Local stories about vaccine opposition; 'we have failed;' Tuesday's front pages; climate change alert; Bulletin's newest addition

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Brian Stelter here at 11:11pm ET on Monday, August 9 with the latest on the Senate, Mike Richards, AMC, Dan Bongino, NBC, Britney Spears, and much more...

"Ignorance is a virus"

There is an old adage, sometimes attributed to Neil deGrasse Tyson, that "ignorance is a virus." It showed up on a protest sign in Los Angeles last month when a man sought to counter anti-vaccine demonstrators. His sign said "Your ignorance is a virus. GET vaccinated!"

I noticed the same sentiment on Twitter Monday afternoon, posted by former CNNer David Clinch, in response to a rage-inducing story about people who aren't willing to get a free Covid-19 vaccine, but are shelling out money for fake vaccine cards. "Ignorance is a virus," Clinch wrote.

Incomprehensible conspiracy theories, illogical memes, bogus ideas – they all spread face to face and text to text in highly personal ways, and through wickedly viral platforms that spread nonsense from country to country in mere minutes. And we're all witnessing this spread in near real time due to the most recent Covid-19 surge in parts of the US. "Arkansas has just 8 ICU beds available," "Two Texas ERs temporarily shut down because of Covid," and "DeSantis escalates war on masks in schools" are three of the headlines on CNN.com right now.

The unvaccinated are bearing the brunt of the pain and suffering. Disputes between vaccinated adults and unvaccinated adults increasingly have the feel of a death match, since this really is about life and death. Reporters are operating in the space between these two Americas and trying to explain one side to the other by interviewing vaccine opponents and the health care officials who are trying to help them. It can make for excruciating reading at times, but it's also incredibly informative...

"We have failed"

I have noticed that almost every front-line story cites America's information crisis and depressingly low levels of social trust:

-- Baton Rouge, Louisiana: "Somehow, we have failed our messaging," Dr. Frank Courmier told The Acadiana Advocate's Megan Wyatt as his hospital filled with critically ill patients. "There seems to be a war over truth," he said. "And I think that there is a brunt determination, for me at least, that truth will win, no matter how bleak it looks right now."

-- Long Island, New York: A 65-year-old man told Newsday's David Olson that "I don't trust the government. Are you kidding me? What they did to Trump." His equally vaccine-resistant wife said "a relative of ours has told us they put aborted baby fetuses in the vaccine." (False.) Olson also quoted a 71-year-old man who said he didn't "know what to believe," but was "reading and listening to the news about people who got the shot and they still get the COVID. To me, it's really not doing much."

-- San Antonio, Texas: The Express-News interviewed Victor Velos, "a retired pulmonary specialist on the West Side," who is "having a difficult time convincing his two youngest sons, in their mid-20s, to get the vaccine. The brothers get their information about vaccines from 4chan, an online forum that allows users to remain anonymous and where falsehoods about the vaccine have spread."

-- Tulare County, California: The Fresno Bee's story about a "vaccination desert" in California's Central Valley opened with a 29-year-old agricultural worker who "knows many people, including his girlfriend, who have fallen ill to the virus. And in the past month alone, two of his friends died from complications related to the disease. Still, he hasn't made vaccination a priority, in part due to the misinformation about the shot he's read online."

-- Hyattsville, Maryland: Mike Brown, owner of The Shop Spa, told CNN's Nicquel Terry Ellis that "we have been trying to get the correct information to the community because they are swimming in pools of misinformation and they're buying it. So I'm enlightening them on the facts and making sure they get the correct information that can battle their conspiracy theories."

-- Boston, Massachusetts: "Misinformation coming out of Haiti, which has the lowest Covid-19 vaccination rate of any country in the world," is having a particular impact on the Mattapan neighborhood, "which has the largest Haitian community in the state," and the lowest vax rate in Boston, Tori Bedford reported for GBH.

-- Far Rockaway, New York: In a neighborhood with low vaccination rates, community organizer Jazmine Outlaw said "lack of information is why people miss out on things." Plus, she told Politico's Téa Kvetenadze, people "don't trust a lot of the information that's given out."

-- Heflin, Alabama: Ryan Jackson, a pharmacist, told the LA Times that he has heard all the conspiracy theories. But it's even deeper than that: "They don't trust the government, a lot of political factors. It's just a complete distrust of everybody in authority." But he's somewhat hopeful that "more people will come around" as the unvaxxed see that the vaccinated are "not growing extra limbs and third eyeballs."

