Remember this question from a reader asking about a second stimulus check? She said that she had recently heard on the news that there would be a second stimulus check in February. I received a slew of similar emails from folks swearing that the news had reported that a second stimulus check was a certainty.
As of right now, there is no such second stimulus check.
But I have identified at least one of the sources of the misinformation: an ABC news affiliate in Maryland, WMAR-TV. A headline on their web site from last week (updated on January 13 at 9:17, according to the site) reads: 2nd Stimulus Coming: How Much You’ll Receive. The piece was written by John Matarese and posted on the ABC2 site and subsequently tweeted with the same headline on twitter yesterday (Jan 19).
Only there is no second stimulus check. The story acknowledges this in the first paragraph. There is a second stimulus package but no second check. But the headline is clearly crafted to make you believe that there is a second check coming.
The poorly drafted piece also asserts that we’ll know more as January 20 approaches (really, why?) and that Congress hopes to have a plan in place by mid-January, a surprising allegation since Congress doesn’t even resume session until after the Inauguration.
It’s all sensationalism. Shame on WMAR for deliberately manipulating the facts. It’s confusing and it’s wrong but it’s clearly working: the story is listed as one of the “most popular” news stories. I hope that’s not what really passes for journalism in Maryland.
If you see other similarly misleading stories, please pass them along. This headline was passed along by a reader (thanks!). I’d love to be able to clear up these things – my inbox is overflowing with emails from confused taxpayers!
sad to say…I used to live there and few of the news stations have what I would call “standards, morals, ethics, or values”…
I have to put in a word for theother side, as someone who also used to live in Maryland, if not Baltimore. John Matarese is a consumer reporter from Cincinnati and he (or his station) has syndicated his “Don’t Waste Your Money” spots. We saw them on one of the WDC television stations. So WMAR just bought the content. The bad news is that the misleading/wrong info is likely out there on many more TV stations and their websites. Here’s Matarese’s home page a href=”http://www.wcpo.com/content/news/localshows/dontwasteyourmoney/default.aspx”target=_blank”>home page
Thanks Kay. It explains a lot. That said, the news outlet is still ultimately responsible for what ends up on their site. 🙁