After the Republic Sentinal broke the details about how the satanic statue was decapitated in the Iowa state Capitol, prominent anti-Christian Nationalist media figures took to social media to condemn the act as media coordination of Ben Zeisloft, the reporter who broke the story.
How was it that the man who destroyed the Satanic display chose — out of all available media — to give an “exclusive” to Ben Zeisloft’s no-name CN site, which then quickly started raising money for him? Blurred lines much?
— Janet Mefferd (@Janet_Mefferd) December 15, 2023
“WE raised?”
I have questions.https://t.co/RzqdUcjuN8 pic.twitter.com/h86MuRoRU2
Hmm.
— Michael O'Fallon - Sovereign Nations (@SovMichael) December 15, 2023
I told a closed Twitter group last night that something didn't feel authentic about this action.
They had the propaganda art up on social media within an hour. https://t.co/AtKcMRECBt
Janet Mefferd made the initial insinuation, and then Michael O’Fallon stated that the memes made following the event prove that Ben Zeisloft coordinated it.
Myth Debunked
Ben Zeisloft quickly set the record straight.
Many are baselessly, and slanderously, speculating that @RepubSentinel knew @VoteCassidy would destroy the Satanic altar in Iowa before the fact. This is a complete lie. @DavisYounts contacted us with first dibs on the story well after the altar was torn down, because we have a…
— Ben Zeisloft (@BenZeisloft) December 15, 2023
Davis Younts has a history of being a contributor to the Republic Sentinal, so for him to give them the exclusive is exceedingly unsurprising. As he is a well-known lawyer on the political right, it is also unsurprising that Michael Cassidy would contract him for his defense.
But instead of admitting they were wrong for spreading malicious rumors, they both dug in their heels.
Journalism vs Biblical Morality
There exist journalism practices and standards that are considered industry ethics, but it is not sin to violate them.
Cassidy was arrested & charged w/4th-degree criminal mischief, a serious misdemeanor.
— Janet Mefferd (@Janet_Mefferd) December 15, 2023
What *if* he’d known beforehand but stayed silent just to get the story? It’d be HIGHLY unethical & grounds for firing.
In the case of a felony, it also could have potential legal ramifications. https://t.co/DBoaVC16Md
Mefferd states that knowing and not reporting would have been firable. Yet if the mission is to glorify God, doing exactly what Janet Mefferd accused Ben Ziesloft of doing was completely within the bounds of God’s law. As Ben Zeisloft in no way approached violating God’s law, Christians should not be hung up on secular journalism standards written by liberals.
Journalism is not and has never been a neutral entity. It has always been a means of activism and searching for truth. Janet Mefferd pretends that there was an old-school that was neutral facts-based reporting, but such was a myth of a highly programmed generation. America’s history is one of overtly partisan newspapers and any trend otherwise is a novel LARP.
Christians in media should not strap themselves to a suicide pact of journalism ethics written by people who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.
One Response
“Serious misdemeanor” is an oxymoron.