Al-Baghdadi Bites The Dust | Ep. 884

Headline Critique

The media's portrayal of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's death sparked significant controversy, particularly with the Washington Post's headline. Ben Shapiro criticized the Post for initially describing al-Baghdadi as an "austere religious scholar," which he found absurd and misleading 1. He humorously compared this to describing notorious figures like Charles Manson as "famous songwriters" 1. Shapiro also highlighted Bloomberg's portrayal of al-Baghdadi's rise as a "do it yourself story," likening it to a bizarre success narrative 2.

It's absurd. It's absurd. And the fact that the Washington Post came out and they said, we apologize that it was read this way. Oh, do you or you could have not printed a garbage headline like that because it's a really, really bad headline.

--- Ben Shapiro

This incident led to a trending hashtag mocking the Post's headline style, showcasing public disapproval of such media portrayals.

   

Media Bias

Shapiro further examined the media's bias in covering the Baghdadi operation compared to past events like the Bin Laden raid. He noted that while the Bin Laden mission received universal praise, the media was quick to downplay Trump's role in the Baghdadi raid 3. Shapiro argued that the media's reluctance to credit Trump was evident in headlines that emphasized his alleged shortcomings rather than the mission's success 4. He pointed out that similar biases were not present during Obama's presidency, despite his controversial military policies.

There is precisely one positive headline about the killing of the leader of ISIS, and it is the lead headline. And all the rest of them are about the various shortcomings of Trump administration policy.

--- Ben Shapiro

This analysis underscores the perceived media bias in political coverage, particularly in contrasting presidential actions.