The Post & Email – Bias and Credibility

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QUESTIONABLE SOURCE

Detailed Report

Reasoning: Conspiracy, Pseudoscience, Poor Sourcing
Bias Rating: RIGHT
Factual Reporting: MIXED
Country: USA
Press Freedom Rating: MOSTLY FREE
Media Type: Website
Traffic/Popularity: Minimal Traffic
MBFC Credibility Rating: LOW CREDIBILITY

History

Founded in 2009 by John Charlton, The Post & Email is an online newspaper that reports news from a Christian conservative perspective. According to their about page “Mr. Charlton is a natural-born American Citizen and devout Christian who founded The Post & Email as an act of faith in Christ Jesus in order to give the common man a vehicle to report the news in his own words to the world.” He also is a “staunch opponent of Communism and Fascism.”

The current owner/editor is Sharon Rondeau, who states she is a natural-born American Citizen who began researching the eligibility of Barack Hussein Obama during the 2008 election cycle. She has been operating The Post & Email since April 2010 following Mr. Charlton’s departure.

“Since its founding, The Post & Email has been at the forefront of the Obama identity/eligibility issue.”

Read our profile on USA Media and Government.

Funded by / Ownership

As indicated on the about page, the website is owned by Sharon Rondeau. Revenue is generated through a combination of donations and advertising.

Analysis / Bias

In review, The Post & Email reports news from a conservative perspective. The primary writer is Sharon Rondeau, though there are others, who occasionally uses minimally loaded language in headlines such as this: Giuliani: FBI Investigating Ukraine-Biden Connections. This story is properly sourced to The Hill and Twitter. However, when reporting on Democrats there is a very strong use of emotionally loaded language such as this: “SETH RICH IS A HERO FOR EXPOSING CROOKED HILLARY”.

The website breaks news down into 4 categories: US Government Corruption, Grand Juries, Horse Protection Act and Obama Birth Certificate. In general news reporting in the first three categories tends to be factual and mostly sourced properly. In the last category, Obama Birth Certificate, the website continues to report on the debunked claim that Former President Obama is not a citizen. A sample article under this category is Carl Gallups: “Some of Us” Know Who Obama Is. This story is sourced to two questionable far-right sources, Breitbart and David Horowitz’s Front Page Magazine. According to the SPLC FrontPage Magazine is considered to be a part of an anti-Muslim hate group. The Obama Birther Conspiracy has been debunked numerous times. Below is a list.

• Barack Obama’s Columbia University ID says he was a foreign student and went by “Barry Soetoro.” – PANTS ON FIRE
• “You know our current president is (Muslim). You know he’s not even an American.” – PANTS ON FIRE
• Birthers have obtained a copy of Obama’s Kenyan birth certificate. – PANTS ON FIRE
• Barack Obama’s birth certificate is a forgery. – FALSE
• “His true name is Barak Hussein Muhammed Obama.” – FALSE

Story selection almost always favors the right with articles such as this: Illegals Commit More Homicides in Texas Than 9/11! While this could possibly be true, it really does not matter. The author did not provide a single hyperlinked source to support the claim. Therefore, this potentially true story is deemed not credible. However, it is safe to say the claim that 3000 homicides were committed by illegals since 9/11 is statistically impossible. According to the conservative Cato Institute, there were 47 homicides committed by illegal immigrants in Texas in 2017. Assuming this is a near-average year, a more accurate number would be approximately 850 since 9/11. To put it another way, it would take 63 years at that rate to equal 3000 homicides. Again, if a source was provided the reader could then check the accuracy of these numbers. Further, why not just report an accurate number and then make arguments to support your position on immigration?

When it comes to science The Post & Email does not align with the consensus of climate scientists when it comes to human-influenced global warming. In this article, the author states “despite the hysteria, there is not a scientific consensus that man-made climate change is even real. Numerous studies, such as the research conducted by S. Fred Singer, show that the theory that climate change is man-made is “in dispute.”

Singer is best known for his denial of the health risks of second-hand smoke. In 2005, the left-leaning Mother Jones magazine described Singer as a “godfather of global warming denial.” In August 2007 Newsweek reported that in April 1998 a dozen people from what it called “the denial machine” met at the American Petroleum Institute‘s Washington headquarters. The meeting included Singer’s group, the George C. Marshall Institute, and ExxonMobil. Newsweek said that, according to an eight-page memo that was leaked, the meeting proposed a $5-million campaign to convince the public that the science of global warming was controversial and uncertain. The plan was leaked to the press and never implemented. Lastly, according to Jeffrey Masters, Ph.D. Director of Meteorology, Weather Underground:

[Singer] has testified before Congress numerous times, and is probably the most widely quoted skeptic on the ozone hole and global warming issues. Unfortunately, Dr. Singer cannot be considered an active scientist publishing in the peer-reviewed literature, or even an objective informed critic. Dr. Singer touts himself as having “published more than 200 peer-reviewed scientific papers over the course of his career”. However, Dr. Singer’s contributions to atmospheric science have been essentially zero since 1971.

In other words, he is not a credible source who has opposed the overwhelming consensus that Human Influenced Climate Change is real and will have negative impacts on humanity.

Editorially, the Post & Email reports favorably on the former Trump Administration, such as this: Trump Victimized by the Swamp Again and negatively toward Democratic policies, such as this: To Implement Socialism Just Brainwash The Kids.

Overall, we rate the Post & Email as Questionable based on Far-Right Biased story selection/editorials as well as the promotion of conspiracy theories regarding liberals, promotion of pseudoscience regarding climate change, and use of poor sources or lack of hyperlinked sourcing.  (8/23/2016) Updated (D. Van Zandt 01/17/2023)

Special Note: On 10/6/2019, Ms. Rondeau contacted us via email concerning the previous evaluation in which we ranked the Post & Email right biased and mixed for factual reporting. Specifically, our lack of evidence regarding the use of poor sources and a borderline extreme right designation. As per our policy, we re-reviewed the source and made appropriate changes according to our methodology.

Source: https://www.thepostemail.com