The american creed is the Connective Tissue that binds us, it is a long chain of patriots that come before us and those who will follow us in turn. That creed holds that the ideals that inspire people to service and that us, fill us with pride when we see our Loved Ones put on that uniform and our progress toward that creed together as One Nation united and preserved through their sacrifices, the best and strongest memorial to their lives. Ladies and gentlemen, america is unique. It is an idea. Unlike any other country in the world, it is formed based on an idea. Almost every other country is based on a Creed Or Religion or geography and ethnicity. But not us. Were based on an idea. And that we hold these truths to be self evident. That all men and women are created equal. We are unique in the world. I had a long conversation with two hours recently with President Xi making it clear to him that we could do nothing but speak out for Human Rights Around The World because that is who we are. Ill be meeting with President Putin in a couple of weeks in geneva, making it clear that we will not we will not stand by and let him abuse those rights. Folks, were unique in all of history. We really are. But those names, etched on that wall and every other wall on a tombstone in america, our veterans is the reason why were able to stand here. We Cant Kid ourselves about that. And so i hope, i hope that the nation comes together. Were not democrats or republicans today. Were americans. Were americans who have given their lives. [ applause ] and it is time we remind everybody who we are. Thank you all for being here. May god bless you all, particularly the Gold Star families and survivors and may god protect our troops because theyre still out there. Thank you. [ applause ] that was president Joe Biden delivering remarks in honor of memorial day. Speaking about u. S. Military personnel who died in service. We have to carry on without them, he said. Saying that he knows how hard it is. We are, he said, the inheritors of their mission. Biden is speaking there at veterans memorial park,ner new castle delaware. You know the spot at the foot of the Delaware Memorial Bridge spanning New Jersey and delaware. Biden frequently attended this an all service when living in delaware and running for various offices now he speaks there as the president of the united states. Let me bring in cnn white House Correspondent Arlette saenz. This is personal for the president because it is the anniversary of his sons beaus death today. It certainly is. Six years ago Today President bidens eldest son Beau Biden passed away from glioblastoma, brain cancer. So not only today is he paying respects, the president to those who have died in battle, but he is also carrying his son beau in his heart. Earlier in the morning, the family attended mass at their normal parish here in wilmington and afterwards they took a short bit of time to visit the Grave Site where beau was laid to rest. He was there with his family including Beaus Son Hunter biden, there was a moment where you saw the President And Hunter embracing. But over the course of the past few days, at both this event just right now and on friday, you heard the president speak about his son and speak about his service. Beau had served in the Delaware National Guard and actually spent soft me time in iraq and said seeing his son in uniform made his heart swell. But so often when the president is speaking of to those who have lost Loved Ones including those ones reflecting on the loves ones that were lost in battle on this memorial Day Weekend, the president often relates his own sense of loss and his understanding of what families endure and tries to relate that to people as they are remembering their own Loved Ones. So while this is also a very personal day, you also heard from the commanderinchief saying that the military is the spine of this country and that we the country needs to honor the lives and legacies of those that have been lost. And he also had a bit of a message of unity at The End saying that the country and the military, theyre not democrats or republicans and that this is also a moment for the country to come together as we remember the fallen heroes of this memorial Day Weekend. Arlette saenz, thank you very much. Turning now to this hour of reliable sources, and a theme that President Bidens spoke about moments ago. The coauthor of a book called How Democracy Dies will join me with a warning about what the failed vote to have a January 6 commission could mean in the future. Plus a follow up to last Weeks Firing of a young a. P. Reporter for twitter violations. It sparked a rare revolt among staffers. This is a letter of their protest. A Top Editor will join me to address the fallout. Our first story is a challenge for bidens state department. This case personified the threat to journalists in the country of myanmar. Danny fenster is a 37yearold american journalist who worked hard to tell the stories of myanmar citizens both before and after the Military Coup in february. Hes the Managing Editor of frontier myanmar. He was trying to fly home a week ago planning to surprise his Family Back in detroit when he was detained at the airport. He hasnt been heard from since and hes believed to have been imprisoned. The u. S. State department has spoken out saying it is deeply concerned