David Blaine and a fabulous lesson on the truthfulness of ‘news.’

I spotted this story, yesterday, at the Daily Mail — which is an ideal place for it, btw -- and thought ATSers would appreciate it:

'I was sure I was dead': Magician David Blaine's attempt to fire a rifle and catch the bullet in his mouth goes horribly wrong

The gist:

David Blaine thought he had died when his attempt to fire a rifle and catch the bullet in his mouth went wrong. 

The magician, 43, performed the stunt at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas and it aired on his E4 show Beyond Magic last night.

It involved him holding a metal cup between his teeth, which were protected by a gumshield, and pulling a cord to set off the rifle in front of him.

The .22-caliber bullet fired into the cup as planned but his gumshield shattered on impact and the cup slammed into the back of his throat. 

Of course he survived to tell the dramatic tale. And then there was this tidbit:

Blaine's friends have now refused to help him perform the stunt, which he has performed three times since 2010, but he still wants to include it in his upcoming world tour. 

David Blaine is a known and professional trickster and illusionist. Judging by the comments on that article, many people clued in that the entire story is a trick to generate interest in his “upcoming world tour,” but many more actually believe it.

It’s fake news though. It’s obvious. Blaine’s near-death experience is just part of the trick and intended to get the public interested in his upcoming world tour. There was no near-death experience and probably no bullet ever fired at his head.

It’s the very definition of fake news. Isn’t t?

IMO, it’s a profound lesson about the lens through which all news should be viewed:

The only difference between this ‘fake news story’ and countless others invented to sway public opinion is the fact that David Blaine admits he is a trickster by profession. Other generators of fake news claim to be journalists, politicians, officials, etc… and that’s not enough reason to trust them any more than David Blaine.

Just a publicity stunt through viral marketing techniques...I thought about making a thread on this before I caught on and stopped myself.

My thoughts are because his celebrity status has been dwindling he is trying to come up with some sort of headline like:

"David Blaine Near Fatal Stunt"
"David Blaine Shoots Himself in the Throat"
"David Blaine Suffered Injury By Shooting Himself"
"David Blaine Almost Died"
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
David Blaine Shoots Himself in the Throat During a Magic Trick ...
PEOPLE.com-7 hours ago
David Blaine is known for his death defying stunts — including being buried alive for a week or frozen in ice for three days — but this one hit a ...
David Blaine Accidentally Shot Himself in the Mouth and Survived
Esquire.com-55 minutes ago
David Blaine Shot Himself in the Throat During a Magic Trick (Video)
Yahoo News-22 hours ago
David Blaine Almost Died After Accidentally Shooting Himself in the ...
Complex-2 hours ago
Magician David Blaine shoots himself in the mouth as famous bullet ...
Highly Cited-The Sun-Jan 6, 2017
'I was sure I was dead': David Blaine after near-fatal stunt
International-New York Post-4 hours ago
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Such load of crap and FAKE NEWS! He never shot himself...he shot at himself. He shot at his mouth. His protective device in his mouth that crocheted the bullet flew back toward his throat.

Again...viral marketing attempt to get Mr. Blaine some more publicity through false headlines...

a reply to: Skywatcher2011

Yep. But I doubt there was even a bullet fired at him. It was all a trick and, yes,...a publicity stunt. And I can only assume Blaine is not the first or only one passing off 'publicity stunts' as 'news.'

I'm sure you have proof that this is "fake news" somewhere?

I'd be wrong to doubt that, right?



Oh to be a cynic.

David Blaine is world famous and much loved...

He doesn't need to concoct a story to sell out shows.

This new idea of fake news seems to be in the um.....fake news alot. For most of the public their heads will spin and ignore.

This is an old method of throwing a name into the public domain to generate interest to benefit a further event.
People are lazy and fickle. The media will generate interest for them so they don't need to bother researching topics that will inspire them.

David Blaine is a joke......I could have went into a rant filled with the boredom he creates in my boring life.

