How to Lose Credibility on your blog, the Huffington Post way

summer2007 (summer's new blog) | Feb 17, 2007 | summer

[summer]

Editorial written by summer

Whenever I start writing something I hope can be appreciated by both sides of the aisle, it seems like my hope quickly fades, because of a bad situation I can’t ignore from one side, which more often than not is the liberal side. For example, FreeRepublic.com enforces a strict policy of not allowing a news headline to be discarded; but, over at Huff Post, they literally “eat” the press.

When I surfed over to Huffington Post last night, I saw a front page news headline I hadn’t seen posted anywhere else, screaming about Jeb Bush. Apparently Jeb! is being “pressured” by his father and brother to run for president in 2008. Thinking this was actual “news” since it was featured as such, and had the byline of a well-known AP journalist, I clicked on the article.

It turned out to be an article I’d already read – published with a different headline, about Mitt Romney, the GOP presidential candidate. Included in the article was a quote about Romney from Jeb Bush, and background that Bush family members had previously “encouraged” Jeb to run for president. This was a fleeting sentence about the past -- in a lengthy article featuring Mitt Romney.

I immediately realized Huffington Post had ditched the actual headline, and written a new headline, about Jeb Bush, to incite a near riot. Hundreds of howling Huff posters then screamed their heads off about Jeb! becoming president. It was a knee-jerk reaction Huff wanted from them – and got.

Those people posting comments looked ridiculous, to me. They allowed themselves to be used and manipulated. Her blog’s fake news headline and tiny article excerpt made them shriek in protest. Clearly, almost all of those bloggers posting hadn’t even read the article.

When things like that happen – and happen deliberately, as this reaction was obviously incited – it makes the blog look staged, and lose credibility. And, it really looks bad to independent voters. It also looks bad to other voters. In fact, a number of the liberal bloggers complained about the manipulation right on that thread. You would think a blog that does this could not possibly be widely read in the blogosphere. But, it is, and, it does have an influence. The only problem for the left is that these kind of situations tend to turn off open-minded voters. And this kind of deception by a blog also turns off first-time visitors.

Of course, two weeks before the election, Arianna will write an impassioned editorial on how everyone should get out and vote. But, in the months prior to that, she’s engaging in this deceitful baiting and scream fest-mongering, which turns people off from participating in the process. An “F” for Arianna and her blog for their editorial rewrites on that thread. And, for treating her posters as trained seals, yelping and performing on cue in an anti-Jeb scream fest. Bloggers deserve better than that!

Finally, kudos to those liberal Huff Post bloggers who KNEW they had been ambushed by the Huff Post here...

Huff's FAKE headline: "George Bush Jr. And Sr. Pressure Jeb To Run In '08"

Actual News Headline: "Jeb Bush steers advisers toward Romney"

AP   |   BRENDAN FARRINGTON   |  Posted February 16, 2007 01:19 PM

...as these Huff bloggers refused to act like trained seals:

I read the article. It said that George Sr and Jr ENCOURAGED Jeb to consider running. There was nothing about PRESSURE. Look - I'm a left leaning independent voter. I want a Dem (not Hillary) in '08. This kind of mis-reporting - a staple at PuffHo - is despicable. You should stop it. Now. Integrity counts - or didn't you guys get the memo?
By: netpaul on February 16, 2007 at 01:51pm

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HuffPo, check your headline. This article has very little to do with what you claim.
By: jacetyle on February 16, 2007 at 02:04pm

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I read the headline. Then the article. The article had close to nothing to do with the headline. It was actually about Jeb Bush helping Mitt Romney. I'm quite pissed, really. This is the kind of stuff that I would expect from Drudgereport et al. I'm not a Drudge reading idiot and I don't expect to be treated like one. Take that headline down and apologize to your readers. Otherwise you just might lose them. I'm very disappointed about this carelessness.

By: jedinecny on February 16, 2007 at 02:34pm

and others...

[summer]

ROTFLMAO...no offense taken, fish hawk. :)

[fish hawk]

Haven't seen you in awhile. Glad you are still out there fighting for the cause. Much Aloha to you.

[LibertarianInExile]

And that he for all practical purposes endorses Romney? Sheesh, what a nail in the coffin that is!

[summer]

That was a very accurate dig about Drudge, though. That guy's the king of sensationalistic headlines that go nowhere. "Developing..." I can't stand the Drudge page.

LOL...see, people from both sides of the aisle can, in fact, agree sometimes. As for Drudge, I don't understand why he does that. Is he saying he needs more time to get the whole story? Or is he just deliberately keeping people hanging on? If so, that is very annoying.

Speaking of Drudge, I also don't understand why more states don't do a "state" version of Drudge. Here in Florida we have The Sayfie Review, and I do read that each day. (I think Justin Sayfie was (Gov) Jeb Bush's communications director at one point.)

[summer]

Huffington Post goes a step further in actually fabricating stories, or headlines, and get the desired effect, fired up readers ready to vote for the left without a clue why, just sheeple being led around by the nose.

I think that's exactly what can happen -- and did happen, in this instance. Thanks for your reply, DakotaRed.

[SaxxonWoods]

Drudge is not an ethical actor. About 3 years ago, Drudge said he had the "story of the century," a story that would "shake the world to it's foundations." Suddenly he quit talking about the story.

