Chuck Todd of NBC’s ‘Meet the Press’ Blames Russia for ‘Fake News’

Chuck Todd used his Meet the Press program Sunday on NBC to attack “fake news” — and blamed Russian disinformation, rather than shoddy journalism, for convincing Americans not to trust the mainstream media.

His show, featuring guests whom he described “top players in journalism, diplomacy and technology,” claimed that “Russian tactics” of “truth manipulation” have migrated right here to the United States.”

Todd’s primary culprit: the Trump administration, which he noted on day one pushed “an easily disprovable lie about his inaugural crowd size.”

He ignored the other “day one” lie: that Trump was colluding with Russia, a lie the media pushed relentlessly.

Todd’s first guest was New York Times executive editor Dean Baquet, who admitted earlier this year that his newsroom had been built around the Russia story for two years.

Todd did not ask Banquet about that: instead, he asked Baquet about whether “the truth itself is on trial,” an idea with which Baquet enthusiastically agreed.

Federal appeals court refuses to rehear Trump appeal of $83M E Jean Carroll defamation judgment

Hunter Biden’s ex-lawyer ordered to pay $50K to former Trump aide after harassment claims crumble

Graham urges Trump to ‘ignore’ war powers deadline as GOP grapples with Iran

Cultural groups ask federal judge to halt Trump’s renovations of Kennedy Center

Georgia man says he suffered severe medical neglect leading to amputations at scrutinized Atlanta jail

LAPD chief warns Los Angeles not prepared to secure 2028 Olympics due to staffing shortages

House Republicans unlock reconciliation process to fund ICE and Border Patrol without Democrats

Small-town Virginia mayor reportedly arrested for allegedly showing up drunk to train derailment

Romanian national learns fate for swatting US officials, including members of Congress, judges

Melania Trump embraces AI education initiative in White House tech push: ‘She’s been a champion’

‘The View’ Floats Dangerous Conspiracy Theory About Trump Days After Assassination Attempt, Draws Response from White House

Why The Supreme Court’s Landmark Elections Decision Is a ‘Game Changer’ for the Midterms and Beyond

Trump’s USA ‘Rededication to God’ Event in DC Will Occur Same Date as Continental Congress Took Similar Action in 1776

Trump weighs pulling US troops from Germany amid clash with chancellor over Iran war

GOP gubernatorial hopeful blasted by critics for ‘lying’ on stage about illegal immigrant hires

Next, Todd turned to Martin Baron, the executive editor of the Washington Post — another paper that pushed the Russia collusion hoax, and which also led the way in trying to debunk Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA)’s effort, recently vindicated, to expose the truth about the FBI’s abuse of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) courts.

Baron complained: “We live in an environment where people are able to spread crazy conspiracy theories and absolute falsehoods and lies.” He blamed social media — not the conspiracy theories validated by his own paper.

Baron also griped that Americans had become “numb” to the supposedly “15,000 false or misleading claims” by the president that his paper has been tracking. Not only are many of those supposedly false “claims” actually true, or defensible differences of opinion, but the Post is seemingly numb to the major anti-Trump lies it has pushed.

Todd asked Baquet if journalists would have to “market” the idea that they are there to tell the truth — in the course of continuing to push the idea that Russian propaganda, not media malpractice, is to blame to public mistrust.

Baquet said that he and Baron needed to continue “very aggressively defending our institutions, defending the truth and defending our important role in democracy.”

Again, no mention of the corrosive effect that the Russia hoax has had on our democracy — or the role that the media has played in the ongoing impeachment debacle over Ukraine, including the Post‘s own misreporting of leaked testimony from closed-door hearings in the House Intelligence Committee.

Todd would not admit that the media’s leading institutions had failed by their own standards — only that they might be “culturally” out of touch with the rest of America.