Wednesday, February 18, 2015

And People Wonder Why I Say "Never Trust State Media"

The headline at Voice of America is "Putin Demands Surrender of Encircled Ukrainian Troops."

The text of the story underneath that headline begins:

Russian President Vladimir Putin is calling on pro-Russian rebels to allow besieged Ukrainian troops safe passage out of the encircled town of Debaltseve in eastern Ukraine.

Speaking Tuesday in the Hungarian capital, Putin also urged the Kyiv government to allow its troops to surrender.

There's just no way to honestly get from that headline to that story, even setting aside the question of whether Debaltseve is in the Donetsk People's Republic or "eastern Ukraine."

No, I'm not "pro-Putin." If I saw him on fire in my front yard I wouldn't come outside to piss on him. But VOA's headline writers are just making shit up and broadcasting it at taxpayer expense. So much for their charter ("VOA news will be accurate, objective and comprehensive").

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