Here's a case study in the workings of the conservative echo chamber.
Today, Human Events Online published a story headlined "Al Gore to Attack Bush 'Police State.'" By putting the phrase in quotes, Human Events suggests that Gore used it or is going to in his speech. However, the article itself, which quotes from a MoveOn.org press release, never documents Gore (or anyone else) using the term "police state." (The term does not appear anywhere in the release.)
Nonetheless, Matt Drudge is currently running an angry-looking photo of Gore above the headline "Al Gore To Attack Bush 'Police State'" (PDF of page):
The point of the tactic, of course, is to discredit Gore in advance by associating him with strident rhetoric -- even if the former Vice President didn't actually say it.
Update 1/14: Drudge demoted the Gore item at some point. He hasn't changed the headline, but the photo is gone and the link now points to the MoveOn release rather than the Human Events story. Again, the phrase "police state" does not appear anywhere in the release, which makes the headline/link combination especially nonsensical.
I just wonder whether Drudge is deliberately trying to mislead or simply does not read the stories he links to. Both are very plausible.
Posted by: Andrew | January 14, 2006 at 07:07 PM