I would rather make him and his expensive pr team disappear in a bag of sh******t

a reply to: Hazardous1408

Nope, no proof. Just the reading of all the clues.

I am not going to be the guy who believes it first until proven otherwise.

ETA: By that, I mean I am going to assume the professional trickster is just doing what he does professionally. Unless you think I should assume Blaine is really performing magic until it's proven how his tricks are performed.

lol this is funny. Blaine has absolutely done some horrifying stunts and almost died more than a couple times....so whether or not this is a publicity stunt is immaterial.....if youre crapping on him as a performer you clearly have no appreciation for the things hes done which require almost superhuman self control and concentration. Im not even going to link to anything because if you want to know you can find it easy enough....the dude deserves mass respect.

I'm unsure what this has to do with "fake news". It's a piece written to highlight a certain "act" using sensationalism, as is the nature of his act. What part of it is fake?

originally posted by: introvert
I'm unsure what this has to do with "fake news". It's a piece written to highlight a certain "act" using sensationalism, as is the nature of his act. What part of it is fake?

Well, as Blaine was performing a trick, then I think the first assumption is that this near-death experience is part of that trick.

Or you can believe he really has magical powers and suddenly he didn't and nearly killed himself.

a reply to: tribal

He's a great performer of tricks. I don't dispute that. He performs tricks that look dangerous but aren't.

originally posted by: MotherMayEye
a reply to: Hazardous1408

Nope, no proof. Just the reading of all the clues.

I am not going to be the guy who believes it first until proven otherwise.

ETA: By that, I mean I am going to assume the professional trickster is just doing what he does professionally. Unless you think I should assume Blaine is really performing magic until it's proven how his tricks are performed.

You can assume what you like...

Watch the guy's more extreme stunts for 20 minutes on YouTube.
Then tell me he needs to devise a story to impress people.

a reply to: Hazardous1408

See this comment for proof that not everyone would buy a ticket to his "upcoming world tour:'

Link

Yeah...I am pretty sure he wants to sell as many tickets as he can.

ETA: I think you should totally buy a ticket to his upcoming world tour where he plans to perform this awesomely dangerous stunt! I think it was a genius marketing ploy and will probably work on tons of people who accept all news as truth unless proven otherwise or unpalatable!

I was surprised the Mail went with it. I thought this kind of sensationalism was the Express' style.

I used to be dismissive of David Blaine until I watched his TED Talk about how he broke the world record for oxygen assisted static apnea. (upping 02 saturation by breathing pure oxygen followed by holding one's breath and not moving)



I tend to believe him in regards to the breath holding record but he could of course be lying. Lying happens. Hoaxes happen. People get duped.

This isn't exactly on par with something like telling the world that the Pope endorsed Donald Trump for President though is it? Do we fault journalists for being lied to when a reasonable person might believe as they do? Should we treat that in the same way that we would somebody who isn't a journalist at all, is deliberately fabricating events that didn't happen and passing it off as news?

a reply to: MotherMayEye

I wouldn't go if you paid me.


That means nothing to him though as he already has millions of fans across the globe that will.
Whether he catches a bullet or not.

a reply to: tribal

If he was such an amazing and spectacular showman then why the need for the media circus?

If I have to I will give him appreciation for creating the illusion of being anything more than a street magician.

a reply to: Hazardous1408

If you don't think he's going market his world tour to sell tickets because it's a given every show will sell out, you are off your rocker.

a reply to: theantediluvian

It is completely different but none-the-less it's still a great lesson about fake news.

No need to wait for someone to announce they are a trickster to be cynical. A look at motive can be pretty telling, too.

originally posted by: lostinamazement
a reply to: tribal

If he was such an amazing and spectacular showman then why the need for the media circus?

If I have to I will give him appreciation for creating the illusion of being anything more than a street magician.

Throwing cards in the street to start with, catching bullets in your mouth to end it. Goodbye David Blaine.

Hmm.

No word yet from Penn Jillette on all this FAKE NEWS noise...