Mainstream journalists and other left-wing activists are constantly complaining about “misinformation,” sometimes referred to as fake news. They want to teach our children how to complain about it. Yet they often don’t think twice about actively spreading misinformation when it suits their ideological (and financial) agenda.
For nearly 24 hours now, journalists and activists have been expressing outrage over a Tennessee county school board’s decision to stop teaching Maus, a Holocaust-themed graphic novel, as part of the eighth grade language arts curriculum. Board members expressed concern about the book’s profanity and depictions of nudity, but also suggested it could be “added back if there is no better alternative.”
Nevertheless, almost every mainstream media outlet reporting the story has described the school board’s action as a “ban,” which sounds a lot scarier.
New York Times: “School Board in Tennessee Bans Teaching of Holocaust Novel ‘Maus'”
Washington Post: “Holocaust graphic novel ‘Maus’ banned in Tennessee county schools over nudity and profanity”
Wall Street Journal: “Tennessee School Board Bans Holocaust Graphic Novel ‘Maus’ Over ‘Vulgar’ Words, Themes” (Note: The headline has now been revised. “Bans” has been changed to “pulls.”)
The Guardian: “Tennessee school board bans Pulitzer prize-winning Holocaust novel, Maus”
USA Today: “School Board in Tennessee Bans Holocaust Novel ‘Maus'”
The Daily Beast: “School Board Bans Pulitzer-Winning Graphic Novel About the Holocaust”
BBC: “Tennessee school board bans teaching of Holocaust graphic novel Maus”
CNBC: “Tennessee school board bans Holocaust graphic novel ‘Maus’ – author Art Spiegelman condemns the move as ‘Orwellian'”
Shockingly enough, CNN was one of the few mainstream outlets to accurately describe the school board’s decision. The headline on the CNN website reads: “A Tennessee school board removed the graphic novel ‘Maus,’ about the Holocaust, from curriculum due to language and nudity concerns.” Of course, the network also invited the author on television to discuss his reaction to the book being “banned.”