Ep. 699 - Liars, Damn Liars, And The Media

Episode Summary

Executive Summary: Ben Shapiro argues the media repeatedly distorted or fabricated stories to fit anti-conservative narratives: misreporting the Covington Catholic incident, selectively editing his own comments, and hyping the BuzzFeed Trump-Cohen scoop after Mueller’s team denied it. He contrasts this with the media’s undercoverage of the March for Life and other pro-life viewpoints, claiming systemic bad faith and bias.

Main Topics: Media bias and bad-faith reporting (Priority: 5/5): Shapiro frames the episode as evidence that major media outlets prioritize narratives, clicks, and political outcomes over accuracy, especially when covering conservatives, Christians, and pro-life activists. Covington Catholic incident and selective editing (Priority: 5/5): He argues that the viral portrayal of Covington students harassing a Native American veteran was false and reversed by longer video, with the students actually responding to others’ insults and chants. BuzzFeed’s Trump-Cohen story and Mueller rebuttal (Priority: 5/5): He criticizes BuzzFeed for publishing an explosive allegation that Trump directed Cohen to lie to Congress, then continuing to defend it after Mueller’s office publicly said the report was inaccurate. March for Life coverage versus Women's March coverage (Priority: 4/5): Shapiro says pro-life events drew massive crowds but little media attention, while the Women’s March received disproportionate coverage despite controversy over anti-Israel and anti-Semitic rhetoric. Selective editing of Shapiro’s own podcast comments (Priority: 4/5): He says a 21-second excerpt of his 'baby Hitler' discussion was taken out of context to fabricate a controversy and attack his March for Life speech. Abortion, pro-life rhetoric, and moral framing (Priority: 4/5): His March for Life speech argues abortion dehumanizes the unborn and that pro-life activism is morally aligned with abolitionist and civil-rights struggles.

Key Arguments: The media knowingly or negligently circulated false or misleading versions of events because those versions better fit anti-conservative narratives. The Covington Catholic students were not the aggressors; longer footage shows Native American activist Nathan Phillips approached them, while the students were chanting school spirit chants and attempting to stay calm. Even if the Covington students had been rude, the story was not national-news worthy; the media inflated it for ideological reasons. Mueller’s office publicly disputed BuzzFeed’s claim that Trump told Michael Cohen to lie, yet outlets like CNN and commentators still treated the story as credible. A 21-second clip of Shapiro’s abortion argument was selectively edited to imply he endorsed a controversial 'kill baby Hitler' idea, when the full context was a critique of pre-crime abortion logic. The March for Life was large and positive, but media ignored its substance in favor of manufactured controversies involving students and Shapiro himself. Coverage of the Women’s March downplayed organizers’ anti-Israel/BDS rhetoric and anti-Semitism while spotlighting general controversy instead of specific statements. Persistent media falsehoods and selective framing erode public trust and make it harder to treat journalists’ claims as good-faith reporting.

Data Points: March for Life attendance: 150,000 to 600,000 - Shapiro cites low-end and high-end estimates for the crowd size at the March for Life. March for Life attendance (Shapiro's estimate): hundreds of thousands - He repeatedly describes the event as drawing a massive crowd in the snow. Covington video length: 2 hours - He says the full video of the Lincoln Memorial encounter was two hours long and contradicted the viral clip. Selective edit length: 21 seconds - A clipped segment of his podcast was used to create the 'baby Hitler' controversy. Viral clip views: 1.2 million - He says the edited 21-second clip quickly amassed over a million views. March for Life coverage vs Women's March coverage: 58 seconds vs 14 minutes 26 seconds - He cites Media Research Center figures comparing broadcast coverage. Coverage ratio: roughly 15 times more - The Women's March reportedly received about fifteen times more TV coverage than the March for Life. Trump-Cohen story status: retracted/denied by Mueller office - Mueller spokesman Peter Carr said BuzzFeed’s description of statements and documents was not accurate. Student age range: 15-16 years old - Shapiro says the Covington students were minors and should not have been doxxed.

Pivotal Quotes: "The media are a flaming dumpster of hot garbage." — Ben Shapiro: Opening attack on media credibility and weekend coverage. "BuzzFeed's description of specific statements to the special counsel's office and characterization of documents and testimony obtained by this office regarding Michael Cohen's congressional testimony are not accurate." — Peter Carr (Mueller spokesman): Official rebuttal to the BuzzFeed Trump-Cohen report. "Righteousness doesn't have to be popular. It just has to be righteous." — Ben Shapiro: From his March for Life speech, summarizing the moral argument for the pro-life movement.

Implications: Listeners are urged to distrust viral media narratives, seek full context, and expect continued partisan framing around abortion, Trump, and cultural conflicts. The episode predicts more erosion of trust unless outlets correct errors and restrain selective editing.