News commentary

A US senator’s X posts after the Minnesota shootings were horrific – and predictable

Media | The Guardian · Austin Sarat · last updated

Mike Lee knows better than to turn tragedy into disinformation. But outrageousness has become the name of the game

National tragedy used to bring national unity. If only momentarily, partisanship was put aside, and people of all political persuasions came together.

No more. The nation received a startling reminder of that sad fact on Sunday when the Republican senator Mike Lee went online to share his reaction to the weekend’s horrible shooting of two Minnesota state lawmakers and their spouses.

Austin Sarat, William Nelson Cromwell professor of jurisprudence and political science at Amherst College, is the author or editor of more than 100 books, including Gruesome Spectacles: Botched Executions and America’s Death Penalty

 

Related Knowledge Center: Social media

State of Play

Social media platforms are the source of news for millions of people — and they have a fraught and ever-shifting relationship with the enterprises that provide that news.

The TikTok ban | The Meta-FTC trial


More informationabout Social media

Related Knowledge Center: Democracy and politics

State of Play

News organizations are scrambling to find a coverage approach that adequately informs the American public about the country’s slide from democracy to authoritarian rule.

The White House vs. the press


More informationabout Democracy and politics