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#mediamatters

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Tom Bremer

I am saddened to learn that #YES! Media is closing operations next month, ending 30 years of inspiring people to build a more just, #sustainable, and #compassionate world with "rigorous reporting on the positive ways communities are responding to social problems and insightful commentary that sparks constructive discourse". They will be missed.

#journalism #news #YESMediaSunset #IndependentJournalism #MediaMatters #SolutionsJournalism #EndOfAnEra

yesmagazine.org/sunset-announc

YES! MagazineYES! Media to Sunset in June 2025 After Nearly 30 Years of Independent JournalismDiscover the latest in solutions journalism for a just, sustainable world at YES! Media. Join us in shaping a compassionate future. #SolutionsJournalism
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AnarchoNinaAnalyzes

One of the hallmarks of the second Trump era is the way the Pork Reich consistently finds a way to make bad things, infinitely worse. For example, I don't think anyone reading this would be surprised to hear me describe Fox News as an objectively fascist media organization, that is closely aligned with and prepared to lie to promote, Republican political objectives and GOP politicians. "Fox News lies for Republicans" was a pretty heady message in 1999, but it's essentially a "well, duh" moment here in 2025. When you combine the power of the Fox Media apparatus with a Trump regime that approaches governance like a type of reality television show and actively sees control of media messaging as foundation to the success of their fascist project however, this unholy union creates something that roughly approximates "state news" in a dictatorship.

For a closer look at the scale of this collaboration, let's take a look at this Media Matters report from May 1st, detailing just how often, in raw mathematical terms, the Trump administration went on Fox News to speak directly to the nation in Trump's first 100 days.

mediamatters.org/fox-news/key-

Key Trump officials appeared more than 500 times on Fox networks in the first 100 days of his presidency

"Key Trump administration officials appeared on Fox networks over 500 times in his first 100 days in office. President Donald Trump's “border czar” Thomas Homan led all officials with at least 59 appearances while Fox News' Hannity led all shows with 71 interviews.

Trump officials appeared on Fox networks on 96 of the administration's first 100 days. The number of daily appearances by key officials was highest on both February 3, following Trump's announcement of his first set of tariffs, and March 4, seemingly to prime the Fox audience for his congressional address that evening, with at least 13 appearances on each day.

Media Matters looked at Fox appearances by key nominated or confirmed Trump officials during the administration’s first 100 days. Trump's “border czar,” Thomas Homan, remains the most prominent administration official on the networks, appearing at least 59 times in total. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt (40 appearances), deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller (40), and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin (33) followed. Rounding out the top five most frequent officials who appeared on Fox is former counselor to the president Alina Habba who had 29 appearances before she left the administration when Trump appointed her interim U.S. attorney for the district of New Jersey on March 24."

Obviously this isn't really an article so much as a statistical analysis of how extensively the Trump administration has collaborated with Fox News to disseminate propaganda into the public discourse. You may of course quibble with my characterization of Trump regime media appearances as "propagandizing the American people" but my response to that is going to be to tell you to go fuck yourself with a chainsaw because quibbling with rubes about obviously demonstrable facts isn't my idea of a fun time. In a little over three months of covering the Trump regime, I honestly can't think of a single Fox News appearance by a US government official that hasn't featured lies, manipulation, and fascist propaganda; in fact I'd argue that appearances by overt fascist dipshits working in the Trump administration, folks like Tom Homan, and Stephen Miller, have done more to normalize fascist ideology in our discourse than any overtly nazi YouTuber or essayist in our society. The idea that the Trump administration is working with Fox News to produce pro-regime, pro-fascist propaganda is indisputable in my opinion; and the raw numbers compiled by Media Matters here demonstrates that with absolute certainty.

Look folks, all media organizations, particularly for-profit media organizations owned by reactionary billionaire maggots who love them some white supremacy, have a political bias. But there's a big difference between bias, and a major cable news network offering itself up as Trump state media to push forward an authoritarian agenda and the police state dictatorship necessary to enforce it. As terrible as Fox has always been, they've now become the Völkischer Beobachter for the Trump 2.0 era and administration. While a lot of this thread is about members of the "liberal" establishment collaborating with the fascist Pork Reich regime, the reality is that Trump wouldn't be sitting in the White House without Fox News, and they remain an integral part of his attempts to govern by fascist conspiracy theory and Christian Nationalist animus.

