News commentary

Anti-immigrant hatred led Lou Dobbs into the conspiratorial abyss

Washington Post - Erik Wemple · Erik Wemple · last updated

CNN and Fox Business host Lou Dobbs has died at the age of 78, leaving behind a legacy that doubles as a warning to his former colleagues: Your words will catch up with you.

In the summer of 2015, Dobbs took note of the backlash to Donald Trump’s characterization of Mexicans in his campaign kickoff address. And he dissented from the opprobrium. “It’s just mind-boggling that Donald Trump gets into such trouble because he says some of those crossing that border belong to MS-13 or are part of the cartels who are committing crimes,” Dobbs said in a July 2015 edition of “Lou Dobbs Tonight,” his Fox Business program.

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State of Play

In an increasingly fractured media landscape, truth has been a casualty in the public discussion. Coverage has been warped by the business needs of struggling news organizations, and a significant segment of the public relies on bad-faith outlets that are little more than propagandists. While fact-checking has become routine, some organizations are exploring other ways to combat the trends. And misinformation spewed by AI-driven chatbots has become more of a feature than simply a bug. 

Fact-checking and its detractors


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