There's much to unpack from today's "Meet The Press" special edition on Facts and a Post-Truth Society. However, as a jumping off point it's worth pointing out that at this moment in time, there is a party that is most responsible and a party that is most irresponsible in this country.
Most responsible to the attack on truth and our institutions is Donald J. Trump. Over 15,000 misleading claims since he has become president with countless attacks on individuals all to satisfy his own ego and greed for power. Executive editor of The Washington Post, Marty Baron, pointed out that the public may be numb to all of Mr. Trump's misleading statement but that it's important to keep holding political leaders accountable. But that's the problem. Ultimately, Mr. Trump has not been held accountable in the slightest. Mr. Trump has been impeached by the U.S. House of Representatives but the Senate will acquit or let's say absolve him of any wrongdoing, which will only enable him to continue on this destructive course.
Russia, specifically the Kremlin, is almost a sidebar from this perspective because the Trump Administration has done little to beat back their propaganda because Mr. Trump has personally benefited from it. The president acting in the best interests of the country over himself is quickly becoming an antiquated notion. Dean Baquet, executive editor of The New York Times, said that it is the responsibility of journalists to separate the fact from the fiction and to be more open minded when reporting. These are qualities that entities like The Washington Post and The New York Times demand of themselves and it is what the public demands. But it is not demanded from the president of the United States.
Whether you agree with the viewpoints of those respective journals' editorial page, they strive to be responsible in their reporting.
This brings us to the most irresponsible for the assault on truth, unregulated social media and it's biggest offender of taking no responsibility whatsoever, Facebook. Mark Zuckerberg, the hero, has now lived long enough to become the villain. The dream of connecting people around the world has become a dystopian nightmare. As Kara Swisher explained, Mr. Zuckerberg has conflated free speech with hate speech, and we'll say propaganda as well. A media and content distribution platform that demands no accountability of itself as Mr. Zuckerberg has irresponsibly defended.
Chuck Todd mentioned the phrase 'toxic cynicism' where nothing is on the level and everything is for sale. This is what Mr. Trump and Mr. Zuckerberg have propagated; it's what they have in common.
Panel: Matthew Continetti, American Enterprise Institute; Kara Swisher, technology journalist; Joshua Johnson, NPR, Susan Glasser, The New Yorker
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