about fensters detection. We have pressed them to release him immediately and will continue to do so until hes allowed to return home to his family. This is a reminder that fareed was talking about this last hour about this bella Russ Journalist who was detained in midflight. That is an example in belarus and this is in myanmar and local journalists caught in the midst of the conflict taken into prison who have been shut down by the Military Coup. This case with fenster brings it all home because an american family is now hoping, safely, for his return. Let me bring them in and introduce them to you. Rose and buddy fenster, Live In Detroit and theyre here with me. Rose, i know it is a week since you last heard from danny. How are you holding up . Im trying to be strong and positive. And it is minutebyminute. Running on fumes and just keeping my mind on the positive and not letting my mind go to where it could go. Yeah. Danny, was there covering the stories that are so important to the citizens of myanmar and you could read his work on the web, do you have any sense he was in danger after the coup occurred . We have always had a sense of danger once he went there. But yes, a sense of Danger And Awareness but trusty danny. Hes a strong, independent thinker. This is his passion. To write and to write what is right, speak the truth. So weve always supported him along with being worried. Yeah. I think many parents could relate to that. Buddy, what was the last message you all received from danny . I think about two weeks ago i spoke to him and he voiced concern. He said all of the reporters, all of the jiournalists are leaving this country. It seemed like it was hard for him to get staff, people were either in hiding ore left the country completely and i could tell that he was a change in his desire. I got a feeling he felt it was time to start heading home. Right. I understand that. Youre not the only one thinking about that way. What brought him to myanmar in the first place. Went to live in bangkok because he has a lot of Wander Lust in him and when a job opened up in myanmar, he immediately took it. That is the first place he worked. Think it is called myanmar now, more of a daily News Kind of thing and when the job opened at frontier myanmar, a more Monthly Publication to work on stories deeper and that is what he likes to do and took the job there and became Managing Editor. He, we believe, is being held in this notorious prison in myanmar as the military is taking control. Has the state department, have Government Officials in the u. S. Been responsive to tempts to find out his whereabouts. We have heard nothing so far. We know theyre working on it and we have confidence in our government and the embassy to push this matter. It iss in one on their list. But we havent heard from danny in a week now. And we have no proof or concrete evidence of his well being. You have had local representatives speaking out, supporting you. Here is one of the local congressman trying to raise awareness of this case. Now that it has been a week youre putting together a petition to try to spread awareness that way. This is available at moveon. Org. What are your goals with the petition . It is just awareness. Getting the word out. Not letting this Story Slide away in the news cycle. I mean we want people to be talking about this every day. We want all of our local political leaders to be pushing to get danny home. In 2020, according to the committee for journalists, 274 journalists were imprisoned in various locals Around The World. Rose, what do you want people to know about what that means on a personal level . It is a big number. But every number is a person with a family. Of course. Of course. You hear these stories and every person has many people that love them and families and it is it is heartbreaking. What ive gone through this week, my heart goes out to every single other Parent And Family and community member. It is a total nightmare. It is a total feeling of no control. It is heartwrenching. It is just it is excuse me, im sorry, it is just not something that you want anybody to go through, any parent, anybody that cares about anybody, these are Human Lives and these are people, not just numbers. And i just want my son home no matter what it takes. A week ago you never could have imagined youd be sitting here. No. He was coming home to surprise you all. Buddy, he would have been home in time for Fathers Day even in time for quarantine on the way home. So what is your message for the myanmar authorities given this is live Around The World. What is your message Around The World. Im no expert on negotiations, i have no idea who is in control in myanmar now. I think their efforts to squelch journalism and get the word out is it is just, it just kills life and it kills freedom, it kills truth. And i think that they just need to let him go immediately. He has not committed any crime there. I agree. Hes just hes just trying to do the right thing and not hurt anybody or start anything. He was not you know, feet boots on ground behind a Desk Editing and just want him home. Please, please, please, please release him and send him home to his family. Rose and buddy. Thank you both for being here. Well stay on top of that situation. Thank you. Thank you so much. The News Media behind the Covid19 Curve plus a little journalism 101 on Credibility And Trust and how that is playing out in maricopa county, arizona. More reliable sources in a moment. [ring] [ring ring] [ring] oh no. I thought i just ordered tacos. Nope sushi. Ramen. Burgers. Tandoori chicken. Some milk from the store, and. And, let me guess. Cookies . Wha, Me Hungry yeah. 