Welcome to the premiere edition of Comrade Charlie’s Colorado Propaganda Report! (or CCCP for short)
Comrade Charlie, a former authoritarian propagandist, is going to point out some examples of propaganda attempts by Colorado’s “news” media organizations!
“Hello comrades, my name is Comrade Charlie, and I’m going to debrief you on some of the pitiful propaganda your Colorado media pushes.
I’d like to start with an easy target… Westword.
I hate to be too hard on Westword, because they publish great articles on Colorado’s Craft Beer, and Cannabis industries.
But, Westword also has a clear political agenda, which I will discuss.
To get a sense of their agenda, let’s start with a look at who owns Westword.
Who owns Westword? And What is Their Bias?
From Wikipedia:
Voice Media Group (VMG) is an American privately held media company headquartered in Denver, Colorado. VMG owns several newspaper publications across the country. These offerings extend across print, mobile and digital marketing.[1]
VMG’s current properties include Denver Westword, Phoenix New Times, Houston Press, Dallas Observer, Miami New Times, and Broward New Times, as well as a digital marketing agency V Digital Services.
To get an idea of the politics of Voice Media Group (VMG), let’s take a look at the Federal Elections Commission (FEC) reports on contributions by individuals who list “Voice Media Group” as their employer:
Well, it seems like the politically active employees at VMG almost entirely support the fundraising arm of the Democratic Party and associated allies.
Interesting.
Let’s look at Westword employees contributions to Federal Election Campaigns:
It seems the Westword employees donate to organizations tied to the Democratic Party just like their parent company.
Now that we have some background, let’s take a look at a recent article.
Westword’s Recent Anti-Gun Article is Pure Propaganda
On September 9th, Westword published an article online with the headline: “Guns Killed Four Times More People of Color Than Whites in Colorado,” written by prolific Westword writer Michael Roberts.
Just from reading the title, it’s obvious this is a race-charged anti-gun article.
Let’s address the fundamental wrongness of this article:
It’s cliché, but it’s true, guns don’t kill people, people kill people.
I would add to this article that yes, any unnatural deaths are a tragedy, but guns are not the problem in society.
Guns are the great equalizer, and as such, allow the weak to defend themselves from the strong, the old from the young, the the one from the many.
Not only that, but an armed society, is a polite society.
Everyday in this country, individuals use firearms to defend themselves from a violent attacker.
Potential victims of violent crimes, if armed, might not become a victim.
Getting back to Robert’s article, a reader might think that violent crimes involving firearms are affecting people of color more than whites in Colorado.
And although that may be true based on the data from the National Gun Violence Memorial, which is where Roberts gets all his information for this article, it is not true based on the State of Colorado’s Crime Statistics for 2019:
As you can see in the screenshot above, the vast majority of the victims of violent crimes which occurred with a firearm in Colorado in 2019 were white.
The National Gun Violence Memorial is a non-profit that publishes pictures and information on those who died from violent situations (murder and suicide) where a gun was used.
What’s interesting to note is that Westword reporter Michael Roberts makes a point to bring race into the discussion, as The National Gun Violence Memorial makes no mention of race, but has pictures of many of the deceased.
The overall point of this article is that it’s important to know the bias behind the media you consume.
The events of 2020 have taught many lessons.
For many, the behavior of the media this year has only reinforced the notion that mainstream media is merely propaganda for various interest groups.
Government lies, the media lies. So how do you know the truth?
First, seek to understand the who, what, and why of the news story.
Who is telling you the story? Who do they work for?
What is the purpose of this article? What are the motivations of the author and publisher in publishing this story?
Why is the story told the way it is? Why was this story written and published?
In this uncertain world, it’s hard to know who to trust.
Pay close attention to what you are being told, look for the motivations behind the actions.
And oh yeah, don’t forget…
Westword is pushing an anti-gun narrative using race as an attention grabbing headline.
Comrades, I will continue to point out propaganda I find in Colorado. Goodbye!
Comments? Leave them below!
Recent Comments