Tesla terrorist unmasked as lipstick-wearing arsonist who left key clues at crime scenes
Tesla terrorist unmasked as lipstick-wearing arsonist
Very interesting to see how these articles are written. All it took was two words to take it from an unbiased report to a biased one: "lipstick-wearing".
Does anyone know if there is there a name for this technique?
Does anyone know if there is there a name for this technique?
I think it's called "yellow journalism."
But in this case, I don’t think it’s biased to mention the guy was wearing lipstick. Context matters. If someone’s doing something unusual, especially something that's still culturally rare, and also committing a crime to make a political statement, the unusual detail becomes part of the story.
Same way you’d mention a guy with a skull-face tattoo or a clown costume. It’s not about shaming someone for self-expression. It’s about describing something that stood out during a public incident.
Right now, yeah, it is still uncommon for balding, hairy dudes to wear lipstick. That’s just a fact. And people who do that often do it to stand out or express something. So when someone like that goes out and burns cars, that standout appearance gets noted.
If you choose to look different, that's your right. But if you commit a public crime, your appearance is going to be part of the public record, especially if it’s tied to the statement you're trying to make.
Bottom line: don’t want your look highlighted in crime reports? Don’t commit crimes if you like to walk around dressed to attract attention. Better yet: Don't commit crimes. Simple as that. Welcome to the real world, Lemmy.
I looked up "yellow journalism". It seems to describe sensational articles, which this is, but that's very broad. I was wondering more about the exact placement of those two words to achieve that sensational effect.
What makes it biased isn't the truthfulness of the literal words, but what it communicates to the reader. There are ways to say that the perpetrator was wearing lipstick such that the reader understand either "transsexuals and crossdressers are violent people" or "this person happens to dress funny and their behaviour has no bearing on anyone else who does the same." Based on the reactions in the article's comment section, this is clearly an instance of the former.
So to summarize, it's not a problem that looks are being highlighted. The problem is that it's done in a way that puts a target on innocent people.
