“Democracy Dies in Darkness” is the slogan of the Washington Post. Inspired in part by the legendary Bob Woodward, it fits nicely on a T-shirt (available in the paper’s merch shop for a mere 25 bucks). But it would be a mistake to assume the Post universally opposes the idea.
Following the defeat of an extreme pro-abortion bill in Virginia’s General Assembly, the Post published an article about the bill’s sponsor, titled: “Del. Kathy Tran was known for nursing her baby on the House floor. Now she’s getting death threats.” We are sadly at a point in history where it must be stated that Tran should not be receiving death threats. But it is a headline that prompted some gallows humor on the right:
It is a stretch to call the Post’s product a news story (even after it was substantially re-written without alerting readers that it was done). It reports Tran’s admission that the bill would allow for abortion to occur while a mother was in labor. It does not directly or fully quote her, which is relevant because the Post refers to outrage over an “edited video,” falsely insinuating her position had been misrepresented. (Nor is it the first time the media has falsely relied on such claims in defense of the abortion industry.)
The Post’s propaganda notes that one of the bill’s co-sponsors has abandoned the bill, “even though it had already been tabled in committee on Monday, and was identical to bills that had been proposed in the legislature, and failed, in past years.”
Generally a reporter’s editorial complaints about the legislative process are not news, but they are here. And the complaint that prior versions of the bill had not caused controversy is fairly rich in an era where an entire genre of journalism consists of wrecking people’s lives over years-old social media postings.
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05.05.2025