Les Jones did a post based on a comment I made at Weer’d’s blog, and I thought I should probably do my own post on it as a follow-up to yesterday’s post. It’s a contemporary and easily verified example of the media lying by misquoting, in what can only be a deliberately misleading and malicious attempt by MSNBC to paint George Zimmerman as an unapologetic and open racist.
“This guy looks like he’s up to no good … he looks black,” Zimmerman told a police dispatcher from his car.
The thing is, that’s not really what he said. If you look at the transcript of the 911 call, or listen to the recording, you can easily see that for yourself. And while the words MSNBC published did come from Zimmerman, you’ll see that an important part of that conversation is missing. A part that makes what he actually said incredibly different.
Zimmerman: This guy looks like he’s up to no good, or he’s on drugs or something. It’s raining and he’s just walking around, looking about.
Dispatcher: Okay, is this guy, is he white, black, or hispanic?
Zimmerman: He looks black.
That paints an entirely different picture, doesn’t it? One that’s far less damning to Zimmerman in the court of public opinion.
If they’re going to lie that brazenly about something that’s so easily verifiable, what else are they lying about, in this case and in others? I and others pointed out the problem with their quote in comments at their site four days ago, but it has not been changed and no retraction or correction has been published that I am aware of. This means it can only have been deliberate.
Do not trust the news media. Whether it’s to boost their ratings, to advance their political agenda, or simply because they’re too lazy to learn the truth, they cannot be trusted.
END OF LINE
[Source: U.S. News on MSNBC.com article, retrieved 3/23/12 (for my comment at Weer’d World) and again on 3/27/12]
[Source: Examiner.com transcription of George Zimmerman’s 911 call, retrieved 3/23/12 (for my comment at Weer’d World) and again on 3/27/12]
(h/t SayUncle)
Curses! Foiled Again! 
DirtCrashr
/ March 27, 2012It seems to me that far from being a White Knight and a Open Handed savior of the un-illuminated and unenlightened – as they are so wont to portray themselves – TehMedia has become a dark, twisted, and closed like a fist, greedily grasping for power wherever they can find it.
joesix
/ March 27, 2012It doesn’t matter if Zimmerman was a freaking Big Brother who shitted rainbows. He shot and killed a kid, and that is inexcusable.
Jake
/ March 27, 2012You’re absolutely right. Clearly, no other facts about this case matter.
verbatim613
/ April 27, 2012joesix — first of all, we don’t yet know what happened. There is evidence that Mr. Martin attacked Mr. Zimmerman. Exactly in what context that happened still needs to come out in court. But without all the facts, it’s inexcusable for you to claim it’s “inexcusable”.
joesix
/ April 27, 2012We know just as much as we did a month ago when I left my first comment. We know George Zimmerman shot and killed Trayvon Martin, an unarmed teenager. We don’t need CSI: Miami to figure this one out. Before you start in with the new Fox News talking point that I’m advocating for a lynch mob, please stop. I want him to be judged in court by a jury of his peers — I’d just prefer it much more if he waited for his trial in a jail cell rather than raising thousands of dollars on a website and talking with Sean Hannity.
Free Citizen
/ March 30, 2012How is 911 audio and video footage of George Zimmerman at the police station looking too clean (no blood on his shirt) and not injured false? It is not.
George Zimmerman LIED to the police.
Fox News PROMOTED his LIE as factual when there was no proof.
George Zimmerman’s “friend” promoted his LIE.
George Zimmerman’s father promoted his LIE.
George Zimmerman’s brother promoted his LIE.
The facts are…
Zimmerman KILLED an unarmed 17 year old teenage kid.
Zimmerman is “caught” saying racial slurs (coon or goon) on the 911 tape.
Zimmerman was “chasing” a 17 year old kid with a gun an shot him dead.
Zimmerman has NO evidence of being attacked.
Where are the photos of his broken nose and beaten head? There were photos of a beaten Rodney King in the news to prove his case.
Zimmerman is shown in police video with NO visible injuries or blood stains.
I can not understand why anyone (blog writers included) thinks it’s OK for an adult to chase and gun down a teenager in cold blood and fight for a morally corrupt position in blog articles and comments.
Be a better person man…. there is nothing to gain by siding with a lying, cold blooded killer of unarmed teenagers.
George Zimmerman will get arrested and eventually convicted and go to jail for his crimes.
Jake
/ March 30, 2012Yes, the video is of such high quality that you can see clearly that there is no injury whatsoever… not!
The video was from after he was (according to the police report) treated on scene by EMS, and any injuries (lacerations or abrasions) were probably cleaned up as part of that treatment. Despite that, there is at least one part of the video where what could be a 1″-3″ laceration is visible on the back of his head. Unfortunately, the quality of the video means it’s impossible to tell for certain. It’s simply not good enough to use to determine if he was or was not injured.
The police may or may not have taken photos. And just because there haven’t been any released to the press doesn’t mean they don’t exist – the police have said there is evidence that hasn’t been made public yet, and Zimmerman’s attorney may have legal reasons to not release any “after” photos.
The police report says he was bleeding from the nose and the back of his head, but does not indicate if it was minor or severe. There is likely an EMS report with an assessment of any injuries and record of any treatment. The police and Zimmerman may or may not have photos that have simply not been released.
I don’t think that. But we don’t know if that’s what actually happened or not. The bottom line is that at this point there is no evidence publicly available that contradicts Zimmerman’s story. Rather than rushing to condemn or exonerate him, we should wait for the grand jury (and, possibly, a trial jury) to do their job. They will have all of the facts available to them. We do not.
Of course, you also completely missed the entire point of my post, which was that the media will shamelessly twist and distort the truth to get the story they want, so we should always look for independent verification of their claims rather than simply parroting what they say as fact. It was not to defend Zimmerman, specifically. However, whether he is of murder or not, the blatant lie I used as an example needed to be addressed.
verbatim613
/ April 27, 2012Free Citizen — too bad your “facts” turned out to be false
Zimmerman is “caught” saying racial slurs (coon or goon) on the 911 tape.
— even CNN has backtracked on this. After tape enhancement, they concede he probably did not make any racial slurs
Zimmerman was “chasing” a 17 year old kid with a gun an shot him dead.
— we don’t know who was chasing whom.
Zimmerman has NO evidence of being attacked.
— yeah, sorry; too bad. A photograph of Mr. Zimmerman’s bloody head has been published that was taken about 2 minutes after he was beaten by Mr. Martin.
Zimmerman is shown in police video with NO visible injuries or blood stains.
— again, sorry. Mr. Zimmerman was then treated at the scene by medics before being taken to the police station. AND enhanced video of him entering the police station shows wounds on the back of the head.