ZWF: Don't believe every agenda you see
Zander's Weekend Facts #123: Sunday, June 16, 2024
Inside this week’s edition of Zander’s Weekend Facts, right-wing media pounced on a misleading clip of the president last week, and a look at what Zander’s been reading this past week. Plus, a compilation of the top headlines you need to know about from the last seven days.
Also, go listen to the latest episodes of the Zander’s Facts Podcast! Episode 139 features a preview of this summer’s major international soccer tournaments, the UEFA EUROs and the CONMEBOL Copa América, with Zander’s Facts soccer guru Emma Adams. Download the Zander’s Facts podcast wherever you get your podcasts!
Here are Zander’s Weekend Facts for Sunday, June 16, 2024:
New York Post posts misleading Biden video
It is true that Joe Biden is the oldest U.S. president in history, a fact that conservative media outlets love to play on, even when they have to mislead to emphasize their claims.
Last week, President Joe Biden and other world leaders were in Italy for the annual G7 summit, which included Pope Francis, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and others including the heads of the G7 nations.
While attending the meetings, some of the world leaders, including Biden, witnessed a skydiving demonstration that was caught on tape. After the skydivers had landed, President Biden appeared to walk away from the rest of the world leaders in a video that was posted on X/Twitter by the New York Post.
The Post claimed that Biden had “wandered off”, with Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni “needing to pull him back to focus.” In a separate post with the same video, the X/Twitter account RNC Research asked “WHAT IS BIDEN DOING?”
Of course, that question can be easily answered. A wider shot of the clip was shared on X/Twitter by Andrew Bates, a White House staffer, in a quote tweet of the Post’s original tweet. In that video, it becomes clear that Biden was going over to speak to at least one of the divers.
The Post’s original tweet, which received a community note that the video had been edited, received more comments than it did likes. And Bates’ quote tweet received over double the number of likes of the Post’s tweet as of Saturday night. We like to call those two phenomenons, “ratios.”
Yet, even after the Post and other right-wing outlets were exposed for deceptively editing the clip, they continued on with their lowly agenda. The next day, the Post’s front page showed still images from the altered clip and read, “MEANDER IN CHIEF.”
These deceitful tactics aimed at misinforming large numbers of gullible voters, however, are nothing new. The Washington Post’s article from Friday fact-checking the Post’s original tweet gave the four Pinocchios, the most that can be given for a false claim.
The use of these clips is an especially pernicious couple of examples of manipulated video — what we label “isolation” under our guide to manipulated video — because it’s intended to create a false narrative that doesn’t reflect the event as it occurred. The RNC and its avid followers in the conservative media earn Four Pinocchios.
Also in that article, authors Adriana Usero and Glenn Klessner brought up other instances in which right-wing outlets have doctored and misinterpreted videos of Biden.
Earlier in the week, the Telegraph ran another article based on a misleading RNC clip: “Watch: Biden appears to freeze at White House concert.” The article was based entirely on speculation, advanced by the RNC, that Biden had some sort of episode that caused him to freeze. The article suggested that the person next to him “seemed to notice something was amiss, putting his arm around Mr. Biden before the pair bumped fists.”
In a post on June 10 that had 3.3 million views, the RNC asked: “Why isn’t Biden moving?” In the clip, Biden is standing still while people around him are dancing at a Juneteenth celebration. The full video, when it pans, shows other people similarly standing still at the right end of the screen.
Biden, as he did in this 2009 Associated Press interview, has often said he doesn’t dance. “Joe Biden wants to make one thing clear: He can’t dance,” the article said, quoting him as saying “the reason I want to keep talking is because I can’t dance.” The article noted that at an inaugural ball he danced “stiffly” with his wife, Jill. “I may not be able to dance, but I sure like holding her,” Biden said.
You would think that right-wing outlets owned by the Murdoch family and the like, as well as the Republican National Committee, would have enough faith in the candidate their side put forth in this year’s presidential election, Donald Trump, that they wouldn’t need to continue putting out falsified information on their opponent in order to have any shot of winning in November. Unfortunately for Trump, that does not appear to be the case.
For more information on this week’s top story, here’s an article from Deadline - White House Slams New York Post For Cropping Video To Make It Seem As If Joe Biden Was Wandering Away At G7 Summit: “They Just Lie”
What Zander’s been reading
Apple, one of the largest public companies in the U.S., held its annual Worldwide Developer’s Conference last week where it released information on new software updates, including to the iPhone, iPad, and Mac. The most notable announcement was the introduction of ‘Apple Intelligence’, the company’s artificial intelligence system that will be used on devices later this year.
Check out this week’s featured article in the Washington Post - The biggest Apple WWDC announcements from ‘Apple Intelligence’ to iOS 18 - (Apple News link)
Rapid-fire Facts
These are top news headlines from the past week in rapid-fire fashion:
Supreme Court Cases: The Supreme Court began releasing rulings from the cases it has heard over the past year last week. Two notable rulings that were released involve abortion and gun rights. On Thursday, the court unanimously ruled that mifepristone, a drug used in over half of abortions yearly, can continue to be used. The court found that abortion opponents did not have standing in the case because they were not personally injured by the medication. In another case, the court ruled on a 6-3 vote to strike down a ban on rapid-fire rifle bump stocks, which allow an AR- or AK-style rifle to shoot at a rate of up to 800 rounds per minute. The conservative majority found that the Trump administration overstepped in banning the device in 2018.
European Union Elections: The European Union held its parliamentary elections last week, with all 27 E.U. member states casting their ballots. While far-right groups gained in the elections, it is expected that the coalition of centrist parties will continue to have a majority in the parliament. The center-right European People’s Party won the most spots in the 720-seat chamber with 184. Far-right groups especially showed strength in France, Germany, and Italy. The results in France, which gave the far-right National Rally party the most votes of any party in the country and 31.4% of the overall vote, prompted French President Emmanuel Macron to call snap parliamentary elections for the French Parliament. The first round of those elections will be held on June 30.
