National Public Radio has come under fire after it illustrated a story on right-wing attacks with the footage from an incident that saw a car knocking down a man after the driver was attacked through the window.
#DefundNPR has been trending in the US part of the Twittersphere on Sunday evening after the non-profit media outlet, partially funded by the US government, has ignited outrage from conservative commentators for using a seemingly misleading cover photo to promote a story alleging a surge in attacks that see “right-wing extremists” using vehicles to ram protesters.
An initial version of the story, titled “Vehicle Attacks Rise As Extremists Target Protesters,” featured a still image from the footage that shows a group of about a dozen people surrounding a SUV. One person can be seen standing right in front of the car, as if almost leaning against the metal lid that covers the motor.
It did not take long for the Internet sleuths, however, to point out that the cover pic, which was supposed to serve as an example of the right-wing violence against the peaceful protesters, has a controversial backstory to it.
The surveillance footage from the scene, the source of the photo in question, shows a protester standing with a megaphone right in from the vehicle, blocking the road.
Here's a fuller video of what you're calling a "right-wing extremist attack" ... a driver is harassed by a group of people, tries to get away, is then attacked by a larger group... and uses their vehicle to defend themselves and get away.
As the driver apparently refuses to back down, the verbal altercation follows and sees a group trying to harass the driver through the open window.
The incident, which took place on Wednesday in Louisville, Kentucky, has been covered by local media. Local police told WAVE 3 News that one of the “protesters” ripped off the female driver’s dreadlock during the showdown. The woman told officers that it was not until one of the attackers pointed a gun at her that she decided to flee, claiming she ran over a protester who stood in her way by accident.
Additional footage shows an individual chasing the same vehicle with a gun.
In the aftermath of the incident, police charged two persons involved in the attack with rioting, disorderly conduct and obstructing a highway. The man, who is believed to be a gun-toting protester in the video, was identified as Darious Anderson, 21. He has been also charged with 1-st degree wanton endangerment. No charges have been filed against the driver, so far.
Shortly after NPR ran the article, conservative pundits pounced on it, accusing the broadcaster of intentionally spinning the story and smearing the victim.
Vehicles and drivers inside are viciously attacked by violent leftist radicals.
Drivers mow the bastards down to escape the attack.
“You falsely accused a crime victim of being a terrorist. Enjoy the lawsuits!” political commentator Mike Cernovich wrote.
“This driver needs to get a lawyer and sue NPR,” Stephen L. Miller Miller, host of the Versus Media Podcast, who has also contributed to Fox News and several other media, wrote.
Responding to the backlash, NPR replaced the cover photo and issued an editor’s note, saying that the photo originally chosen to illustrate the piece “does not appear to be an example of the assaults described in the story.”
“Police have not charged the driver, but have charged two of the protesters involved in that incident,” it said.
Note: A previous version of this post and story included a photo of a protester being struck by a car in Louisville, Kentucky. The photo, chosen by editors, does not appear to be an example of the assaults described in the story, and has been replaced. pic.twitter.com/mDIzyoLmPO
Many critics, however, have not been satisfied with NPR’s response, calling it out for “pretending they did not anything wrong” and urging the station to issue an apology.
NPR deleted their tweet, kept the article up, shifted the picture to Charlottesville (which is all the evidence they have of their claim), and pretended they didn't do anything wrong in their "Editors note"https://t.co/XRAszmTEk7pic.twitter.com/wmIf5ypdUC
Some, however, noted that the call to defund NPR makes little sense. While during the 1970s and early 1980s NPR was mostly funded by the federal government, government dollars account for only a fraction of its budget now.
I’m an active listener of NPR and anyone who does knows they are privately funded. They have fund raisers everytime the season changes. #DefundNPRpic.twitter.com/Y79QTbNjpS
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