Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks assumed some of his operational duties while she was on vacation in Puerto Rico.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was hospitalized at Walter Reed military hospital in Maryland after experiencing severe pain.
The US defense secretary Lloyd Austin was hospitalized on 22 December at the Pentagon and had to be admitted to intensive care at Walter Reed military hospital in Maryland after experiencing severe pain. Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks assumed some of his operational duties while she was on vacation in Puerto Rico, a US official said.
Lloyd Austin was hospitalized on 22 December at the Pentagon.
On Monday 1 January, Lloyd Austin had to be admitted to intensive care at Walter Reed military hospital in Maryland after experiencing severe pain.
Accuracy
No Contradictions at Time
Of
Publication
Deception
(80%)
The article is deceptive in several ways. Firstly, the Pentagon failed to disclose Lloyd Austin's hospitalization for days, including to President Joe Biden and other senior officials. This lack of transparency runs counter to normal practice with regards to notifying the president and other senior US officials and cabinet members when a high-ranking military official is unable to perform their duties. Secondly, the article does not provide any details about Lloyd Austin's medical procedure or what actually happened to require him to be in intensive care at Walter Reed hospital. This lack of information makes it difficult for readers to understand the severity of his condition and when he may be released from the hospital. Thirdly, there is no explanation given as to why Kathleen Hicks was not informed about Lloyd Austin's unavailability until three days after she assumed some of his operational duties while on vacation in Puerto Rico.
The article does not provide any details about Lloyd Austin's medical procedure or what actually happened to require him to be in intensive care at Walter Reed hospital. This lack of information makes it difficult for readers to understand the severity of his condition and when he may be released from the hospital.
The Pentagon failed to disclose Lloyd Austin's hospitalization for days, including to President Joe Biden and other senior officials. This lack of transparency runs counter to normal practice with regards to notifying the president and other senior US officials and cabinet members when a high-ranking military official is unable to perform their duties.
Fallacies
(85%)
The article contains several fallacies. The first is an appeal to authority when it states that the Pentagon released new details on Sunday about Austin's continued hospitalisation. This statement implies that the information provided by the Pentagon is authoritative and trustworthy, but this may not be entirely accurate or complete. Additionally, there are instances of inflammatory rhetoric used throughout the article to describe certain individuals and events in a negative light.
The chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, Gen Charles
Bias
(85%)
The article contains several examples of bias. Firstly, the author uses language that dehumanizes and demonizes those who disagree with Austin's actions by referring to them as 'white supremacists online'. This is an example of ideological bias. Secondly, the author quotes a statement from Vivek Ramaswamy without providing any context or explanation for why it was included in the article. This is an example of monetary bias, as Ramaswamy has ties to conservative donors and may be promoting their agenda through his statements. Thirdly, the author uses language that portrays Austin's actions as extreme or unreasonable by referring to him being 'dog-whistling'. This is an example of religious bias. Finally, the article contains several examples of disproportionate number of quotations that reflect a specific position. The author quotes multiple sources who agree with Austin's actions without providing any countering opinions or evidence to refute their claims.
At least some circles in the Pentagon were aware of Austin’s situation earlier. The chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, Gen Charles “CQ” Brown, learned of the hospitalisation on Tuesday 2 January
Deputy defense secretary Kathleen Hicks assumed some of his operational duties on Tuesday 2 January, while she was on vacation in Puerto Rico
The US defence secretary Lloyd Austin’s hospitalisation remained secret for longer than previously known, officials disclosed on Sunday
Lloyd Austin was admitted to a hospital after suffering from complications related to a recent elective medical procedure
Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks filled in for days from her vacation in Puerto Rico as Austin's hospitalization was a surprise to everyone
``The nation is well-led✧ despite Bidenⰺnotices are questionable as Austin and his deputies ignored the law, while Sullivan was plainly asleep at the switch
Accuracy
The nation is well-led despite Biden's blatant feebleness is questionable as Austin and his deputies ignored the law
Sullivan was utterly clueless about the defense secretary going AWOL and still thinks we can make Iran our friend if we just close our eyes tight enough and come up with sufficiently large bribes
Deception
(90%)
The article is deceptive in several ways. Firstly, the author implies that President Biden did not notice his defense secretary was missing when in fact there is no evidence to suggest this. Secondly, the author uses sensationalism by stating that Austin and his deputies ignored the law while Sullivan was asleep at the switch which is a gross exaggeration as there are no laws mentioned in relation to this incident. Thirdly, the article selectively reports details of Austin's hospitalization without providing any context or explanation for why he was admitted. This creates an impression that Austin's absence from work is significant and damning when it may not be so.
