Online Hot Buzz Watch

Janeane Garofalo

Her appearance on Keith Olbermann‘s show Thursday night didn’t generate too much online buzz, sure she was outspoken and made some raw comments regarding politics, the Tax Day Tea-Parties, racism and rednecks… but she is Janeane Garofalo after all, actress, jokester and political activist; and everything she said was in character for her. Nobody was surprised, shocked nor particularly outraged by it right away based on the online chatter.

Then the Christian Science Monitor (how many oxymorons can we squeeze into a title?) and a small group of right-wing blogs (one of which called Garofalo’s anti-racism stance hate speech???) published stories of the “Olbermann-Garofalo Love-fest” which now seem to have inflamed conservatives–and rednecks.

Our question is, did her comments create the buzz-worthy story, or did publishers invent it with self-serving sensationalism?