Former CBS News investigative reporter Sharyl Attkisson reported Sunday night at JustTheNews.com on a video posted Friday by The Daily Show entitled “Heroes of the Pandumbic,” mocking conservative media and Trump administration figures for being wrong about or downplaying the coronavirus threat. “In less than 24 hours, it had racked up millions of views…. Liberal media and readers circulating the video often add remarks ranging from gleeful to hate-filled.”
Attkisson smelled a rat:
But a review of three months of public comments by public health officials, news personalities and liberal figures show they made similar comments as those skewered by The Daily Show video but have escaped similar critique….
The one-sided condemnation, often targeting conservatives and Trump supporters, ignores an essential fact: many of the criticized comments accurately reflected guidance from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) at the time— and even today. Also, it turns out, liberal sources and public health officials have said the very same things without being criticized. It is as if the rhetoric is deemed to be dangerous or “coronavirus-doubting” only when uttered by conservatives, Trump supporters or other targeted people.
Take Exhibit A, the Daily Show clip of Sean Hannity on February 27: “The sky is falling, we are all doomed, the end is near…or at least that’s what the media mob would like you to think.”
That's strongly mocking the doomsayers, but Attkisson compares that to these even later verdicts:
New York Times, Dr. David Katz, March 20: Is Our Fight Against Coronavirus Worse Than the Disease. "As much as 99 percent of active cases in the general population are ‘mild’ and do not require specific medical treatment.”
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, March 24: “It is about the vulnerable. It's not about 95% of us. It's about a few percent who are vulnerable. That's all this is about. Bring down that anxiety, bring down that fear, bring down that paranoia.”
But these speakers don't have shows on Fox News, which liberals wish didn't exist.
We showed you weeks ago that "Pandumbic" videos from The Daily Show mangle soundbites and timelines for maximum conservative-smearing effect. Tell your liberal friends that these people don't get to pose against "misinformation."
It's not hard to apply the old metaphor that hindsight is 20/20 and Fox News stars for saying coronavirus is just like the flu. Attkisson lays out how many people said that. But the Hindsight Machine of the late-night comedians is tilted, as always.
Check out all of the statements that Attkisson brings to the table to underline that Democrats and liberal media outlets and health experts have told us there was nothing to worry about.
