WaPo Is Not Even Pretending to Be Unbiased Anymore

Are media outlets supposed to be openly collaborating with presidential candidates to promote their campaigns? Is that a thing now? It’s not like the news even pretends to be unbiased anymore, but what you’re about to watch seems like something new.

Dave Jorgenson is a video producer and editor for the Washington Post. According to his WaPo bio, he’s also a “writer for ‘The Department of Satire’ and various scripted series… He also interviews kids around the country for his show ‘Short Takes.'” And he runs the newspaper’s TikTok account, because for some reason newspapers have TikTok accounts now. Well, far be it from me, a humble blogger, to say anybody else’s job is useless.

Ever since ~~COVID-19~~ the Chinese virus turned the world upside-down, Jorgenson has been making short videos about it. Here’s one:

Quarantine TikToks, a thread.

(1/?) pic.twitter.com/nhTcEplrJG

— Dave Jorgenson (@davejorgenson) March 11, 2020

Here are some more:

(15/?) pic.twitter.com/VeVxKWNwXG

— Dave Jorgenson (@davejorgenson) March 20, 2020

And a few more:

(26/?) pic.twitter.com/uagqWgbbb2

— Dave Jorgenson (@davejorgenson) March 27, 2020

…Okay.

Again, this guy is getting paid to do this by the Washington Post. In less than half a century, that paper has gone from All the President’s Men to… whatever this is supposed to be.

Ever since Jon Stewart made the news cool, all the comedians want to be journalists and all the journalists want to be comedians. But hey, it’s Jeff Bezos’ money and he can spend it any way he sees fit.

And today, Jorgenson enlisted a very special guest: the next president of the United States.

(111/?) pic.twitter.com/fDAmurJ9Vn

— Dave Jorgenson (@davejorgenson) May 28, 2020

I’m not a journalist or a lawyer, so I can’t speak to any ethical or legal concerns about the second-biggest newspaper in America openly collaborating with one of the candidates during a presidential campaign. I assume it’s all above board, or WaPo wouldn’t have approved it. If they want to look like they’re directly working for Biden’s campaign, that’s their business. It’s not like they have much of a reputation left to destroy anyway. Nobody really believes WaPo is unbiased and impartial, least of all the people who are paid to say WaPo is unbiased and impartial. They all want Biden to win, because they’re all Democrats.

And of course, the Trump campaign was quick to pounce, and seize, and so forth:

Joe Biden today: "You need to wear your mask outside. I don't care if you're just walking your dog."

Joe Biden 2 days ago: pic.twitter.com/eYw8hAJZin

— Trump War Room – Text TRUMP to 88022 & get the APP (@TrumpWarRoom) May 28, 2020

Whatever. If this Biden/WaPo video helps anybody stay safe from the virus, I guess that’s good? I don’t even know anymore, because they keep telling us different things about the effectiveness of masks and/or social distancing. But at least this silly little Biden campaign ad, directly produced by the Washington Post, isn’t actively putting anybody in danger. And every minute Biden spends doing this sort of nonsense is a minute he’s not sexually harassing anybody or spewing racist garbage.

Joe should stick to reading from a script. I just wish it were funnier. Democracy dies in darkness… to the sound of crickets.