Knee-jerk Narratives: How Do We Get Stories So Wrong, So Often?

Colorado…You probably saw the news.  A patriot rally goer was killed by a local news station security guard at dueling Trump and Antifa events on Saturday.  A photo shows Lee Keltner slap the guard.  The two step apart and a shot’s fired as a pepper spray blast discharges.  

Articles left the impression that the shooter was a neutral figure, connected to the mainstream press—9News of Denver.

Conservative Twitter branded him Antifa but was quickly smacked down by a police statement denying any connection.  However, it was strange timing.  The police established his political non-affiliations before they had even released his name.  That should have been a clue.

Once the shooter was officially identified the next day as Matthew Dolloff, his online preferences for Bernie Sanders, Occupy Wall Street, and anti-Trump rhetoric were exposed.  Perhaps he’s not an Antifa participant but his philosophies were certainly sympathetic. Furthermore, 9News had previously showed support for and was publicly praised by local Antifa.  

As facts continued to emerge, the “neutral press” narrative got murkier.  However, few of these clarifying revelations have been widely reported.

But that’s how our culture works.  Initial false narratives are promoted, long before most of the facts are known, because being first and trendy (not accurate) are the most prized goals in todays social media oriented news industry.  As long as it pays political dividends, a spun-up story can get tens of thousands of postings before anyone realizes they’ve jumped to the wrong conclusion.

Michigan…This happened just last week.  After the “Wolverine Watchman” plot to kidnap Governor Gretchen Whitmer was foiled by the FBI, the governor claimed it was motivated by the president’s rhetoric.  Her accusation made headlines that were dutifully tweeted by Trump’s agitators.  However, videos later emerged showing the head watchman’s disdain for the President, even calling him a “tyrant”—hardly how one describes their inspiration.  Clearly, they weren’t getting their cues from the White House.  Not that there was ever any proof to corroborate Whitmer’s accusation—but now there was actual evidence to the contrary.  

Unfortunately, the initial false narrative got more airplay than the correction—as is typically the case.

Missouri…Remember Michael Brown who, supposedly, tried to deescalate his run-in with police by offering the submissive peace gesture “hands up don’t shoot”?  Well, the case went to a grand-jury and that story was debunked.  Meaning, it never happened.  But how many people, to this day, have you seen imitate this invented narrative as some kind of rallying cry?

Wisconsin…Jacob Blake was painted as a loving father that was only breaking up a fight when he became a victim of police brutality.  Turns out there was a warrant for sexual assault, a broken restraining order, theft, a physical altercation with police, and a weapons possession that predicated the video clip we were shown over and over again.  

Kentucky…For months the story was about a warrant that was served at the wrong house, with no entry warning, and no provocation for the deadly force that led to Breanna Taylor’s death.  Turns out none of those things were true.

Minnesota…We were also told a peaceful George Floyd would be alive today if he hadn’t been suffocated by the police.  Months later it was revealed that the 6’7” man aggressively resisted detainment and had consumed over-dose levels of Fentanyl resulting in catastrophic lung damage. 

And there’s more:

 

Freddie Gray was treated unjustly.  

Christopher Steele was a provider of valid intel.  

Kyle Rittenhouse was a white supremacist.  

Nick Sandmann was a racist aggressor. 

Jussie Smollett was a hate-crime victim.

All of these assertions were unfounded or completely untrue but that didn’t stop them from being widely reported and reposted.  In the age of social media, bad journalism and conjecture can go viral, with millions deceived in a matter of minutes.  I doubt I need to detail all the damage to people and property that’s resulted from such misrepresentations.

We tell ourselves we want facts checked but turn around and post the most salacious tweets we can get our hands on.  We want to “follow the science” one moment but play reactionary zealots the next.  If we don’t truly care about taking the time to get it right how can we honestly expect anyone else to.  

This age of digital instant gratification is seductive and the stakes in today’s cultural and political clashes are high—but our diminished expectation of accuracy is a loss we will regret, as will generations yet to come.