Accountability Is Not Dead—It’s Just Selective

 From Unlicensed Punditry:

One of the most common complaints about modern public life is the disappearance of accountability. Politicians are not accountable. The media is not accountable. Corporations are not accountable. Institutions that once claimed moral authority now seem able to operate without consequences.

The phrase “no one is ever held accountable anymore” has become almost a cliché.

We recently watched this play out in real time. Following an ISIS-inspired attempted bombing in New York, law enforcement reported that explosives had been thrown toward anti-Islam protesters during a confrontation near the mayor’s residence. Yet many “news” outlets quickly produced headlines and articles that gave the impression that there wasn’t really a terrorist attack at all—or that, if there was, it was somehow the fault of right-wing protesters.

At CNN, host Abby Phillip inaccurately described the attack as being directed at New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. Phillip later acknowledged the mistake and issued a correction on air, saying she had incorrectly described the target and apologized for the error. In other words, she eventually did the minimum professional standards require—she corrected the record. (Read more.)