Russia's massive death toll and the media's Twitter freakout
Plus, something we can do about the national debt
“Russia will likely hit the 1 million casualty mark in the summer of 2025—a stunning and grisly milestone.” The country’s death toll is as high as 250,000 soldiers. Ukraine, meanwhile, has seen about 400,000 casualties, including between 60,000 and 100,000 soldiers killed.
Those conclusions come from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (pdf). You probably did not hear about all this because it was largely buried in the media. But that’s not the biggest problem with the coverage.
Instead, the reporting shows that the media is capable of following basic journalistic standards when it chooses to. In the new episode, the New York Times proves its own inconsistency.
The Times’ report on Russia and Ukraine is drenched in context. Contrast that against its “reporting” on Gaza (including from Ezra Klein). The difference could not be any more stark.
In today’s episode, I also explore how journalists frequently remind audiences of the Russia-Ukraine war’s origins, and how they describe Putin. (Which well known anchor calls him a “murderous thug?”)
Then, how the media handles propaganda. You’ll hear NPR freak out about Twitter spreading foreign government propaganda while spreading foreign government propaganda itself.
Recently, an international organization representing journalists — a group the media adores — and an openly political organization came together to launch a propaganda campaign of their own. Some “news” agencies happily joined in. It’s the same kind of thing the media slammed when Sinclair TV stations required local anchors to read a right-wing editorial.
Also today, the U.N. response to Israel’s assassination of terror leaders in Doha who organized the 10/7 attacks. See how the U.N. responded to the U.S. assassination of the man who organized the 9/11 attacks.
Plus, I tie up a couple of loose ends from previous episodes. One involves jury selection and Ronan Farrow; the other is about a survey of Americans during wartime.
Your responses to the episode about the national debt were overwhelming. No surprise — it’s $37 trillion, bigger than the entire U.S. economy.
The debt hikes up inflation, and taxpayers cover hundreds of millions of dollars in interest every year. Here’s something we can do: Sponsor Concord Action has a 4-sentence petition. Add your name! It will also help support this show. 👊
JL
P.S. Enjoy the music in today’s episode too, including “Propaganda Parade.”