AOC offers advice to newsrooms: ‘Don’t let Neo-Nazis on TV’

Her comments came days after 21 people died after a man opened fire inside an El Paso, Texas Walmart, while nine died hours later during a shooting in Dayton, Ohio. In the case of the El Paso shooting, the suspect reportedly penned an anti-immigrant manifesto ahead of the attack.

“If I were a journalist/worked in news, this is what I’d do rn: 1. Interview actual experts on white supremacy & give them space (more than 2mins or lines) to educate the public on WS, what to look for. Often. 2. Not frame white supremacy&racism as a ‘conflict’ or ‘debate,'” she began.

She added, “the reason there’s a tendency to ‘both sides’ every issue on TV is bc the medium is incentivized for conflict, so ppl will put the least qualified people on TV to create it (see: climate deniers). Don’t ask ‘is [blank] racist?’ Have experts explain what to do about racism.”

Ocasio-Cortez also argued against letting neo-Nazis appear on networks “to buff their image or couch racism in ‘reasonable’-seeming terms/appearance! Sounds obvious but it just happened.” She went on to explain that they are “experts at manipulation.”

The New York congresswoman was referencing white supremacist Richard Spencer, who appeared on CNN last month to discuss President Trump’s tweets directing minority members of Congress to “go back” to their home countries if they don’t like the United States. CNN received swift condemnation for giving Spencer the platform.

Ocasio-Cortez concluded her thread by saying that newsrooms should “have editors of color,” adding that diversity should be present in “not only lowest ranks, but highest.”