Rachel Maddow: Elon Musk is trying to sell it to his followers as an example of a news organization being paid by the government to do something terrible. And this is the part where I should mention that the Reuters news agency last year won a Pulitzer Prize for its reporting over Elon Musk’s heated denials on the many splendid details of Elon Musk’s growing business empire. Among the Reuters reporting last year on Elon Musk, Reuters headline: “At SpaceX, Worker Injuries Soar, and Elon Musk’s Rush to Mars,” Reuters headline: “US Regulators Rejected Elon Musk’s Bid to Test Brainchips in Humans, Citing Safety Risks,” Reuters headline: “Tesla Blame Drivers for Failures of Parts It Long Knew Were Defective,” Reuters headline:”Tesla Created Secret Team to Suppress Thousands of Driving Range Complaints,” Reuters headline: “Tesla Workers Shared Sensitive Images Recorded by Customer Cars,” Reuters headline: “Tesla Launched Its Own Car Insurance. These Drivers Say It’s a Lemon.” I wonder why Elon Musk is very exercised about finding some way to say that Reuters is embroiled in some kind of scandal that he’s discovered.
Maddow mentioning that Reuters news agency won a Pulitzer Prize last year as evidence that they aren’t embroiled in a scandal proves my point, which is that the Pulitzer Prize serves a political purpose rather than recognizing genuine journalistic achievement. Its sole purpose is to make people believe things are true or not based on the stories they award. The Pulitzer Prize disproportionately favors liberal news agencies, such as The New York Times and The Washington Post, who are extremely biased, Anti-Trump, and Anti-Republican. In journalism, giving awards to news agencies is a form of propaganda or at the very least influences public perception, swaying public opinion in favor of the narratives that win awards. The Pulitzer Prize lends credibility to the narratives pushed by certain news organizations, even if they are not true. Also, awards contribute to the reinforcement of an echo chamber within the media, like Maddow is doing by citing the award as a reason to believe something is true.
Let’s not forget, in 2018, Pulitzer Prizes were awarded to The New York Times and The Washington Post for their coverage of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election, even though it was proven that the Trump campaign did NOT conspire or coordinate with Russia to influence the 2016 election! Do you remember the non-stop reporting on it?! But if you actually read what they said and did research, it was clear that they could not prove what they were saying. Therefore, the NYT and WaPo won Pulitzer Prizes for their “wonderful” journalism about it, to make people think it was true. So when someone on what you consider “fake news” cites Pulitzer Prizes, know that there is a good chance they aren’t telling the truth either.
Let’s review some Pulitzer prize winning stories:
2024: The New York Times – For its coverage of Donald Trump’s tax returns, revealing long-hidden financial dealings.
2022: The Washington Post – For its compellingly told and vividly presented account of the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, providing context and understanding of one of the nation’s darkest days.
2019 New York Times: 18-month investigation of President Donald Trump’s finances that debunked his claims of self-made wealth and revealed a business empire riddled with tax dodges.
2019: The New York Times and The Washington Post – For their coverage of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election and its connections to the Trump campaign, the President-elect’s transition team, and his eventual administration. While the Mueller report did not find conspiracy or coordination.
2017: David Fahrenthold of The Washington Post – For dogged reporting on Donald Trump’s philanthropy, which revealed that many of his claims were exaggerated or not truly charitable.
Before 2016, there were no Pulitzer Prizes awarded for stories specifically about Donald Trump.
President Donald Trump scored yet another legal victory on Wednesday when a Florida appellate court unanimously affirmed the trial court order denying the Pulitzer Prize defendants’ motions to dismiss the president’s lawsuit.
Trump filed a defamation lawsuit in 2022 against the Pulitzer Prize Board over the 2018 National Reporting prizes given to the New York Times and Washington Post for coverage of the “now-debunked theory” of alleged collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia during the 2016 presidential election. The appellate opinion found that the trial court does have jurisdiction over the out-of-state defendants, and that the statement at the heart of this case is actionable. READ MORE