It was Mr. Crichton who introduced me (and many others) to the Gell-Mann amnesia effect…a strain of which is described perfectly in the modern context here:

I was quite literally radicalized by 60 Minutes.

I used to be like so many Americans, watching it religiously and trusting it.

But then as a young man I watched them do a report on something for which I am an expert.

Their reporting was wildly inaccurate and was obviously done in such a way as to pass untruths as truths in order to advance a leftwing political narrative.

I never looked back, and never again trusted ANY media outlet. I submit that 60 Minutes has done more damage to truth in America than any other institution in the past 100 years.

Yet this woman, purporting to be a “journalist,” is wholly unaware of that reality.

“Journalism” has become a religion based on advocacy and faith alone, with a deliberate disregard for objective truth.

I was quite literally radicalized by 60 Minutes.

I used to be like so many Americans, watching it religiously and trusting it.

But then as a young man I watched them do a report on something for which I am an expert.

Their reporting was wildly inaccurate and was obviously done… https://t.co/HnCYeLHNQq

— Cynical Publius (@CynicalPublius) October 7, 2025

As hinted at in the post title above, I trace the total evisceration of any credibility allotted by me to any tale told on the 60 Minutes program to the story on MTBE told by them in the 1999 to 2000 timeframe (if I recall correctly). I do not remember just how badly they presented the information…no doubt it was spun into complete silliness. But I have it on good authority that they had all the pertinent information in hand for 3-4 years prior to that. Clearly, they were waiting for a scandal free week during Clinton’s second term so this blockbuster story about government mandated pollution/poisoning of our environment wouldn’t get buried under more important news about a stained blue dress.

Since then, the show has been unwatchable…and not watched in my household.