If this was real I would have seen it on the news.

The above is a logical fallacy which becomes more fallacious with each day that the internet exists and was fallacious even before the net.

Repeatedly I hear this argument made to any number of events - UFO's, conspiracies, fights, murders etc etc.

Today we have an excellent example of this phenoomena.

Generally my argument has been that local news is the last to know, IF they know AT ALL. In other words the local news doesnt report every murder or rape in your city. They dont report every event in your city based on the number of staff they have and what they consider important and most importantly whether YOU the citizen gets through to them or even calls at all.

In the internet age 'news' will be posted long before it hits the news.

When I watch national media news quite often much of what they are reporting is 'old' news to me because I saw or read it online a day or two ago.

Case in point:

Time traveler - I believe it was that thread where someone actually argued "I would have seen it in the news."

www.abovetopsecret.com...

I read about time traveler here on ATS first about three days ago.

Now its hit main stream media:

technolog.msnbc.msn.com...


This is not a time traveler thread but a logic thread. The argument "I would have seen it on the news" or "I would have heard about it before" makes no sense. There is always a first time to hear something.

Now more than ever it will be right here (no not ATS and yes ATS) right here on the net on a forum or social networking site. We have always been the news. Now 'we' can talk to each other before the news talks to 'us'.

I know for a fact that the news doesn't report everything. There was an accident down the street from where I lived a few years ago. A car ran into a house. Cops, fire trucks, and paramedics were there immediately. Nothing was reported about it on the news. Similar things have happened in the past where large numbers of police were involved and nothing showed up on the news. When I first came to ATS, I was surprised to see things on here that MSM wasn't covering, only to see it reported on the news weeks after seeing it here.

Originally posted by Skid Mark
I know for a fact that the news doesn't report everything. There was an accident down the street from where I lived a few years ago. A car ran into a house. Cops, fire trucks, and paramedics were there immediately. Nothing was reported about it on the news. Similar things have happened in the past where large numbers of police were involved and nothing showed up on the news. When I first came to ATS, I was surprised to see things on here that MSM wasn't covering, only to see it reported on the news weeks after seeing it here.

Case in point - the time traveler. Where did I read it first? ats. Then a blogger then msnbc and then cbs.

First let me say this.

It was on Youtube first,not this site.

Someone just linked the video from there.

But,most importantly it is just some old film footage,and it is a man wearing a woman's clothing.

The individual looks like a man,and walks like a man.

There is a woman in the shot too.

She walks just like a woman back then walks.

He is just cupping his hand to his ear to hear the directors direction.

You can even see him talking to the director as he turns his head.

It was a silent movie so no sound would have been heard to begin with.

Back in those times it was common for direction to be given to actors because movies were in their infancy.

They very rarely practice a scene before shooting it back then.

It is not really "news".

Because the person posting it thinks it is odd and out of place does not make it so.

And every tragedy is not news and does not need to be reported for everybody to know.

If emergency services are called to a residence and it involves a suicide,it will not be reported in the news,out of respect for the family.

I know many instances of just such a thing and it was never in the news.

A single instance does not refute a general proposition.

Yes much doesnt make the news. Thats the point.


Another case in point:

ats member sees missle launch. no news anywhere.
www.abovetopsecret.com...

A day or so later its on national news.

www.abovetopsecret.com...