Deaf/Disabled Twitter slams NBC reporter covering Fetterman
Alex: I observed a lot of criticism from deaf and disabled people on Twitter regarding how NBC News framed their interview with John Fetterman, the Democratic Pennsylvania Senate candidate who had a stroke in May.
After the stroke, Fetterman has requested for his interviews or questions be provided with closed captioning on a device that he can read from.
The criticism was about how NBC News reporter Dasha Burns talked about Fetterman’s need for captioning, and how she made her remarks. I will show you a clip from October 11.
[Clip]
NBC News Anchor Lester Holt: “…This was not a typical candidate interview.”
NBC Reporter Dana Burns: “No, Lester, because of his stroke, Fetterman’s campaign required closed captioning technology for this interview to essentially read our questions as we asked them and, Lester, in small talk before the interview without captioning it wasn’t clear if he was understanding our conversation.
Burns: Can voters trust that you will be able to do this job on day one?
Fetterman: Yeah, of course.
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Alex: Here is a second clip from NBC, but on the morning after the interview, on the “Today” show.
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[Clip]
“Today” Anchor Hoda Kotb: “… sat down exclusively with Dasha Burns for his first in-person sit-down since he suffered that stroke.”
Burns: Good morning. Fetterman’s campaign has been open about their candidate’s need for closed captioning to read our questions as we ask them because of the side effects of his stroke. NBC News agreed to that accommodation…”
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Alex: Jenna Beacom, a deaf media expert, said on Twitter that she was grossed out at how NBC News framed the interview to emphasize the uncomfortable feeling “hearing” people have when they wait for someone to read captions and have a lag in responding due to auto-captions’ lag.
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[Tweet]
@jfbeacom: “One of the things I hate about that Fetterman interview framing is how we are clearly meant to be uncomfortable with him looking at the screen (not the interviewer) and his lag in responding (because auto-captions lag!) It’s such a gross window into how hearing people see us.”
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Alex: Sara Nović, the deaf author who wrote, “True Biz,” and is herself a resident of Philadelphia, tweeted that it is “all too normal” for many disabled people to get this kind of treatment from Burns and others.
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[Tweet]
@NovicSara: "As a Deaf person, I meet people every day who make a judgment about my intellectual capacity based on my hearing. I'm educated and do well in my field, and still, students, doctors and colleagues condescend and patronize on the daily. If you are enraged by the treatment Fetterman is receiving from Burns and others (and good! As well you should be!) please know that this is all too normal for many disabled people, and stay mad.”
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Alex: It is a hot issue on whether Fetterman has the mental capability to be a senator after his stroke. His Republican opponents have used his health issues and more recently his need for captioning as something that disqualifies him.
Stephen Miller, one of the top advisors to former President Trump, tweeted that there’s no closed captioning for senators in hearings or floor debates.”
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[Tweet]
@StephenM: “There’s no closed captioning for senators in hearings or floor debates. Also, the Washington Post doesn’t have his medical records so they have no clue how extensive the neurological damage is. And Fetterman has never possessed “overall intelligence.”
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Alex: Adam Kelsey, who works with Facebook News, tweeted that if people criticize Fetterman’s need for captioning, that is “akin to arguing that no deaf person can hold office.”
Other people argued with Kelsey that it was not about deaf people but about Fetterman’s cognitive abilities.
[Tweets]
@adamkelsey: “Nearly everyone I know watches TV and movies with captioning from time-to-time. Criticizing Fetterman’s use of it is akin to arguing that no deaf person can hold office.”
[Tweet responses]
@WaynePelota: “Cool. But he’s not deaf. And deafness is not brain damage.”
@sparkly_jules1: “Being deaf is not the same as suffering cognitive disorders as a result of as stroke. But you know that.”
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Alex: Jon Henner, a deaf professor and sign language researcher at UNC Greensboro, tweeted that people do believe that deaf people are “cognitively deficient for using captioning.”
[Tweet]
@jmhenner: “Regarding how reporters are framing the Fetterman interview, everyone keeps asking if they also think that deaf/hoh people are cognitively deficient for using captioning. Yes. Yes they do.”
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Alex: So these are just a few of the tweets and discussion that is going around after NBC News’ interview.
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Fetterman is set to debate his opponent, Republican nominee Dr. Mehmet Oz, on October 25 in Harrisburg.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that Fetterman’s campaign has requested captioning for that debate and Dr. Oz’s campaign said they would accept it only if the moderator explains to the audience at the beginning of the debate that Fetterman is using a captioning system and that the debate may take longer to finish due to the time it takes Fetterman to read and respond to questions.
Obviously, the Oz campaign views Fetterman’s use of captioning as something to attack.
The news report said the host of the debate has not confirmed if they would meet Dr. Oz’s requests, but they would keep the debate an hour long.
https://twitter.com/NBCNightlyNews/status/1579972222147788800
https://twitter.com/TODAYshow/status/1580155825611362304
https://twitter.com/adamkelsey/status/1580554078576603139
https://twitter.com/jfbeacom/status/1580216849236533248
https://twitter.com/NovicSara/status/1580347299942670336