Both Sides Do It
by digby
This Politico analysis of the problem with new media is very interesting. They use this week's "Journolist" leaks and the Breitbart mess as examples of how "both sides do it." That the first is the result of a right wing web site peddling off-the-record emails and the second is the result of a right wing web site peddling lies doesn't seem to inhibit their conclusion one bit. In fact, they go out of their way to point out that one of the experts they consult, Deborah Tannen, wrongly sees this more as a one-sided phenomenon.
The fact is that partisan blogs are partisan. I'm not sure why that's even worthy of comment. But one side has a habit of unethical behavior by any standard --- making things up, editing to create a wrong impression --- and the other doesn't, which the Politico manages to elide throughout the piece. Indeed, the entire analysis fails to even address this particular aspect of the story. Evidently, they've decided that it just doesn't matter --- it's part of the "landscape."
In the end they pretty much say Breitbart rules their world and that there's nothing to be done about it. Indeed, they seem to be warmly embracing it --- may a million right wing hit sites bloom. And I think we can count on Politico uncritically covering each and every bogus story they print.
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