{"id":2266034,"date":"2024-06-12T14:05:01","date_gmt":"2024-06-12T18:05:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/washington-post-writers-admit-theres-nothing-to-alito-flag-story-but-partisan-journalism\/"},"modified":"2024-06-12T14:06:03","modified_gmt":"2024-06-12T18:06:03","slug":"washington-post-writers-admit-theres-nothing-to-alito-flag-story-but-partisan-journalism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/washington-post-writers-admit-theres-nothing-to-alito-flag-story-but-partisan-journalism\/","title":{"rendered":"Washington Post Writers Acknowledge Alito Flag Story Lacks Substance, Driven by Partisan Journalism"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fwashington-post-writers-admit-theres-nothing-to-alito-flag-story-but-partisan-journalism%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2266034&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/crimes-against-news-crews-in-oakland-california-cause-rethinking-of-live-coverage\/\" title=\"Crimes Against News Crews in Oakland, California Cause Rethinking of Live Coverage\">retired reporter<\/a> from the Washington Post, Robert Barnes, decided\u200c not to pursue a \u2062story in\u200c 2021 regarding an upside-down U.S. flag at Justice Samuel Alito&#8217;s home after determining it was not a protest or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-holocaust-law\/\" title=\"The \u2018Holocaust Law\u2019\">political statement<\/a> associated with the &#8220;Stop\u2064 the Steal&#8221; movement.\u2062 Barnes \u200creceived an \u2064anonymous tip and confirmed the flag&#8217;s presence on \u2064January 6, 2021. After discussions with the\u200d Alito family and neighbors, he concluded that \u200bthe upside-down flag was not a signal of protest by the Justice or his wife, Martha-Ann Alito. Barnes\u2063 admitted he was unaware that the inverted flag could symbolize &#8220;Stop\u2064 the Steal.&#8221; <\/p>\n<p>In contrast, the New of York Times later \u2062highlighted the incident, casting suspicion on Justice Alito&#8217;s integrity, which led to a \u200dsignificant media backlash against the Alito family. Washington Post columnist Erik Wemple later critiqued the media&#8217;s portrayal of the situation, noting the upside-down flag traditionally indicates general distress and has been used by various political groups, not solely as a &#8220;Stop the Steal&#8221; symbol.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<figure>                         <\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>A former Washington Post reporter revealed that he passed on writing a story about the upside-down U.S. flag hanging outside of Justice Samuel Alito\u2019s home in 2021 and said he had never heard\u00a0that the symbol was associated with the so-called \u201cStop the Steal\u201d movement.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking to Post columnist Erik Wemple, retired WaPo Supreme Court reporter Robert Barnes <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/opinions\/2024\/06\/05\/washington-post-alito-upside-down-flag\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said<\/a> he got an anonymous tip about the flag, saw the flag flying at the Alitos\u2019 home on Jan. 6, 2021, and spoke with the Alitos about why it was upside down. He explained why he ultimately chose not to report on it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe determined that it wasn\u2019t the justice that flew the flag upside down and we determined it wasn\u2019t a protest about the election or something else on the part of Mrs. Alito,\u201d Barnes told Wemple. Barnes said he made the determination based on Martha-Ann Alito\u2019s \u201cactions when I saw her and what others in the neighborhood had told me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was not aware that an upside-down flag was a symbol of \u2018Stop the Steal,&#8217;\u201d Barnes also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/opinions\/2024\/06\/05\/washington-post-alito-upside-down-flag\/\">told<\/a> Wemple. \u201cIt never came up in our conversations that this was a symbol of \u2018Stop the Steal.&#8217;\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Three years after Barnes was given the tip about the upside-down flag at the Alitos\u2019 Virginia residence, the New York Times <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/05\/16\/us\/justice-alito-upside-down-flag.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">decided<\/a> this the story was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/people-like-you-find-power-in-fear-black-woman-slams-alyssa-milano-says-she-condescends-to-black-men\/\" title=\"\u2018People Like You Find Power In Fear\u2019: Black Woman Slams Alyssa Milano, Says She Condescends To Black Men\">front-page news<\/a>, publishing several hit pieces against the family and Justice Alito\u2019s integrity.<\/p>\n<p>Even in light of the resulting media blitz against the Alitos, which began mid-May and continued for weeks, Wemple conceded that the flag\u2019s origins and connections are not as nefarious as the media has made them seem.<\/p>\n<p>Wemple <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/opinions\/2024\/06\/05\/washington-post-alito-upside-down-flag\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">noted<\/a> in his op-ed that, \u201cThis particular symbol originated as a signal of distress on the high seas and these days serves as a signal of figurative distress by political actors, including by opponents of President Barack Obama in the Tea Party movement.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>He also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/opinions\/2024\/06\/05\/washington-post-alito-upside-down-flag\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said<\/a>, \u201cThere were at least a <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/RyanJones\/status\/1351629664171790336\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">couple<\/a> of <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/auldshaman\/status\/1351459705550471168\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">posts<\/a> from folks who had used the symbol to convey distress over the leadership of Trump,\u201d emphasizing the fact that the upside-down flag is not exclusive to Jan. 6, nor does it solely represent so-called \u201cinsurrectionists.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Despite Barnes\u2019 correct explanation about why he passed on the story and his own examples of the flag being used in contexts unrelated to Jan. 6, Wemple nevertheless took the opportunity to scold his own publication for its \u201cinaction.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThose caveats, though noteworthy, don\u2019t rule out a harsh judgment of The Post\u2019s inaction,\u201d Wemple wrote. \u201cThe Alitos received deference to which they were not entitled.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Wemple went on to lament that the Post had to \u201cplay second fiddle\u201d to the NYT because it had passed on the story.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/05\/24\/nyt-attacks-alito-a-second-time-over-well-known-american-revolution-flag-flown-at-private-residence\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">second flag<\/a> that stirred up left-wing outage against the Alitos was an \u201cAppeal to Heaven\u201d flag, but a deeper dive into the flag\u2019s origins \u2014 it was originally designed by George Washington\u2019s secretary and flown by six ships Washington commissioned during the American Revolution \u2014 showed that the leftist media had once again <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/05\/20\/justice-alito-becomes-latest-target-of-fabricated-controversies-to-delegitimize-scotus\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">tried to smear<\/a> Alito with a fabricated controversy.<\/p>\n<p>Many of the outlets took their criticism a step further, calling for Alito\u2019s recusal from the court, an obvious attempt to <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/05\/28\/dems-alito-freakout-is-a-false-flag-operation-to-take-down-the-court\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">shape the bench\u2019s<\/a> judgments as important cases regarding Jan. 6 and former president Donald Trump were on the docket.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Kamden Mulder is a summer intern at The Federalist. She is a senior at Hillsdale College pursuing a degree in American Studies and Journalism.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A former Washington Post reporter disclosed that he chose not to cover the story of an upside-down U.S. flag outside Justice Samuel Alito&#8217;s home in 2021. He was unaware that the symbol was linked to the &#8220;Stop the Steal&#8221; movement. He shared this in a discussion with Post columnist Erik Wemple<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3160,"featured_media":2266035,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/alito-.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2266034","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/alito-.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2266034","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3160"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2266034"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2266034\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2266035"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2266034"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2266034"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2266034"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}