Re: talks about things that he hasn’t actually experienced ...
@Milton
The media just don't want to be exposed to legal action. Calling politicians out for lying implies intent to deceive, whereas mis-speaking, claiming incorrectly etc. doesn't - it leaves open the possibility that the politician concerned may simply be reporting their understanding of things in good faith. Yes, we know the people concerned are actually lying, but media bosses don't want the headache of having to prove that to a libel court.
I'd argue it isn't even a new phenomenon. It's just that the alternative facts are more easily noticable now that fact checking can be done in near real-time by anyone who actually cares for truth and accuracy. It's not just a right-wing tactic either - it's lies and spin across the full political spectrum, because it works.
Which brings us to the real problem - a large proportion of the population doesn't care about truth, they just want their political leaders to look good in a suit and sound like they care about them. Modern politics (and marketing) is more and more about finding a tribe of people who will support your position no matter what stance you take. Political debate as we knew it has died because it's expensive and difficult to change opinions among the educated members of the electorate, but cheap and easy to use emotive arguments to get the vast mass of the uninformed to follow you unquestioningly. And if you call their man a liar, it makes YOU the bad guy.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
