If you hesitate on getting the vaccine, you’re basically Timothy McVeigh and likely to blow up federal buildings, according to the Washington Post.

The leader of a far-right “patriot” group in western New York stood on top of a truck trailer speaking to a crowd of about a hundred people in a quiet suburb of Buffalo. They had gathered in June to support a Buffalo Bills player who had refused to take the coronavirus vaccine, even at the cost of his career. Charles Pellien, head of the New York Watchmen, spoke proudly of a constellation of groups coalescing around their shared beliefs.

“We’re all coming together,” Pellien said. “That’s why this crowd is so big.”

Nakhlawi is presenting opinion as fact. She needs a way to group militias and anti-vaxxers together, so she takes one random person you’ve probably never heard of, and quotes him to establish this supposed fact. There is nothing to support this fact at this point in the story other than his opinion that “we’re all coming together.” Notice that his quote doesn’t even mention the various groups that she is trying to lump together. He just says the royal “we” and the reader is left to imply that must mean all the groups the Washington Post reporter is trying to denigrate.

https://tgpfactcheck.com/trash-journalism-washpost-says-vaccine-skepticism-is-fueling-violent-militias/

WashPost makes vaccine resistance out to be advancing the evil agenda of the violent militias that blew up the federal building in Oklahoma City

Quotes one of the most discredited sources on domestic politics possible: the Southern Poverty Law Center

No proof of violence except for events 25 years ago, but still tries to fearmonger about alleged militia’s fashion choices at a singalong in Buffalo

This is what counts as news apparently these days: specious accusations of vague groups of people who are ‘getting together’ with one another. As long as its validated by a shameless extreme left-wing fundraising group noted for falsifying its data, it’s fit to print.

This WashPost reporter covers ‘National Security’ if you want another laugh. [1]

Major Violations:

Creating False Connections

Smearing

Opinion as Fact

Extreme View Slide

Some people say

Bad Sources

Guilty Grouping