ABC And AOC Are Why Americans Don’t Trust The News Media

Was it righteous civil disobedience or a silly performative press stunt? That is the question we are left with in the wake of the arrest of more than a dozen Democrat members of Congress, including “Squad” sisters Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) at a pro-abortion protest this week. The controversy began when a video of AOC emerged in which she seemed to pretend that her wrists were handcuffed behind her back and then suddenly, as if by magic, she raised her fist in a symbol of defiance. Hilarity ensued as right-wing Twitter pounced on the display of mimery. 

But for ABC News, the opportunity of images of young, progressive female lawmakers being manhandled by police for protesting was just too much to resist. The Disney-owned outlet tweeted out photos of both AOC and Omar, shot from the front, that unmistakably gave the misleading impression that they were bound. They were not. If there had been but one photo, maybe that could have been an accident, but two? Two photos that essentially confirm the same lie? No way.