Letter ~ "The World Newspaper is Not Real Journalism"

"The World Newspaper is not real journalism"

 On 8/3/2019, The World posted an article from Reporter Nicholas A. Johnson entitled "Second amendment rally brings alt-right speaker to Coos Bay." The article was up on their website until early morning 8/5/2019 when it was pulled down for an unknown reason. I had issues with the article, so I called The World and spoke with someone named Joel who told me the article was not meant to be published yet, and they had pulled it down to get a response from "the other side." He said the article would be reposted after being updated.

 Firstly, if an incomplete article is even accidentally posted, proper journalistic integrity insists that a retraction or at least some sort of notice be posted about it. Instead, The World posted an inaccurate article, then removed it as if it had never existed. Many mainstream media outlets do this these days, and it is exactly why many do not trust them anymore. It is the antithesis of truth in reporting.

 Secondly, the article described Patriot Prayer as part of the "alt-right," which is completely untrue and has been refuted by them multiple times. I detest the alt-right. Patriot Prayer is not alt-right. Get your facts straight Nicholas.

 Thirdly, the group "Proud Boys" is inaccurately described as "a far-right neofascist organization" that "promotes political violence." If Nicholas did his research instead of repeating AP talking points, he would realize that Proud Boys was formed as a "men's club"  originally as a joke by Gavin McInnes. The group later became known for clashing with Antifa, but in a defensive manner responding to violence begun by them.

 Lastly, the article repeats negative opinions of other groups in an effort to paint Patriot Prayer in the worst possible light. This is a commonly used tactic by bad journalists to sway opinion one way or another. They know they can't slander or libel someone themselves, so they repeat inaccurate things said by others, then claim to just be reporting what was told to them.

 Shame on The World for inaccurate reporting, and shame on them for failing to issue a retraction when they obviously made a mistake.

 Matt Wilbanks

Coos Bay