Contrasting Coverage: Marjorie Taylor Greene

 For this week's post, and for the following weeks to come, I will be picking a topic, event, person, or story to cover and showcase the differences in the ways the news networks broadcast them. The topic I have decided to cover for this week is the controversy surrounding GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and her social media posts. I will personally outline the details surrounding the story, and then show how Fox News and NBC broadcasted the story as well. I will point out key differences, as well as any similarities if there are any. Please feel free to comment and share any thoughts, feelings, or opinions you may have on the matter. 

To sum the story up, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is a woman who has been recently elected as the U.S representative for Georgia's 14th congressional district. She is a member of the Republican Party and enthusiastic Donald Trump Supporter, as well as an outspoken far-right conspiracy theorist. Many of her social media posts as well as her likes, favorites, and comments have worried members of the government and the public for some time now. In a 40-minute Youtube video posted in 2018, Greene unfurled a cascade of wild conspiracy theories and opinions on a variety of topics. She suggested that 9/11 was a hoax, former President Barack Obama was a Muslim, and the Clintons were guilty of murder. In a Facebook post, she claimed that a devastating wildfire that ravaged California was started by a "laser beam" from outer-space that was controlled by a Jewish banking family with connections to powerful Democrats. She also repeatedly claimed in multiple videos and social media posts that several school shootings were "false flags" perpetuated by government officials in an attempt to gain support for gun control laws. Most recently, she is best known for having endorsed a QAnaon conspiracy movement that claimed Mr. Trump was facing down a "shadowy cabal" of Democratic pedophiles. 

NBC News published an article on the rising concern amongst public officials as well as members of the public on her growing outbursts. The headline reads: "GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green faces backlash over incendiary social media posts." The article discusses how Greene is facing a backlash after a CNN review of her Facebook page which showed that she had liked posts in recent years calling for violence against prominent Democrats while promoting extremist conspiracy theories. The article exposes that she had liked comments that said that "a bullet to the head would be quicker" than removing house speaker Nancy Pelosi and that "through removal or death, doesn't matter, as long as she [Pelosi] goes." The article goes on to denounce Greene's comments and describes the facing calls from fellow members of congress for her to resign over her spreading false information about the election and the Capitol riot. The article highlights the dilemma for Republican leaders, who for months have been unwilling to publicly rebuke or punish her in any way for her inflammatory statements. NBC discusses how republican House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy declined requests for comment, and goes on to explain that many in congress are suggesting McCarthy should strip Greene of her committee assignments. NBC wraps up the article with a tweet from Hilary Clintons twitter: "This woman should be on a watch list. Not in Congress."

Fox News also published a News Flash where Tucker Carlson discusses Marjorie Taylor Greene. The headline reads: "Tucker Carlson: The media wants you fixated on Marjorie Taylor Greene. You should ask why." This is followed by: "With all that's going on in our country, CNN and MSNBC are convinced a freshman GOP lawmaker is the greatest threat." Carlson goes on by stating "This week's enemy is freshman Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who is apparently so dangerous that in the name of democracy, she must be expelled from congress. He discusses how she was elected with 75% of the vote, and that there is no question that her voters very much want her to represent them in Washington. He goes on to express his opinion that if cable news doesn't like your views, you have to leave congress. You don't actually have to harm anyone to lose your job. He wraps up his views on the matter by stating that "This new member of congress has barely even voted, but CNN says she has bad opinions. Therefore, she is the greatest threat we face."

Both of these networks covered this topic completely different. NBC calls for voters to be concerned and highlights why, whereas Fox News seems to mock the other networks' concern, and suggests she is the least of our worries. What do you think? Should we condemn and hold officials accountable of reckless speech, or do we have bigger problems to worry about? 

Sources:

Fox News:

https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/tucker-carlson-marjorie-taylor-greene-cnn-msnbc-reddit-gamestop-national-guard

NBC:

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/gop-rep-marjorie-taylor-greene-faces-backlash-over-incendiary-social-n1255903https://youtu.be/jhe9Fd6YRyA 

Youtube:

https://youtu.be/jhe9Fd6YRyA