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Nothing is everything. Now is the time to ask your dermatologist about skyrizi. [ footsteps] n[ Suspenseful Music ] hey, you wanna get out of here . Ah ha. Weve got you. During expedia travel week, save 20 or more on thousands of hotels. Just book between June 8th and 12th to plan your escape with expedia. man ive made progress it matwith my Mental Health. Th. So when i started having unintentional Body Movements called tardive dyskinesia. I ignored them. But when the movements in my hands and feet started throwing me off at work. I finally had to say, its not ok. it was time to talk to my doctor about austedo. She said that austedo helps reduce Td Movements in adults. While i continue with most of my Mental Health medications. Vo Austedo can cause depression, suicidal thoughts, or actions in patients with huntingtons disease. Pay close attention to and call your doctor if you become depressed, have sudden changes in mood, behaviors, feelings, or have suicidal thoughts. Common Side Effects include inflammation of the nose and throat, insomnia and sleepiness. Dont take austedo if you have liver problems, are taking reserpine, tetrabenazine, or valbenazine. Austedo may cause irregular or fast heartbeat, restlessness, movements mimicking parkinsons disease, fever, stiff muscles, problems thinking, and sweating. Man Talk to your doctor about austedo. Its time to treat td. Td is not ok. Visit askforaustedo. Com if you cant find Anywhere Td is not ok. That can brew your organic beer. You grow your own organic brewery, naturally. Michelob ultra pure gold. Organic by nature. Welcome back to reliable sources. Im brian stelter. Now to a stark display of americas media divide. Signs of democratic erosion are seen in every direction for those willing to see them right now. Too many people are unwilling to see, so conspiracies are spreading, sectarian is taking Root And Minority rule is prevailing. By republicans are Capitol Hill are blocking a thorough review of the January 6 insurrection but many are clinging to the Big Lie and pushing new Voting Restrictions and normalizing extreme rhetoric. Common reality is being dissolved, right Wing Propaganda is taking place and all of this is on display in maricopa county, arizona, where mega media is trying to claim that Donald Trump won and President Biden lost. This week i heard a ten second clip that summed up all of the years of divisions, when Kyung Lah caught up with phan, defending the audit saying it is it is streamed by one american news, a far right Protrump Channel that is not credible in any sense of the word. So here is what fans said next. Are you saying that oan is not a credible News Source . Yes. Are you saying that . Ail remember that. K cnn is saying that oan is not yes. She thinks to think that a Conspiracy Theory is actually credible. This got me think being misinformation in a whole new way. So lets goo there with cnn Kyung Lah and Matt Skibinski from News Guard, a company that has journalists that come up for Trust Ratings for news websites. First to you, the exchange from Karen Phan, this is the divide, one side believes one America News is reality and the other side knows cnn is accurate . And doesnt look at, if they are a one America News network consumer, doesnt look at any other News Source. And that is particularly a problem when youre talking about one of the most powerful legislators in the state of arizona and that is why i was to taken aback. She fully believes that it is credible according to the words that she said to me and she doesnt seem to want any other input in regards to that. She has sat down with oan, she has allowed them to have access to this audit and its extraordinary. And the lack of other information coming in is what i find so alarming because of who she is, brian. Oan, for those who dont know, very small cable channel, Not Rated by nielson and not very popular but it is a big Fan Base among the Trump Base and taken as gospel even though it has a long history of information. You have criteria for knowing what is reliable. Before you tell us oan score, how do you determine what a reliable source is . Sure. So we use nine basic apolitical criteria of journalistic practice, like does the site publish false news and disclose who owns the site and does it separate News And Opinion and correct errors when it makes them and we have nine criteria we assess. We have journalists doing the rating and based upon those criteria each site gets an overall reading, grown is credible and a Trust Score of zero to 100 based. And where is oan news. They score a 25 out of 100 which gives them a Red Rating which means they have severe credibility issues. Not great. So that is the score. I want to unpack this more because i think lot of folks have no idea between cnn and oan. Tell us about your segment with Karen Phan and the standards practice, how many editor and producers reviewed your work before it aired . After i wrote this story and it relied heavily on allowing the arizona senators