USA Today Contributes To Mistrust Of Media With Very Interesting Fact Checks

America has lost faith that the mainstream media will tell them the truth. Legacy news organizations simply aren’t trusted anymore. And here’s a prime example of why.

A tale of two fact checks. pic.twitter.com/saLbgnkIIb

— Seth Dillon (@SethDillon) December 3, 2020

Consider these “fact checks.”

Back in July, social media began circulating images of a Trump campaign shirt and stating that it featured a Nazi symbol, the imperial eagle.

The President of the United States is campaigning for reelection with a Nazi symbol. Again.

On the left: an official Trump/Pence “America First” tee.

On the right; the Iron Eagle, the official symbol of the Nazi party.
⁰It’s not an accident. Bigotry is their entire brand. pic.twitter.com/mSOBxwf7Wa

— Bend the Arc: Jewish Action (@jewishaction) July 1, 2020

The President of the United States is campaigning for reelection with a Nazi symbol. Again.

On the left: an official Trump/Pence “America First” tee.

On the right; the Iron Eagle, the official symbol of the Nazi party.
⁰It’s not an accident. Bigotry is their entire brand. pic.twitter.com/mSOBxwf7Wa

— Bend the Arc: Jewish Action (@jewishaction) July 1, 2020

USA Today took it upon themselves to fact check this claim and said,

“Our ruling: true”

The word spread far and wide on social and news media that it was true that a Trump campaign shirt featured Nazi symbology. Later, USA Today posted a “clarification.” Apparently, while they maintained that the claim was true, they said that it was “worth noting, the eagle is a longtime US symbol, too.”

Oh, so it’s maybe not true? Maybe that bit about it being a Nazi symbol is misleading? Missing context, perhaps? Maybe the shirt is actually featuring a longtime American symbol and not a Nazi symbol? While the official story was quietly updated later to “reflect further reporting and analysis,” and the rating was changed to “inconclusive,” the intended damage had already been done. The “True” fact check had shed an unfavorable light on the Trump campaign and fed the narrative that Trump and those who vote for him are racist. Of course the Trump campaign responded with appropriate disgust at the claim:

“This is moronic. In Democrats’ America, Mount Rushmore glorifies white supremacy and the bald eagle with an American flag is a Nazi symbol. They have lost their minds.”

Well, USA Today recently had the opportunity to fact check another controversial image.

“The claim: A photo shows Jen Psaki, Joe Biden’s pick for press secretary, wearing a hammer and sickle hat while posing with officials from Russia.

Our ruling: Missing context.”

Mind you, Jen Psaki herself posted this picture (which she hilariously now claims is “Russian propaganda”), and she is indeed wearing a hat that clearly portrays a hammer and sickle, which symbolizes years of violent dictatorship and slaughter. It has never been a “longtime US symbol, too,” like the controversial eagle that was initially confirmed to be a Nazi symbol. There’s no ambiguity here. In fact, the claim is simply that she is wearing it, which she clearly is. But it was labeled as missing context, which shed a much more favorable light on Jen Psaki and quelled any controversy over a Joe Biden administration pick.

This is not a “fact check.”

USA Today is engaged in partisan editorializing to spin a damning photo of a Democrat.

Jen Psaki was photographed wearing a hammer & sickle hat.

Claiming there is “missing context” while in effect criticizing conservatives doesn’t change that. https://t.co/DZEBaG9Rcu

— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) December 1, 2020

USA Today is asking you not to trust what you see with your own eyes.

Orwellian.

No amount of “context” changes this fact: Jen Psaki, Joe Biden’s pick for press secretary, WAS wearing a hammer and sickle hat while posing with officials from Russia. https://t.co/ZVnxRT29e8

— Abigail Marone (@abigailmarone) December 1, 2020

The only time #FakeNews puts anything in context is when they’re bending over backwards and convoluting logic to protect their political allies when they show true colors.#JenPsaki#DemocratsAreHypocrites #USAToday#FactCheck

— Curt Olson (@lawriter33) December 2, 2020

So what context was missing, exactly? The fact that the hat had been a gift from the Russians. And because the hat was a gift, USA Today said the claim that she was “wearing a hammer and sickle hat” was “missing context,” which is distinctly different from “True” in the fact-checking world.

I mean, the claim is unequivocally and inarguably true because we’re literally able to look right at a picture of her wearing it. It’s true. She was wearing a hat with a hammer and sickle. And a claim that she was wearing a hat with a hammer and sickle should have been rated “true” because it is actually true. But a “missing context” ruling was much better for the Biden administration.

In fact, USA Today went on to write an article making light of the entire controversy by saying that she “wore many hats” during the Obama administration. How sweet of them to mitigate the controversy with a favorable fact check and then follow it up with a punny praise article chaser.

Jen Psaki, who wore many hats under Obama including White House communications director, has overseen the confirmations team for Biden’s transition team. https://t.co/cWDWV0DXFu

— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) November 30, 2020

The problem here is that the Trump campaign was not afforded the same consideration and generosity by the same fact-checkers. Their image certainly warranted a “missing context” rating considering that it was, in fact, missing the context that while there are many versions of eagle symbolism throughout history, it is certainly a historic American symbol.

Bottom line:

Two images circulated on social media.

One wrongly being labeled a Nazi symbol when it is actually a longtime US symbol that is being mislabeled.

One rightly being labeled as simply wearing a hat with a longtime symbol of dictatorship and violent slaughter.

One given a damaging and misleading fact check that is then quietly fixed to reflect the truth, but only after the damage had been done.

One given a fact check to mitigate any controversy.

So what was the difference?

The difference: (R)