The New York Times’ technology columnist Kevin Roose suggested that four factual articles were “right-wing misinformation” after he learned they were performing well on Facebook.
“Facebook is absolutely teeming with right-wing misinformation right now. These are all among the 10 most-engaged URLs on the platform over the last 24 hours,” Roose tweeted late Monday evening alongside four screenshots.
Facebook is absolutely teeming with right-wing misinformation right now. These are all among the 10 most-engaged URLs on the platform over the last 24 hours (per @NewsWhip data) pic.twitter.com/WlTR10fRBE
— Kevin Roose (@kevinroose) November 10, 2020
The screenshots show two articles from Breitbart News, one from The Daily Wire and one from Bongino. Despite claiming “right-wing misinformation,” all four articles Roose showed have been reported by multiple other news publications and describe factual events.
New York Times tech reporter calls four accurate stories “right wing misinformation” ???????? https://t.co/n5r2ftnDA8
— Jon Levine (@LevineJonathan) November 10, 2020
The first article’s headline noted that a Republican in Michigan won the race – after first losing – following the fix of a “technical glitch.” This news was also reported by the Detroit Free Press, The Oakland Press and others.
“This was an isolated mistake that was quickly rectified once realized. Every voter should have complete confidence in our voting system,” City Clerk Tina Barton wrote regarding the incident, according to The Detroit News.
Roose’s second claim of “right-wing misinformation” also failed to hold water, as he screen-capped the well-covered news that Attorney General William Barr authorized the Department of Justice (DOJ) to look into voting irregularities.
This news was covered by The Washington Post, Politico and even Roose’s own publication – the NYT. (RELATED: Barr Signs Off On DOJ Probe Into Voting Irregularities)
The third alleged “right-wing misinformation” story was about how Michigan lawmakers held an emergency Saturday session to look into allegations of irregularities regarding the 2020 election. Bongino was far from the only website to report this news, as well.
NBC2 and The Detroit News are among publications to cover this factual report.
Roose’s last claim of misinformation was covered widely by legacy publications and included an official statement from two Republican senators. The Breitbart article Roose screen-shotted declared that “Perdue, Loeffler Call on George Sec of State to Reign over Election.”
Republican Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue of Georgia did do just that, as reported by Politico, CNBC, the NYT, Axois and others.
“The management of Georgia elections has become an embarrassment for our state. Georgians are outraged, and rightly so. We have been clear from the beginning: every legal vote cast should be counted. Any illegal vote must not. And there must be transparency and uniformity in the counting process. This isn’t hard. This isn’t partisan. This is American. We believe when there are failures, they need to be called out — even when it’s in your own party,” the joint statement read.
Roose later added that “some of the most viral stories aren’t strictly false.” However, he stood by his original comments by declaring that “they are feeding a stolen election narrative that is going to be hard to dial back.”
The tricky thing, for Facebook, is that some of the most viral stories aren’t strictly false. (Perdue + Loeffler *did* call for the SOS’s resignation.) But they are feeding a stolen election narrative that is going to be hard to dial back.
— Kevin Roose (@kevinroose) November 10, 2020
The NYT, where Roose works, spent years peddling stories about the now-debunked theory that President Donald Trump colluded with Russia. Despite a lack of evidence, an April 2020 Harvard-Harris poll found that 53% of Americans still believe the dossier “was real in its findings of Trump colluding with the Russians.” (RELATED: The New York Times Has A History Of Reaching Too Far On Intel Leaks)