NowThis News claims to be in the journalism business, but don’t be fooled.
This click-bait venture, which was founded in 2015 by Huffington Post co-founder Kenneth Lerer, is your basic, run-of-the-mill propaganda outfit. Its real goal is the spread of political agitprop. The twist here is that NowThis disguises itself as a genuine newsroom.
In reality, this site has less in common with the Wall Street Journal, which does actual journalism, than it does with the low-level Resistance grift, which relies on social media to distribute viral, hyper-partisan content to eager left-leaning audiences. In fact, the only real difference between the Resistance grifters and NowThis is that the latter is a full-blown organization, as opposed to a single crank with a Twitter account.
A good example of the sort of agitprop for which NowThis is becoming well-known includes the following tweet, which includes a video captioned, “Nikki Haley literally begged other ambassadors to support her UN resolution on Gaza — and not one voted for it.”
Nikki Haley literally begged other ambassadors to support her UN resolution on Gaza — and not one voted for it pic.twitter.com/bM0LvA9GF5
— NowThis (@nowthisnews) June 4, 2018
This June 4 tweet, which has been shared by more than 10,000 social media users, is so fantastically stupid, it almost feels like satire. From the goofy Mr. Magoo music, to the abject historical ignorance, it’s like a caricature of what good propaganda ought to be.
Let’s go through this bit by bit.
First, there’s the fact that the NowThis video, which was produced after the U.S. vetoed Kuwait’s resolution condemning Israel’s recent use of force against Gaza protesters, is nothing more than spliced-together Al Jazeera footage suggesting Haley is out of her depth. There’s a lot of speculation about what Haley remarked in conversations with her U.N. colleagues, but NowThis provides no evidence of what was actually said on the chamber floor. Yet, here’s a video claiming she “literally” begged other ambassadors to vote for the U.S. counter-resolution, which blamed Hamas for the Gaza violence.
Second, this must be their first time covering politics and the U.N., because hopeless ignorance is the only way to explain why NowThis characterizes Haley’s cajoling, lobbying, and failure to secure more support for the U.S. resolution as unprecedented.
As anyone with even a basic background in U.N. history will tell you, Haley’s recent experience is not unique among U.S. ambassadors.
Enjoy the following headlines, most of which I’ve chosen at random:
- July 24, 2014: Why nobody but the US voted against the UN’s anti-Israel resolution
- Oct. 27, 2015: United Nations votes 191-2 to condemn U.S. embargo against Cuba
- September 25, 2013: The U.S. is still lonely at the United Nations
- Dec. 23, 2007: U.S. gets outvoted on U.N. budget OK
- July 4, 1986: Report shows U.S. was outvoted in the U.N. through most of 1985
The U.S. has a long history of battling opposition at the U.N., but you’d think differently from following NowThis, an online organization that claims to create “news content for the social, mobile generation by informing its audience about what’s happening and important in the world right now. NowThis is the #1 video news brand on social.”
Lastly, good job producing some solid anti-U.S. propaganda, NowThis. That’s some excellent work “dunking” on Haley, the U.S. State Department and all attempts to condemn Hamas’ role in the recent Gaza violence. The terrorist group is surely grateful for the content.
