Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels famously said that if you repeat a lie often enough it becomes the truth. We've definitely seen how this has played out at the national level with Trump denying he lost the 2020 election. But it also happens at the local level.
And this is what has happened since mid-June when the developer-aligned group Circulate SD issued a report claiming the California Coastal Commission is worsening the housing crisis.
The so-called "report" which is full of half-truths and exaggerations was picked up by several other local media as gospel, including Times of San Diego -- whose headline was unabashedly uncritical, "Report: California Coastal Commission Often Stymies Affordable Housing Plans," and the local NBC affiliate was a tad more circumspect with "Critics say California Coastal Commission resists, delays affordable-housing projects," but its live TV kicker was less so, with: "New Report Criticizes Coastal Commission." CBS8 had this: "Report accuses California Coastal Commission of blocking affordable housing, bike lanes."
And writer David Garrick in the U-T had a sub-head: "Report: Agency blocks low-income housing, transportation projects." The online version was not better, with: "Has the Coastal Commission made housing and climate crises worse? It’s offended at even the suggestion"
Readers of these pieces are offered a one-sided view, Circulate's view.
Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels famously said that if you repeat a lie often enough it becomes the truth. We've definitely seen how this has played out at the national level with Trump denying he lost the 2020 election. But it also happens at the local level.
And this is what has happened since mid-June when the developer-aligned group Circulate SD issued a report claiming the California Coastal Commission is worsening the housing crisis.
The so-called "report" which is full of half-truths and exaggerations was picked up by several other local media as gospel, including Times of San Diego -- whose headline was unabashedly uncritical, "Report: California Coastal Commission Often Stymies Affordable Housing Plans," and the local NBC affiliate was a tad more circumspect with "Critics say California Coastal Commission resists, delays affordable-housing projects," but its live TV kicker was less so, with: "New Report Criticizes Coastal Commission." CBS8 had this: "Report accuses California Coastal Commission of blocking affordable housing, bike lanes."
And writer David Garrick in the U-T had a sub-head: "Report: Agency blocks low-income housing, transportation projects." The online version was not better, with: "Has the Coastal Commission made housing and climate crises worse? It’s offended at even the suggestion"
Readers of these pieces are offered a one-sided view, Circulate's view.