[Republican Red]

I was on the thread about the rape, murder and mutilation of the little girl at the Superdome. It was a sickening story that appeared in the Guardian.

I am on record as saying it was probably not true. I cautioned everyone do not believe this until you see the bodies for yourself. I had already read that the gunshots at the rescue helicopters was a fabricated story which actually stopped rescue efforts for a few hours.

I was blasted bigtime by Freepers. I was freep mailed numerous links and told not to be so cynical. Everyone had heard the same story and knew it was true. Many people got suckered into believing it all because Nagin said so, or CNN reported, or Fox News said it too.

I think the media was at its lowest point in history. They were all patting themselves on the back and what they really did was set themselves up as an accomplice to the deaths of many trying to get rescued.

I never believe anything reported by the any media until I see outright proof.

[smonk]

I remember the MSM raking the former FEMA director over the coals in an interview during the immediate aftermath-- something very close to "How can you NOT know what is going on in the superdome when it's right there on television?"

[wideawake]

I admit that when elected officials supported the story, I believed it.

I assumed that the mayor and the police chief would have good info of what had actually happened on the ground.

I expect journalists to lie and exaggerate, but I didn't expect mayor Nagin to to circulate stories that made his own citizens look horrible without proof.

[ghost of nixon]

I was on record as saying it probably was not true

good call - here is a telling quote from a guardsman on the scene - amazing, the LA Times comes clean

Louisiana National Guard Col. Thomas Beron, who headed security at the Superdome, said that for every complaint, "49 other people said, 'Thank you, God bless you.' "

[Steve_Seattle]

"Many people got suckered into believing it all because Nagin said so, or CNN reported, or Fox News said it too."

I think all the looting that we DID see predisposed us to believe many of the things that we DIDN'T see.

[andyk]

Many people got suckered into believing it all because Nagin said so, or CNN reported, or Fox News said it too.

Guilty. It'll be interesting to see the defenses forthcoming from the MSM. I wouldn't be surprised to see them somehow portray themselves as victims in this case.

[elbucko]

I was blasted bigtime by Freepers.

Welcome to the club. I've been kicked off (or quit) most "Ping" lists for introducing factual information contradicting religiously held misinformation. I should shut up, but then I do come here to FR to argue.

[LibWrangler]

Yes the MSM is responsible for falsely reporting stories that contributed to the hysteria which probably cost some people their lives, but the leadership inside New Orleans was confirming all the rumors.

It turns out the law enforcement and mayor and governor could not be trusted to give accurate information, and that is a story itself.

Why isn't MSM reporting that the mayor of NO was clearly not informed during the worst of times?