Comment by jyounker

* The Swiftboat thing was completely an ad campaign if I remember correctly. I remember most media covering it as BS.

* The contents of Dan Rather report on GWB was true. There was one document which was sketchy, but the whole report didn't hinge on the one document from an officer's office. (E.g. Ex-senator Ben Barnes's interview is reasonably indicting: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/transcript-barnes-on-bush/)

  The media did fall down though. Only one outlet went to the the Officer's
  secretary (who was still alive) to ask if she had typed the document.
  She looked at it and said (summarizing here) that it wasn't the document
  she typed, but it was the same contents.

What's interesting is how easily the media is distracted. What's even more concerning though, is that when the more centrist major media has tried to be less gullible, they've been vilified. (E.g. trying not to be suckered by miraculous appearance Hunter Biden's laptop.)

It's a mess, and the only way out of it is probably limits own media ownership.