I’m going to say something, and its’s going to surprise people who know me well and/or know my political leanings.
I consider Britt McHenry to be someone I’m friendly with.
We’re not BFFs or BFFFs or even BFFFFs. But ever since Britt kindly did a Quaz Q&A back toward the end of 2014, we’ve stayed in fairly regular touch via DM. And—being 100 percent serious—I have come to like Britt. I think her heart is largely in the right place; I don’t believe that parking video is a complete reflection; I’m pretty sure she strives to be righteous and stand by her beliefs and all that.
So, again, to be clear—I think of Britt McHenry as a friendly presence, and I will take any/all bullets that come with such a declaration.
That being said, I have to call her out on something. Earlier tonight, while scrolling Twitter, I came across this on Britt’s timeline …
Now, Britt and Twitter are not a combination I particularly enjoy. Like me, she’s waaaaay too thin skinned and (unlike me) waaaaay too conservative. But I generally choose to overlook those things because, again, I’m hardly Twitter’s angel.
What bothers me about the above Tweet, though, is the use of “fake news” by someone who works in media.
I don’t care if you’re left or right, apolitical or hyper-political, CNN or Fox News or ESPN or Sports Illustrated or Breitbart—you CANNOT, as a member of the press, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever use the term FAKE NEWS.
“Fake news” is the turf of despots and dictators; of autocrats and tyrants. It’s a term Putin would use to suppress the voice of the people, and a term Donald Trump has increasingly used to do the same. I want to be as blunt as humanly possible here: Members of the press using “fake news” on other members of the press are committing an act of professional treason; a selling out of principles and ideals in the name of … well, I’m not even sure. It’s something Sean Hannity would do to earn suck-up points with Donald Trump, and something Jeanine Pirro would do to stay relevant. But it is wrongheaded and sinister and unacceptable.
Again, I know Britt. I like Britt. I am assuming she got caught up in the awfulness of a recent New York Times piece on fake Twitter followers.
But this is not something we can do.
Any of us.
