It would be great if On the Media did a story about what happens when the media all forms a consensu

It would be great if On the Media did a story about what happens when the media all forms a consensus around describing a thing that is not the thing they are describing and what happens when they do.

A new truth gets created.

My case in point: Gianforte's attack on a journalist in Montana.

He did not body slam him. He executed an arm-bar takedown.

Was it physical? Was it assault? Was it completely inappropriate?

Yes, yes and yes.

But it's the difference between a slap and a punch.

But now the whole world believes that Gianforte picked a person up over his head and threw him on the ground rather than, in fact, simply using superior strength and leverage to press a person from a standing position to one on the floor.

The trouble is more people have heard "body slam" than have SEEN what he did, and in much of the world, those words have meaning.

To reporters who don't care about wrestling, they think what's the difference. But there is a very big difference!

It's like calling a Ford F-150 a big rig.

It's like calling a battleship an aircraft carrier.

It's not the same thing! But reporters have created a new truth with their words that doesn't reflect what actually happened and it has had the perverse effect of making Gianforte seem mighty and strong in a way he is not.