CNN’s Chris Cuomo just provided a cringeworthy example of what can happen when an attempt at virtue signaling goes terribly wrong.
It all started when a crank on Twitter advanced a conspiracy theory questioning Sen. Kamala Harris’s eligibility to be president. It’s not worth going down the rabbit hole on this beyond saying that Harris was born in Oakland, and thus, a U.S. citizen.
After the tweet, CNN contributor Ana Navarro slammed the “birther” charge. Cuomo couldn’t resist weighing in either, but then he wrote this: “hopefully there will be no games where the issue keeps changing for righty accusers…and…the legit info abt Harris comes out to deal with the allegation ASAP. The longer there is no proof either way, the deeper the effect.”
This tone deaf tweet understandably generated a storm of outrage. To suggest there’s “no proof either way” is itself advancing the conspiracy theory, by presenting it as if it’s an open debate, in need of evidence, when the basic facts aren’t seriously in doubt. Also, the Cuomo standard puts the burden of proof on Harris to disprove every crank that comes up with a conspiracy theory about her — a standard that would impose a particularly high burden on candidates who are members of minority groups.
Interestingly, the actual conspiracy theory doesn’t even dispute the basic fact of her birth — it just pushes other irrelevant details that don’t have anything to do with the constitutional eligibility question.
As we saw with the “birther” movement over former President Barack Obama’s eligibility, there is no sort of proof that can be used to convince anybody who believes the conspiracy. Conspiracy theorists will believe what they want to, and adapt all evidence to fit their conspiracy. Feeding into them just provides them with more attention.
Cuomo, under fire, is still as of this writing trying to explain himself, suggesting he really meant that the burden of proof is on the accuser.
UPDATE: He deleted the tweet and issued this apology.
Deleted my original tweet because it was taken literally the opposite way that I intended it. Sen Harris has no duty to justify any such accusation, let alone a birtherism attack. You accuse, you prove. That was my point. Apologize for confusion.
— Christopher C. Cuomo (@ChrisCuomo) January 22, 2019
