OPINION:
There’s been many dumb fact-checks this election cycle, but the Associated Press’s attempt to validate Meryl Streep’s popularity after she denigrated President-Elect Donald Trump in a Golden Globe speech, is one of the most absurd.
Mr. Trump called Ms. Streep “one of the most overrated actresses in Hollywood,” on twitter on Monday, after she chose to use her speech – accepting a lifetime achievement award – to bash the incoming president.
The AP decided that, Ms. Streep wasn’t overrated, and cited her many Academy Award nominations and wins, Emmy Awards, and Golden Globes as evidence.
“Plus there’s a Presidential Medal of Freedom, not to mention 10 People’s Choice Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, four National Society of Film Critics Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, a Kennedy Center Honor and has been named a Commandeur de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, the highest civilian honor given by the French government,” the AP wrote.
Then came the slam.
“[Trump] has two Emmy nominations — no wins — for best outstanding reality competition. But he beat her to one award — a Golden Raspberry. He won a worst supporting actor trophy in 1989, appearing opposite Bo Derek in the crime comedy ’Ghosts Can’t Do It.’”
Ouch. That paragraph wasn’t even needed to “prove” AP’s case, it was just rubbing salt in the wounds.
Is it any wonder why “fact-checking” has come under fire from conservatives? It’s opinion journalism masked in the cloak of objectivity. The topics of which editors chose to fact-check, is subjective, and at worst, bias – or just plain dumb.
Not to be outdone, the Washington Post decided to fact-check an off-hand comment Mr. Trump made on Monday about inauguration dresses selling out in Washington — because, these “journalists” have nothing better to do.
“Trump played hype man for his own inauguration, boasting that the turnout would be record-setting,” the Post cited in an interview Mr. Trump did with the New York Times.
“There will be plenty of movie and entertainment stars,” Mr. Trump told the Times, as reported by the Post. “All the dress shops are sold out in Washington. It’s hard to find a great dress for this inauguration.”
Then came the hit.
“Hang on — is Trump actually saying that Washington’s racks are bare of formal gowns? That there are scant ’great’ frocks left? Putting aside the old-timey reference to ’dress shops’ (ladies wear all manner of clothing these days, including pants), we wondered if it was possible that the city’s shops actually had been cleared out of ball-worthy wear,” the Post wrote, full of snark.
Ready for the answer?
Nope, dress shop owners and department stores in Washington, DC are stocked full of formal wear, the Post found, interviewing the general manager at Neiman Marcus, and owners of local boutiques in Georgetown.
Stellar journalism, all around.
It’s no wonder why trust in the mainstream media is at an all-time low. This type of reporting only reinforces what half of Americans already fell - the elite press in Washington and New York are all too out of touch with the real concerns of middle America.
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