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Infectious Disease Expert Slams NY Times Headline on 'Lack of Testing' and NYT Reporter's Response Just Made It Worse
President Donald Trump has made over 16,000 false statements since his inauguration, from matters as petty as his father's birthplace to as consequential as the path of an oncoming hurricane.
Never in modern history has a President so easily, shamelessly, and repeatedly told such easily disprovable lies.
Occasionally, journalists will face criticism for framing the truth as though it were an opinion and Trump's lie as an equally valid one.
Such was the case in a recent New York Times headline regarding Trump's false suggestion that there's no longer a shortage of accessible testing for the virus that's caused a national health and economic crisis in the United States.
Governors have repeatedly warned Trump that there aren't enough tests, and though Trump points out that the United States has tested more people than any country in the world, the per capita data shows that tests have been far too few to get an accurate assessment of just how widely the virus has spread.
Nevertheless, the New York Times headline read:
"Trump Suggests Lack of Testing Is No Longer a Problem. Governors Disagree."
Yale infectious disease expert Gregg Gonsalves didn't hesitate to point out the dangers posed by a lack of immediate fact-checking in the headline.
This is journalistic malpractice. If we don't have scale-up of testing, we will be in lock-down for months & months… https://t.co/AgCCgZvdYh— Gregg Gonsalves (@Gregg Gonsalves) 1585657261.0
Gonsalves called the headline "journalistic malpractice," pointing out that an increase is testing is imperative if the widespread national lockdown is to end any time soon.
But one of the report's authors—Jonathan Martin—wasn't open to the criticism.
@gregggonsalves @maggieNYT you’re picking the wrong fight, move along— Jonathan Martin (@Jonathan Martin) 1585660362.0
Gonsalves—who was an activist with ACT UP in New York during the AIDS epidemic—wasn't afraid to respond.
@jmartNYT @maggieNYT Sorry Jonathan, I don't care how important you think you are, how important you think the… https://t.co/srQkTcaLOY— Gregg Gonsalves (@Gregg Gonsalves) 1585664638.0
@jmartNYT @maggieNYT @nytimes From @peterbakernyt now infamous hot take of @realDonaldTrump as he "struggles to fin… https://t.co/vzvJ7Ctmmz— Gregg Gonsalves (@Gregg Gonsalves) 1585664986.0
@jmartNYT @maggieNYT @nytimes @peterbakernyt @realDonaldTrump Everything is a Punch & Judy Show, and the real story… https://t.co/yTXs68jrl6— Gregg Gonsalves (@Gregg Gonsalves) 1585666069.0
@jmartNYT @maggieNYT @nytimes @peterbakernyt @realDonaldTrump There is tremendous reporting going on on the pandemi… https://t.co/tYYZAnndk1— Gregg Gonsalves (@Gregg Gonsalves) 1585666158.0
@jmartNYT @maggieNYT @nytimes @peterbakernyt @realDonaldTrump @statnews @propublica This is an emergency, act like… https://t.co/z3OF9gpxL9— Gregg Gonsalves (@Gregg Gonsalves) 1585666396.0
@jmartNYT @maggieNYT @nytimes @peterbakernyt @realDonaldTrump @statnews @propublica So, get better. Tell us, why 4… https://t.co/cNcV42i9G0— Gregg Gonsalves (@Gregg Gonsalves) 1585666514.0
@jmartNYT @maggieNYT @nytimes @peterbakernyt @realDonaldTrump @statnews @propublica Tell us why we have people with… https://t.co/2Pukt0Woog— Gregg Gonsalves (@Gregg Gonsalves) 1585666595.0
@jmartNYT @maggieNYT @nytimes @peterbakernyt @realDonaldTrump @statnews @propublica There are political stories abo… https://t.co/RNSQ9KnoGl— Gregg Gonsalves (@Gregg Gonsalves) 1585666704.0
People didn't take kindly to Martin's dismissal of Gonsalves.
@jmartNYT @gregggonsalves @maggieNYT I work for a publication that gets its share of angry criticism on twitter. It… https://t.co/hADisI9cWv— Adam Serwer🍝 (@Adam Serwer🍝) 1585671165.0
@jmartNYT @gregggonsalves @maggieNYT Why be so dismissive and rude? So long.— Regina Griffin (@Regina Griffin) 1585664824.0
@jmartNYT @gregggonsalves @maggieNYT Move along?— Amy Siskind 🏳️🌈 (@Amy Siskind 🏳️🌈) 1585670149.0
@jmartNYT @gregggonsalves @maggieNYT The right fight. The right time.— Michelangelo Signorile (@Michelangelo Signorile) 1585666847.0
@jmartNYT @gregggonsalves @maggieNYT Not your doing Jon, or Maggie’s, but these headlines are, now more than ever,… https://t.co/kGWjJyhg1w— Richard Yeselson (@Richard Yeselson) 1585666156.0
@jmartNYT @gregggonsalves @maggieNYT based on the ratio, it looks like Gregg isn't the one who picked the wrong fig… https://t.co/UEB59GrMbr— “Celia” (@“Celia”) 1585673266.0
Not a good look.