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Warblogger Credibility, RIP?

January 9, 2007 at 07:24 | Print This Post Print This Post

Eric Boehlert writes what strikes me as a stinging and fatal indictment of the behaviour of political bloggers in covering the Iraq War - in this case, the role of conservative so-called “warbloggers”. An undue fascination with saving face at the cost of accuracy and transparency is certainly not unique to blogging, but it is a problem that particularly bedevils poli-bloggers, and seems to me to be the main culprit - perhaps more important than even ignorance and incompetence - in creating a shrill and uncompromising forum for discussion.


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One Response to “Warblogger Credibility, RIP?”


  1. Anon
    January 9th, 2007 at 12:15

    It doesn’t really have anything to do with war. Right-wing bloggers lie about everything - everything. And not just some of them, but basically all of them, all of the time.

    The discrepancy is between two views of one’s mission as a blogger.

    As a liberal blogger, one generally approaches the situation in terms of finding the truth and pushing one’s agenda in terms of it. It’s important for people to get the truth because, the blogger believes, once they are shown the truth then the reader won’t be able to help but to think like the blogger does. Show them the truth and belief will follow. Thus is persuasion accomplished.

    As a right-winger, one approaches the situation by trying to figure out what would be best for one’s team. The team being right-wingers, or Republicans, or whatever the blogger identifies with. Once the blogger has figured out what would be best for his team, he says it. Truth never enters into the discussion. It’s a propaganda, public relations war, and winning it is far more important than telling the truth. It’s important that people believe the way you believe; it’s not important that they get the truth. The ends justify the means.

    Credibility is a non-issue with conservative partisans. They don’t grade each other based on it; lying is not an offense against their code. What matters is staying on-message.

    Watch Stephen Colbert for a time. His coined words “truthiness” and now, “factiness” are right on target.