Stacking the deck

Sometime in the early or mid 1990s the Smithsonian,
for a reason I do not recall,
sponsored some kind of festival, conference, or symposium
(not the Folklife Festival)
in tents on the Mall, just outside the Castle.
One of the discussions I attended dealt
with the effect of the Internet (then rather new) on the dissemination of news.
One of the people on the panel, up on the stage, was from the Washington Post.
I remember him saying that,
even with all the information available on the internet,
news media such as the Post would still be of value,
as they serve as a filter.
He went on to say what it was they would filter out,
presumably less reliable information.

Well, the problem is that,
while they do surely filter out less reliable information,
they (and the Post in particular) also tend to
only print or disseminate information
which supports the outcomes which they desire.
It is the purpose of this document to give examples
where I feel such clearly biased presentation of information or opinion
has occurred, and had a major effect on American politics and policies.

---

The 1992 Presidential Election

The Democrats, their candidate Bill Clinton, and the news media
made the 1992 election be all about the economy.
For a key example of how the Post, in its news reporting,
only found “experts” who would give a view of the pre-election economy
which was both gloomy and wrong,
see the 1992-10-28 WP article on the flash GDP report.

---

The Iraq War

For the Washington Post’s reporting and editorializing
leading up to the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq,
see
“WP prewar reporting on Iraq” and “WP prewar editorials on Iraq”.

---

Obama’s escalation of the Afghan War

See the WP editorial "The Afghan decision".