One of the great myths of the mainstream media is the notion of impartiality… that is, journalists not just conducting themselves in public without bias, but being seen to conduct themselves without bias.
Social media has done away with all that. And it turns out we can also thank US president Donald Trump for shining a light on it.
Earlier this morning, The Donald sent out what, by his standards, was a fairly innocuous, uncontroversial tweet. And surprisingly accurate – there were no spelling mistakes at all!
MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 24, 2017
Comparatively gentle stuff from a man more known for using social media to spread xenophobia, racism and hate. Not that that appears to matter anymore to the thousands of people who replied almost instantly. 20 minutes after posting Trump already had more than 15,000 comments. If you look through the responses, what’s most striking about them is the number of blue ticks… a blue tick being Twitter’s way of saying that ‘this particular user is more important that others’. Or in this case… journalists, who along with celebrities and politicians are the most likely to get the coveted Twitter tick of approval. Love or hate Trump, he’s certainly good at exposing bias. And elitism, his billions of dollars in wealth notwithstanding. Now, over to the media…
Wait! You want to Make America Great Again! You must be resigning — Edward Hardy (@EdwardTHardy) June 24, 2017
Seriously, are u unemployed? Is there nothing for u to do other than watch TV and tweet?
— Kurt Eichenwald (@kurteichenwald) June 24, 2017
DO YOUR FUCKING JOB — Jules Suzdaltsev (@jules_su) June 24, 2017
You are denser than Sherwood Forest and thicker than a chocolate omelette!
— Charlie Proctor (@MonarchyUK) June 24, 2017
Real Talk: How many times do you have to tweet this before your Dad will appear in the phone & give you the hug you need? — Amanda Guinzburg (@Guinz) June 24, 2017
When there’s nothing left to say and the Obama and Clinton tears run dry, reiterate your empty, brainwasher slogan.
— Mike P Williams 🌹 (@Mike_P_Williams) June 24, 2017
When all else fails…return to your greatest hit 🍾 — Kevin Palmer (@RealKevinPalmer) June 24, 2017
— Chris Harnick (@chrisharnick) June 24, 2017
🙂 — Summer Said (@summer_said) June 24, 2017