It’s like the “fake news” media just can’t help but make Trump’s whacky points for him over and over and over again. No matter how insane he might sound at times, the echo-chamber that houses mainstream news coverage somehow manages to slip on the banana peel he throws down every time.

This week the Democrats were somehow able to look up from their own navels long enough to remember who they were and the power they used to wield. For a moment they have been able to successfully reach into their tired bag of tricks and lay an immigration crisis that has been going on for decades at the feet of President Trump. Well, played. Except…

Time Magazine just couldn’t help themselves, despite being nailed for their photoshop antics multiple times over the years (O.J.Simpson, anyone?). The point was clear – here is a little girl stuck at the border, crying and pleading for her mother…a mother Trump is single-handedly and uncaringly snatching from her grasping arms.

Only as it turns out, that’s not at all the real story of that child’s photo.

I'll take a guess – "Despite the claims made by the father which contradict the claims made by Time and other media outlets, that shouldn't diminish the powerful effect that image has, nor should it diminish the great work the media is doing bringing these stories forward" https://t.co/OqKmCZMQSW

— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) June 22, 2018

The young girl’s father eventually stepped forward to say that his daughter was not separated from her mother at the border. The family left together. Furthermore, the mother was not seeking asylum of any sort but rather just looking for work.

Just like that, all the air went out of a headline and a cover that Time Magazine seemed to be feeling pretty proud of.

But the real kicker is that rather that simply say, “Hey, we made a mistake.” Time has doubled down on their fake-newsery.

“The June 12 photograph of the 2-year-old Honduran girl became the most visible symbol of the ongoing immigration debate in America for a reason,” said the magazine’s editor-in-chief Edward Felsenthal. “Under the policy enforced by the administration, prior to its reversal this week, those who crossed the border illegally were criminally prosecuted, which in turn resulted in the separation of children and parents. Our cover and our reporting capture the stakes of this moment.”

Ya hear that, America? The story they reported isn’t true but the spirit of the story is what’s important. They meant well!

Judd Legum of Think Progress was ticked. Not at Time of course, but at the rest of us for not just letting that little oopsie go in favor of the larger story.

2. The “fake news media” largely had the story right from the beginning, with CNN, WashPost and others reporting that the girl was not separated from her mother

— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) June 22, 2018

3. TIME then put the girl on the cover and photoshopped in a photo of Trump, looking down on her. Their story got some details about her treatment wrong

— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) June 22, 2018

4. What is the importance of all this?

NOTHING

Thousand of children were and are separated from their parents

The right is seizing on the photo in order to paint the entire issue as “fake news”

This is shameful

— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) June 22, 2018

While Legum’s thread is entertaining in it’s hysteria, it is also a sign of the larger problem he pretends is actually a problem of the “far right-wing”…he’s ignoring the details to make his point. This wasn’t just a cover. Time was actually claiming the girl had been separated from her mother. They aren’t a celebrity gossip site, they’re a legitimate news outlet and have a burden of substantiating their reporting. And yet time after time they forgo that burden in favor of simply inflaming emotions. This is exactly what President Trump is saying when he refers to them and others as “fake news”.

If you don’t want to be called “fake news” then stop posting fake stuff.

And when you get caught posting fake stuff, own up and go find some real stuff. It’s not that hard!