Local news anchors across the country are reading from the exact same script on Joe Biden.

Local television news broadcasters are airing suspiciouslyĀ similar attacksĀ on Joe Bidenā€™s mental acuity and how it will affect the coming electionā€”and it appears to be part of a coordinated effort.

The Sinclair Broadcast Group owns or operates 185 local television stations across the country, and dozens of their stations aired a segment from national correspondent Matthew Galka citing aĀ Wall Street JournalĀ articleĀ that makes dubious attacks on Bidenā€™s age and mental awareness. The stations that aired the segment introduced it using startlingly similar, if not identical language, the Popular Information and Public Notice newslettersĀ reported.

Itā€™s not the first time Sinclair, owned by right-wing businessman David D. Smith, has appeared to be running a conservative propaganda campaign. Infamously in 2018, dozens of the companyā€™s TV stations were caught airing anĀ identical editorialĀ about the dangers of biased and false news. This time around, theĀ Rupert Murdoch-ownedĀ Wall Street Journal, as well as Murdochā€™s cable news stations Fox News and Fox Business, have gotten in on the act.

  • booly@sh.itjust.works
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    2
    Ā·
    6 months ago

    Itā€™s just that their common scripts were from ABC, CBS, or NBC

    Thatā€™s not true. The actual local news programming was entirely independent from the affiliated broadcast network. National news programming from the national news networks were carried, including more editorial/long form formats (60 minutes, Dateline, Nightline), but that was still independent from what the local stations were covering in their own newsrooms.