Media ignores CHOP as Seattle prepares to dismantle to autonomous zone
Media Research vice president for business and culture Dan Gainor weighs in.
The mainstream media is ignoring the violence in Seattle’s police-free zone known as the "Capitol Hill Organized Protest," or "CHOP, ” Dan Gainor of the Media Research Center, told “Fox & Friends First” on Thursday.
Host Jillian Mele noted, citing research, that during prime time, CNN and MSNBC, “failed” to cover Seattle’s “CHOP” zone “after reporting it as peaceful protests for days.”
“They’re pretending that it’s peaceful,” Gainor said on Thursday. “One reporter even called it ‘chill.’”
“Meanwhile, they ignore the violence in a situation where it is supposed to be black lives mattering, they ignore that a young African-American was killed in the violence,” he continued. “The chief of police says that there’s rapes and robberies, and, meanwhile, the media are saying, ‘Oh it is cool.’”
Gainor pointed out “that’s standard media playbook, pretend the truth is not really happening.”
On Monday, Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan announced the city is moving to end the police-free zone following three shootings in the area since Saturday, one of which was fatal.
SEATTLE CHOP LEADERS URGE PROTESTERS TO GO HOME, THROW SUPPORT BEHIND BIDEN, DEMOCRATS
In a press conference alongside Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best, Durkan said officers would begin returning to the East Precinct, which police abandoned in early June following a week of clashes with protesters in the wake of the death of George Floyd while in Minneapolis police custody.
Best said shootings, rape, assaults, burglary and property destruction have been reported in the days since her officers left the precinct building, KOMO News reported.
Gainor said the fact that the mainstream media is ignoring the violence is “flat out propaganda.”
“The networks want to relive the '60s and so anytime there’s leftist protests they want to really be out there on the firing line, waving the flags and protesting or rioting with the left. So, when it goes wrong, they are just completely unwilling to show it because they know it will make President Trump look good,” Gainor explained.
He added, “The press have to cover things in a more neutral way and they just refuse because they are in their election mode where anything that looks like it might aid Donald Trump won’t get covered.”
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Fox News’ Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.
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