"I made that up. It's. Not. Real."

New York Times reporter Nicole Hong's story about "one company's struggle to get all its employees vaccinated" is having a longer lifespan than Hong could have expected.

It's because of this paragraph about one reluctant employee at Metro Optics Eyewear in the Bronx: "One employee said she was concerned because she thought a vaccine had caused the characters in the film 'I Am Legend' to turn into zombies. People opposed to vaccines have circulated that claim about the movie's plot widely on social media."

It really is a popular meme, believe it or not. On Monday, several days after Hong's story came out, one of the writers of "I Am Legend" chimed in. Akiva Goldsman, a co-writer and executive producer of the film, tweeted, "Oh. My. God. It's a movie. I made that up. It's. Not. Real."

Meet "the Tucker Carlson fans who got vaxxed"

Olga Khazan of The Atlantic asked more than a dozen "vaccinated fans of the Fox News host," mostly IDed via Twitter, about "what it will take to get more Republicans to get their shots." Khazan said "one factor seemed to have played the biggest role in my interviewees' decision to get vaccinated: a genuine fear of Covid-19." She concluded that "a strategy based on fear" might make sense...

"How can we help?"

Laurie Garrett, the acclaimed science reporter, pointed out on Monday that "the internet is blowing up with stories like these" – stories about vaccine skeptics, sometimes outright opponents, who wind up dying as a result of the virus. She linked to a Slate story about Dick Farrel, a right-wing radio host in Florida who died last week, and a CNN story about six members of a Florida church who died in recent weeks.

Garrett said that "liberals respond" to the stories "with snide, superior comments -- a 'serves 'em right' attitude. But we won't stop #COVID19 unless we express compassion. Why were they misled? How can we help?"

Recommended reads

-- Ray A. Smith's new story is headlined "Vaccination Status Has Americans Picking Sides..." (WSJ)

-- PolitiFact's page full of Covid fact-checks is an eye-opening look at what sorts of stupefying memes are making the social rounds... (PolitiFact)

-- Charles Blow on the toll of "anti-vax insanity:" There are "people dead today — a lot of them! — who should still be alive and who would be if people in the heights of government and the heights of the media had not fed them lies about the virus..." (NYT)

-- A fake website went "viral in anti-vaxxer circles" after rumors spread that a website was "offering money to people willing to snitch on their unvaccinated family, friends, and neighbors," David Gilbert reports... (Vice)

-- This dynamic is related: Zeeshan Aleem argues that "political and media elites on the mainstream right are creating a climate in which the very idea of a knowable, shared reality is becoming extinct." That's what Dr. Frank Courmier in Baton Rouge was talking about: The insidious "war on truth" that must be defeated... (NBC)

FOR THE RECORD, PART ONE

-- CNN's latest on New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo: His "closest confidants spent the weekend trying to convince the Democrat to resign," but he is said to be in a "fighting mood..." (CNN)

-- Time's Up chairman Roberta Kaplan "resigned from her post" on Monday "as the fallout from sexual harassment allegations against Mr. Cuomo widened..." (NYT)

-- Number of the day: $3.5 trillion. Ali Zaslav and Lauren Fox have all the details of the Dems' budget resolution here... (CNN)

-- Seung Min Kim noted this "interesting choice of venue:" Bernie Sanders penned an op-ed for FoxNews.com to tout the Dem plan. He begins: "For too many years the people on top have been doing phenomenally well, while working families continue to struggle..." (Fox)

Tuesday's front pages

The IPCC's new report was embargoed for 4am ET Monday, which is why folks in the US woke up to harrowing headlines about a "code red for humanity." Nearly a full day later, the climate change warnings are also topping many of Tuesday's front pages, like The Independent in the UK:

The bottom line, said Michael E. Mann, a lead author of the report, is that "we have zero years left to avoid dangerous climate change, because it's here."

Unsurprisingly, the report barely registered with right-wing outlets like Fox. The WSJ's former editor Gerard Baker came out with a new opinion piece on Monday arguing that "climate change has consumed journalistic standards." More useful, I thought, were the solutions-based approaches, like Emily Atkin's story and Michael Grunwald's thread. John Sutter's column for CNN.com was also powerful: All hope is not lost, he wrote. "And it's not your fault. Please try to banish those thoughts from your mind. Instead, pressure your government to end the fossil fuel era." Read on...

