Watching the expletive-shouting, middle-finger-waving, media-hating mob at President Donald Trump's rally in Tampa, Florida, on Tuesday, Washington Post columnist Margaret Sullivan thought about the B-word.
Trump must, Sullivan wrote Wednesday, calm his most rabid supporters — and the suddenly public QAnon movement, a gun- and conspiracy-loving cult — “before his hands are splashed with blood.”
Sullivan's image resonated with journalists challenged to find facts in an era where they are resented by America's leader. She wasn't the only one with such a dire prediction.
CNN's Jim Acosta, a particular target of the mob, tweeted Tuesday night: "I’m very worried that the hostility whipped up by Trump and some in conservative media will result in somebody getting hurt." Acosta's dad fled mob violence and the Stalinist rule of Fidel Castro's Cuba in the early '60s.
The Miami New Times points out that the man in the center of the Tampa mob was a former member of Miami's murderous Nation of Yahweh cult who once faced charges of conspiring in the group's murders. The White House refused to condemn the mob Wednesday afternoon, with press secretary Sarah Sanders defending the action as freedom of speech.
Trump followed the rally with a fresh call to end the probe into Russian election interference.
Wednesday morning, The Post updated its tally of Trump's recorded false and misleading claims since taking office. The number: 4,229. The documented fabrications and distortions have multiplied over the past two months, with fact-checkers citing 79 false or misleading claims on July 5 alone.
In a Poynter interview in June, Post fact-checker Glenn Kessler said that, at this pace, Trump could make 10,000 misstatements by the end of his term.
Quick hits
SLAIN: Three journalists who were investigating a Russian private security company in the uranium-rich Central African Republic. Orkhan Dzhemal, Kirill Radchenko and Alexander Rastorguyev had been financed by a wealthy Russian exile to probe the Wagner security firm, which operates mercenaries in Syria, Ukraine and now the Central African Republic. The firm is owned by Vladimir Putin crony Yevgeny Prigozhin, who has been indicted in Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian influence in the 2016 U.S. election. U.S. officials say Prigozhin also finances a Russian “troll factory” that sent out disinformation during the 2016 presidential race.
CHANCE THE PUBLISHER: No one should expect the 25-year-owner of Chicagoist to resurrect local media. By Kim Bellware.
THE POWER OF BEYONCÉ: Will her issue of Vogue be an earth-shaking moment for magazines? “The arrangement has been hyped as novel,” writes The Atlantic’s Spencer Kornhaber, “but it comes as the culmination of a long trend: the waning dominance of old-media institutions in relation to new-media stars.”
DROPPED: The USC Annenberg Center is temporarily dropping Les Moonves' name from its state-of-the-art student media center until CBS completes its investigation of the network chief on accusations of misconduct. The Wrap reports that the name change comes at the request of Moonves and his wife, Julie Chen, for whom the center was named in 2015. Also Wednesday, Moonves was suspended from an advisory board at USC's School of Cinematic Arts.
WITNESS: Observing 400-plus executions “has given me a greater appreciation for life,” says longtime AP reporter Michael Graczyk. The Texas-based journalist, 68, retired this week, but has arranged with the news service to cover future executions as needed.
What we’re reading
WHEN CRIME TOUCHES A CRIME WRITER: Laura Lippman lives in one of the most dangerous cities in America, yet her relationship to it generally has been academic. Until June 28. Via Vulture, which is carrying a weeklong series of articles on true-crime writing, such as this best-of list.
On Poynter.org
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How and why to break an off-the-record promise. By Kelly McBride.
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Snopes feuds with a notorious internet hoaxer. By Daniel Funke.
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A new online news site, aiming for quality, springs up in Oregon’s capital. By Kristen Hare.
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Have a great Thursday.