Media Matters for AmericaKey Trump officials appeared more than 500 times on Fox networks in the first 100 days of his presidency
#Fascism#Media#Trump
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AnarchoNinaAnalyzes

A recent CBS news investigation found that the site formerly known as Twitter had posted an advertisement for the World Bank directly under a white nationalist post by a 115,000 follower blue check account that regularly shares racist and literal pro-Nazi content. In response to being contacted for comment the World Bank cancelled all of its advertisements on the platform immediately; which strongly smacks of "what the fuck took you so long" but is also a better late than never moment I guess.

As this article notes, the same CBS News investigation makes it clear that this is not an isolated incident, accounts posting other white nationalist and supremacist content have frequently appeared alongside advertising from brands that purport to have values that would seemingly preclude associations with neo-nazi posters, and X (Twitter) appears to be actively paying high-follower fascists accounts to produce racist, pro-Nazi, and white nationalist content. Furthermore the platform's policies around purchasing the "blue checkmark" increase the reach of this content, and as reported here and in other articles online, Musk himself has been known to interact with (and thus promote) white nationalist content in a very approving way.

web.archive.org/web/2024082503

World Bank halts paid advertising on X after CBS News finds its promoted ad under racist content

"CBS News has asked X to comment on the World Bank's withdrawal of paid advertising from the platform but had not received a reply by the time of publication.

The account has shared dozens of antisemitic and racist posts over the course of the past week alone, and CBS News found promoted advertisements from numerous businesses under multiple posts from the account as it shared pro-Nazi content, including one post showing archival video of Adolf Hitler with the caption: "We defeated the wrong enemy." That post has garnered more than two million views on the platform, according to X's own metrics.

CBS News has found more than a dozen accounts on X with the blue check indicating "verification" by the platform that have large followings and regularly post white nationalist or pro-Nazi content, and which have promoted advertisements from some recognizable brands showing up in their comments threads."

While I think most people who recognize Musk and his operation of the "Daily Stormer the Social Media SiteTM" that is X as the societal danger that they are, will simply be happy to hear news of more advertisers fleeing the platform, I think there's something much deeper and potentially more impactful going on here.

By conducting this investigation, contacting the World Bank, and then publishing a post about it, CBS News is essentially doing the exact same thing Musk is trying to sue nonprofit outlet Media Matters out of existence for doing. Thus this investigation and the post that came out of it would appear to function as both a show of solidarity for Media Matters' work, but also an open dare against Musk to try that lawfare shit with someone who can properly fight back, by a major corporate U.S. media outlet. If Musk doesn't take the bait, it may weaken his company's legal case against Media Matters; if he does take the bait, CBS gets to take its argument that Musk is running a literal hate site to a whole new level in court. I for one will be watching the fallout from this story with great interest.

CBS News · World Bank halts paid advertising on X after CBS News finds its promoted ad under racist contentBy Emmet Lyons
#Musk#CBSNews#Twitter
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AnarchoNinaAnalyzes

There was definitely a time when I considered Media Matters to be an ideological outpost of unrepentant liberalism (and all the capitalist fuckery that actually entails if you know what "liberalism" means), but over the past eight or so years I've actually grown slightly fond of them. Mostly this is because for all the flaws of "progressive thought" in our discourse, Media Matters was one of the first and only outlets to consistently recognize and name the Pig Empire right's turn to overt (rather than covert) fascist ideology and political techniques. As such I cannot say I'm particularly surprised that Elon Musk is actively engaging in open "lawfare" to try and destroy them as a news outlet; nor that the corrupted American judicial system is prepared to help him do so.

arstechnica.com/tech-policy/20

Texas judge who bought Tesla stock won’t recuse himself from X v. Media Matters

"The fact that Musk appears to have been forum-shopping strengthens the case for recusal, Feldman wrote. X's lawsuit claimed that Texas is an appropriate venue because X has advertisers and users located in Texas.

This justification is "meager, but perhaps less absurd than those used in some other forum-shopping situations," Feldman wrote. "However, the fact that Musk's lawyers appear to have sought a way to appear before O'Connor strengthens the case for recusal. Forum-shopping never looks good, but it looks especially bad when a plaintiff has sought out a judge who owns stock in one of his companies."

In order to understand this story, it's important to look at the context it exists within.

