Mainstream Media Oddly Silent as Virus Case Numbers Rise in Portland and Seattle

Mainstream Media Oddly Silent as Virus Case Numbers Rise in Portland and Seattle

Throughout the Wuhan Coronavirus pandemic, the mainstream media has shown an astounding level of duplicity and double standards when reporting on the wisdom of groups of people gathering in an outdoor setting.

For example, in late April and early May, media outlets like CNN were quick to accuse “Reopen” protesters of being threats to public health because they had the audacity to want to get back to work to feed their families and/or to keep from having to permanently close their small businesses.

In addition to the media bashing Reopen marchers, Republican governors have been frequent targets of these same news outlets. Govs. Ron DeSantis (FL), Greg Abbott (TX), and Brian Kemp (GA) have been subjected to much mockery throughout the crisis for not using Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s model for combating the virus in his state. Keep in mind that these criticisms have been lodged at Republican governors as even normally reliably left-wing news outlets like the New York Times have documented how disastrous Cuomo’s response has actually been.

Naturally, all the media outrage over people marching in the streets evaporated in the aftermath of the May 25th death of George Floyd. They’ve encouraged and praised the protesters for gathering on crowded streets in the name of social justice in the middle of a pandemic, while “medical experts” who once sternly warned of the deadly consequences that could result from the Reopen protests also suddenly changed their tunes when the protest message (“Defund the police!”) was more to their liking.

One thing that hasn’t changed, however, is the ridiculing of Republican governors. As case numbers have risen in Texas, Florida, and Georgia, the media’s criticisms of Abbott, DeSantis, and Kemp have gotten worse. But when it comes to the rising numbers out of the Gov. Gavin Newsom-run state of California, the media’s criticisms have been practically non-existent for some reason (hmm – wonder what that could be?).

The same situation holds true with the developing situations in both Oregon and Washington state. Wuhan Coronavirus case numbers have been rising in Democrat-run cities like Portland and Seattle, which have been hotbeds of social unrest, protests, and Antifa-style anarchy for weeks now. Yet media critics of Republican governors have not seen fit to mention – much less criticize – the rising case numbers coming from those areas.

I created a Twitter thread earlier today which included graphics from the New York Times’s Oregon and Washington state tracking pages for reference:

I've been doing some research into the claim made below about Wuhan virus case numbers in Portland and Seattle rising. David's right (receipts to follow). https://t.co/P0M1tMseIp

— Sister Toldjah, VP of BS Detection 😁 (@sistertoldjah) July 26, 2020

This graphic is from the New York Times’s Oregon page. You can see how cases have steadily risen since early/mid-June. https://t.co/fRfVYnPURe pic.twitter.com/UVKCCaQ3rr

— Sister Toldjah ? (@sistertoldjah) July 26, 2020

This graphic, also from the NYT’s Oregon page, shows the case breakdown by county. Over the last seven days, the counties with the highest number of total cases are Multnomah (where Portland is located) and Washington (which is next to Multnomah). https://t.co/fRfVYnPURe pic.twitter.com/NRjT2HUmbj

— Sister Toldjah ? (@sistertoldjah) July 26, 2020

This graphic is from the NYT’s Washington state page, showing the rising case numbers in the state since early/mid-June. https://t.co/KwoWwEC9uB pic.twitter.com/3oZuXbe45t

— Sister Toldjah ? (@sistertoldjah) July 26, 2020

This graphic, also from the NYT’s Washington state page, shows the case breakdown by county. Over the last seven days, the counties with the highest number of total new cases are King (where Seattle is located) and Pierce (which is next to King). https://t.co/8qkSKM6rS4 pic.twitter.com/NVfuAQiwML

— Sister Toldjah ? (@sistertoldjah) July 26, 2020

So while media figures like Paul Krugman accuse Republican governors of murdering ppl in their states because they “reopened too soon”, remember these same critics have been silent about the rising numbers out of Dem-run states where protests & riots have gotten out of hand. ?

— Sister Toldjah ? (@sistertoldjah) July 26, 2020

Media reports about how rising case numbers in Democrat-run protest cities and states allegedly didn’t have anything to do with the marches were considered highly questionable because some states, like New York, told contact tracers not to ask people who tested positive if they had recently attended a protest.

Health officials in both Washington state and Oregon have not said protests contributed to the rising case numbers. Instead, they’re claiming they are the result of “social gatherings,” which sounds like “protests” in my book.

The reasons why national media critics are treating Democrat governors differently on this issue than they are Republican governors should be obvious to anyone reading this.

This is yet another example of how the mainstream press sometimes tells us who they are not by what they do report, but by what they don’t.

— Stacey Matthews has also written under the pseudonym “Sister Toldjah” and can be reached via Twitter. —

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