Right-Wing Media Pushes Trump Admin Lies About ICE's Killing Of Renee Good
I've been analyzing right-wing outlets with a media coverage analysis tool. I found that they've been spreading the Trump Administration's lies about Renee Good's killing and helping to defame her.
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On Wednesday, Renee Nicole Good was killed by an ICE agent. Videos from multiple angles showed that the 37-year-old mom was waving cars by as ICE agents approached her vehicle, cussing at her to get out of the car. As she turned her wheel to the right to leave the scene, an ICE agent fired three shots at her, brutally killing her.
What followed has been one of the most depraved disinformation campaigns the Trump Administration has ever waged.
Before many of us even had a chance to see videos of the killing, the Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem immediately moved to mischaracterize and blatantly lie about the killing, accusing Renee Good of “an act of domestic terrorism,” and making up a story about ICE officers being stuck in the snow when her car sought to attack them. Not enough has been said about how her initial framing of the killing was an absolute fabrication with zero basis in reality.
Since then, senior Trump Administration officials have moved to defame Renee Good and lie about the circumstances of the shooting. Meanwhile, the FBI is refusing to share evidence with Minnesota so they can conduct an independent investigation. It all reeks of a cover-up.
On Wednesday, within hours of the shooting, President Trump posted a lie on Truth Social, claiming that Renee Good “violently, willfully, and viciously ran over the ICE Officer, who seems to have shot her in self-defense.” Vice President J.D. Vance took to social media to attack Renee Good, baselessly calling her a “deranged leftist” before walking into the White House Press Briefing Room on Thursday to blame her for her own death. Meanwhile, the Department of Homeland Security continued to assert this false narrative.
Before I get into my analysis of how right-wing media pushes the Trump Administration’s false narratives, I have to first reassert the truth.
It’s clear to anyone who isn’t a reflexive Trump Administration propagandist that Renee Nicole Good was turning her wheels to drive away from the masked ICE agents who were cussing at her and seeking to pull her out of her car. This was not a justified use of force. She did not deserve to die. Period.
Several prominent news outlets have published video analysis showcasing that Renee Good did not pose a danger to the ICE agent. The New York Times published the best video analysis that debunked the Trump Admin’s narrative. They found Renee was clearly driving away from officers when she was shot.
This truth didn’t matter to right-wing media.
Watching Fox News this week has been infuriating. They’ve been totally in line with the Trump Admin’s lies.
On Thursday afternoon, I watched as Fox News did a frame-by-frame analysis of the video of Renee Good’s killing, blatantly gaslighting their audience about what their own eyes were seeing. They sought to claim the video clearly shows Renee Good was seeking to drive into the ICE agent. It was pure propaganda. Segment after segment sought to characterize Renee Good as a left-wing agitator who was obstructing ICE.
On Friday, Fox News cut away from the Minnesota lawmakers’ press conference as Minneapolis councilman Jason Chavez began debunking the Trump Admin’s lies about Renee Good and her killing. Not only is Fox presenting the Admin’s disinformation, but they’re also concealing the truth from their viewers.
Other than rare moments of clarity, like Jessica Tarlov’s commentary on The Five, Fox News as a whole has been fully behind Trump.
Newsmax also had guest after guest on, who made unhinged comments seeking to justify the killing of Renee Good without anyone challenging them. In one particularly depraved moment, Newsmax interviewed Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL), who said, “It's time for Americans to say 'enough,' and if you get in the way of the government repelling a foreign invasion, you're gonna end up just like that lady did yesterday."
In an effort to get a bird’s-eye view to analyze right-wing coverage, I once again used Ground News. It’s a news site and app that analyzes articles from 50,000 news sources daily, tracks their bias, compares headlines, and showcases how each outlet is covering a given story, or if they’re covering it at all. It’s an excellent tool I use and have recommended to students for years in my media literacy and anti-disinformation guest lectures.
One of my first findings was the fact that right-wing media refused to air a video analysis that showcased Renee Good turning away from ICE agents. And while refusing to air their own analysis, they also refused to pick up an Associated Press story that highlighted independent video analysis from experts.
As you can see, of the 39 total outlets, only 1 right-leaning outlet picked up that story about videos debunking the Trump Administration’s narrative.
The gap between the right-wing media ecosystem and the way left-leaning and center publications have approached this is wide.
Just take a look at how outlets are covering Renee Good. Murdoch-owned New York Post published a piece on Thursday headlined, “Renee Nicole Good was Minneapolis ‘ICE Watch’ ‘warrior’ who trained to resist feds before shooting.” Meanwhile, NBC News published an article headlined, “Woman fatally shot by ICE officer remembered as ‘one of the kindest people’.” One article clearly tries to depict her as a left-wing agitator, and the other portrays Renee Good as her family remembered her.
Another interesting finding I saw on Ground News is the way right-wing media presented the FBI’s blocking of Minnesota from accessing evidence in order to do their own independent investigation.
Left-leaning and center outlets characterized the story as the FBI blocking Minnesota. Even dead-center news org The Hill reported it in that way, as you’ll see below:
Right-wing outlets, like Fox News, for example, put the onus on Minnesota, framing it in their headline as if they decided to drop out of the case without FBI interference.
The discrepancy in coverage has been clear as day. While left-leaning and center media outlets have presented an accurate portrayal of the devastating ICE killing of Renee Good, right-wing media outlets are carrying water for the Trump Administration’s shameless lies. I’ll do everything I can to keep pushing back on those lies every chance I get.
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You can find my past pieces where I used Ground News to analyze media coverage below:
Thank you, Ahmed. I will continue to count on you for the truth. My budget and mental bandwidth are both too stretched to do any more right now.
Thank you for the truth, I’m surrounded by trump supporters who are deaf to facts. I wish I could read this to them but it would go in one ear and come out the other.