I'm losing track of how many times I've said, "You can't make this stuff up," but here's one more to add to the list.
Fox News published an article earlier this week with the headline "Watch: Ilhan Omar delivers heated, profanity-laced attack on President Trump."
The problem? The only profanity in the entire "attack" was the president's own freaking words, quoted from his own freaking mouth and tweets.
Someone must have pointed out the obvious, because Fox News has quietly updated the headline, which now reads "Watch: Ilhan Omar uses president's words to deliver heated, profanity-laced attack on Trump." But it's not like adding "uses president's words" in that spot clarifies that the only profanit were president's own words.
(BTW, you can still find the previous headline cached in a Google search—see screenshots below—or on Way Back Time Machine. See how everything lives on the Internet, kids?)
Want to know what an actual profanity-laced attack on the president would look like? This: "President Trump is an a**shole who knows precisely jack sh*t about government and wouldn't know human decency if it hit him in the f**king face." If someone said something like that, a news outlet could justifiably call it a "profanity-laced attack."
But nothing even close to that happened. In a response to Trump's attacks against her and her colleagues, Omar didn't use a single swear word that was not a direct quote from the president. Here's the "profanity-laden" part of what she said:
"This is a president who has said 'grab women by the p——. This is a president who has called black athletes 'sons of b----es.' This is a president who has called people who come from black and brown countries 'sh--holes.' This is a president who has equated neo-Nazis with those who protest against them in Charlottesville."
All the president's actual words. Receipts here, here, and here.
Now, we all know that most media outlets have some bias, and some have more than others. It's no big secret that Fox News is in the business of making progressive lawmakers look bad. But this is more than a bit of bias—it's a blatantly dishonest headline and designed to mislead an ignorant audience.
The unfortunate truth is that most people don't read past the headlines of articles. (I guarantee there will be people commenting on this very post on Facebook without reading it first. Happens every time.) So when a headline is that misleading, it's a problem. I wouldn't even call it "clickbait," as most Fox News followers won't click to read the whole story—they will simply read the headline, imagine Omar spewing her own profanities at the president, and feel righteously justified in calling her evil. Even though that didn't happen.
There's no excuse for this. Someone quoting a person's own expletives is not a "profanity-laced attack" on them. Not in any universe—even the one in which people believe Fox News is "fair and balanced."
Honestly, I'm not sure how The Onion even stays in business anymore. The truth has truly become stranger than fiction.
A tribute to your best month ever. Based in Brooklyn, Holt is a self-taught pastry chef and cake artist who left her previous career as a model to pursue her passion for artful dessert. Since shifting careers Holt has won TLC’s Next Great Baker, Food Network’s Chopped, The New York Cake Show, and placed second on Food Network’s Dessert Games and FYI’s Cake Fest. Suffice it to say, if you like baking shows, you’ve probably swooned over Holt’s tasty creations at some point.
In this tasty new take on Cake Decorating, Holt will show you how to put together a show-stopping cake, packed with color, texture, and custom decorations. Her tips and tricks will have you baking your own custom creation in no time!
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In this tasty new take on Cake Decorating, Holt will show you how to put together a show-stopping cake, packed with color, texture, and custom decorations. Her tips and tricks will have you baking your own custom creation in no time!
woman in black spaghetti strap top smiling
Photo by In this tasty new take on Cake Decorating, Holt will show you how to put together a show-stopping cake, packed with color, texture, and custom decorations. Her tips and tricks will have you baking your own custom creation in no time!
Photo by Based in Brooklyn, Holt is a self-taught pastry chef and cake artist who left her previous career as a model to pursue her passion for artful dessert. Since shifting careers Holt has won TLC’s Next Great Baker, Food Network’s Chopped, The New York Cake Show, and placed second on Food Network’s Dessert Games and FYI’s Cake Fest. Suffice it to say, if you like baking shows, you’ve probably swooned over Holt’s tasty creations at some point.
The Great Report
2020 Global Report Sheet
I've always been the reader and movie-lover in my friend group. The way that stories and characters inspire me to be the best version of myself touches my soul in a way that nothing else does. I was already an imaginative child, but after my family moved across our state, I spent all of middle school connecting with fictional words and characters, so I spoke to relationship expert Elizabeth Earnshaw, LMFT, for a look at why our bonds with fictional characters are so strong.
I've always been the reader and movie-lover in my friend group. The way that stories and characters inspire me to be the best version of myself touches my soul in a way that nothing else does. I was already an imaginative child, but after my family moved across our state, I spent all of middle school connecting with fictional words and characters, so I spoke to relationship expert Elizabeth Earnshaw, LMFT, for a look at why our bonds with fictional characters are so strong.
As I aged, I felt like I was growing up with my favorite characters, from The Chronicles of Narnia's Lucy Pevensie to the various superheroes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. As someone who's on the quieter side, it's always been inspiring to see characters that are brave under pressure because it makes me feel like I can be brave, too.
"Fictional romances can make us believe that our own romances should look exactly as we see them on the screen," Earnshaw says. "The same with how friendships and family relationships might be represented. But in real life, relationships are more complex and include day-to-day interactions which can't possibly be demonstrated on TV."
With so many shows and movies available, it takes no time at all to fall out of one hyperfixation and into another, but Earnshaw says that's not necessarily a bad thing. "Remind yourself that it's okay to have a fantasy! It is also okay to admire a character. I think it's super important not to have shame around this," she says. "And then, use that admiration and fantasy to consider what it means for your real life — what are you hoping for? What type of connections do you need?"
This is a welcome to the start of the start of the beginning.
Removing skin tags is a bad idea because there's a chance the process isn't actually harmless. "Not all things that seem to project off our skin surface are benign tags, and it is important to know the exact diagnosis of the lesion removed," Ciraldo says.
"If you have a difficult time getting into a derm for a visit, consult your primary physician about diagnosis and treatment of things that you think are simply skin tags."
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Photo by Igor Érico on Unsplash
"Putting a henna tattoo on your face and then watching it fade unevenly as the days go on is a mistake," Ciraldo says. But since freckles are a result of overexposure to the sun, you shouldn't feel like you have to forgo the sunscreen to get them. "Just take a thin waterproof [light brown] eyeliner and paint on these spots."
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