CNN is *Offended* Over Something It Actually Made Up About Robert Kennedy Jr.

You knew coverage of the anti-mandate marches would be appalling, but this is particularly special from CNN.

What do you get when you combine the articulatory powers of an FSU ‘International Affairs’ grad, with the deductive skills of someone extremely skilled at writing about where Panera Bread was opening their next location?

You get absolute ratshit, of course. Check this out:

CNN’s coverage, republished by MSN.

Now, to be fair to authors Aileen Graef (FSU) and Sarah Fortinsky (Panera), they probably didn’t write the headline. But they did write the bizarre copy that led to their anonymized editor confecting this narrative.

What came first? The chicken or the Nazi? Unclear.

The headline froths: ‘Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Invokes Nazi Germany in offensive anti-vaccine speech.’

Except he did no such thing.

He did warn – as this chap below tried to explain to a certainly “confuddled” Graef and Fortinsky – about the future of digital surveillance becoming an inescapable prison:

The last time I checked – and it was pretty recent, to be fair – issuing warnings over totalitarianism has never been referred to as “invoking Nazi Germany.”

At best, the headline could read, “…invokes specter of Nazi Germany…” but let’s face it, the hidey little headline writer knew exactly what he/she/dragonself was doing.

As an example, here’s how you correctly use ‘invokes’ in a headline.

Secondly, the use of the word “offensive”.

There’s no evidence anyone was actually offended, nor is it offered. Ironically there is actually evidence that real people were offended by the authors’ invoking anti-Semitism (that’s how you use invoking) to smear Kennedy.

Here’s a screenshot from one of Graef’s own followers’ responses:

Tweet to Graef.

Either way, imagine predicating a news headline on what might theoretically offend someone, somewhere. You can’t imagine it. Because you’re a normal person and Graef, Fortinsky, and AnonyEditor are weasels.

Thirdly: “Anti-Vaccine”. You know where I’m going with this. The organizers of Sunday’s events made extremely clear these were anti-mandate, not anti-vaccine events so that both pro and anti-vaccination types could attend in unity against government-enforced Big Pharma profit boosters.

This apparently held no weight with CNN’s dynamic duo: the Tallahassee Typist and her partner-in-Panera.

Finally, let’s take a moment to savor the hypocrisy. CNN anchors and guests have repeatedly referred to right-wingers as “Nazis,” including the previous President of the United States. In fact, the last time was just 11 days ago.

How offensive!