A media Disinformation conference was held this week at the University of Chicago. What is notable about this is the very media who traffics in disinformation was put on the defensive by young, polite college students.

There’s so much to unpack regarding how the media flailed and blustered when asked very specific questions. However, let’s start with the fact that Obama was the keynote speaker and trafficked in boatloads of disinformation right out of the gate. 

“As somebody who grappled with the incursion into Crimea and the eastern portions of Ukraine, I have been encouraged by the European reaction [this time],” Mr. Obama said at an event in Chicago. “Because in 2014, I often had to drag them kicking and screaming to respond in ways that we would have wanted to see from those of us who describe ourselves as Western democracies.”

As for Mr. Putin, the former U.S. President purports to be surprised by the Russian leader’s brutality. “I don’t know that the person I knew is the same as the person who is now leading this charge. He was always ruthless. You witnessed what he did in Chechnya, he had no qualms about crushing those whom he considered a threat. That’s not new. For him to bet the farm in this way—I would not have necessarily predicted from him five years ago.”

Mr. Obama managed to say all this with a straight face while speaking at an event about “disinformation” in politics.

Of course, all the media panelists involved in the three day event nodded approvingly at his revisionist claims. Not one so-called journalist attending the conference questioned his claims. Not a single one. However, others did.

In a thread, popular conservative Twitter account AGHamilton29 said he remembered events “differently.”

“Umm I definitely remember this going a little differently. What I remember is that after Russian separatists shot down a civilian airliner and Russia invaded a sovereign country, we just passed weak and targeted sanctions. All because Obama wanted Putin’s help [w] Iran deal,” he tweeted.

“And then Obama was publicly thanking Putin less than a year later for that deal. It was no wonder Putin assumed the international costs of another invasion of Ukraine would be relatively low,” he added.

Russia invaded Crimea when Obama was President, and all that happened was a tap on the wrist. Furthermore, let’s not forget Obama’s hot mic “I’ll have more flexibility” moment in 2012. So yes, Obama, while speaking at a Disinformation conference, peddled an entire speech of disinformation! 

Oh, but it got even better when polite students asked questions. According to Anne Applebaum of The Atlantic, Hunter Biden’s laptop isn’t and never was relevant. 

https://twitter.com/ThinkerChicago/status/1511839490356228098?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1511839490356228098%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fredstate.com%2Fnick-arama%2F2022%2F04%2F08%2Fwatch-the-hissy-fit-when-students-nail-media-for-disinformation-at-disinformation-conference-n547713

It was incredibly relevant, otherwise the media along with Twitter and Facebook wouldn’t have blocked all of the New York Post’s reporting on it for weeks. It was so relevant that American voters were kept from the knowledge of the laptop, thus weren’t fully informed before voting. It is so relevant now that the media is very reluctantly reporting on it, while making a plethora of excuses as to why they refused to touch the story in October 2020! Now we have Anne Applebaum trying to gaslight conference attendees into believing that the laptop STILL isn’t relevant despite evidence to the contrary!

Next up is Brian Stelter getting politely shredded. 

It’s completely obvious from his body language that Stelter didn’t like the question, and did everything he could to avoid the answer. 

When asked what he thought Stelter’s response would be, Phillips remarked he never thought the pundit would admit CNN is “corrupt,” but expected a middle ground, such as an admission they had retracted some stories in the past that were proven to be flawed.

Given CNN’s history, I didn’t expect Stelter to answer honestly, but it sure was fun watching him squirm!

Meanwhile, token conservative Jonah Goldberg was also quite dismissive of the laptop question when presented with actual polling information. 

“Disinformation” conference’s token conservative, Jonah Goldberg, calls out Chicago Thinker’s Daniel Schmidt. Goldberg says he “doesn’t buy” the Hunter Biden laptop cover up had any impact on the 2020 election and it’s “a preposterous counterfactual.” pic.twitter.com/mTQProoFdu

— The Chicago Thinker (@ThinkerChicago) April 7, 2022

Keep in mind, these students were very polite in asking questions. They didn’t throw tantrums, nor did they beat on the walls, or disrupt other events as we’ve seen reported at Yale and other colleges such as the University at Buffalo.  

Instead, the University of Chicago students were very respectful and asked informed questions. Which, as Mary Katherine Hamm points out, should be the norm, but isn’t. 

This is what we want from young people! It is a far sight better than shouting down and more educational than walk-outs or back-turning.

— Mary Katharine Ham (@mkhammer) April 8, 2022

What is the response from The Atlantic’s Editor-in-Chief, Jeffrey Goldberg? 

“I think one darkly humorous but inevitable measurement of our success is that our disinformation conference has been the subject of disinformation campaigns on social media already,” he said.

“Congratulate yourselves for that. We’ll study that at next year’s [conference].”

Well, the truth hurts doesn’t it? Especially given The Atlantic had explicitly promised only happy coverage of Biden! 

Schmidt: “These people come to these university events, expecting no resistance expecting students to just sort of worship them and ask easygoing questions, and when you even just tug at them a little bit, they clearly feel threatened.” pic.twitter.com/K1OfNUHmEI

— The Chicago Thinker (@ThinkerChicago) April 8, 2022

Exactly! By labeling honest, FACTUAL questions you don’t like as disinformation, the media not only stepped on a massive rake, they proved their own point. Any genuinely truthful reporting that goes against their chosen narrative will be dismissed as disinformation and buried. 

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Feature Photo Credit: Fake News laptop media by pixel2013 via Pixabay, cropped and modified