Our Take: Who Spun It, Who Didn’t
Spin Meter: Some Spin
A 19-year-old Taco Bell cashier allegedly drove to a Hindu temple in Aurora with a rifle, body armor and an eight-page race-war manifesto. Police say his car sat in the parking lot for 13 minutes. Prosecutors say the rifle jammed. He drove home, Googled how to unjam it and then called a coworker to announce the plan. Criminal mastermind. The coworker called the cops, and that is the only competent person in this entire story.
Then the internet got hold of it. One side put “transgender” in 72-point font, because a jail medical order is apparently scarier than a guy who wanted to shoot Indian families on a Sunday. The other side’s first reports barely got past “Illinois man.” Everybody fought over the label. Meanwhile the actual target, Indian Americans at a temple, got the footnote.
The good news: one phone call from a fast-food coworker beat an AR, a vest and a manifesto. Be that coworker.
Left
Clean, careful, a little too careful. Said the target “has not been confirmed” because police hadn’t confirmed it yet. That’s called doing it right. Added India’s foreign ministry and the rise in anti-South Asian hate. Skipped the jail health order entirely, which is either restraint or squeamishness. We’ll call it restraint and keep an eye on them.
Center
NBC Chicago: “Teen accused of plotting mass shooting at Aurora worship center”
Got the jammed rifle, the Googling, the coworker call, the manifesto and the health order, all in one piece, in that order. The hormone detail is in there, one line, where it belongs. Docked a point for “decked out for war,” because we’re the only ones allowed to have fun with words around here.
Right
The facts check out: charges, timeline, the police press conference quoted at length. Credit where it’s due. Then the headline turns a would-be mass shooting into a story about a jail pharmacy. The body says he’s “described in the media as” a transgender neo-Nazi, which is a fancy way of saying “we didn’t check, but we put it in the headline anyway.” “Injected full of transgender drugs” is not a medical term. It’s a vibe. Alex, the guy wanted to shoot Hindus. That’s the lede.
The facts, checked
- CONFIRMEDAlexandros Paporakis, 19, of Palatine, is charged with making a terrorist threat and unlawfully possessing a short-barreled rifle, and is held without bail (Palatine police via Dallas Express, NBC Chicago, Guardian/Reuters).
- CONFIRMEDPolice say his car entered a Hindu temple parking lot in Aurora at about 12:25 p.m. on Oct. 11 and left at 12:38 p.m. (Palatine police press conference, quoted by Alex Jones Live and Times of India).
- REPORTEDThe rifle jammed and he planned to retry. That’s the prosecutors’ account (NBC Chicago, Patch). His public defender says it’s all still allegations.
- CONFIRMEDA coworker’s tip led to his arrest (NBC Chicago, Alex Jones Live, Greek Reporter).
- CONFIRMEDA Cook County judge’s jail health order covers hormone injections for gender transition plus treatment for ADHD, depression and anxiety (NBC Chicago, NY Post, Times of India).
- CONFIRMEDThe manifesto targeted Indians, Jews, Black people and “non-white” people (NBC Chicago, Guardian/Reuters). Next court date: Oct. 30.
Closest to the truth: NBC Chicago (center), with the Guardian right behind
The left-leaning coverage was cautious and accurate. NBC Chicago was the most complete. Alex Jones had the facts and then built the whole headline around the least important one. The hormone order is real and fair to report. Making it the headline when the story is a foiled hate attack on a temple is spin. This round, the left was more accurate.
Sources
Satire-free zone: the jokes are ours, the facts are not made up. Grades and “Our Take” are analysis and opinion, not news. Scores follow the facts, not the team jersey.
A 19-year-old who has been described in the media as a transgender neo-Nazi will be injected with hormones while in jail after being accused of plotting a mass shooting at Hindu temple in Aurora, a suburb of Chicago, Illinois. A Cook County judge ordered Alexandros Paporakis to remain in jail without bail Wednesday. He was […]
The post
Read the full story at Alex Jones Live
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