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    Lying With Headlines Archived Message

    Posted by Tomski on September 24, 2020, 4:08 pm

    Although it's of a minor interest, for TLN this *is* interesting and it is not just the tabloids. Let's watch that space.

    https://www.moonofalabama.org/2020/09/lying-with-headlines.html#comments

    'Lying With Headlines' should be a special classification category in propaganda studies.

    This one, from the Washington Post, is a great example:

    Hong Kong police arrest activist Joshua Wong for wearing a mask as repression deepens



    Those 90% of the readers who only skim headlines and look at the pictures will now believe that the Hong Kong rabble rouser (and friend of the neocons) Joshua Wong was arrested for wearing a medical protection mask during the pandemic.

    That is however far from the truth. As the South China Morning Post correctly headlines:

    Hong Kong opposition activist Joshua Wong arrested over illegal assembly and anti-mask law:

    Hong Kong opposition activist Joshua Wong Chi-fung was arrested on Thursday for allegedly taking part in an illegal assembly last year.
    ...
    Wong said police had also accused him of breaching the anti-mask law, which banned people from covering their faces during protests.
    The laws under which Wong is accused were enacted in Hong Kong before China stepped in and amended the local constitution to tighten security legislation. The arrest has thereby nothing to do with the "deepening repression" the Washington Post alleges.

    Manipulative headlines are usual for tabloids to increase their sensationalism. Serious papers should refrain from such annoying manipulations.

    Posted by b on September 24, 2020 at 15:00 UTC

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