Yesterday, decidedly liberal Daily Kos posted an article speculating a Thomas Eagleton-like bombshell about Sarah Palin covering up the fact that her Down’s Syndrome son Trig is possibly her grandson, and that Trig was birthed by Sarah Palin’s daughter who was 16 at the time. Although the shocking claim is tabloidish, the fact is the speculation is now out there (the article received over 1,600 comments over a 24-hour span, many of which leaning towards credibility) and eventually will have to be addressed by the McCain campaign… perhaps even during their convention.
More interesting is the mainstream media (even the well followed liberal HuffPost) has not touched the story in 24-hours, preferring the cautious vetting process that was used with John Edwards / Rielle Hunter earlier this month. The shoot-from-the-hip versus caution-by-fear-of-libel-lawsuit is a profound difference between the social media and mainstream media. It makes me wonder why the mainstream media CNN, NBC, etc. don’t set up subsidiary channels/social networks that can address the fact these tabloidish speculations exist. With social media / social news on the uptick, these kind of stories will surface and be vetted socially for their credibility and value.
The first place I thought most appropriate to initiate the discussion on this topic is Social Median, a new application devoted to vetting news socially.
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Digging up garbage because she has bigger balls than most of the Viagra-fueled male politicians out there!
I like social media ’cause they’re fearless, but rarely trust the information they provide…until corroborated.
LOL Susie, my hope that this post would entertain a conversation on what Jack calls the “fearless” but untrustworthy social media vs. the fearful and vetted mass media. (btw, which is more fun to read?)… but I love your quote!
Well, it took almost three weeks for the media to “break” the Edwards story, despite a highly detailed account (albeit one published in the Enquirer). Palin was announced three days ago, and we’ve got a Daily Kos post with pictures of her during her pregnancy looking… unusually svelte, I guess? One piece of “evidence” actually has her stomach covered by a table. (Makes me think of the tricks TV shows use to hide actresses’ unexpected pregnancies.) Anyway, I don’t know if it’s a “cautious vetting process” so much as “it’s been like 90 hours.”
I’m pleased Obama made the point that families are off-limits, this will make tabloidism be perceived as reckless. The episode hopefully veers both parties towards a higher road.