TUESDAY PLANNER

The $1.2 trillion infrastructure package is set for a final vote in the Senate at 11am ET...

New nonfiction releases include Mirin Fader's "Giannis," Spencer Ackerman's "Reign of Terror," Andrew Sullivan's "Out on a Limb," and Tucker Carlson's "The Long Slide..."

🔌: I'll be on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" at 11:35pm ET...

Bongino calls out Fox for editing his Trump interview

Last night I wrote about Fox's curious decision to let Trump lie about "voter fraud" on TV, but to snip out his remarks from the version of the interview that was posted on YouTube, evidently to comply with the platform's policies. On Monday the interviewer – Saturday night screamer Dan Bongino – criticized his employer for doing so. The Daily Beast's Justin Baragona noted that Bongino "has faced the MAGA wrath" for the edit, which he clearly had nothing to do with. So on his radio show on Monday, Bongino said the edit is "not acceptable at all," adding, "I feel betrayed by a lot of people." He claimed to be working on a "definitive resolution," whatever that means.

>> "The Fox News PR department has not commented on why the YouTube upload was edited and did not respond to The Washington Post's request for an explanation," Jeremy Barr wrote...

Hungary censors Tucker?!

"Tucker Carlson's trip to Hungary to promote its populist leader took an awkward turn when a transcript of his interview was censored by the Hungarian government," Aidan McLaughlin wrote for Mediaite. Carlson praised the country's media ecosystem, but as McLaughlin noted, his "characterization of Hungary and its ruler was put to the test on Friday when all mention of Chinese leader Xi Jinping was scrubbed from a transcript of the Carlson-Orban interview that was sent to reporters...."

FOR THE RECORD, PART TWO

-- The LA Times editorial board has a warning for readers: "Politically funded websites that advance a partisan agenda under the guise of publishing local news are sprouting up across California..." (LAT)

-- "The Old Gray Lady has succumbed to the tides of history and today, at long last, published the term 'shitposting' for the first time," Reid McCarter writes... (AV Club)

-- On a more serious note, the NYT published a pair of stories about conflicts of interest in the work of a star Times journalist in the 1940s and 50s, and a counterpoint about a Black reporter who exposed a lie about the atomic bombings of Japan... (NYT)

Fox dishonestly attacks Karni

Oliver Darcy writes: "Fox News spent most of the day Monday dishonestly attacking NYT's Annie Karni by suggesting that she had dismissed concerns from critics of Obama's party. In an interview with CNN over the weekend, Karni was asked to describe what people at Martha's Vineyard thought of the party. She summarized the view of critics, and then said that defenders believe since the invitees consisted of 'a sophisticated, vaccinated crowd,' things would be OK. But Fox took Karni out of context by pretending that she had herself dismissed critics. Throughout the day, the right-wing network aired segments bashing Karni as if she had given her own opinion on the matter. This is, of course, par for the course over at Fox. But it still deserves to be called out..."

FOR THE RECORD, PART THREE

By An Phung:

-- Gannett has launched a "network-wide push" to improve its crime coverage by using fewer mugshots, producing stories rich in context and relying less on police narratives, Angela Fu reports... (Poynter)

-- "In October 2020, Star Tribune Media unceremoniously closed City Pages, after the alt-weekly became 'economically unviable' amid the pandemic's upheaval. Now, ten months later, the site is being reborn as a new reader-funded, writer-owned digital news startup..." (Nieman Lab)

-- Perry Bacon Jr.'s latest column on what the media and general public is getting wrong about how US politics work today. He offers seven "better explanations..." (WaPo)

SNEAK PEEK

Facebook continues to add Bulletin writers

Facebook needs to keep introducing its new newsletter product, Bulletin, to potential subscribers. One way to do that: Keep announcing new writers. Dr. Samantha Boardman will launch her publication, "The Weekly Dose," later this week. It will be announced on Tuesday, the same day her new book "Everyday Vitality: Turning Stress into Strength" comes out. Facebook has 40 writers on board so far...

Senators write Zuck over NYU researchers ban

Oliver Darcy writes: "It doesn't seem like this controversy is going away. Senators Amy Klobuchar, Mark Warner and Chris Coons sent a letter to Mark Zuckerberg over Facebook's disabling of the accounts of NYU researchers. The Democratic senators said it was 'imperative' that researchers are permitted to examine 'harmful activity' on social platforms. The letter ended asking a series of questions. TechCrunch's Taylor Hatmaker has the details here..."

