Here Are the Worst Media Lies of 2024

2024 will go down in history as a catastrophic year for legacy media. Journalism didn’t just falter—it transformed into unabashed activism, leaving Americans to sift through layers of spin and bias. From “cheap fakes” to policy flip-flops, the year delivered a barrage of media missteps, earning widespread distrust and disdain.

“Cheap Fakes” and the Biden Saga

When President Joe Biden appeared to wander off during a G7 summit photo op in Italy this June, the moment went viral. This wasn’t an isolated incident—clips of Biden shaking hands with thin air, recounting conversations with deceased leaders, and forgetting Cabinet members’ names painted a concerning picture.

But the media pushed back, labeling these moments “cheap fakes.”

“Some of us are watching long, complete speeches by the president. Others just watching short, out-of-context clips on social media,” said Brian Stelter, then CNN’s chief media correspondent. The Washington Post echoed this defense, calling the videos “deceptively edited” staples of Republican attacks.

The narrative unraveled weeks later during Biden’s debate with Donald Trump, when the president struggled to string coherent sentences together. The media’s gaslighting failed, leaving Americans to wonder: Were they being shielded from the truth?

Kamala Harris and the Policy Flip-Flop Circus

Vice President Kamala Harris’s 2024 campaign was plagued by her past positions. In 2019, Harris vocally opposed fracking, likened ICE agents to the KKK, and advocated for taxpayer-funded sex-change procedures for incarcerated migrants. These stances, deeply unpopular with voters, were quietly abandoned.

Yet the media turned a blind eye, insisting her flip-flops were irrelevant compared to defeating Trump.

“In the 2024 election, policy details matter even less than they usually do,” declared Tom Nichols in The Atlantic. Over at ABC News, Ana Navarro praised Harris’s selective media appearances.

“She’s doing ‘The View,’ ‘The Late Show,’ and ‘60 Minutes.’ What more do you all want?” Navarro exclaimed.

Despite the media’s efforts, Harris’s credibility took a hit, and voters weren’t convinced.

Madison Square Garden Rally: A Nazi Comparison?

In October, Trump packed Madison Square Garden for a rally featuring figures like J.D. Vance and Elon Musk. The standing-room-only event highlighted bipartisan support and served as a sequel to the Republican National Convention.

Yet media outlets found a sinister angle.

The Washington Post ran a headline comparing the rally to a 1939 Nazi gathering at the same venue. MSNBC’s Jonathan Capehart rolled footage of the 1939 event, calling Trump’s rally “chilling.”

Critics noted the absurdity: Trump’s staunch support for Israel and the Democrats’ own repeated use of MSG for conventions rendered the comparison baseless.

The Blame Game: Sexism and Racism in Harris’s Loss

When Harris lost the election, media pundits blamed racism and sexism.

“There is racial bias in this country, and there is sexism in this country,” said David Axelrod on CNN. Sunny Hostin of The View added, “Racism and misogyny are alive and well.”

But the argument faltered under scrutiny. If racism and sexism were to blame, why was Harris rejected by Democratic voters in 2019? The disconnect highlighted the media’s willingness to deflect rather than reflect.

A Crisis of Credibility

From Biden defenses to Harris’s policy reversals and outrageous Nazi comparisons, the media’s credibility hit rock bottom in 2024. Americans, increasingly skeptical, tuned out the spin.

As author Joe Concha aptly put it in his book Progressively Worse: “Trusting the legacy media today is as popular as gas-station sushi: Americans just don’t buy it.”

Until journalism prioritizes truth over activism, the decline will only accelerate.