Brent & Argus

How Smear Campaigns Turn Public Figures into Punching Bags

Content

Kanye West tweets a swastika, and the internet explodes.

Rewind to 2002, when Michael Jackson declared war on record labels, only to be branded a pedophile faster than you can say “Thriller.”

What do we really know about these cases beyond the screaming headlines and sanctimonious talking heads? Not much.

This is the circus of media smear campaigns, where public figures like Kanye, Harvey Weinstein, Andrew Tate, Derek Chauvin, Michael Jackson, and Mahmoud Khalil are transformed into scapegoats for every ill plaguing society’s latest pet movement.

In a recent conversation on Piers Morgan Uncensored, Candace Owens dissected this phenomenon with her trademark defiance, while Piers played the outraged everyman.

This post dives into why the media loves a good witch hunt, how it thrives on our ignorance, and why Owens thinks we’re all expected to grab a pitchfork and join the mob.

The Mechanics of Media Smear Campaigns

A media trial is what happens when allegations (whether true, false, or conveniently exaggerated) get pumped through the 24-hour news cycle until they’re made gospel.

Take Harvey Weinstein. Over 90 women accused him, but as Candace points out, “it came down to the testimony of three women who had consensual sex with him after their alleged rapes.”

The other 87? Window dressing for the narrative.

The public, bless our simple hearts, rarely digs into primary sources (e.g. Chauvin’s full arrest tape or Jackson’s court victories). Instead, we slurp up the predigested outrage spoon-fed by CNN, Fox, and CBS.

This is scapegoating 101. Pin society’s woes on one villain and call it justice.

Weinstein became MeToo’s poster boy. Chauvin, the face of racist policing.

Never mind the messy details. Details don’t buy clicks.

Candace nails it in the interview: “There seems to be something sadistic about the entire world condemning someone and then an individual saying, ‘Well, I need you to do it, Candace.’”

She calls it “Judas culture.” The media doesn’t just want guilt. They demand a public stoning, preferably with your byline on the rock.

St. Augustine remarks, “The truth is rarely pure and never simple, yet men love to simplify it into their own image.”

The media’s image? A tidy villain for every cause. Because hashtags are too short for complexity.

AI Counterpoint

Oh, please. The media isn’t some grand conspiracy—it’s just giving the people what they want: drama, villains, and a morality play to feel good about. Sure, they amplify stories, but isn’t that their job? If the public craved nuance, we’d get it. Blaming the media for our short attention spans is like blaming a mirror for your bad hair day. And Owens’ “Judas” line? Cute, but dodging accountability isn’t exactly saintly either.

Brent’s Response

It is just what the public wants, but the problem is that they don’t present it as entertainment, but as fact-based “news.” There’s no doubt tabloid stories are more entertaining. You can’t make poison and call it food. At least, you shouldn’t be able to. I don’t see Candace as dodging accountability. Why does it matter? I guess we all feel a little better knowing Piers is “horrified” by Kanye’s tweets, eh?

The Media’s Favorite Whipping Boys

Let’s roll out the lineup of the media’s most-wanted scapegoats.

  • Kanye West: Ye’s swastika posts and Nazi flirtations lit up X like a Minneapolis peaceful protest. Piers frets, “He’s directly attacking Jewish people… his social media firepower to galvanize hate against the Jewish people is being laid bare.” Owens sidesteps: “When you have a real relationship with someone, you shouldn’t be lashing them in public.” The media crowned Kanye the king of hate speech, but how many of his 32 million followers saw context like mental health struggles and artistic provocation before clutching their pearls?
  • Harvey Weinstein: With 90+ accusers, he’s MeToo’s Frankenstein. Owens counters, “The reason he’s sitting in prison is because of the media… a trial by media and not a trial based on the facts.” She’s not wrong. New York’s appellate court tossed his conviction, citing a “kangaroo court.” Yet the public still sees a rapist, not a flawed case. Hollywood’s sins needed a face, and Weinstein’s was uglier than most.
  • Andrew Tate: The Top G’s misogyny makes feminists’ heads explode, but Owens argues, “Andrew Tate and his brother were actually a response to toxic femininity.” Media paint him as toxic masculinity incarnate, yet his actual court cases are suspiciously weak. Facts don’t matter when you’re the poster boy for patriarchy’s ills.
  • Derek Chauvin: Convicted for George Floyd’s death, he’s the media’s go-to for racist cops. Owens’ documentary claimed, “This was never a case that was about race, it was really about fentanyl.” Piers insists, “A police officer knelt on someone’s neck for way too long.” Well, that what we hear. It might be surprising to most that this is a police-approved technique. The truth is buried under riots and hashtags.
  • Michael Jackson: Leaving Neverland revived pedophile claims, but Owens says, “He was going to war with the record labels and was winning, and then suddenly there were all these allegations.” A father drugged his son to lie. Odd. Yet Jackson is portrayed as the weirdo sharing beds with kids. A scapegoat for pop’s dark side?
  • Mahmoud Khalil: A green card holder facing deportation for campus protests, Khalil’s the media’s Hamas-linked bogeyman. Owens fires back, “No one yet has produced any evidence that he supported Hamas… the AP debunked that.” Why him? Easy target + big headlines = $$$.

