Sen. Ted Cruz is at the center of a debate on “Nazism” as journalist Glenn Greenwald and others accuse media outlets of “dishonesty” in covering the senator’s comments on parents and Nazi salutes at school board meetings.
“Ted Cruz Defends Parents Doing Nazi Salutes at School Board Meetings” read the Daily Beast’s coverage of the Republican Texas senator’s line of questioning at Thursday’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing with Attorney General Merrick Garland.
The headline was one of many to negatively paint Cruz’s most viral comments yet, and the coverage is just one piece of larger framing that has led to both “Nazism” trending on social media and numerous journalists and activists calling into question the ethics of some elements of the “digital media.”
On Thursday, Greenwald blasted Beast’s headline as “pure, 100% fabrication” and “fake news” that had not been flagged for misinformation because it aligned with “the right ideology.”
This headline from DB & @justinbaragona is pure, 100% fabrication, complete fake news, disinformation, whatever you want to call it.
But there will never be any Twitter or Facebook bans of it or labels or whatever, let alone retractions, because it serves the right ideology. pic.twitter.com/8abSGoMPG6
The outrage over Cruz’s comments stemmed from a clip put together by Vox’s Aaron Rupar, who also accused Cruz of “defending” Nazi salutes at school board meetings.
In the clip, the senator defends parents who’ve protested at school board meetings and refers to specific instances of supposedly aggressive and dangerous behavior, including one parent who reportedly gave a Nazi salute after being told to put on a mask.
Cruz became one of multiple Republicans to then verbally spar with Garland. The senator argued that because these instances of supposed violence, including that involving the salute, actually included no violence at all, the involvement of federal agents was both unnecessary and an overreach.
Even the attorney general admitted a Nazi salute given to an elected official would be “protected” under the First Amendment.
However, liberal pundits and even some lawmakers, such as Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota), have since homed in on Cruz’s Nazi comments, leading to a wave of condemnation.
On the third anniversary of the Tree of Life Synagogue killings, Sen. Ted Cruz is in the U.S. Senate defending Nazi salutes.
The outrage, however, has itself been called to task by critics online, who questioned the corporate media’s framing of the story to get clicks. Even some typical Cruz critics found themselves defending the Republican senator.
“I am no fan of Cruz, but this is not a fair headline,” attorney and activist Lawrence Lessig tweeted.
not being coy nor cute when I say -- this guy @atrupar is an idiot. Do you, Aaron, think a nazi salute is speech or an act of violence. BTW, the parent was calling the board members nazis. https://t.co/qDQqb5uTEG
No. He defended a parent COMPARING SCHOOLBOARD MEMBERS TO NAZIS with a satirical salute.
You know, the kind of board members who covered up a child-rape. https://t.co/sPJYa42HyQ
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