Obama: Americans Fear ISIS Because ‘The Media Is Pursuing Ratings’

In an interview with NPR’s Steve Inskeep, President Barack Obama said the reason why Americans fear ISIS is because the media is playing up the threat for higher ratings.

Inskeep pointed out that polls show that most Americans disapprove of Obama’s handling of ISIS. “Well, I think what’s fair is that post-Paris you had a saturation of news about the horrible attack there. And ISIL combines viciousness with very savvy media operations,” the president said.

“And as a consequence, if you’ve been watching television for the last month, all you have been seeing, all you have been hearing about is these guys with masks or black flags who are potentially coming to get you,” he said. “And so I understand why people are concerned about it…”

“You referred to ISIL’s sophisticated media operation and also referred to what Americans are seeing in the American media,” Inskeep said. “Are you suggesting that the media are being played in a sense here?”

“Look, the media is pursuing ratings,” Obama said. “This is a legitimate news story. I think that, you know, it’s up to the media to make a determination about how they want to cover things.”

“There is no doubt that the actions of ISIL are designed to amplify their power and the threat that they pose. That helps them recruit, that adds in the twisted thoughts of some young person that they might want to have carry out an action, that somehow they’re part of a larger movement. And so I think that the American people absorb that, understandably are of concern.”

Obama’s comments come after The New York Times reported Thursday that Obama said in an off-the-record meeting that he didn’t realize Americans were worried about ISIS because he doesn’t watch cable news.

Watch above, via NPR.

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