to speak. Because we had not heard from her. We put in a dozen media requests. We had repeatedly asked for an interview. After that script was written, it goes to the political assistance political director, it goes to the Show Producer in this case Ac 360 and then it went through a something we call the triad, which is the row, legal and standards. That is five different levels and that is not even counting the Field Team with me and that is two producers in this case. So that is beyond what ive written, that is seven additional eyes and youre pushing and fighting for each sentence that is in there and defending your work. Because what you want ultimately to be on the air is the cleanest and most fair description of this interview and that is a lot of people. That is a lot of people. The banner is on the screen that were popping up, these were read by four people and before they appear on screen. Do we still make mistakes . Are there still typos, sure. But there is an attempt to get it right. But there are outlets that are not trying. When i see one America News spreading lies about the riot and the aftermath and trump, they are not trying to get It Rights that why your nutrition littles come in. Youre not here to pick on oan. You do this for a lot of sources but isnt there a problem where there is not an attempt to get it right and a lack of credibility in your scores. So weve been tracking Election Misinformation since well before the election and we knew this was going to be a problem based on 2018 and other elections if recent history. And weve actually flagged hundreds of websites on the international publishing different type ofs misinformation. Many of them amplified like networks of oan and that involves around Dominion Voting systems and massive false disinformation that they were switching votes from trump to biden. That was completely false and debunked but was spread wildly on all sorts of Internet Media sources and on oan and quite a few people who consume media online theyre seeing it in the context of a Search Engine or a Social Media feed, they might realize it is not a credible source and they see a headline and that is how this spreads so widely. Matt, how could people find News Guards scores and rating. Tell us how to find it. Sure, go to News Guard tech. Com and download our Browser Extension or mobile apps and just search News Guard in the Browser Extension Store Or App store that you use and anyone could download our ratings and view our rating for any site that weve rated. Kyung lah, as you cover this bogus audit, do you feel like youre on the front lines of the next Big Lie being born. Youre based in l. A. But youve covered Around The World. Is what is happening in the u. S. , this fragmenting, sectarianism, does it remind you of what youve seen in other countries. It reminds me and this may sound dramatic but this is something that is familiar to International Journalists and if you look in eyes of the people even after theyve left that repressive Regime Control they have this look and this feels very familiar. People who get told lies over and over and over again, they have this belief and it is something that is very difficult to break and it feels very familiar and that is in part why this feels so dangerous to me. This feels familiar. International journalists talk to people lied over and over again by a government or a large Media Presence and that is very difficult to break. So this, yeah, this feels very familiar and it feels very frightening, brian. Thank you very much. Im going to leave it there. Thank you very much for being here. Arizona and one America News and the socalled audit is like a petri dish, you could see future lies and future threats to democratic norms being tested so with apologies to my next guest it is not a good sign when a book like this called how democracies die is relevant and selling a lot of copies again. Arizona is one example, the defeated commission is another example. The headline said u. S. Democracy is in the danger zone. Media habits and Media Trends and Conspiracy Thinking have a lot to do with this and they go Hand In hand. So look at this polling from the public Religion Institution showing many believe Core Qanon about pedophiles controlling in the socalled storm on the horizon. And lay on top of the trusted Media Sources of the folks who say they believe that stuff. If You Truftd far right channels like Oan Or News max you believe that the pedophile Sex Trafficking Cult craziness. Now that block is pretty small. Prri said it is 3 of americans. That is still a lot people inclined to believe the worse sickest smears. So lets talk about how this evolved. Daniel Ziblatt Coauthors how democracies die. That book came out in 2018 and according to the Washington Post and the new yorker, it was formative for now President Biden. He recommended the book to other people and learned a lot from it. Thank you for coming on the program. You could reflect on what you were hearing just a couple of minutes ago about the arizona and the socalled aud it and th belief in qanon theories, does It Add Up to something bigger in your view. The way that It Dies Today is at the ballot box. No longer through Military Coup and attacks by generals. So it is critical to have free and fair elections. And what were seeing across u. S. States right now is an assault on