Taxpayer-subsidized NPR continues to serve as a propaganda outlet for the Democratic Party, just like most other for-profit mainstream media outlets.
The latest example is embodied in a hit piece against Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis and a new license plate his state just unveiled.
On Wednesday, the outlet accused the Sunshine State governor of creating a controversy for tweeting out the new plate which contains the Gadsden flag.
The hit piece’s author, Scott Neuman, claimed that the “Don’t Tread On Me” symbolism on the flag which stems to the nation’s founding is now, suddenly, emblematic of “far-right extremist ideology.”
The flag, by the way, was flown during the Revolutionary War as a symbol of resistance.
“The imagery of the Revolutionary War-era Gadsden flag dates to Benjamin Franklin but has, for many, come to symbolize a far-right extremist ideology and the ‘Stop the Steal’ movement that sought to overturn the 2020 presidential election results,” Neuman asserted.
NPR’s tweet itself was a mini-hit piece: “Gov. Ron DeSantis said a new Florida license plate featuring the Revolutionary War-era Gadsden flag sends a ‘clear message to out-of-state cars.’ Critics say it symbolizes a dangerous far-right extremist ideology.”
Gov. Ron DeSantis said a new Florida license plate featuring the Revolutionary War-era Gadsden flag sends a “clear message to out-of-state cars.” Critics say it symbolizes a dangerous far-right extremist ideology.https://t.co/7rU6zTwj9p
— NPR (@NPR) August 11, 2022
BizPac Review added:
DeSantis has long used the Gadsden flag as a symbol of Florida’s freedom. He tweeted out the image on July 30 with a call for pre-orders for the plates while announcing that the proceeds would go to the Florida Veterans Foundation.
He tweeted a Florida-inspired version of the Gadsden flag in 2021 after calling for a special session to ban vaccine mandates as well.
“The free state of Florida has a new license plate for pre-order that benefits the Florida Veterans Foundation and sends a clear message to out-of-state cars, ‘Don’t Tread on Me’ or Florida,” DeSantis noted on the platform.
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) July 30, 2022
For his hit piece, Neuman made sure to quote conservative-hating leftist ‘experts’ like Rachel Carroll Rivas, the deputy director of research and analysis for the Intelligence Project at the Southern Poverty Law Center.
“She says it’s become clear that the flag has been used for some ‘really awful’ causes, most notably the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, where violent protesters attacked police as part of an effort to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election,” Neuman wrote.
He then noted — correctly — that while the flag symbolism is certainly protected speech, it’s not something he agrees with.
“Extreme or not, First Amendment scholars such as Eugene Volokh of the UCLA School of Law say the Gadsden flag and the ‘Don’t Tread on Me’ motto are legitimate — and protected — speech, whether they are on a flag waving inside the besieged U.S. Capitol or on a vehicle license plate heading down a Florida highway,” he noted.
NPR should lose all public funding and then see if the outlet can stand on its own. It is pathetic that a taxpayer-supported ‘media’ outlet can so casually insult more than half the country.
