When should you use the word lie? NPR won't use it when reporting on Trump

[mdbl]

There's an active debate inside newsrooms, and particularly within the NPR newsroom, about how to characterize the statements of President Trump when they are at odds with evidence to the contrary. That debate began during the presidential election campaign. For example, in 2015, candidate Trump claimed that when the World Trade Center was attacked on Sept. 11, "I watched in Jersey City, N.J., where thousands and thousands of people were cheering as that building was coming down." The claim was never substantiated and NPR said so. But we didn't call him a liar.

In September 2016, Trump got into a tiff with an African-American pastor, the Rev. Faith Green Timmons of Bethel United Methodist Church in Flint, Mich. Timmons had criticized Trump for failing to keep his remarks to her congregation, as promised, nonpartisan. Trump later had his own version of that event. Our reporter Scott Detrow was there. He reported what he saw and heard, and that didn't back up Trump's account. Back then some listeners asked why NPR didn't just report that Trump was a liar.

This time, NPR's Mary Louise Kelly reported on Trump's fence-mending visit to the CIA's headquarters in Langley, Va., the day after his inauguration. Despite his tweets comparing the intelligence services to those of Nazi Germany, Trump told his audience he is with them "a thousand percent." He also said that the media were to blame for making up the feud between him and the intelligence services. Kelly said, "It's provably not true. In that same speech out of the CIA this weekend, Trump also falsely inflated the size of the crowd at his inauguration."

Now many listeners want to know why Kelly didn't just call the president a liar.
On Morning Edition, Kelly explains why. She says she went to the Oxford English Dictionary seeking the definition of "lie."

"A false statement made with intent to deceive," Kelly says. "Intent being the key word there. Without the ability to peer into Donald Trump's head, I can't tell you what his intent was. I can tell you what he said and how that squares, or doesn't, with facts."

more at http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/01/25/511503605/npr-and-the-l-word-intent-is-key

[Cha]

1. I commented on that earlier on an OP that included Mary Louise Kelly

I'll post the pertinent part..

Mary Louise Kelly is full of shite.

"Every time I hear another lie come out of Trump's mouth — about his inauguration crowd (smaller than Barack Obama's and the Women's March),.."

There is evidence of this to the naked eye.. spicer got there on his first presser and LIED bare face to the World.. because blotus told him to.

There's no way Kelly can use her Dictionary excuse with that LIE.

Oh and this..'

Donald Trump Seriously Ended His ABC Interview by Talking About Crowd Size

http://sync.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=8538723

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=8538763

Carrying H2O for blotus.. how special

[wishstar]

2. Sean Spicer basically said if Twitler believes the lie, it's not a lie

So we are now supposed to accept that all of his falsehoods are Twitler's true beliefs, hence he's not lying. What bullshit.

Twitler spouts false information constantly partly out of his delusional rightwing mentality and partly because he is propping up himself and his agenda with lies because that is what con artists do to fool people. His enablers are allowing him a ridiculous pass on his lies by pretending Twitler actually believes everything he says when he is bullshitting us.

If we accept their premise that he truly believes all the lies, you have to believe he is mentally deranged and demented.
But rational thought based on reality and evidence is scarce with rightwingers.

[Achilleaze]

3. NPR is practicing Snowflake Journalism

A lie is a lie. Do your job.

[muriel_volestrangler]

4. On Trump's claim of thousands in Jersey City celebrating 9/11: "But we didn't call him a liar"

Yes, and that shows why you've failed. That obviously was a lie. It was intended to deceive. The dodge of "without the ability to peer into Donald Trump's head, I can't tell you what his intent was" is bullshit. Would you never use the word "want" because you can never tell what someone's intent is? I don't think NPR has ever written articles explaining why they never use "want", or upbraiding others for using it.

There are times when you can determine, beyond reasonable doubt, someone's intent. Juries often have to do it. It's not that hard for journalists to do it. You look at what they've said, the context they've said it in, the effect they can reckon it will have, what may have informed them, weigh it up, and decide whether they're lying.