Haha, just in the wake of the Monsanto email scandal we get "legalize DDT" thinkpieces. Complete with intellectual-yet-stupid contrarian ycombinator comments about how awesome mass spraying non-biodegradable poisons is.
>In light of this evidence, NECSI says the cause of microcephaly in Brazil should be reconsidered. One possibility that has been raised is the pesticide pyriproxyfen, which is applied to drinking water in some parts of Brazil to kill the larvae of the mosquitos that transmit Zika. Pyriproxyfen is an analogue for insect juvenile hormone which is cross reactive with retinoic acid, which is known to cause microcephaly. A physicians group in Brazil and Argentina, the Swedish Toxicology Sciences Research Center, and NECSI have called for further studies of the potential link between pyriproxyfen and microcephaly.
Hey remember when the media pushed the lie that Saddam had yellow cake Uranium to justify the invasion of Iraq? Remember all the people who lost their jobs over that?
How about the mass "debunking" of Gary Webb's investigative journalism about CIA drug trafficking that the same media outlets later admitted was true, only after they spent years destroying his career and driving him to suicide. Who's head was put in the noose over that one?
Your own examples disprove your own point. There were consequences for Rather because his lie was about a powerful person. There were no consequences for Yellowcake or Webb because those lies were protecting the powerful.