Laughs and Goodwill at Washington's Social Event
By Hannah Bell
No one is so outraged that they start a campaign, rally their supporters to storm a federal building, or refuse to make concessions after an election loss.
Steven Portnoy, president of the association, reminded guests that Donald Trump may have started his campaign in the White House following the criticism he received at a dinner in 2011. He then asked the guests seated at the table where the president sat to simply laugh in response.
The annual dinner, the social calendar's highlight in Washington, was marked by a notable absence: unlike this year's Oscars, no one was outraged enough to stand up and walk out over the jokes in the headline show. Instead of anger, there was laughter.
Trevor Noah expressed concern that a joke about Trump's advisor in the White House, Kellyanne Conway, might inspire her husband, George Conway, a well-known lawyer in the city, to thank him on stage for his critique of his wife's former boss.
During his four-year term, Trump relentlessly attacked the media, refused to attend the annual event where America's fourth estate celebrates its heroes, and celebrated his own successes. For the first time in two years, the event was canceled due to the pandemic, thereby breaking a nearly century-old Washington tradition.
The Restart Dinner on Saturday helped bring life back to the nation's capital, although the ghost of Covid-19 still lingered above.
The event took place after the Gridiron Club Dinner on April 2nd, following which many attendees tested positive for the Coronavirus. Noah joked that the extravagant dinner on Saturday night was "the most prominent Super-Spreader event in the country."
Attendees in the ballroom filled with more than 2,000 journalists, celebrities, politicians, and Washington insiders had undoubtedly hoped to avoid making the same mistake.
The return of the dinner confirmed a significant fact: we now have a president who respects the press and can handle some pressure. (President Joe Biden even joked that he wouldn't go to jail for laughing at him.)
However, it's not just polite jests. In his speech, Biden acknowledged that there was a significant increase in the spread of false information at the time of the dinner, burying the truth under lies that continued to exist as truth.
Biden's statement reflected the power that social media wields in the country. According to a 2021 Pew Research Center survey, Americans now get their news first from traditional media, but over half now obtain some news at least occasionally via social networks. And everyone knows that misinformation spreads like wildfire on these platforms.
While Europe is currently announcing a new law to combat disinformation, lawmakers in the United States, the birthplace of social media, have yet to take meaningful action. In fact, the U.S. Congress has only passed two bills to regulate the technology sector in the last 25 years. It's time to start getting things right. There is a reasonable way to address this problem: by penalizing social media networks to prevent potentially deadly misinformation from going viral.
Noah also joked that print journalists felt that others in the field were implying they had a home, as they continued to work from home during the pandemic. This was due to the fact that advertising revenues that originally supported print media now flow to technology companies like Facebook and Google, which do not pay for links to their content.
This must change. Australia was the first country to demand that technology companies pay for hosting content, resulting in significant consequences and the creation of new jobs in underreported regions of the country. It's high time for America to follow suit. But unfortunately, nothing was discussed on Saturday night.
It's also unfortunate that exclusive establishment events are not more inclusive. Professionals or other Americans who could not attend indoor events with thousands of people were not given the same recognition. Participants had to receive a vaccination, a booster shot, and a negative Covid-19 test before attending. However, this does not eliminate all risks, which is why the president's leading medical advisor, Dr.. Anthony Fauci, did not attend.
It's wonderful that many people are given serious recognition, whose personal circumstances put them at the greatest risk of returning to "normalcy." CNN's political reporter, Kasie Hunt, noted in her CNN+-show that "others may have gone further, but parents of young children couldn't." This is due to the fact that the Covid-19 vaccine is not yet available for children under 5 (including).
The ceremony honored the bravery of those in the profession, including journalist Austin Theis, who was arrested while reporting in Syria a decade ago, and those who lost their lives in the Ukraine. It also celebrates the first two black women to serve as White House correspondents: Alice Dunnigan and Ethel Penn.
Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter ###
- Sign up for CNN Opinion's new newsletter.
- Follow us on Twitter and Facebook But as they announced a new award for their own honors, "CBS Morning" co-host Gayle King referred to the audience as "Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls" – even Disney-fied Language was avoided. Next year, we will have the opportunity to include those who do not fit into traditional gender roles more directly.
Overall, the friendly dinner was a significant step forward for the nation in reaffirming respect for the press. However, it remains to be seen if it will also be a step back if a large number of attendees become infected with Covid-19. If not, the event next year could give us even more reasons to celebrate and laugh.
Newsinbytes:
* * * *
Despite Trevor Noah's jest about potentially inspiring Kellyanne Conway's husband to join his comedy act due to a joke about her, no attendees felt so offended that they rose from their seats to protest. (Public opinion on the jokes varied, but nobody took offense to such a degree.)
Enrichment Data:
The Pew Research Center's study on political polarization and media habits reveals that misinformation on social media is impacting policymakers in the United States by affecting public trust in social media platforms and influencing how people perceive candidates and issues during elections. Key findings include:
- Public Perception: Over 65% of respondents believed that the problem of election misinformation had worsened since 2020, indicating a significant concern among the public about the impact of misinformation on democratic processes[3].
- Platform Responsibility: A majority of respondents (71%) believed that social media platforms should prioritize preventing false and misleading claims over unrestricted speech, highlighting a public consensus on the need for proactive measures to manage misinformation[2].
- Demographic Impact: Misinformation disproportionately affects certain communities, such as Black and Latino respondents who are more likely to access news on Facebook and YouTube, which are platforms where misinformation often thrives[3].
- Policy Implications: The spread of misinformation on social media poses a danger to democracy, contributing to election denial movements and threats against election officials. This has led to calls for more stringent measures to combat misinformation, although there is a public skepticism about government regulation of social media platforms[2][3].
- Platform Actions: Social media companies like Facebook and Twitter have implemented policies to combat misinformation, including blocking fake accounts, employing fact-checkers, and labeling false content. However, these efforts are not always seen as aggressive enough, and the issue remains a pressing concern for policymakers[5].
This data highlights the importance of addressing misinformation on social media to maintain public trust and ensure the integrity of democratic processes in the United States.
