r/politics • u/Getatbay • Jul 06 '26

No Paywall Laura Loomer, Reporter Claim Hospitalized Mitch McConnell 'Brain Dead'

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/07/06/laura-loomer-reporter-claim-hospitalized-mitch-mcconnell-is-brain-dead/
28.6k Upvotes

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866

u/The_Navy_Sox Jul 06 '26

Does breitbart still have there section of the website devoted to black crime?

Let's not post sources like this. This is the kind of source you cut off friends and family over.

152

u/RiftHunter4 Jul 06 '26

The fact that this is posted to Breitbardt at a time when Republicans are losing special elections says a lot.

62

u/WeirdIndividualGuy Jul 07 '26

Where’s TMZ when you need them? They’re usually quick on confirming deaths of popular people, or is that only if they’re in LA?

28

u/so_frunk Jul 07 '26

TMZ = Thirty Mile Zone

refers to a specific part of LA

18

u/ReginaldDwight Jul 07 '26

They opened a DC branch recently.

12

u/Sea_Scientist_8367 Jul 07 '26

They only recently started covering the political beat. Might not have the network/connections yet to get ahead of/the scoop on something like this.

8

u/JudiciousSasquatch Jul 07 '26

They should offer a sizable bounty for video of his condition.

4

u/Sea_Scientist_8367 Jul 07 '26

True, and worth noting. But we can acknowledge that even Breitbart is reporting on it without driving traffic to their site.

4

u/StatelyTree Jul 07 '26

This site always makes me chuckle. The founder was a very gay man (now dead) and that runs anathema to a lot of their stated agenda. I remember watching the press conference he had when he broke the scoop on Anthony Weiner and had to describe what he saw based on some old timey gay porn he was into. 

31

u/Getatbay Jul 06 '26 edited Jul 06 '26

Might as well cut off [r/politics](r/politics), it auto-blocked every other news source I tried to post from. It wasn’t my first choice

85

u/ckglle3lle Jul 06 '26

Generally speaking, reputable news agencies have their own sourcing to corroborate a rumor before they run with it. If the only sources that you can find pushing this are sourcing from the same place, and no other agency has picked it up, it is because it is low quality sourcing and it is likely untrue or at least unverifiable reporting.

11

u/meat_trumpet Jul 07 '26

Journalist here. If we do hear a rumor like this we would immediately reach out to McConell's team. No doubt they have already heard about this and have a statement prepared or will have one very very soon. We'd also reach out to U.S. Senate Republican leadership and anyone else who may be able to speak with authority on the matter.

Typically these days, most things like this concerning Republicans or the Trump administration are readily told by people who will only speak anonymously for fear of retribution. Most news organizations will do nearly anything to avoid using anonymous sources as it can lack some credibility, but doing so is now the norm for that group so it is more accepted these days.

14

u/socokid Jul 07 '26

every other news source I tried to post

Were they as "awesome" as Breitbart? I mean, maybe there's a reason it's not being reported by reputable sources, yet...

10

u/therealdanhill Washington Jul 07 '26

We have a fairly extensive allow list for sites, which sites were you trying to post?

16

u/socokid Jul 07 '26

Sure wish it didn't include Breitbart, Daily Beast, etc.

1

u/therealdanhill Washington Jul 07 '26

I hear you. It was important for us when creating the list that we tied it to some more objective standards to avoid partisanship or putting our thumbs on the scale, and in doing so it includes sites that people may or may not like or find credible. There's more detail in the wiki about the approved domains list and the criteria we used, I def encourage people to check it out.

13

u/International-Law426 Jul 07 '26

"putting our thumbs on the scale" buddy you can rule out the nazi sites its ok lmao.

1

u/socokid Jul 07 '26

Oh, you could also not include HuffPo, etc.

2

u/therealdanhill Washington Jul 07 '26

So the thing is it's not about left/right or what sources I or anyone else might consider shitty and we didn't start with "let's look for a reason to keep xyz site", we started with the criteria we thought would be decent and went from there. If you can propose a different objective-as-possible criteria that had nothing to do with liking a source or any kind of political motivations I'm happy to take it back to the team. The rules weren't written on a stone tablet, they don't have to be forever, there needs to be a good reason to change them or better rules that would supercede them.

Tbh I feel like if people actually knew the lengths we went to to remain non partisan and keep our fingers out of the soup, they would be surprised. And not just because it's the right thing to do, in the past and even recent past, it's been a matter of personal safety, as stupid as it sounds.

33

u/jtides Jul 07 '26

“Nothing reputable agreed with me so i went with Breitbart” are you Donald Trump?

24

u/EMAW2008 Kansas Jul 06 '26

What other sources?

19

u/marfacza Jul 06 '26

realusanews.in

14

u/movzx Jul 07 '26

You might want to take a second and consider why that might be and what you would need to change in your life to fix that problem.

1

u/alternativepuffin Jul 07 '26

This will get lost in the shuffle but the Huffington Post was cofounded by the same guy who started Breitbart. 

I ask myself, "Why?"

-11

u/[deleted] Jul 07 '26

[deleted]

9

u/The_Navy_Sox Jul 07 '26

While I thankfully haven't had to do it. I know people who have for breitbart, also for the fiery cross and crusader. People make decisions, and those decisions have consequences.

-19

u/SuperSkyDude Jul 07 '26

Cutting friends and family over a news website sounds very cultish. Might want to rethink your values.

15

u/The_Navy_Sox Jul 07 '26

Lol I have no idea if you are sarcastically making fun of maga or being serious.

-13

u/SuperSkyDude Jul 07 '26

Serious, it sounds like something a religious nut or cult member would say.

13

u/The_Navy_Sox Jul 07 '26

Thanks for clarifying you are being serious.

I think remaining cordial and having a relationship with someone who uses breitbart or someone encouraging you to keep that relationship is something a religious nut or cult member would do.

-11

u/SuperSkyDude Jul 07 '26

"The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently."

12

u/The_Navy_Sox Jul 07 '26

Stop pretending grandparents don't have agency. If they won't stop saying the n word, people are going to cut them out and not let them around their grandkids. Your not enlightened, you are just defending breitbart, a publication literally created to push white supremacy.

1

u/SuperSkyDude Jul 07 '26

I would never support any type of "supremacy." Free thought is important. And cutting family members out because of media is very cultish.

7

u/The_Navy_Sox Jul 07 '26

Actions have consequences, no matter how many times you say the word cult in different forms.

People are going to cut racists out of their lives for racism.