The Panic-Mongering Media

My God they loved reporting that the U.S.had the highest total number of confirmed cases in the world. They could barely conceal their happiness. One of the ways they spin things is by reporting total numbers when it makes the U.S. look bad and per capita numbers when those make it look bad. So it reported the total numbers, eagerly pointing out that we'd surpassed Italy though we've got something like five times their population. And, of course, they apparently believe the numbers China is releasing. Or pretend to. They spin reports on ventilator numbers. They suggest that every shortage of protective equipment is Trump's fault, and they're in an absolute panic about the possibility that certain quarantine measure might be eased to get some of the economy going again. Reddit is the same way, of course, since it, too illustrates Conquest's second law: any subreddit not created to be conservative becomes liberal/progressive.

   Maybe they're right. Maybe we're still headed for disaster, we're all going to die, we need to stay locked up for 18 months, China has suddenly beat the virus because communism is awesome, and everything is Trump's fault. Could be. 

   But they seem so goddamn dishonest and committed to spreading panic that it's hard for me to believe them. They've got a record of lies and misrepresentations whenever they see an opportunity to score points against Trump or otherwise advance progressive interests. They have a history of pumping up apocalyptic predictions when they fit progressive preferences. There is no doubt that their coverage is biased and openly fearmongering in the present case. So to believe the story they're propping up, we have to believe that, despite all that, they also happen to be getting the story mainly right. Which, again, could be. But I'm skeptical to say the least.