Voting Rights. And so i think the biggest threat facing american Democracy Today is that 2020 May have been a Dress Rehearsal for what is coming in 2022 and 2024 and when people challenge the basic legitimacy of free and fair elections in Pre Careus elections. Some may say nothing has changed, i voted and nothing has changed. How are they supposed to know that something is changing . Well, again, this is one of the most striking things. Is that one looks at this process Around The World, democracy dies very slowly. Och voters dont notice what is happening around them. Ten years in chavez as president and there was a Survey Down in venezuela and they believed they lives in a democracy. And our institutions did work in november but we cant be vigilant enough is the main message i would send. The Washington Post reports that biden has been recommending your books to others and taking notes on side of pages. You have spoken to him about these concepts . No, i have not. Not directly. It seems like it might be useful. What do you hope that he learned or picked up from the book . Well, i think it is really important to understand the scale of the threats that were not alone in the world in facing these threats. And to also recognize that dramatic transformations in our institutions are necessary. Democracy requires con mending and so we Cant Stand still and assume it is a machine that runs of itself. We need to reform our institutions and i think this is something that the biden administration is alert to and the idea of protecting Voting Rights is hard grinding work and it may even take more than just one election cycle, it may take a decade but there needs to be reform to protect our democracy. The reason American Democracy thrives in the 20th century is because at the beginning we reformed our democracy under Woodrow Wilson and we need new reform today. And what is the role of the reality based media, the Small D Democratic Media in trying to preserve a democratic system. Democrat is a selfcorrecting mechanism. When politicians go too far to the extremes voters punish those politicians but in order for that self correcting mechanism to work there needs to be true information and real understanding of what is happening and i think the concern i have is that so many voters have Ips Lated themselves for Information And Operating in Echo Chambers or so it Cant Work because voters dont understand what is happening if they dont listen to real news and instead rely on misinformation. Or just outright propaganda. And kyung was explaining, it is so intoxicating i dont know if World News could compete with a bunk of propaganda b. S. That is the challenge of journalism and it is a profession and i think one of the great things that you just described in the last segment there was an effort to kind of make the system work. And in a free society, we dont want to have State Regulated Media so in order to have this operate successfully, we need to have journalists who stick up for their profession standards and Spread Information and knowledge in a way that makes our system work. Daniel ziblatt, thank you very much. The book is how democracies die. And even though it is a troubling look, it is important to read. Thank you for being here. Up next, Take A Look at the next time magazine. David Leon Hart of the New York Times is up next. Welcome to allstate. You already pay for car insurance, why not take your home along for the ride . Allstate. Here, better protection costs a whole lot less. Youre in good hands. Tonight. Ill be eating a Falafel Wrap Click or call to bundle today. With sweet potato fries. Youre in good hands. doorbell rings thanks splitsies . Oooh. You meant the food, didnt you . Dignity. It demands a rapid covid test, because we all deserve an answer. 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But what we know about the coronavirus is also different and of course the Vaiccines Tha changed everything. Now there is still some reluctant, some fear, some delays in returning to prepandemic forms and that is for good greasons. The trauma and the ptsd is real and this what we know from the science and data and how people and how institutions are behaving. There has been an Information Lag about how covid actually spreads, about it being airborne. It led to a lot of misinformation early on about how best to protect people. There has been an Information Lag also from the cdc. Theyve been quite slow in responding to questions and quite slow in updating guidance. You see this headline on the screen from hot air, it said cdc Changes Summer Camp guidance for kids after a critical column by David Leonhardt. A lot of people still dont have the right true reliable information about the safety of the vaccine. The data is out there, the facts are undeniable but the information is lagging. It is not getting to the people, specially republicans, what need to hear it. There is also been an Information Lag about covid19 origins and well get into that. But this idea of an Information Lag, this is not to blame individual americans or people in other countries. I think the blame or the responsibility lies with the media and with governmental institutions who need to help people catch up to the science. Need to help people know what is actually safe and what is actually risky. I mentioned David Leonhardt so let me bring him