AP Stylebook Now Says Don’t Call Riots “Riots”

October 5, 2020 Mark Hale Politics 3

“Focusing on rioting and property destruction rather than underlying grievance has been used in the past to stigmatize broad swaths of people”

For months now, the mainstream media and Democrats have used variations of the term “peaceful protests” to describe the nightly Antifa/BLM-led riots in Democrat-run cities like Portland and Seattle that have turned parts of these cities into apocalyptic warzones.

We all remember the infamous clip of MSNBC’s Ali Velshi morphing into Baghdad Bob by proclaiming, “This is mostly a protest. It is not, generally speaking, unruly” as fires and riots raged behind him in Minneapolis shortly after the death of George Floyd:

Despite the media’s deliberate attempts at deception, those of us in the real world who have watched the near-constant stream of video footage shared on social media know that the correct word to describe the scenes at these supposedly “peaceful protests” is, in fact, riots.

Fires are routinely set, looting is a frequent occurrence, and incendiary devices are often thrown at officers and buildings. Entire city blocks have been destroyed, burned to the ground, thanks to violent rioters. Random drivers and outdoor restaurant patrons are sometimes harassed, held captive in some respects, and in some incidents have been forced to make pledges. In some instances, innocent bystanders, counter-protesters, and those defending their property have been assaulted – or killed.

It’s insulting in the extreme to any sane American who has been paying attention to the politically-motivated anarchy to see a supposed reporter—especially those on the scene—refer to the burning down of local communities as “peaceful protests,” “mostly peaceful,” or “not, generally speaking, unruly.”

But in spite of the pushback from Republicans and conservatives against the media’s/left’s utterly grotesque gaslighting on the riots, the journalists at the AP Stylebook announced last week that the word “riots” was offensive and stigmatizing.

Instead, they will be using terms like “unrest”, “revolt”, and “uprising” to describe “protests” and “demonstrations” that they acknowledge “can be legal or illegal, organized or spontaneous, peaceful or violent, and involve any number of people”:

All of this is in addition to how they advise reporters to carefully approach using the word “looting”:

Understandably, people who are fed up with this insanity were not amused, and called out the AP’s announcement for what it was:

The timeless words of Thomas Sowell are also worth referencing here:

It is the public that reads newspapers and magazines, that listens to radio or watches television. They are depending on journalists to tell them the truth as they see it and to offer their honest opinion as to what it means.

Journalists cannot serve two masters. To the extent that they take on the task of suppressing information or biting their tongue for the sake of some political agenda, they are betraying the trust of the public and corrupting their own profession.

Sowell wrote that over 12 years ago. Sadly, the Associated Press’s continual redefining of words to mean whatever’s politically convenient at any given time to the left’s warped narratives is just further proof he’s right. The political corruption of the journalism profession at this point is almost wholly complete.

— Stacey Matthews has also written under the pseudonym “Sister Toldjah” and can be reached via Twitter. —

via legalinsurrection