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Russia Probe

Some of you may or may not be familiar with Aristotle's Rhetorical Triangle. With Aristotle's concept, there are three types of rhetoric: logos, pathos, and ethos. Logos is reasoning using logic. Pathos is reasoning using emotion. Lastly, ethos is reasoning using authority. A balance between these three is usually the sweet spot of argumentative writing. Even though no one usually brings up Aristotle's Rhetorical triangle, it's still being used in journalism today.

Using the Russian probe as a topic, for example, many different news platforms published videos on the subject. Each of them uses rhetorical language to get their point across.

The first video under scrutiny was published by Fox News. Sarah Sanders, the White House Press Secretary, is being interviewed on the Trump Campaigns involvement with the Russia Probe. Most of the rhetoric that was used in this interview was mainly pathos. With Sander's main point was to tell the people that there is nothing to worry about. Her claim was that the focus for concern should be directed to the Clintons' involvement with the scandal. She proceeds to say that they are expecting the situation to be resolved soon. However, the Department of Justice had not relayed any information or confirmation that the issue was anywhere near being resolved. Sander's speculating this appeals to emotion because in saying that the situation resolved soon, it would ease the minds of the viewers and supporters of the Trump Campaign.


The second video was also released by Fox News in their Final Thoughts segment. The rhetoric used in this segment was definitely pathos. Tomi Lahren, the host of the Final Thoughts segment, speaks with such passion and uses language that excites the emotions of angry viewers. In regards to the situation, she calls it a "continuing annoyance." She also calls those involved in the scandal as "crooked snakes." Lahren goes as far as to say that the entire issue is a waste of taxpayers' money and that these "swamp rats are sucking us dry." Lahren's zeal in the way that she speaks appeals to the viewers' emotion which causes people to respond to her argument.

The third video was released by CNN. The rhetoric that was used in this video was mainly ethos. The focus of this video was the information that was relayed to an Australian diplomat by George Papadopoulos, a foreign policy advisor for the Trump Campaign. Because of the testimony that Papadopoulos made, an investigation has been put out by the FBI. Since Papadopoulos has the title and authoritative figure as a foreign policy advisor, his testimony weighs more credible than other sources. With this, the argument used against the Trump Campaign only grows stronger.

The last video was released by MSNBC. The rhetoric used in this video was a combination of ethos and logos. Similar to the third video, MSNBC also uses the testimony of George Papadopoulos as a leading factor. However, this video delves deeper into why Papadopoulos revealed what he revealed. With this, it raises more questions in the Trump Campaign's involvement in the issue.

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