Elon Musk is trying to sue Media Matters out of existence in a cynical attempt to weaponize his wealth to bankrupt a nonprofit progressive watchdog outlet that frequently reports on his activities and their connection to the larger fascist project in America and the Pig Empire has a whole; indeed his claim in the lawsuit revolves around Media Matters publishing "research on ads being placed next to pro-Nazi content on X" (Twitter), which Musk blames for advertisers fleeing The Daily Stormer the Social Media SiteTM. This lawsuit is in a word, horseshit, and a very real threat to independent journalism and press freedom as a whole. Unfortunately, whether Musk wins or not, it's already working as the sheer cost of fighting it has already caused Media Matters to lay off a significant portion of their staff.

Additionally, it must be noted that Musk's lawyers chose to file the suit in the Northern District of Texas, despite the fact that neither X nor Media Matters are located there; arguing that it should be heard in Texas because "X has advertisers and users located" there. This in turn ensured that the case would come before the only federal judge working there, US District Judge Reed O'Connor. This is a problem because O'Conner literally owns stock in Tesla, a company Musk owns, in addition to X (Twitter).

All of which might lead any reasonable person to believe that the fix is in; for Musk, and against Media Matters. Given that, Media Matters asked O'Conner to recuse himself and allow another judge to take the case. But of course, not only did O'Conner refuse to do so, he then accused *Media Matters* (not Musk's lawyers who clearly gamed the system to get this case before him) of engaging in judicial "gamesmanship." O'Conner's ruling, which I can safely say is absolute nonsense in my opinion, essentially argues that Tesla has no financial interest in the outcome of the case, so it doesn't matter that he owns stock in Musk's company; despite the fact that Musk runs all of his businesses like a giant slush fund, and has reportedly sold off Tesla stock to pay for the continued operation of his fascist propaganda machine formerly known as Twitter.

Although the case is still being litigated, and indeed Musk's strategy appears to be to bankrupt Media Matters even before it concludes, I think anyone who understands what's going on here can see that this shit is stinkier than three day old fish. In my opinion, it is impossible to argue with a straight face that Musk isn't weaponizing his immense wealth and the American legal system to punish critics of his fascist bullshit and silence future critics; and while I can't predict the future, it sure as shit looks to me like Judge O'Connor is going to help him do it.

Ars Technica · Texas judge who bought Tesla stock won’t recuse himself from X v. Media MattersJudge dismisses Tesla/X link, accuses Media Matters of seeking "backdoor recusal."
#Fascism#Musk#MediaMatters
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Jenny

Additional information:

Not sure what this has to do with you specifically? Maybe it’ll only be bad for other people, you say? On the contrary, Project 2025 has something for everyone!

Check out this post by @PamelaBarroway, who links to #MediaMatters’ excellent breakdown, organized into neat sections by topic, of the issues targeted by #Project2025: mstdn.social/@PamelaBarroway/1

Media Matters: mediamatters.org/heritage-foun

(9/)

Mastodon 🐘Pamela Barroway – Biz Editor (@PamelaBarroway@mstdn.social)@Kozmo@mindly.social Here is Media Matters’ guide to #Project2025, a very good synopsis and no paywall. Share widely, because most people have no clue what will ensue if 45 and the Rs regain power. https://www.mediamatters.org/heritage-foundation/guide-project-2025-extreme-right-wing-agenda-next-republican-administration
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MusiqueNow :pride: ✡️ 🇵🇸 :anarchismhebrew:

mediamatters.org/middle-east/f

⚠️ #MediaMatters

#FarRight #media figures with extreme ties are planning 'United For Israel' march at #ColumbiaUniversity #NYC

Organiser #SeanFeucht has used #rightwing nutters as his rally security detail, and #EricMetaxas once admitted to punching an antiTrump protester

#NewYorkCity

#SupportStudentsAndFacultyforPalestine 🇵🇸 #FreePalestine🇵🇸

Media Matters for AmericaFar-right media figures with extreme ties are planning a “United for Israel” march at Columbia to counter peaceful pro-Palestinian student protestsTwo right-wing media figures with extremist backgrounds and connections are planning a “United For Israel” countermarch on April 25 in response to the reportedly peaceful student-led pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University, with one claiming the campus has “been taken over by radical Pro-Hamas protestors,” and the other urging “every Christian who can” to “join us in standing with Israel.”  Christian nationalist media figure Sean Feucht has used a member of the Proud Boys as security at an event he held, while right-wing radio host Eric Metaxas has admitted to punching an anti-Trump protester in the face in 2020. Other far-right media figures such as Laura Loomer and Andy Ngô have also promoted the march to their hundreds of thousands of social media followers. Proud Boys founder Gavin McInnes was also reportedly seen on Columbia University’s campus near the protest the day before the scheduled countermarch.
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