We hear the soundbites, not the evidence.

AI Counterpoint

Hold the sanctimony—maybe these folks are guilty, and the media’s just the messenger. Kanye’s swastikas aren’t abstract art; Weinstein’s accusers aren’t all liars. The public’s “limited knowledge” might just be apathy, not a grand plot. And quoting saints doesn’t make Owens’ defenses gospel—sometimes a cigar is just a cigar, and a creep is just a creep.

Brent’s Response

Sometimes it is. That’s the funny thing about conspiracies. They look just like a cigar that is probably just a cigar. But when all of these cases get grouped together, it starts to smell funny. The public’s limited knowledge is likely apathy, but the specific knowledge just fits the narrative a little too conveniently.

Why the Media Loves a Good Smear

So, why does the media do this?

Profit, power, a sprinkle of ideology. Sensationalism sells.

Weinstein’s downfall spiked ratings. Chauvin’s trial fueled ad revenue.

Control the narrative, control the culture. Defy the machine and watch the mud fly.

Ideology’s the cherry on top.

MeToo needed Weinstein’s head. Racial justice demanded Chauvin’s.

The media doesn’t care about truth. They just want a villain to whip into submission. Uncontrollable figures? Smear them, ostracize them, and watch as they break.

AI Counterpoint

Oh, cry me a river. The media’s a business, not a cabal—profit’s no secret. And “control”? Maybe they’re just reflecting society’s mood, not dictating it. Owens’ “smear” after leaving the Daily Wire? Could be she’s just polarizing, not persecuted. Ideology’s real, but pinning it all on puppet masters ignores how we, the audience, lap it up.

Brent’s Response

Yeah, a conspiracy of business interests is certainly more likely. It sounds whacky talking about CIA operations to control media, but they are real. It doesn’t mean it’s all coordinated. I’d argue it’s less puppet master and more lining pockets without regard to journalistic integrity.

The Pressure to Condemn

The media doesn’t just want guilt, it wants you to scream it too.

Owens resisted Piers’ prodding on Kanye: “I’m just not going to partake in this sort of Judas culture… I’m not going to burn [him] publicly because there are people who are sadistic and like to see it.”

She’s got a point—why must everyone pile on? It’s a ritual: condemn or be complicit. Refuse, and you’re next.

This coerced consensus is peak cynicism.

It’s not about justice. It’s about optics.

St. Gregory said it well, “The crowd loves to follow the crowd, not the truth.”

The media thrives on this herd mentality, turning trials into lynchings where guilt is a foregone conclusion.

AI Counterpoint

Spare us the martyr act—public condemnation can be accountability, not sadism. If Kanye’s spouting hate, shouldn’t peers call it out? Owens’ “Judas” dodge might just be cowardice dressed as principle. And Gregory’s crowd? Sometimes it’s right—heretics got stoned for a reason.

Brent’s Response

Why do friends of the accused need to be held accountable? This reminds me more of Saddam reading a list of names who are traitors to the party. No one is saying people didn’t get stoned for a reason. But a crowd in agreement is hardly a good one.

Final Thoughts

From Kanye’s swastikas to Khalil’s protests, media smear campaigns feast on our ignorance, pinning society’s sins on convenient scapegoats.

Profit, power, and ideology drive these witch hunts, and we’re the suckers buying tickets.

So, next time you see a headline, either dig deeper or assume there’s missing context. Don’t just nod along when the mob chants “guilty.”

Owens’ refusal to join the stoning reminds us: truth isn’t a popularity contest.

“Do not give heed to all the things that men say”—especially when they’re collecting a check every time you listen.

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