Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) is facing claims that he failed to take action against alleged serial sexual abuse involving an Ohio State University athletic doctor and scores of student athletes. This week, as he attempted to defend himself, he took a page from President Donald Trump’s playbook: attacking the media.
On Wednesday, Jordan claimed in a tweet that CNN is contacting more than 100 “of our former staff and interns” looking for “dirt” on him.
“How can you ever trust such #fakenews?” the congressman wrote.
Although Jordan’s slam attracted some support from followers, many Twitter users decided to exercise their First Amendment rights and school the congressman on how journalism actually works.
One person suggested that Jordan had been spoiled by too many softball interviews with Fox News.
Another pointed out that CNN might actually find evidence to support Jordan’s claims that he knew nothing about the alleged abuse, which is said to have happened while he was a wrestling coach at Ohio State.
Some people pointed out that if reporters are doing due diligence and contacting more than a hundred sources to find out information, it doesn’t really make sense to call that “fake news.”
One person suggested Jordan could have saved himself a lot of hassle just by showing a teensy-weensy, itsy-bitsy bit of empathy for the alleged victims.
Singer, songwriter and actor John Legend chimed in with a helpful explanation of “real news” vs. “fake news.”