--> Scott Rosenberg of Axios tackled FB's "accountability bind..."

FOR THE RECORD, PART FOUR

By Kerry Flynn:

-- Orion Rummler explores the impact of Felicia Sonmez's lawsuit on women journalists... (The 19th*)

-- "Don't Piss Off Trisha Paytas" is the headline to Scaachi Koul's profile of the prolific and "unbelievably rich" YouTuber... (BuzzFeed News)

-- Taylor Lorenz explains the text-based memes "taking over" Instagram... (NYT)

-- Marvel and DC Comics face backlash: "As the comics giants make billions from their storylines and characters, writers and artists are speaking out about their struggles for fair payment," Sam Thielman reports... (Guardian)

-- On a related note? George Gene Gustines says a group of comic book writers and artists are starting to publish "new comic book stories, essays and how-to guides" on Substack... (NYT)

Mike Richards defends himself

In a memo to "Jeopardy!" staff on Monday, exec producer Mike Richards defended himself against accusations that he mistreated colleagues back when he produced "The Price is Right." He also confirmed he was indeed asked to "consider hosting the show" -- but said "no final decisions have been made." Here's my full story...

>> In a line from the memo that seemed written for the public, not the show's staff, Richards said the host choice "is not my decision and never has been." As I reported last week, the ultimate decision-maker is Tony Vinciquerra. But Sony is not saying anything about it on the record. And the WSJ's John Jurgensen noted that Richards' memo "didn't elaborate on his role in other aspects of the hiring search, such as coordinating 13 other guest hosts, or where his involvement in the process ended," all key Q's...

FOR THE RECORD, PART FIVE

-- "Robert Durst, the eccentric millionaire subject of the HBO crime documentary 'The Jinx,' took the witness stand in his defense Monday as he stands trial for murder in the 2000 killing of his close friend and confidante Susan Berman..." (CNN)

-- "The Scott Rudin executive-produced version of 'West Side Story' will not reopen on Broadway..." (THR)

-- Doug Heye wrote a touching piece about Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett's sold-out Radio City show... (CNN)

-- "Bam Margera is suing Paramount Pictures, MTV Networks, Johnny Knoxville, Jeff Tremaine, Spike Jonze and others, alleging he was discriminated against and unfairly fired from 'Jackass Forever' so that the studios and producers could steal the movie franchise..." (LAT)

The Tokyo Olympics spin machine

"NBC will likely never admit it, but the Comcast-owned network must be so relieved that the Tokyo Olympics are finally over," Deadline's Dominic Patten wrote. He said the games fell to an "all-time summer viewership low for NBC."

Here is the network's framing so you can decide for yourself: NBC Sports calls its presentation of the Tokyo Olympics "the largest media event in history," with "massive audiences throughout the day and across all platforms..."

FOR THE RECORD, PART SIX

-- "Clubhouse is blowing up in China," Shen Lu and Zeyi Yang report... (Protocol)

-- "MLB and Barstool Sports have had significant negotiations about having national midweek games on the site's platforms," Andrew Marchand reports... (NYPost)

-- Roku is set to release 23 more Quibi shows this Friday... (CNET)

AMC and Warner's deal

"AMC Theatres has reached a formal agreement with Warner Bros. to show the studio's 2022 slate on the big screen for an exclusive 45-day window," Variety's Rebecca Rubin and Brent Lang report. "The news is not surprising, because Warner Bros. has had a similar plan in place with Cineworld, the owner of Regal Cinemas, since April. However, the announcement is comforting to film operators, who feared the pandemic would spell the end of the theatrical window." Read on...

FOR THE RECORD, PART SEVEN

A trio of stories by Lisa Respers France:

-- Jon Stewart and Pete Davidson will mark the 20th anniversary of 9/11 with a star-studded comedy event at MSG on September 12...

-- Reba McEntire is warning fans after she said she and her boyfriend contracted breakthrough cases of Covid-19...

-- Harrison Ford was spotted in a rare appearance with wife Calista Flockhart...

And a trio of stories by Chloe Melas:

-- Britney Spears' request for an earlier court date has been denied...

-- Kit Harington has opened up about getting sober and becoming a father...

-- Limp Bizkit has canceled tour dates because of Covid-19 concerns...

SAVING THE BEST FOR LAST...

Pet of the day!

Reader Sandra Collins emails: "I don't want to brag but our polydactyl (Hemingway) can open doors with his paws. He is also my Zoom personal assistant!"