Dr. Anthony Fauci said on Sunday he wasn’t happy about being part of a campaign ad for President Donald Trump.
“In my nearly five decades of public service, I have never publicly endorsed nor do I now endorse any political candidates,” he said in a statement, according toCNN and NBC News. “The comments attributed to me without my permission in the GOP campaign ad were taken out of context from a broad statement I made months ago about the efforts of federal public health officials.”
While the specifics of this situation apply to the United States, the principle applies with any quotation presented to the reader. Any fragment of a sentence can be pulled out of context, as were the words of the most highly respected(according to polls)American authority on the pandemic. Doing so made it appear that Dr. Fauci supports the current President. The response from the campaign was “he said it.”
I was exploring how I might pull a comment out of context in my own life to reverse its meaning. I thought of a whole sentence “I never said I will cook dinner.” Out of context one could retrieve “I will cook dinner.” Argument ensues. “You said it.”
Just as photos are being manipulated, so are words, pruned to distort their original meanings. Context matters!
Misquoting people has long been a tool of the propagandists. Glad to hear he has gone public to refute them.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Well said. Time and again, Trump and the GOP have proven themselves shameless in their campaign tactics. They deserve a defeat of landslide proportions….but I’ll settle for a Biden/Harris victory and Democrats winning control of Congress and the Senate by slim margins.
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Just finished reading about the first few months of LBJ with a Democratic Congress and how much they pushed through in record time.
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I’m glad the doctor has disputed the ad, though I doubt they will pull it. Truth matters little to them.
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No kidding.
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Integrity has gone away it seems! If it was ever there.
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We used to at least attempt to look as if we had it.
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Definitely been a few moments here in NZ, during our shortened election campaigning…with things being said, political hoardings also having issues (some had to be taken down) – anyway it will be all over late Saturday here, last day to vote. And the booths opened well over 2 weeks ago to account for current “times” – I last heard a spectacular 1 million votes already cast (yes I voted last week…)
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I hope that your election hasn’t approached ours in ugliness.
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If you wanted to use a video snippet of somebody in a political ad, you would first need to get their permission. Am I surprised? Rules don’t seem to apply with this President. Yes, context is everything.
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I didn’t know that. No wonder Fauci has threatened legal action if it continues.
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Yes, it does!
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Context is definitely important Elizabeth. Well said!
Bless you,
Jennifer
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Thanks.
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I agree wholeheartedly!
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I figured since you do as much reading as I do that you would understand context.
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well said and not misquoted. thanks for shedding the light within the context of misinformation and misdirection. Politics and news reporting has certainly lost their way. No more pretending to report with dignity
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Too sadly true.
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