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Why it's important to remember Rathergate
American Thinker ^ | October 5, 2020 | David Lanza

Posted on 09/08/2021 7:10:28 AM PDT by T Ruth

On September 8, 2004, CBS’s “60 Minutes” used forged government documents as the basis for a story that attacked the military record of then-President George W. Bush. It was bad enough that CBS used forged government documents, but what made it worse was that CBS aired this story during the presidential election and timed the airing to coincide with the rollout of Democrat John Kerry’s “favorite son” campaign theme. CBS thus provided the “news” upon which the Democrat candidate based his attack ads. The CBS story was quickly disproven and eventually forced CBS into personnel changes and investigations. Dan Rather was forced into retirement a few months later. But CBS did not give up before a lengthy battle in which bloggers demonstrated that the font and other features in the forged documents did not exist in 1972 (the date placed on the forgeries).

The battle over the truth became a story in itself. The truth about the font spread like wildfire through the blogosphere and the internet, quickly picking up steam. CBS, Rather and the left clung to their story as long as they could. They even invented the “fake but accurate” standard to defend the forged documents. CBS and its surrogates belittled the bloggers but ended up making them famous. Conservative bloggers would embrace the “pajamas” epithet thrown at them during the battle – some of whom still use it today. With persistence, they established that CBS was wrong. The documents were forgeries, and CBS personnel committed misconduct in airing the story. Investigations and lawsuits and an independent panel followed.

***

*** Rathergate serves as one example of what the establishment media do. They lie. They lie regularly, and they lie during election years to help elect Democrats. (bolding added)

***

(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Government; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: bias; buckhead; cbs; fakebutaccurate; mediabias; rathergate
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I am posting this again on the 17th anniversary of CBS's fraudulent "60 Minutes" broadcast.

Freepers played an important role in this story.

1 posted on 09/08/2021 7:10:28 AM PDT by T Ruth
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To: T Ruth

Thanks.


2 posted on 09/08/2021 7:11:29 AM PDT by Ann Archy (Abortion....... The HUMAN Sacrifice to the god of Convenience.)
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To: T Ruth
Well, the whole affair was lower than a snake's belly at the bottom of a dry Texas well on a parched desert flatland.

My best Dan Rather imitation.

3 posted on 09/08/2021 7:17:22 AM PDT by blackdog (Sophisticated so public policy is not applicable. )
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To: blackdog

LOL


4 posted on 09/08/2021 7:18:18 AM PDT by T Ruth (Mohammedanism shall be destroyed.)
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To: T Ruth

Hail, Buckhead!


5 posted on 09/08/2021 7:19:54 AM PDT by Fester Chugabrew (No audits. No peace.)
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To: T Ruth

And thus was born the phrase, “fake but accurate”


6 posted on 09/08/2021 7:23:24 AM PDT by newzjunkey (“We Did It Joe!” - The Taliban /s)
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To: T Ruth; Buckhead

ping


7 posted on 09/08/2021 7:23:27 AM PDT by null and void (No jab/no job=only the compliant can work, they won't spread dangerous ideas around the workplace!)
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To: T Ruth

“I am posting this again on the 17th anniversary of CBS’s fraudulent “60 Minutes” broadcast. Freepers played an important role in this story.”

Wow, didn’t know that. For me, even though I knew that the news was biased and especially biased by omission. For example, how many here know what protest had the largest number of arrests since the anti-war protests of the Vietnam era and still to date (and no, nothing recent)? Hint, it was spiked, which is why no one here knows...but feel free to guess.

But when CBS didn’t immediately APOLOGIZE to Bush for running the fake story, it was clear that they now considered themselves to be ‘players’ and all remaining pretense of objectivity was gone. And its only gotten worse...now to the point that half of the country doesn’t believe a damn thing they say...and shouldn’t.


8 posted on 09/08/2021 7:25:50 AM PDT by BobL (I shop at Walmart and eat at McDonald's, I just don't tell anyone, like most here.)
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To: T Ruth

What’s the frequency, Kenneth?


9 posted on 09/08/2021 7:30:39 AM PDT by WKUHilltopper
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To: Fester Chugabrew

Hail, Buckhead! We will never forget you!


10 posted on 09/08/2021 7:33:37 AM PDT by Remole
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To: T Ruth

He was a POS journalist during Vietnam. Same as Cronkite.


11 posted on 09/08/2021 7:37:35 AM PDT by HighSierra5 (The only way you know a commie is lying is when they open their pieholes.)
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To: T Ruth

I thought they did some Netflix special and tried to say that Dan Rather and the democrats had the story right all along.

Joseph Stalin and Joesph Goebbels would be proud of Dan Rather.


12 posted on 09/08/2021 7:38:09 AM PDT by Pete Dovgan
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To: T Ruth

Was that the one they called “fake but accurate”?


13 posted on 09/08/2021 7:38:46 AM PDT by JimRed (TERM LIMITS, NOW! Militia to the border! TRUTH is the new HATE SPEECH.)
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To: JimRed

OK, scrolled to post #6; answered.


14 posted on 09/08/2021 7:39:54 AM PDT by JimRed (TERM LIMITS, NOW! Militia to the border! TRUTH is the new HATE SPEECH.)
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To: Remole; All

And that piece of sh*t Rather still clings to it to this day.

When asked about it recently, he said “We got to the truth, but we paid a high price”

No, kennth, you didn’t get to the truth it was 100% fake and you knew it,... the price you paid was getting fired for it because you deserved it.


15 posted on 09/08/2021 7:40:23 AM PDT by Mr. K (No consequence of repealing obamacare is worse than obamacare itself)
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To: T Ruth

The only person who managed to expose the fake news media was Trump. He “got” this article better than anyone.


16 posted on 09/08/2021 7:42:12 AM PDT by Sans-Culotte (11/3-11/4/2020 - The USA became a banana republic.)
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To: Remole
Hail, Buckhead!
We should celebrate and wear our Pajama Patrol T-shirts.
17 posted on 09/08/2021 7:51:18 AM PDT by Battle Axe (Repent, for the Lord is coming.)
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To: Battle Axe
Hail, Buckhead!

I remember watching it happen in real time on a paid computer in the lobby of the San Diego King's Inn. I had to keep dropping in quarters like a pay phone.

18 posted on 09/08/2021 8:04:39 AM PDT by Jeff Chandler (THE ISSUE IS NEVER THE ISSUE. THE REVOLUTION IS THE ISSUE.)
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To: T Ruth
I remember at the time I believed the exposure of this outright MSM fraud would force them to reconsider their role in political reporting, foolishly thinking they would become less biased due to embarrassment, if nothing else.

Boy, was I wrong.
19 posted on 09/08/2021 8:11:11 AM PDT by Dan in Wichita
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To: WKUHilltopper
What’s the frequency, Kenneth?

BINGO! Something else I remember about ol' Dan occurred during the Republican 'red wave' congressional election in 1994. Late in the evening, when it was obvious the D@mocrats were having their hats handed to them, a rather tired Dan Rather stated on national tv (quoting from memory), "I can't believe we're losing!"

But according to Danny Boy (AKA "Kenneth" ;^), the media is NOT biased, and Dan's 'Job #1' was "speaking truth to power". SeeBS should have offered free barf bags to anyone who watched the guy...

20 posted on 09/08/2021 8:18:02 AM PDT by Who is John Galt? ("He therefore who may resist, must be allowed to strike." - John Locke)
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