Independent journalist Glenn Greenwald said Sunday that there was a very simple reason that members of his chosen profession seemed unwilling to question the narrative surrounding the alleged attack on Paul Pelosi — namely the possibility that asking questions could put their careers at risk.
Greenwald laid out his theory in a Twitter thread, saying that it didn’t even matter whether or not the prevailing narrative — that the person who was arrested at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) was a far-right conspiracy theorist and election denier — was true. The point, he said, was that it couldn’t be questioned.
“It’s very possible that the instantly formed media narrative — Paul Pelosi’s attacker was a MAGA fanatic who broke in to murder Nancy — will be proven true. But right now there are so many glaring doubts and holes in that story that it just takes common sense to question this,” Greenwald began.
It's genuinely alarming how conditioned so much of the US population is to equate skepticism toward the pronouncements of media corporations with mental illness:
"If you don't instantly accept what Wolf Blitzer and Andrea Mitchell claim, then you're a crazy conspiracy theorist."
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) October 30, 2022
“It’s genuinely alarming how conditioned so much of the U.S. population is to equate skepticism toward the pronouncements of media corporations with mental illness: ‘If you don’t instantly accept what Wolf Blitzer and Andrea Mitchell claim, then you’re a crazy conspiracy theorist.'”
Greenwald went on to explain that even journalists who had questions about the prevailing narrative — on any topic — often felt as though they couldn’t say anything without risking their jobs or even their entire careers.
“It’s so crucial to understand the dynamic dominating journalism. Few journalists have career security,” Greenwald continued. “Imagine you’re a young journalist at a big media corporation. You know if you ask these questions, Twitter will explode and it can ruin your career.”
He then shared a tweet from Steve Krakauer that included just a few of the questions he thought media ought to be asking.
- “Why wasn’t there signs of forced entry at Pelosi home?”
- “Who was 3rd person who opened door for police?”
- “Why was Pelosi holding hammer and attack only happened after police arrived?”
- “Where is bodycam/security footage?”
- “Why isn’t the press asking these questions?”
This happened often during Russiagate: I got texts/DMs/emails from younger journalists inside big media corporations thanking me for being skeptical. They couldn't. One Twitter mob against them for questioning Dem narrative (see @DashaBurns or @BoKnowsNews) can be career-ending.
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) October 30, 2022
“This happened during Russiagate,” Greenwald added, saying that he had gotten a number of messages from journalists who worked for larger media corporations — and they had expressed their thanks that he was willing to question the narrative because they couldn’t do it.
“One Twitter mob against them for questioning Dem narrative (see @DashaBurns or @BoKnowNews) can be career-ending,” he said.
Greenwald said that he believed many journalists saw the “glaring questions and evidentiary holes” in the story that had been pushed so far regarding Pelosi, but especially in the last days before the midterm election, the narrative was even more important than usual. “Why stick their heads up, provoke a liberal Twitter mob, and be branded?” he asked. “That’s the climate.”
Police investigating the Paul Pelosi attack continue to state they *do not know the motive.*
Yet liberal "thought leaders" like @HillaryClinton and @jimmykimmel have decreed that not only is the motive known to them, but only insane or malicious people would question them. pic.twitter.com/g2mmxLG1KF
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) October 30, 2022
“Police investigating the Paul Pelosi attack continue to state they *do not know the motive.* Yet liberal “thought leaders” like @HillaryClinton and @jimmykimmel have decreed that not only is the motive known to them, but only insane or malicious people would question them,” Greenwald continued.
Greenwald went on to say that he wasn’t ready to ascribe any motives because he didn’t feel that he’d seen enough evidence to do so, adding, “The preferred narrative may end up right but most of it is based on massaged-by-CNN anonymous claims.”
I'd like to know:
* How someone broke into the home of one of the richest and most powerful families without setting off an alarm.
* How Paul Pelosi could call 9/11 in the middle of this.
* Who is the "unknown" person who opened the door for the police?
* Where is the video? pic.twitter.com/eaQCjiqycP
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) October 30, 2022
He then listed the questions he’d like to see answered before claiming he understood exactly what went down in the Pelosi’s home:
- “How someone broke into the home of one of the richest and most powerful families without setting off an alarm?”
- “How Paul Pelosi could call 9/11 in the middle of this?”
- “Who is the ‘unknown’ person who opened the door for the police?”
- “Where is the video?”
Police have since clarified that there was not a third person in the home, an early claim that seems to be rooted in the police report stating that police saw Pelosi and DePape fighting over a hammer after the door was answered by a “unknown person.”