Main Stream Media Obsesses Over Maskless Tampa Fans, While BLM Protests Get Pass
Remember all the concern establishment media outlets reported last summer about Black Lives Matter protests being potential super spreader events?
Me neither.
They expressed concerns about Trump campaign rallies, but not BLM protests.
In fact, a Washington Post opinion piece published in September cited a research paper by the National Bureau of Economic Research finding “no evidence that net covid-19 case growth differentially rose following the onset of Black Lives Matter protests” based on an examination of patterns of spread in over 300 cites.
A Google search for “Black Lives Matter protests COVID-19” lists multiple studies among its top results all finding very limited correlations between the gatherings and an increased spread of the coronavirus.
Healthline.com reported protests didn’t appear to cause an “uptick in COVID-19 cases.”
“The biggest factor is the protests were outdoors,” according to Healthline.
It’s not like there was perfect mask conformity either at these events, as this video from Los Angeles clearly shows:
[firefly_poll]
Or this collage of pictures from Charlotte, North Carolina, protests:
“Lift Every Voice” opens today at @HBGanttCenter. It shows Charlotte’s response to police brutality and the protests that followed last summer through instillations, photography and video, while also archiving the Black Lives Matter mural. https://t.co/Kiwkzr3T0E pic.twitter.com/XbNDWQYgGA
— The Charlotte Post (@thecharpost) February 6, 2021
But a headline coming out from multiple media outlets is that maskless Buccaneer fans celebrating their team’s Super Bowl win were virus super spreaders incarnate.
How can these fans be any more or less of a COVID-19 risk than the BLM protesters last summer?
Thousands of maskless Tampa fans flooded the streets, celebrating the Super Bowl win while risking a superspreader event https://t.co/0sQNIWyX0d
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) February 8, 2021
One Twitter user responded to a picture from Tampa’s Ybor restaurant and bar district and said, “This is heartbreaking. People will die from Covid because of this. Why is it allowed?”
This is heartbreaking. People will die from Covid because of this. Why is it allowed? Come on Tampa folks – do better.
— Lin C (@TNVOLINFL) February 7, 2021
“Super Bowl LV post-game celebrations spur COVID concerns,” CBS News reported.
Super Bowl LV post-game celebrations spur COVID concerns https://t.co/yoKJR0N36e
— CBS News (@CBSNews) February 8, 2021
CBS was the network that aired the Super Bowl. Was this such a major story?
The Hill and the Associated Press published stories about the celebrations too.
As has been true throughout this pandemic, politics is the most overriding issue in the media’s COVID coverage.
If you’re a maskless BLM protester, your cause is righteous and COVID is of little concern.
If you’re a maskless Bucs’ fan or a Trump supporter, you’re a pathogen carrier and must be shamed.
It’s a double standard, but it’s one the news media has perfected.