The author implies that President Biden did not notice his defense secretary was missing when in fact there is no evidence to suggest this.
Fallacies
(85%)
The article contains several fallacies. The first is an appeal to authority when it states that Lloyd Austin was out of commission in the hospital from Monday on and no one told the White House. This statement implies that there must be some sort of standard or protocol for notifying the White House about a defense secretary's absence, which may not necessarily be true. The second fallacy is an example of inflammatory rhetoric when it states that Austin and his deputies ignored the law here, while Sullivan was plainly asleep at the switch. This statement exaggerates the situation and implies that there must have been some sort of legal violation or negligence on their part, which may not necessarily be true. The third fallacy is an example of a dichotomous depiction when it states that Austin's surprise hospitalization left Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks filling in for days from her vacation in Puerto Rico. This statement implies that there must have been some sort of conflict between the two, which may not necessarily be true. The fourth fallacy is an example of inflammatory rhetoric when it states that Biden and Sullivan are glorified interns who still think we can make Iran our friend if we just close our eyes tight enough and come up with sufficiently large bribes. This statement exaggerates the situation and implies that there must have been some sort of negligence or misguided thinking on their part, which may not necessarily be true.
Lloyd Austin was out of commission in the hospital from Monday on and no one told the White House.
Bias
(85%)
The author of the article demonstrates clear bias against President Biden and his administration. The author uses harsh language to criticize Biden's leadership, such as 'blatant feebleness', 'glorified intern', and 'disastrous plan'. The author also implies that Biden is more concerned with his own vacations than the safety of the country and its forces. Additionally, the author questions how Democrats can nominate Biden for a second term after this incident. These examples show that the author has a strong negative opinion about Biden and his administration, which affects their reporting on this topic.
All of which apparently left him no time for ringing up his defense secretary to check on any foreign threats to said democracy.
How can Democrats dare to nominate Biden for a second term now?
So it’s no real surprise that he was utterly clueless about the defense secretary going AWOL. We’ve generally been relieved that Austin, an experienced but non-senile adult, is near the top of the national-security chain of command — even though he couldn’t talk Biden out of his disastrous plan for bugging out of Afghanistan. But his failure (and his staff’s) to alert the guy with the football here is damning.
With US forces under regular attack across the Mideast and the Navy actively engaged with Houthi forces in the Red Sea, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was out of commission in the hospital from Monday on. Worse, no one told the White House; worse yet, neither President Biden nor National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan noticed.
Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks was not informed that Lloyd Austin, the Secretary of Defense, had been hospitalized until three days after he checked into Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on January 1.
On Monday 1 January, Lloyd Austin had to be admitted to intensive care at Walter Reed military hospital in Maryland after experiencing severe pain.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin was out of commission in the hospital from Monday on
``The nation is well-led✧ despite Biden's blatant feebleness is questionable as Austin and his deputies ignored the law, while Sullivan was plainly asleep at the switch
Austin's failure to alert the guy with the football is damning, as Biden, Sullivan, and the entire National Security Council didn't notice Austin going AWOL for days at a time
Accuracy
Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks assumed some of his operational duties on Tuesday 2 January while she was on vacation in Puerto Rico.
Deception
(50%)
The article by Natasha Bertrand, Oren Liebermann, Haley Britzky and Kevin Liptak is moderately deceptive. The authors use emotional manipulation to create a sense of intrigue around the hospitalization of Secretary Austin without providing any concrete information about his condition or why it was kept secret.
The revelation that not even Hicks knew that Austin was hospitalized is sure to add to questions swirling within the administration about why his status was kept secret, not only from the public but from senior national security officials and the White House.
Fallacies
(85%)
The article does not contain any formal fallacies. However there are several informal fallacies present in the article.
Bias
(85%)
The article reports that Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks was not informed about Austin's hospitalization until three days after he checked into Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. This is a clear example of bias as it implies that the decision to keep Hicks in the dark was intentional and malicious, rather than an accident or oversight.
Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks was not informed about Austin's hospitalization until three days after he checked into Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
Site
Conflicts
Of
Interest (50%)
The article reports on the Deputy Secretary of Defense not being informed about Lloyd Austin's hospitalization when she assumed her duties. This could be a conflict of interest as it may compromise her ability to act objectively and impartially in decisions related to him.
Author
Conflicts
Of
Interest (50%)
The author has a conflict of interest on the topic of elective medical procedures and complications from an elective surgery as they are reporting on Lloyd Austin's hospitalization at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. The article does not disclose this conflict.