Hunter Biden: Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, was found guilty by a Delaware jury on federal gun charges. The verdict, announced on Tuesday, concludes a week-long case after Biden had been charged with three counts of possessing a gun while using narcotics. No sentencing date has been set in the case, with two of the counts carrying a maximum sentence of 10 years. Federal recommendations could see Biden sentenced to over a year in prison. President Biden said in an interview last week that he would not pardon his son.
Merrick Garland: Attorney General Merrick Garland was held in contempt of Congress last week after the House approved a vote punishing Garland for defying congressional subpoenas. The Republican-led House Judiciary and Oversight committees had subpoenaed Garland to obtain audio recordings of President Joe Biden’s interview with special counsel Robert Hur, who was overseeing the investigation into Biden’s handling of classified documents. Garland asserted executive privilege in not turning over the audio recordings. On Friday, the Department of Justice announced it would not prosecute Garland based on the department’s policy of refusing to bring those charges when a president invokes executive privilege.
Economic Numbers: The latest inflation numbers released on Wednesday showed no rise in prices from April to May. The Consumer Price Index report found no month-over-month percent change in the index, used to measure inflation, for the first time since July 2022. Prices increased 3.3% from the previous year, down from 3.4% in April but still ahead of the Federal Reserve’s target of 2.0%. Also on Wednesday, the Federal Reserve announced it would not cut interest rates during its quarterly meeting. The Fed’s benchmark rate, which hasn’t been raised since July 2023, remains at 5.25-5.5%, with only one rate cut expected for the remainder of 2024.
Zander’s Facts Sporting Club
Here are the top headlines from the sports world in the Sporting Club:
NBA Finals: The Dallas Mavericks staved off elimination in the NBA Finals by decisively winning Friday’s Game 4. The Mavericks beat the Boston Celtics 122-84, the fifth-largest margin of victory in NBA Finals history, to win their first game of the series. Heading into Monday’s Game 5 in Boston, the Celtics lead the series 3-1. The Celtics can clinch their 18th NBA championship by beating the Mavericks in Game 5, which tips off at 8:30 pm ET. If the Mavericks win, Game 6 will be held in Dallas on Thursday at 8:30 pm ET. A potential Game 7 would be played next Sunday at 8:00 pm ET, with every game airing on ABC.
NHL Stanley Cup Final: Much like the NBA Finals, the NHL’s Stanley Cup Final also currently sits at a 3-1 margin. The Florida Panthers took the first three games of the series before the Edmonton Oilers dominated Saturday’s Game 4, winning 8-1, tied for the second-largest margin of victory ever in a Stanley Cup Final game. The series returns to Sunrise, Florida for Game 5 on Tuesday. The Panthers need one more win to clinch the franchise’s first Stanley Cup. If the Oilers win Game 5, a Game 6 will be played in Edmonton, Canada on Friday. An Oiler win in both of those games would force a Game 7, which would be held next Monday, June 24, in Sunrise. All games will begin at 8:00 pm ET and air on ABC and ESPN+.
U.S. Open: The final round of the U.S. Open at Pinehurst Country Club in North Carolina will take place later today with Bryson DeChambeau taking a lead into Sunday. DeChambeau shot a 67 on Saturday to sit at -7 after the final round, three shots ahead of second-place. Patrick Cantlay, Rory McIlroy, and Matthieu Pavon all sit at -4, with Hideki Matsuyama and Ludvig Åberg tied for fifth place at -2. If DeChambeau holds his lead through the final round, it would be his second U.S. Open championship, joining the 2020 edition of the tournament. Final round coverage begins at 9:00 am ET on USA Network and continues at 12:00 pm ET on NBC and Peacock.
UEFA EURO: The UEFA European Championships began on Friday, with hosts Germany getting their largest EUROs win ever against Scotland, winning 5-1. In Saturday’s triple header, Switzerland beat Hungary in the second Group A game, while in Group B, Spain shutout Croatia 3-0 and Italy came back to beat Albania 2-1. Sunday features another triple header, with Poland and the Netherlands at 9:00 am ET and Slovenia vs. Denmark at 12:00 pm ET on FS1. On Fox at 3:00 pm ET, Serbia takes on England. The group stage continues through next Wednesday, June 26, with at least two matches being played every day in between.
Copa América: Another international soccer tournament taking place this summer, the CONMEBOL Copa America, is set to start this week in the United States. Defending World Cup champions Argentina will face Canada on Thursday to open the tournament in Atlanta at 8:00 pm ET on FS1 and Univision. Peru and Chile will face off on Friday in Arlington, TX at 8:00 pm ET on FS1 and UniMás, concluding the first two matches of Group A. Group B play begins on Saturday, with Ecuador taking on Venezuela at 6:00 pm ET and Mexico facing Jamaica at 9:00 pm ET on FS1 and Univision. Group C begins on Sunday, including the United States and Uruguay, while Group D, featuring Brazil and Columbia, begins play on Monday.
Wrapping up the Facts
Before this edition of Zander’s Weekend Facts wraps up, here’s another reminder to check out the latest episodes of the Zander’s Facts podcast. Download and listen to the latest episode of the podcast, along with every episode of Zander’s Facts, wherever you get your podcasts.
You can also listen to every episode of the podcast on this very website. All Zander’s Facts podcast episodes are now available on zandersfacts.com under the “Zander’s Facts” tab for your enjoyment!
That’s a wrap on this week’s edition of Zander’s Weekend Facts. The facts in print return next Sunday, June 23, 2024.
