FILE – In this Oct. 4, 2018 file photo, a Trump supporter holds up a T-shirt reading “You Are Fake News” before a rally by President Donald Trump in Rochester, Minn. Local members of the media says they’ve noticed more hostility from the public since Trump began his attacks on ‘fake news.’ Trade groups are spreading safety tips because of the incidents. (AP Photo/Jim Mone, File)
Apparently, NBC didn’t learn there lesson after trying this the first time.
Several weeks ago, Heidi Przybyla pushed a story claiming that a man had died after ingesting chloroquine. This was supposedly Trump’s fault as the man’s wife claimed she had heard the President say it was a cure for the Wuhan virus. But it didn’t take long for the real details to come out. Namely, that the man had taken fish tank cleaner and not any actual medication. The “journalist” who reported the story failed to mention that very important fact.
👉Her husband is dead & she's in the ICU after ingesting chloroquine:
"We saw Trump on TV — every channel — & all of his buddies and that this was safe," she said.
"Trump kept saying it was basically pretty much a cure."She implored @VaughnHillyard: "Educate the people" https://t.co/Vl94tIZcdw
— Heidi Przybyla (@HeidiNBC) March 23, 2020
Well, Heidi is back again with another story and you’ll be shocked to learn that it’s just as misleading as the first one.
NEW to @NBCNews: Family of New York woman blames hydroxychloroquine combo for fatal heart attack https://t.co/TDIQrAN2lP
— Heidi Przybyla (@HeidiNBC) April 16, 2020
What’s the real story? Here’s David Harsanyi at National Review with the things NBC fails to disclose:
The piece goes on to mention — twice — that Trump touted the drug, and notes that Media Matters says that Fox News touts the drug. But it offers no evidence that the woman’s death had anything to do with hydroxychloroquine.
Despite strongly suggesting that Trump had a hand in death of a defenseless 65-year-old woman, the reporter failed to speak to the physician who prescribed the drugs, or even to obtain additional confirmation about the cause of death.
And even if the drug did play some role in the woman’s death — it’s certainly possible; every drug has side effects, and there are over confirmed 200,000 coronavirus cases in New York City — the piece offers no evidence that doctors in Queens, New York are handing out z-packs because the president mentioned hydroxychloroquine during a press conference.
In short, the journalist who wrote this story up, who has a history of pushing fake news on this topic, didn’t even confirm the cause of death. In fact, she has didn’t even bother to speak to the doctors involved. Further, trying to connect this with Trump doesn’t compute. The drug was prescribed by a doctor who’s paid to make decisions like that. The President has nothing to do with it.
Never in a million years would I have guessed that the media would be so awful as to actively root against a drug that could possibly save lives. Yet, that’s exactly what’s happening and they are using stories like this to do it. That this is the same reporter who’s already been caught once, yet she hasn’t even been reprimanded, tells you all you need to know about NBC News’ standards.
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