It’s bad enough we have to deal with the right-wing ecosystem of Fox News, Newsmax, and - yes - Truth Social. But too often, the mainstream media gets tricked into picking up one of their bogus narratives and dressing it up under the guise of respectability.

This is why whenever something starts bubbling up on the insane fringes, we have to stay vigilant. They’re trying to get CNN or another overly credulous source to pick it up. (Now CNN’s calling the Biden documents story a “saga”, which tells you all you need to know).

Whether it’s for the sake of both-sidesm or some high-minded notion of faux journalistic independence, this is contributing to the rot of political dialogue in our country. 

Here’s what we’re dealing with this time: President Biden’s handling of classified documents from the Obama administration. 

Here are the facts: 

1. We know there is no evidence that President Biden ever actively knew about these documents. 
2. He’s made no bizarre claim to have retroactively declassified these documents with his mind (you know, like the insane Trump excuse). 
3. President Biden has completely cooperated with the investigation from the onset, including fully accepting the newly appointed special counsel. 
4. Under President Biden, there’s actually an independent Justice Department – you think for a minute Bill Barr would have investigated Trump? We both know the answer there.

Still, this story has metastasized from the far-right channels. Now it’s in the walls. 

We’ve been bombarded with a deluge of stories comparing it to Donald Trump’s own nefarious practice of hoarding classified documents (including those of a nuclear nature) in Mar-A-Lago, which has about the equivalent security apparatus as one of my kid’s pillow forts. 

We can’t let ultra-MAGA control the discourse in our country. Misinformation can come in many different forms, and even small equivocations like this can severely damage the long-term health of our democracy.

These types of stories aren’t going away. And with Republicans holding the gavel and steering House investigatory committees, it’s safe to say it’s only going to get worse. 

They’ll continue to churn out bogus conspiracy theories about Biden and his family. Right-wing talking heads will then shriek from their perches on Newsmax and Mordor. Then, they’ll hope that enough mainstream media organizations recycle versions of their B.S until the average voter is tricked into thinking there is a real story.

Have any doubts? This exact formula helped cast enough doubt on the viability of Hillary Clinton and elected Trump in 2016. 

But we can’t just sit here and fret about it. Stay vigilant and keep your friends and family informed. We’d appreciate it if you could help support our work calling it out and fighting back.

-Reed

@reedgalen