I called his show one night, and asked him what became of this huge story that was so important. He did a little dance, claimed the story was "still out there," but he needed more research or time before he revealed it.

I said to him "If the story is that important, you owe everyone all the information you have now." He danced a little more and cut me off.

I told the screener what I wanted to ask about, so he knew the question he would get. He took me as his last call of the show. He tried to keep the idea of having a huge story alive without revealing anything, and has never said anything more about this earthshaking story, to my knowledge.

I knew his character then, and paid no more attention to him.

[summer]

BTW, I meant to highlight the first part of your post, as that's what I saw happen. Also, it was disturbing to me to read on that Huff thread how what happened over there in "this" instance actually happens repeatedly on her forum -- it's habitual conduct, according to her own posters.

[summer]

Re your post #46 - That's interesting. I don't know Drudge. But, I do know that sometimes we don't know all the facts, or we think we do but then find out we don't. So, it could be he found himself caught in the middle. Someone might have been pulling his leg, and he found out too late. Or, he could have made up the whole thing. It's difficult to know for sure when something like that happens.

[summer]

veronica, Thanks for your post. Nice to hear from you.
:)

[veronica]

She's the ultimate limousine liberal arse-kissing social climber.

[summer]

Well, for all you fans of Arianna and the Huffington Post, I thought you'd like to know this fact about Arianna: She appears to be a "fellow" in the "Woodhull Institute for ETHICAL Leadership" as explained below:

Woodhull Fellows

FELLOWS PROGRAMS

Our goals are to bring the voices of extraordinary women, whose accomplishments reflect ethical thinking, into the mainstream of public discussion, as well as to bring those leaders so inclined into productive contact with one another and with our young trainees. We want to ensure that great ideas are not kept exclusively in academia, policy journals or the nonprofit world, but to bring these ideas into the public forum in a way that both serves the needs of producers and editors and informs listeners and viewers. We want to break the glass ceiling that currently exists for women in the press and on TV, where only 14% of the voices Americans hear in their media is female.

Woodhull Fellows stand across the political spectrum. But they share a commitment to raise issues in a conscientious way, to challenge and enlighten public discussion in America.

For further information and bookings: Contact info@woodhull.org, Phone: 646-495-6060

[Scrolling down:]


Arianna Huffington

"Arianna Huffington is a nationally syndicated columnist and author of ten books. Originally from Greece, she moved to England when she was sixteen and graduated from Cambridge University with an M.A. in Economics. At twenty-one she became President of the famed debating society, the Cambridge Union...."

Update on Arianna's accomplishments, by summer: And, now, she is allowing her blog to fabricate headlines, switch photos, create false and deceptive impressions, and do it with the name of a legitimate AP journalist slapped on top of it. Congrats on showing the world your "Woodhull Institute for Ethics" brand of ethics, Arianna!

[summer]

Much Aloha to you, too, fish hawk! :)

Also, see my above post #51 re the good fight... the truth doesn't seem to get a fair shake these days.

[summer]

Thanks for your comments, MFH and LM. Nice to hear from you! :)

If Jeb Bush runs for president someday, it seems a certain segment of the population will just keel over in a collective heart attack...

[summer]

Good writing!

Thanks, Cedar! :)

[gogeo]

How true.

[summer]

Re post #16 - Impressive article.

Thanks very much! :)

[summer]

Hope you enjoy this thread. BTW, I didn't forget you; I just always save the best ping for last. :)

[CutePuppy]

... I felt a need to write to you first, because I disagree with you.

We don't really disagree, it's just that in my comment I put an emphasis on a different part from the essence of your post, which was about changing headlines on Huff and some other lib blogs, hence my "aside from changing headlines" caveat at the very beginning.

The reason I did that also reflects the fact that so-called "mainstream" media (they can only be called such by sheer volume, but not the reflection of mainstream opinion, which is why they are suffering drastic declines in circulation and advertising revenue) have been using similar methods to deceive and provoke their readers for a long time, predating the use of such tactic by liberal bloggers. So it's not unique, the lib bloggers just adapted the tactic, while they really have no need to do so - liberal media have already done that. Also, headline writers in "news" media are generally different from the writer[s] of articles, and even those are edited differently for different publications.

That's why my emphasis was on reaction to a known tactic - that, unfortunately, many of us are prone to respond in similar fashion to the headlines done by the people we know are out to confuse us and get different impression from actual substance of the article or just an opportunity for them to repeat the same propaganda or hit piece. I am glad that FR doesn't allow changing headlines - one of the reasons I feel good about joining FR - yet we're getting the misleading and inflammatory headline writers courtesy of "news" media headlines nonetheless, so I concentrated in my comment on the reaction to this.

I didn't disagree at all with the premise of your post, it's good to bring attention to their chicanery, and you didn't disagree with the substance of my post. We just emphasized different aspects of media and blogosphere today.

Thank you for your response. Hope I made the reasons for my post more transparent.

[summer]

Thanks for your extended comment. I have to think more about what you wrote, above, and get back to you! :)

[Miss Marple]

How nice to see you here! I agree that this type of headlining discredits blogs and other new media types. and I have seen it on the right as well as the left.

Well, I am sorry Jeb isn't running, but he does deserve a few years of rest and earning money in the private sector.

Don't be a stranger here, summer!