in, leading the way on trying to correct some of the Misser Sepgss and dated facts about covid19. Thanks for having me. We talked a few weeks ago and the guidance about masks have changed since then. Here is what im seeing tide. I was walking along the High Line in the city, an Outdoor Park and there is signs telling people to wear masks. Now we know, dont we, that Outside Transmission is virtual Lie Nonexistent and yet months later the people that want are trying to do the best to open parks are still giving people outdated guidance. Im not trying to pick on new York City or the highline but is this example of Information Lag. It is an example of Information Lag. It is possible to be infected oust doors but it requires a close conversation between two people. There is not a single documented case of someone passing someone else and the person getting it that way. And when you dig into the research on how people get it, it is overwhelmingly indoors. There are a couple of examples of close outdoor conversations facetoface. But the notion that you could get it while walking on the High Line just doesnt seem plausible. And so i think youre right, it is an Information Lag. And look, people, this is been a horrible pandemic. It killed millions of people Around The World. So people are scared and they are not going to immediately snap back to the way they behaved before so it is the job first of all of the government, and of Public Health Experts to explain to us not only how you should be safe, but also what things it is okay to return to. And why. And why it is okay. I think what is missing is the why. So Rochelle Walensky said you could take off your masks if you are fully vaccinated but i know she briefly explained why but i feel like government and media have skipped over the why. We need to spend a week on the why. We need to explain the real science about what is actually happening with covid19. And i fear that i just fear the media ends up in the middle where were covering date to Day News but we missed the reason why the rules changed. That is right. And the why is trait forward. If youre vaccinated, you dont need a mask. There are certain settings where you should wear one to be part of the shared product of mask wearing and you dont need a mask in your outdoors even if your unvaccinated unless your in close conversation but i cant say unvaccinated, please get vaccinated, it is the single biggest thing to protect yourself. And for those of us in the media, it is hard because we dont have degrees in epidemiology but it is also that the same way that i think some of the experts have this bias toward Extreme Caution and making the mistake that Extreme Caution doesnt have any costs. Extreme caution does have costs. Tell me why. Sometimes in the media, well why because we need to focus on the true risks that their taking and wearing masks all of the time does come with down sides with people who are hard of hearing, it makes any conversation just difficult for two people to have. There is a reason why we didnt wear masks all of the time before this. Wearing masks makes communications difficult for minority of people and making breathing more difficult when exercising. It is really hard on people without perfect hearing which is a sizable chunk of americans so we dont want to be going to permanent mask wearing. We need to weigh the cost and benefits and focusing people on this is what you need to do to protect yourself which is one, two, three, get vaccinateds and four if youre not vaccinated, when youre indoors go social distancing and wear masks. So if we conflate what are tiny risks with real risks, we end up confusing people and think we in the media have a hard time with that because we do sort of have this bad News Bias i know youve thought about as well. The Car Crash on the highway is a bigger story than the traffic is running smoothly and so the facts about Covid19 Transmission Need to reach viewers, need to reach readers and we need more explainers, you wrote about the faulty outdoor Air Transmission sites for example. But this week you wrote about the Lab Leak Theory and how the conversation about the possible covid escaping the Wuhan Lab theory has been reevaluate and reckoned with. Why is this back in the news . So it is pretty clear that we dont know how covid started. Many people think the most likely explanation is that it jumps from an nomianimal in wuh china. But it is also plausible with this research at a top Virology Lab in wuhan, china, it somehow escaped from there. And we dont know the answer. And a bunch people argued that it likely escaped from this lab in wuhan and some of them were scientists who youve never heard of, necessarily. And who made serious arguments. But some of them were conservative politicians like Senator Tom Cotton and after he started doing it, Donald Trump when he was president started doing it. And i think people made the mistake, i think a lot of people on the political left and in the media made the mistake, if Tom Cotton is saying something it cant be true or they assumed that and that is not true. Tom cotton does deal in misinformation like Election Fraud that are just wrong but that doesnt mean that everything that he said is wrong and a lot of people including in the media leaped to dismiss the Lab Leak Theory because of where its would coming from and the