Ed Morrissey: Media Newspeak Reveals its Propaganda Mission

Thursday, February 5, 2026

George Orwell’s dystopian warning about language manipulation is increasingly writ large in the mainstream media.

The New York Times published essays from a man they identified as a ‘Gaza doctor’ who sharply criticized Israel for fighting the war Hamas started. Turns out this “doctor” is a well-known Hamas colonel.

And at CNN, the staff rebelled at the continued inclusion of analyst Scott Jennings, one of their few conservative contributors. Why? Jennings uses the term “illegal alien” to describe …  well … illegal aliens, rather than “undocumented immigrants”—the latest approved euphemism of the Left.

The term ‘illegal alien’ is not derogatory. It’s a term found in federal law and acts of Congress. The ‘journalists’ of CNN find it offensive because it is both accurate and truthful.

Accuracy matters. Truth matters. The mainstream media is only interested in dishonest propaganda masquerading as journalism.

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