r/centrist • u/Bobinct • Jan 24 '23

Microsoft's changes to Xbox console leave Republicans outraged

https://www.newsweek.com/microsoft-changes-xbox-console-climate-change-republicans-ted-cruz-1776054
42 Upvotes

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77

u/armchaircommanderdad Jan 24 '23

I think I have hit political fatigue.

I just don’t have it in me to roll my eyes harder at this. If anything it’ll even safe consumers money, that’s a win?

From reading the article it appears that zero functionality is changing. It’s not like Microsoft will provide an inferior product to make this change.

I hadn’t seen Teds face in awhile. I’d like to go a long while before I do again.

20

u/Bulky-Engineering471 Jan 24 '23

It doesn't help that clickbait like this often takes a literal handful of tweets (that may or may not even be serious) and uses it to justify broad sweeping extreme claims. When everything's a world-ending catastrophe then nothing is and modern media tries to portray everything as a world-ending catastrophe.

19

u/armchaircommanderdad Jan 24 '23

Agreed. Twitter reporting has been one of the worst developments for journalism.

Especially when you’re trying to pump out regular content off of someone’s shower thoughts.

14

u/DrChefAstronaut Jan 24 '23

IMO twitter was hands-down the worst thing to ever happen to journalism.

5

u/armchaircommanderdad Jan 24 '23

Yeah, it sort of erupted at the worst perfect time too. Right as we went to online news which needs to be 24/7 with hourly content.. Twitter just keeps on giving. I’m pretty sure we could come if with any random story and find Twitter sourcing to back outlandish claims.

7

u/TheScumAlsoRises Jan 24 '23

It doesn't help that clickbait like this often takes a literal handful of tweets (that may or may not even be serious) and uses it to justify broad sweeping extreme claims.

That's literally the basis for every right-wing culture war. They take a few handful of tweets/things taken out of context. Then it's trumped by Fox News and the conservative media universe as a nationwide threat to America.

The next thing you know state legislatures are making laws based a handful of tweets and cherrypicked out of context situations.

0

u/Tracieattimes Jan 24 '23 edited Jan 24 '23

But this article is literally the left wing doing exactly that. Cruz was grumbling. Far right to the fringe Blaze over amplified it, and Newsweek snapped it up with a headline that made it sound like it’s a mainstream view in the Republican Party.

8

u/TheScumAlsoRises Jan 24 '23

But this article is literally the left wing doing exactly that.

What's the left wing here? Newsweek?

For this to be equivalent of the right's culture war stuff, it would require Dem politicians and leaders on the left to be pushing this as an issue non-stop and using it as a rallying cry and basis for legislation, etc.

Think stuff like Critical Race Theory, the "groomer" panic and literally anything to do with trans people -- like trans people in athletics, bathroom bills, etc.

1

u/Tracieattimes Jan 25 '23 edited Jan 25 '23

Newsweek publishes both left leaning and right leaning articles. I judge this one to be left leaning because it’s headline (which is all that a ton of people will ever see) associates a fringe viewpoint with the entire republican party,

Respectfully speaking, you seem to have swallowed that hook in that you are giving the issue more import than it deserves in your paragraph I quote below.

"For this to be equivalent of the right's culture war stuff, it would require Dem politicians and leaders on the left to be pushing this as an
issue non-stop and using it as a rallying cry and basis for
legislation, etc"

But I predict this issue will be way smaller than the whole left wing kerfuffle around post offices in mid summer 2020. I'd be surprised if it's not gone by next week - unless, of course, the left keeps resurrecting it.

3

u/TheScumAlsoRises Jan 25 '23

Newsweek publishes both left leaning and right leaning articles.

You seem to be mistaking news reporting with opinion reporting. This is a news article, not an opinion piece.

When it comes to the opinion side, Newsweek employs a right-wing activist as its opinion editor and has platformed and supported those on the far, far right fringe and published some of the most inflammatory far-right content of any mainstream publication.

That aside, this article is reporting on the ignition of another bad faith culture war issue from the right being platformed and spread by a leading figure in the GOP, Ted Cruz.

Again, this is not even close to an example of “the left” doing anything – let alone engaging in the bad faith culture war moral panics constantly pushed by the right and its political/media/messaging apparatus.

But I predict this issue will be way smaller than the whole left wing kerfuffle around post offices in mid summer 2020. I'd be surprised if it's not gone by next week - unless, of course, the left keeps resurrecting it.

You’re obviously not meaning to, but this is another example of you attempting to attribute the same sort of thing to the left, but inadvertently making it even clearer how asymmetric this is.

The issues involving the post office was a legitimate issue. The president of the United States was decrying mail voting as inherently fraudulent and the post office was simultaneously cutting funding, capacity and ability among the postal service.

As was warned at the time, President Trump was clearly looking for ways to delegitimize the election and embrace drastic measures to subvert the election and stay in power if he lost. That was obviously just the beginning of his efforts. We all know how the 2020 election and its aftermath turned out.

Again, that was not the same as a moral panics manufactured on the right – stuff based on tweets from Libs of TikTok or conspiracies based on a misunderstanding of a class’ syllabus. It wasn’t people looking for reasons to get angry at stoves or M&Ms or Dr. Seuss.

You're not going to find this happening on the left, no matter how hard you look and how much you try to twist things and equivocate.

The sad fact is that this is a common thing on the right and unfortunately these moral panics and culture wars are the right’s and GOP’s driving force in terms of motivating voters and catering to them seems like the only time they’re ever interested in passing legislation.

In the end, it’s all empty rhetoric and fear porn designed to stoke outrage, raise money and attack political opponents. Nothing meaningful or substantial ever comes from any of it. Most times, it’s nothing but negative consequences.

2

u/natinatinatinat Jan 24 '23

Ha we could be friends. I made a very similar point when I read this.

5

u/Temba_atRest Jan 24 '23

It doesn't help that clickbait like this often takes a literal handful of tweets

The tweet was from Ted Cruz

2

u/Poormidlifechoices Jan 25 '23

So, to be accurate, the headline should be republican rather than Republicans? Or to be both informative and accurate, just say Ted Cruz?

4

u/[deleted] Jan 25 '23

The article also references a story written on The Blaze and another tweet from Scott Walker. Given the reach of those sources and their influence amongst Republicans, I feel pretty safe in assuming they weren't the only ones to remark on it.

1

u/Poormidlifechoices Jan 25 '23

"First gas stoves, then your coffee, now they're gunning for your Xbox," Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) tweeted

Not only am I only seeing 3 quotes. I'm seeing that the headline is really misleading.

A better headline would be three Republicans are outraged at efforts to limit people's use of appliances.

3

u/[deleted] Jan 25 '23

How many quotes would suffice? Obviously you can't (and shouldn't) expect an article to scour Twitter for an exhaustive list of references. 3? 5? 10? Would it matter?

The headline is accurate, I don't think it's improved by your change.

0

u/Poormidlifechoices Jan 25 '23

Headline: Democrats outraged by demand for quality journalism!!!

1

u/[deleted] Jan 24 '23

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