reality is we dont yet know how covid started. Facebook said it will no longer remove posts that claim that the virus was man made. This seems to be reilated to Th Reevaluation of the theory. Doesnt this do damage to their reputation, saying it is disinformation and then the next day saying it is okay to post. It does a little bit. You said in one of your earlier segments that there are places that get it right and places that make mistake and places that arent even trying to get it right. Everyone is going to make mistakes. But correct a mistake and try to learn from it and in this case i think people were too quick to decide this was something for which there was a clear right answer and to dismiss debate as part of a Conspiracy Theory. And there is a connection, brian, between the two topics which is last year during the pandemic a lot of conservatives and republicans were dangerousously hostile to wearin wearing masks so were in a flip situation in which i think a lot of democrats and liberals are too eager to keep the masks because they think this is who i am, it is republicans who are against masks but refusing to wear a mask last year was a bad idea. But if youre vaccinated now, you really dont need a mask. And continuing to wear a mask i think it is a mistake if we somehow turned it into some sort of partisan symbol on both the right and the left. And the left. So what about you . Whether i go to walmart i dont wear a mask but when i thought i had a Sore Throat the other day i did put on a mask in case i was sick but im fine. David, when do you wear a mask. That is an important point. If you spent any time in asia, you note that lots people wear masks a lot of time. When i walk around the Beijing Subway where i last was in 2019, 5 of the people were wearing masks on a cold day. Maybe it was 2 or 10 but a significant number of people. And i think the culture of hey when you are sick, you should put on a mask on Tay Home is a good idea apart from covid. To answer your question, i basically never wear a mask outdoors now that ive been vaccinated and i wear a mask indoors if the store asks people to wear it. But essentially because im vaccinated my attitude is i never need a mask for either my Health Or Anyone elses health. I wear a mask when it seems like the socially polite thing to do. David, thank you very much for being here. Thanks, brian. Coming up, a social Media Firestorm at the Associated Press sparking an internal review. Brian carovillano is here about it all next. Okay, imagine this. Your mover, rob, hes on the scene and needs a plan with a mobile hotspot. We cut to downtown, your Sales Rep Lisa has to send some files, asap so basically i can pick the right plan for each employee. Yeah i shouldve just led with that. With at t business. You can pick the best plan for each employee and only pay for the features they need. Every Day Unilever does good for communities across america. Every squeeze every smile every drop every style every spray every bubble every day dove, suave hellmanns donate everyday products to local communities. Every Day U does good. Unilever Lo Que paso fueron las consecuencias de una rumba loca Y Fue Tan Loca Que Nos merecemos otra otra aventura en tu cuerpo mas at fidelity, you get personalized Wealth Planning Otra vez and unmatched overall value. Together with a dedicated advisor, youll make a plan that can adjust as your life changes, with access to taxsmart Investing Strategies that help you keep more of what you earn. And with brokerage accounts, you see what Youll Pay before you trade. Personalized advice. Unmatched value. At fidelity, you can have both. More than this sources talking about the turmoil inside the Associated Press. A junior reporters sudden firing at the a. P. Exposed social Media Policy that has a lot of contention all around it. Management responded to an open letter signed by more than 100 stafferings in the wake of emily wilders firing. What is under review and what exactly went wrong . Joining me is brian carovillano, Managing Editor of the Associated Press. Brian, youve been at the a. P. For years. You were just promoted, overseeing the entire newsroom, right . Yes. Thanks for having me. Good to be here. Congratulations on the promotion, but right into the fire with your newly expanded role. Emily wilders dismissal, News Associate in phoenix. Apparently she was let go because of tweets related to Israel And Gaza. Can you tell us, first, why she was let go . Emily wilder was let go because she had a series of Social Media posts that showed a clear biased toward one side and against another in one of the most divisive and difficult stories that we cover anywhere in the world. It was a difficult decision, not an easy decision. It was not a personal decision, and we wish her all the best. So it sounds like it was a bunch of editors who collectively decided it was best for her to go. Yeah. It was unanimous decision among some senior managers at the a. P. , yes. Was it because she was tweeting how Israel And Gaza are covered differently . Again, this is one of the most divisive stories we cover. Its really important that we maintain our Credibility And Journalist safety is at Stake And A. P. Credibility is undat stake. Our Social Media guidelines exist to protect that credibility. Protecting our credibility is the same as protecting our journalists. I