In defense of Buzzfeed
FTR I didn’t take an earlier post by Glenn Reynolds to be suggestive of a boycott. I thought he was simply pointing out what happens when an outlet is perceived as biased.
I’ve seen a head scratch-er or two from Buzzfeed lately, or maybe just more hits on the Right than Left that have been making me ponder any bias. But I also know, mainly from link trolls, they don’t only play one side of things. These below are from October 1 – 15 from Andrew Kaczynsk:
Joe Biden In 2007: “We Are Reaping What We Have Sown” On Katrina, Virginia Tech Shooting, Darfur Because Of The GOP
8 People Who Said Mitt Romney Lost The Election Before The Debates
White House Press Secretary In A Bind On Libya
Stephanie Cutter Says Libya Is A Political Topic “Because Of Mitt Romney And Paul Ryan”
Jay Carney: Biden Was Speaking About Himself, The President, And The White House, Not The Administration
Basically, they’re hits on the Left. I don’t know the guys there, or their minds. This isn’t defending a friend. But I wonder who pushes them things, or what sources they monitor. Maybe that’s behind any seeming lean. No idea and not going to dwell on it. I believe Zeke Miller has also done some good work I wouldn’t call biased, but I’m working from memory and never had much of one.
I don’t really feed them stuff, so I can’t say they’re either willing, or reluctant to pick up on Right-side memes. I also tend to ignore a lot of hits on the Right, as I prefer playing offense myself. So, perhaps my perception is off. But as evidenced by the links above, clearly they aren’t simply one-sided. If there’s any imbalance in what they do, perhaps it’s process and not thought process driven. I honestly don’t know.
But I’d prefer to raise it that way for now, hoping they might evaluate any issues internally, rather than brand them in a manner I don’t think they’ve yet earned. FWIW.
BuzzFeedAndrew was dishonest because he admitted Buzzfeed had spoken with the photographer but gave no explanation for the lack of a face photo of the t-shirt wearer.
He did you not do the simple search that would have shown that the racist t-shirt words were from the lefty Zazzle site.
He was biased and irresponsible to publish the racist t-shirt pic with no effort to know if the man was a Dem plant, a nut or a Romneyite.
You mean the Getty photo? Looks like he picked up on a Getty photo that was obviously going to get some Buzz. He also seems to have included a quote from a Romney guy denouncing it.
“Jamie Sabau, the Getty photographer who took the photo”
http://www.buzzfeed.com/andrewkaczynski/man-at-romney-rally-in-ohio-wears-shirt-put-the-w
You simply have not dealt with my reasonable questions, the most important of which is, why no face photo?
The answer is self evident: Because then the man would be recognized and found to be either a nut or a Democrat partisan or a Democrat plant.
I always thought the purpose of Buzzfeed was to Buzz legitimate events and photos, not fake or contrived ones ones. were I to wear a “Death to Romney” t-shirt to an Obama rally I would be appalled if Buzzfeed published it “no questions asked”.
Publishing that photo was just an example of telling a lie by with holding information and tricking the credulous viewer into thinking the man was a Romney supporter.
Yellow journalism at its worst.
” If there’s any imbalance in what they do, perhaps it’s process and not thought process driven.
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C’mon, guys.
Their site name is “Buzzfeed.”
They’re high. Very, very high.
Imagine Cheech and Chong picking “interesting” stories to pass on to the rest of the stoners.
Now, imagine citing one of their “interesting” stories on your own blog, and trying to explain why you did so.
My problem with BuzzFeed is the same as my problem with Politico.
They peddle gossip masquerading as news.
They especially love to rely on the single unnamed source and spin an entire fable around it.
Everybody used to fawn of Mike Allen’s reporting at Politico.
But can anyone now honestly say Politico is not a vital station in the assembly line building the Left narrative each day?
Keep in mind that Ben Smith, the chief honcho at BuzzFeed, is a Politico alumnus.
Politico seemed even handed — at first. BuzzFeed will drift left too.
I’m shocked to read this. How anyone with even a passing knowledge of Andrew Breitbart could have anything other than contempt for Buzzfeed and everyone connected to that left-wing smear machine is amazing to me. My God Dan! You WORKED for Andrew! I cannot believe you wrote this post. Buzzfeed Politics has been undermining Breitbart every chance it gets. Don’t you remember how they tried to scoop Breitbart with the Derrick Bell video right after Andrew died? I could give you countless examples like that and I’m astonished you would go out of your way to defend scumbags like that.
“… but I’m working from memory and never had much of one.”
http://keenserve.com/vq?q=buzzfeed&df=
I think it confirms your perception.
BuzzFeed’s political operation is run by Ben Smith, who was a JournoLister (and frequently behaves like he’s on whatever lefty coordination list succeeded that). Sorry, no sale.
Oh, I agree, Dan, I’d trust an operation run by Ben Smith with my…uh…hmmm…uh…absolutely nothing.
Are we so desperate for acceptance with the Cool Kids that we’re ready to cozy up with Ben Smith just because he sends the occasional piece our way?
It seems to me you’ve forgotten everything Andrew Breitbart taught us about the enemy. How very disappointing.
I’m no Buzzfeed fan. Because, I haven’t appreciated things I have picked up on Twitter from them. But, I am decidedly a Riehl World News fan. I don’t perceive Dan ever to try to ‘fit in with the cool kids’. That’s not his style. Can’t you guys just accept he doesn’t see things your way without being crass and insulting to him? Because, while we might not like Buzzfeed, Dan’s work is completely a benefit to the conservative message effort. That should count for something more than this unproductive conversation, IMO. For sure, in my book it does. Buzzfeed is what it is, they don’t matter as much as our efforts matter, as long as we don’t waste time stressing on each other.
“BuzzFeed is a website that combines a technology platform for detecting viral content with an editorial selection process to provide a snapshot of “the viral web in realtime.” Cofounded in 2006 by Jonah Peretti (who is also cofounder of The Huffington Post), BuzzFeed is located in Manhattan, New York in the Flatiron District.”
Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BuzzFeed
Co-founder of the HuffPos, enough said.
Silly rabbits, a snake can shed its skin, it can’t shed its history.