If there is one word that sums up NBC News’s attack this week on the Federalist, it has to be “ironic.”
It is ironic that NBC’s so-called “Verification Unit” performed a stealth update to its hit job, removing the initial, explosive claim that Google had deplatformed the conservative opinion site.
It is ironic that the now-amended “Verification Unit” report bears no editor’s note pointing to these substantial edits.
It is also ironic that in a report that claimed falsely that Google had demonetized the Federalist for publishing “unsubstantiated claims,” NBC’s “Verification Unit,” by its own admission, appears to have published falsehoods.
Perhaps Google should apply to NBC the same deplatforming standards the news network tried to impose on the Federalist.
The headline to NBC’s now-amended report originally read, “Google bans two websites from its ad platform over protest articles.” The Federalist, it said, “will no longer be able to generate revenue from any advertisements served by Google Ads.”
But this is not true, according to Google.
“The Federalist was never demonetized,” its communications department said Tuesday afternoon. “We worked with them to address issues on their site related to the comments section.” A Google spokesperson added much later that same day, “As the comment section has now been removed, we consider this matter resolved and no action will be taken.”
NBC’s updated headline now reads, “Google bans website ZeroHedge from its ad platform over comments on protest articles.” The new subheading also reads, “A Google spokesperson said in an email that it took action after determining the website violated its policies on content related to race.”
In addition to the headlines, NBC rewrote the lede and the bridge of the piece to remove its initial premise. And, again, there are no editor’s notes or clarifications drawing attention to the fact that the report’s original claims have disappeared down the memory hole.
As if that were not embarrassing enough, there is a still a tweet on NBC’s Twitter feed that reads, “Two far-right sites, ZeroHedge and The Federalist, will no longer be able to generate revenue from any advertisements served by Google Ads.”
It is worth noting that NBC’s reporting includes a quote from a Google spokesperson, who said specifically, “When a page or site violates our policies, we take action. In this case, we’ve removed [its] ability to monetize with Google.” So, it is possible that someone in Silicon Valley is lying, though one does not get that impression from reading the Federalist co-founders’ account of the incident. Also, the fact that NBC itself has quietly removed the most shocking claims from its own coverage without trying to blame Google suggests that not even NBC has faith in its initial reporting.
So, if I understand this correctly, Google should deplatform NBC, right?
Under the standard NBC tried to impose upon the Federalist, websites that push “unsubstantiated claims” should be removed from Google’s advertising platform. And based on the major edits that NBC has performed on its own reporting, it looks as if the network got much of its original story wrong. As in, NBC pushed a bunch of false information — and it is not even the first time this week that that has happened in the NBC family.
So, why is NBC trying to play by a different set of rules for itself?
