AOC Wants to 'Rein In' Media After Capitol Riots
In an Instagram livestream on Tuesday night, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez expressed a desire to “rein in” media to prevent the spread of disinformation.
“Several members of Congress, in some of my discussions, have brought up ‘media literacy,’ because that is a part of what happened here,” Ocasio-Cortez said in a clip from the stream posted to Twitter by Grabien Media founder Tom Elliott. “We’re going to need to figure out how we rein in our media environment, so that you can’t just spew disinformation and misinformation.”
AOC suggests adding “media literacy” as a mandate for a congressional “truth and reconciliation” committee pic.twitter.com/sv7UXMwvaO
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) January 13, 2021
“It’s one thing to have differing opinions,” the progressive congresswoman continued, “But it’s another thing entirely to just say things that are false. So that’s something we’re looking into.” Earlier in the broadcast, AOC excoriated President Trump, his allies, and his popular base.
“White supremacists [were] ordered by President Trump to attack the Capitol,” she said, recounting her own experience with the January 6 riots that left five Americans dead. “There were acts of betrayal [by police]. And, to run in the Capitol and not know if an officer is there to help you or harm you, is also quite traumatizing.”
She went further, claiming her Republican colleagues “don’t give a damn about the law,” and only care about “white supremacy” and “preserving the social order” as they “lust for power” over democracy. “A lot of people have ‘drank the poison’ of white supremacy, and that’s what Donald Trump represents. It just is. And if at this point you haven’t recognized that and you don’t see it, maybe you have a lot of work to do.”
She then took time to call out Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Josh Hawley (R-MO) in particular, saying they “do not belong” in the Senate and “should resign.”
Today, President Trump became the first in history to be impeached twice by the U.S. House of Representatives. He has signaled that he will not resign in the remaining week before President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration, though he will not be in attendance — another historic first for the 45th POTUS.