The Media Research Center was never really about media research — manipulating data to push its right-wing anti-media narrative was, and is, more important than objectivity and transparency. Now it’s getting even farther away from research — and confirming that it’s a political organization at heart — by doing straight-up trolling of journalists.
After Attorney General William Barr released his summary of the Mueller report claiming there was no collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, MRC chief Brent Bozell made a video declaring he would provide a care package to those in the media he claimed were suffering from “Collusion Delusion Syndrome”:
CDS is caused by that belief that no matter how much evidence is there that shows that he is innocent, President Trump should be in prison. What can we do for people suffering from CDS? The Media Research Center, with your help, is sending a special care package to every member of the news media and on Capitol Hill suffering from CDS. Our care package, the MRC Emergency Care Package, includes a number of items of importance. We have a teddy bear, a Russian teddy bear, for them to hug. We also have a crayons book for those snowflakes who need to stay inside the lines. And a special box of crayons for them to use.
For those suffering from CDS, they may need a stress relief bag of tea. And there it is. Or maybe, maybe you need to squeeze to get some relief. This is for you. For those suffering of CDS with migraine headaches, we have some Advil. Or maybe for impending ulcers, some Tums. For those who have to weep uncontrollably, we have some tissues. And finally, if nothing else works, a bottle of Russian vodka. And if that doesn’t work, a second bottle of Russian vodka.
The juvenile trolling continued. When CNN showed a ratings drop, the MRC’s Tim Graham was quick to mock; under a “CNN Sucks” headline, Graham sneered, “How do you like them Fact Apples, CNN?” This was followed by a May 3 post by Rich Noyes that claimed to “put those numbers in their proper perspective” by making absurd comparisons, claiming there are more, say, prostitutes or households with chickens than CNN viewers. These numbers were promoted with graphics on social media designed to ridicule, not inform.
Is this real “media research”? Nope. Then again, the MRC hasn’t done that in a long time.