating in the process. An “F” for Arianna and her blog for their editorial rewrites on that thread. And, for treating her posters as trained seals, yelping and performing on cue in an anti-Jeb scream fest. Bloggers deserve better than that!

Finally, kudos to those liberal Huff Post bloggers who KNEW they had been ambushed by the Huff Post here...

Huff's FAKE headline: "George Bush Jr. And Sr. Pressure Jeb To Run In '08"

Actual News Headline: "Jeb Bush steers advisers toward Romney"

AP   |   BRENDAN FARRINGTON   |  Posted February 16, 2007 01:19 PM

...as these Huff bloggers refused to act like trained seals:

I read the article. It said that George Sr and Jr ENCOURAGED Jeb to consider running. There was nothing about PRESSURE. Look - I'm a left leaning independent voter. I want a Dem (not Hillary) in '08. This kind of mis-reporting - a staple at PuffHo - is despicable. You should stop it. Now. Integrity counts - or didn't you guys get the memo?
By: netpaul on February 16, 2007 at 01:51pm

----

HuffPo, check your headline. This article has very little to do with what you claim.
By: jacetyle on February 16, 2007 at 02:04pm

--------

I read the headline. Then the article. The article had close to nothing to do with the headline. It was actually about Jeb Bush helping Mitt Romney. I'm quite pissed, really. This is the kind of stuff that I would expect from Drudgereport et al. I'm not a Drudge reading idiot and I don't expect to be treated like one. Take that headline down and apologize to your readers. Otherwise you just might lose them. I'm very disappointed about this carelessness.

By: jedinecny on February 16, 2007 at 02:34pm

and others...

[SaxxonWoods]

I love the chance to serve.

With my blessing, you may proceed.

Enjoy!

[rlmorel]

Very good! BTW...did you author that yourself? If you did, it is a nugget!

[SaxxonWoods]

It just jumped out there at the spur of the moment.

I've been on a h*ll of a roll all day. Should have bought a lotto ticket.

[bicyclerepair]

Personally, while happy with Crist, I would've loved for Jeb to be our Governor forever..... when he left office, 3.0% unemployment, could've been the lowest in the country.....

[DakotaRed]

Unfortuantely, many readers rarely get beyond a headline, one reaason the lamestream media publishes the way they do, with any actual news buried near the bottom of the article.

Huffington Post goes a step further in actually fabricating stories, or headlines, and get the desired effect, fired up readers ready to vote for the left without a clue why, just sheeple being led around by the nose.

[veronica]

Zsa Zsa Huffington is a dilettante and her site is a joke.

[Cedar]

Good writing!

[CutePuppy]

Sorry to say, but aside from changing headlines, I have recently seen all too often a similar phenomenon on FR - a knee-jerk reaction of people who see headline and jump on the bandwagon without reading or thinking on their favorite target or punching bag of the day - Bush, Condi, Rumsfeld etc...

"Just bomb them to smithereens" reaction is also very popular, any meaningless public diplo-speak statement evokes "treason" sentiment and so on...

Only somewhere around post #20 you start seeing someone making an accurate statement about headline not matching the article, article having no new facts or rehashing old "news", or plain "so what's the big deal?" which usually a good description of article "about nothing"...

Unfortunately, knee-jerk reaction and cannibalism are not limited to loony left, it's an infectious decease that affects all, but particularly demoralized, depressed and disaffected - the state of many conservatives and/or Republicans today.

Keep cool, remain proactive... Two years ago Dems were on suicide watch, two years from now... ?

[Choose Ye This Day]

Really? Enjoy.

The last time I clicked on his page I was besieged with about thirteen pop-up ads. And no news, just headlines.

I can find news on my own, without Matt's help.

[Vigilanteman]

Arianna is an airhead who's 15 minutes of fame was up a long time ago.

Were it not for the fact that she has a cute accent and married to a closet queer who was a prominent California RINO, she would be less famous than me.

[summer]

Sorry to say, but aside from changing headlines, I have recently seen all too often a similar phenomenon on FR - a knee-jerk reaction of people who see headline and jump on the bandwagon without reading or thinking on their favorite target or punching bag of the day - Bush, Condi, Rumsfeld etc..

I want to write back to everyone who wrote to me on this thread, but I felt a need to write to you first, because I disagree with you.

True, what you said in terms of there being "knee-jerk" reactions everywhere -- but, for a blog itself to intentionally incite such a response, by tossing out a news headline, omitting the actual news photo, slapping a different photo on a small excerpt of an article -- and keeping the original journalist's name on the newly created fake article -- is another story.

And, FR does not do that because there is a real effort here to archive news, by title, so that you can search it for it by title and retrieve it later. Posers here sometimes add a comment AFTER the original title, but not before it, and not instead of it.

Furthermore, Arianna's blog is responsible not only for allowing this to happen, but for actually DOING IT - her blog administrators, not posters, created and published that fake news item.

Finally, I am not against "fake" news per se -- so long as people know it's satire or know you're altering the original source. Most of those posters on Huff post didn't even realize they were deceived.

[Dog Gone]

Nice job on calling out the Huffington Post on their antics.

I'm glad to see you have your own blog now. You've composed some great articles here at FR.

[aimhigh]

I put a Jeb Bush 2008 bumper sticker on my car. It didn't last 3 days, which means I was highly successful at irritating some liberals.

[isthisnickcool]

It's just as likely was a conservative that took the bumper sticker off.

[summer]

if the truth would help them, they would use it.

SaxxonWoods, you certainly did come up with a "Quote to Remember" there!! :)

[summer]

Re post #11 - Thanks, woofie! :)

[summer]

Re your post #8 - Thanks for your nice post, RedRover.

BTW, it seems to me what the forum administrators are saying over there on that post is something like this:

IF YOU HAVE MORE THAN HALF A BRAIN, KEEP OUT!

Yet, most of those posters missed it!

[fish hawk]

No offense but who in the hell with any brains reads Huffies trash anyway? You can't get fooled if you don't listen to fools. (old Indian saying)

[summer]

RE your post #33 - Dog, thanks so much for your kind words now, and over the years. I've always enjoy reading your posts, too, you know.

I'll be back to write more on this thread! :)