totally agree with you on credibility. Why is it a Brand New staffer in phoenix, what she is saying on twirt, why does that matter in Jury Roo Jerusalem and gaza city. First of all, its not local. The a. P. , our credibility and people are everything to us. I spent part of my career overseas. I was the a. P. s asia editor. I had firsthand experience at being called in front of angry foreign officials to answer to things that colleagues of mine had written in some other part of the world. The geography is not the thing here. The other thing is, if youre a News Associate in phoenix and there is a protest, antiisrael protest, youre probably the person the a. P. Is going to send to go cover that. Look at last summer. Last summer after George Floyd was killed in minneapolis, we had people out in sydney, australia covering protests related to something that happened on the other side of the world. Its everyones responsibility, regardless of what your job is or where you are, to maintain that credibility which is so important to us. Emily was fired, though, after this conservative Outrage Campaign that came out of the Stanford College republicans. I spread to right wing websites, Drawing Attention to her old posts about her activism for palestinians. It seemed like the a. P. Was caving to what critics call a Badfaith Trolling Campaign to take down one of her staffers because she didnt have the right Point Of View in college. Is that a fair description of what happened . No. That would never happen and it didnt happen here. We take care of our people. We fight to get them out of jail in myanmar, rally to their aid when their office is destroyed In Gaza. This past week, brian, we worked with a local Law Enforcement Agency to cut off Internet Access to someone who was harassing one of our reporters. This is the Associated Press. Anyone who thinks the a. P. Would be cowed by the College Republicans doesnt know much about the a. P. This also happened while there was a war going on in The Middle East which our colleagues were covering. Right. Just yesterday the a. P. Put out another statement about the bombing of the building that housed the a. P. Bureau In Gaza. An israeli Military Chief of staff claimed your a. P. Journalists were hanging out in the cafeteria In Gaza with hamas operatives. You and your colleagues reskponded, there wasnt even a cafeteria in the building. And they called for an independent investigation on why the building was bombed. What do you want people to know about that situation, and how are your journalists in Gaza Operating without an office . Thanks for asking that question. This is a team of heroes, journalism heroes. They not only were able to evacuate the building, but capture it live while it was happening and continued to report on it. They have a temporary office space, but theyve continued to do journalism the whole time. Some of them had damage to their homes. Their lives have been personal limb pacted by all this and theyre continuing to do their jobs. Were all very grateful to them. I would reiterate that the a. P. Would like to see an independent inquiry into what happened there. We still have not seen the information indicating that hamas was in the building. We would like to see that information. So right after that bombing, the immediate aftermath, these when these tweets from emily went viral, thes when she was fired. Theres a lot of concern among your staffers, basically her being bullied online, harassed by critics, that the a. P. Didnt have her back. Journalists at cnn, the a. P. , lots of outlets suffer from these harassment campaigns that take a toll on morale and in some cases make journalists feel unsafe in their jobs. Is the a. P. Going forward going to defend its staffers from these campaigns . As i said, we defend our staffers from these campaigns every day. Our internal discussions at a. P. Have clearly surfaced the need for better tools and systems to be in place, not just in this new newsroom, but all newsrooms when journalists feel threatened or attacked online. Were really good at keeping our people safe when they go to cover a war, going into a Nursing Home during a pandemic. We have systems in place, Crisis Response systems. We need the same systems in place when it comes to online harassment industrywide and people need to know how to access though systems and what to do when it happens. Brian, grateful for your being here and explaining it to us. Thanks very much. Thanks very fog me, brian. Before we go, i want to tell you about my new book hoax. This book is Brand New, a Brand New opening about the January 6th insurrection and 12 chapters about The End of the Trump Era and the new beginning of fox news. Full of new reporting about foxs newfound struggles in the biden area. Hoax comes out June 8th. Coming up, a Brand New episode of united shades of america with w. Kamau bell. Tonight at 10 00 p. M. Eastern. Well see you this time next week. Summers here. Vaccinated americans gear up for a normal summer. We turn the tide on a once in a century pandemic. As new evidence emerges about the pandemics earliest days what do we know about the origins of the virus . Ill speak to top republican on the house foreign Affairs Committee Congressman Michael Mccaul next. And high hopes. President biden makes another big proposal as Deadlines Slip and initiatives pile up