Media Matters Daily Summary

Here are today's news items from Media Matters for America, click on the title or 'read more' to read the entirety of each story. Scarborough and Barnicle advance myth of immigrant violence Joe Scarborough and Mike Barnicle suggested that violence is out of control in the United States along the Mexican border because of illegal immigration, citing, among other anecdotal evidence, the murder of an Arizona rancher. In fact, The Arizona Republic reported that border violence in the U.S. has not increased recently, and violent crime in border states has decreased in the past decade. Read More Post follows Fox's footsteps with Miranda misinformation The Washington Post reported that there was controversy over whether to read the suspected Times Square bomber his Miranda rights after suspected Christmas Day bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab "stopped cooperating with authorities after being read his rights." In fact, intelligence and law enforcement officials stated that Abdulmutallab cooperated both before and after he was Mirandized, as the Post itself reported previously. Read More Wash. Post editorial board misses admin. comments on HIG involvement in Shahzad case Stating that the "Obama administration owes answers on how it handled [the] Times Square suspect," a May 5 Washington Post editorial falsely claimed that the administration has not said whether the high-value interrogation group (HIG) was involved in questioning Faisal Shahzad. In fact, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs and several news reports stated on May 4 that HIG has been involved. Read More EXCLUSIVE: Claim that alleged bomber is a registered Democrat collapses Right-wing media have falsely claimed -- citing no evidence -- that alleged Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad is a registered Democrat. Media Matters for America has contacted the offices of the registrar in Shahzad's hometowns and confirmed that he is in fact not a registered voter in those towns. Read More Drudge, Fox Nation dubiously suggest DHS is to blame for alleged bomber boarding plane Conservative media have suggested that the Department of Homeland Security is to blame for alleged Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad boarding a plane. However, administration officials have stated the airline failed to review the updated no-fly list after Shahzad's addition, and that sending the passenger manifest to Customs and Border Protection successfully prevented Shahzad's escape. Read More "Los Suns = LOSERS": Conservative media attack Phoenix Suns over AZ law protest Since the NBA's Phoenix Suns announced that they would wear their "Los Suns" jerseys during a May 5 game as a way to honor the Latino community and take a stand against Arizona's newly passed immigration law, conservative media have suggested they are "protesting the American dream" and are "responsible" for a "climate of hate."   Read More Beck distorts Rogers' comments to suggest he wants to bring "the economy to a complete halt" Glenn Beck distorted remarks by Apollo Alliance co-founder Joel Rogers to suggest that Rogers' "definition of the green economy" is to bring "the economy to a complete halt" by eliminating "every power plant" and stopping "every car in America." In fact, nowhere in the remarks that Beck played did Rogers advocate "bringing the economy to a halt," and the Apollo Alliance's plan for a "clean energy economy" includes improving the efficiency of cars and power plants -- not stopping them. Read More O'Reilly falsely claims Cavuto "stuck up" for Obama in Brown interview Bill O'Reilly falsely claimed that "[Neil] Cavuto actually stuck up for the president during the interview" with former FEMA Director Michael Brown and concluded that the White House's objections to the interview were therefore "phony." In fact, Cavuto made no effort to challenge Brown's conspiracy theory that the Obama administration chose to let the BP oil spill "get really bad" so it would have an "excuse" to "shut down offshore drilling." Read More You can help support our work; become a volunteer media monitor, or donate to Media Matters for America.