On the one hand, you’re being lied to… but on the other, I guess that techinically, it’s not a lie if you’re wishy-washy about it.
Currently, the most exhausted word in the English language is “may.” All across the Media spectrum, “May” is doing more heavy lifting than CNN during a Hunter Biden scandal.
On the one hand, they need to scare us into getting vaccinated. But on the other hand, the credibility of Government, the CDC, and the Press on all matters COVID is so low at this point that they simply cannot survive another catastrophic prediction that turns out to be utter horse-hockey. And so they’ve decided to hedge their dire pronouncements with the weasel word “may.”
Take this headline from the New York Times, for example:
“BREAKING NEWS: The Delta Variant is as contagious as Chickenpox and may be spread by vaccinated people as easily as the unvaccinated…”
Or this one from SFiST:
CDC confirms that viral loads in vaccinated people with Delta may be infectious, so masks are necessary.”
Here’s another one from the New York Post:
“CDC Warns COVID-19 may be a few mutations away from evading vaccines.”
I particularly like that last one… imagine how different the Healthcare industry would be if it were possible to predict how viruses would mutate.
Now, as with any crime, “may” has an accomplice out there in the mainstream media universe… and that accomplice is the word “could.” You see “could” stepping in to fill the void whenever “may” is unavailable or otherwise indisposed, as in headlines like this one at CNN:
“Vaccination alone won’t stop the rise in variants and in fact could push the evolution of strains that evade their protection.”
Here’s another one from The Oregonian:
“Masks, vaccines could stop COVID delta variant spike within two weeks.”
Or, how ’bout this doozy from someone called Ken Dilanian at NBC:
New Data suggests that fully vaccinated individuals are not just contracting COVID, but could be carrying higher levels of virus than previously understood.”
This last one is really a marvel of activist journalism. Read it again and boil it down to the basics… “new data ‘suggests‘ that fully vaccinated people ‘could‘ be carrying…” in other words, there is absolutely zero actionable information anywhere in this story. It’s really remarkable.
One “journalist” at something called Disclose.TV was so brave he found a way to use “may” AND “could” in the same headline…
“JUST IN – SAGE, the UK’s health “expert panel” warns next COVID ‘super mutant variant’ could kill up to one in three people and the ‘vaccine roll-out may even speed up mutant strain’s emergence.”
ZOMG… a “super mutant strain” that could kill “up to” 33% of people…. them thar’s Ebola numbers, folks! Truly stunning and brave.
(Side Note: techincally the words “up to” includes “zero”)
I call this “Weasel Word Journalism”… it’s a way for Journalists to twist the facts in such a away that a narrative can be advanced. Whenever you see it in action, recognize it as a dead giveaway that the journalist in question has abandoned his responsibilities as a journalist and has become an activist. And then adjust your news reading habits accordingly.
PRO TIP for Journalists… stop using “may” and “could.” Either it does or it does not, if you can’t tell me which it is, then what the hell good are you?
UPDATE: Thanks to Colonel Kurt Schlichter for the Schlichter-lance. While you’re here, please take a moment to sign up for my Locals Community… that’s where all the action happens.