KaduggaDec 21, 2022
Jay Rosen

What the so-called “Twitter Files” actually reveal.

“It isn’t Twitter’s fault that so much conservative discourse in the Trump era is so deeply, fundamentally dishonest.”

https://slate.com/technology/2022/12/elon-musk-twitter-files-bari-weiss-matt-taibbi-shadowbanning.html

This is one of the best cut-through-the-noise pieces I have read in months. Seriously. It's that good.

#journalism #journalists #USpolitics

The Great Internet Grievance War the Right Has Wanted Is Here. It Ain’t Going Well.

The “Twitter Files,” and the journalists hand-picked for them, don’t reveal what Elon Musk wanted.

Slate
Dec 20, 2022 at 9:08pmWeb
Show threadSimon AndersonDec 20, 2022
@jayrosen_nyu From the article: "For decades now, American right-wing discourse has been rooted in two bedrock principles. The first is that the American right is under attack, constantly, from all leftward angles."
Show threadSimon AndersonDec 20, 2022
@jayrosen_nyu "The second principle is that there is a lot of money to be made in convincing low-information values voters that they are under attack, and that Hollywood, government, the academy, big business, and the media are now and always have been conspiring against them. Conspiracy is the cornerstone of the modern conservative movement."
Show threadPerry Bacon Jr.Dec 20, 2022
@jayrosen_nyu it was great.
Show threadLundemoDec 20, 2022
@jayrosen_nyu Great piece. “Musk is the richest man in the world and yet comports himself online like a pustulous incel on a Mountain Dew bender. “
Show threadDave MarshallDec 20, 2022
@Lundemo @jayrosen_nyu Damn. I came here to post that exact snippet!
Show threadaustralia.etcDec 20, 2022
@Lundemo @jayrosen_nyu absolute killer line!
Show threadHugh GogginsDec 21, 2022
@Lundemo @jayrosen_nyu Immediately screenshotted that to share with friends, along with the link. Damn.
Show threadMeaghanDec 21, 2022
@Lundemo @jayrosen_nyu absolutely fire quote. 🔥
Show threadVinceDec 20, 2022
@jayrosen_nyu What an article! Thanks for sharing.
Show threadDianne HackbornDec 20, 2022

@jayrosen_nyu "The answers to these questions are blindingly obvious to anyone who does not have a vested interest in missing the point."

That nicely sums it up.

Show threadKevin McCreadyDec 20, 2022
@jayrosen_nyu Thanks. But I take issue with the idea that USA ever had a democracy. Your Constitution was deliberately designed to prevent it.
Show threadRobert SextonDec 20, 2022
@jayrosen_nyu I love the tweet with Bari Weiss insinuating that there's something evil about an employee discussion that's basically "How many rules does Trump get to break before we ban him?"
Show threadErik KlineDec 20, 2022
@jayrosen_nyu "vast edifices of bullshit constructed atop small kernels of verifiable information" 😆
Show threadVicki KyriakakisDec 20, 2022

@jayrosen_nyu Incredible piece.This line in particular nails the entire issue for me:

"It isn’t Twitter’s fault that so much conservative discourse in the Trump era is so deeply, fundamentally dishonest; in response to that tilted dynamic, Twitter’s moderation personnel still went out of their way to give bad-faith pundits the benefit of the doubt."

We need to keep calling out the fact that the right are addicted to grievance politics sans substance or accountability for their own actions.

Show threadToni AittoniemiDec 20, 2022

@jayrosen_nyu ”We are literally living in the Golden Age of Getting Rich and Wielding Influence by Pretending That Your Voice Has Been Silenced”

Good article! Nice to see that Elon’s bluff is being called far & wide.

Show threadTim PalmerDec 20, 2022
@jayrosen_nyu
Indeed, excellent piece!
Show threadMichaelDec 21, 2022

@jayrosen_nyu

The article was interesting at first but I did not like the automatic download of whatever was trying to download on my phone.

Show threadZiptieZoeDec 21, 2022
@jayrosen_nyu For all their might calling out wokeness,
~ aka a care factor beyond your own privilege or a fight to gain basic privileges ~ the right sure do complain about perceived loss of privilege a lot!
Show threadBill Lowrey 🇺🇦🌻Dec 21, 2022
@jayrosen_nyu This is an excellent piece. It was balanced enough that I had to hold my breath, hoping it wasn’t going to make excuses for abhorrent behavior- instead, it laid out the reasons and rationale. I will share this one elsewhere. Thanks!
Show threadmsgbi Markus SagebielDec 21, 2022
@jayrosen_nyu @charles_ex
Show threadTom von AltenDec 21, 2022

@jayrosen_nyu "The Twitter Files show that the company’s executives were exquisitely sensitive to conservative charges of bias, and that they treated the most volatile prominent right-leaning accounts with kid gloves—even as those accounts were almost exclusively dedicated to flooding the platform with malignant garbage."

That of course is why the purveyors of malignant garbage are so tireless in their complaining. It provides cover and distraction.

Show threadNonilexDec 21, 2022
@jayrosen_nyu it’s a good one 4sho. TY @justinpeters
Show threadKent Bye (Voices of VR)Dec 21, 2022
@jayrosen_nyu non-sequitur blast from the past: I remember when you were voluntarily protesting the change from 140 characters to 280 characters back in 2017. Nice to you making good use of 400 characters over here on Mastodon.
Show threadJay RosenDec 21, 2022
@kentbye Yeah, I was wrong about that.
Show threadKent Bye (Voices of VR)Dec 21, 2022
@jayrosen_nyu I actually felt the same way since most of my early tweets capped out at 140. Then I quickly capped out at 280. Sometimes I cap out at 400 here, but there is a big gap between 280 and 400, and it’s interesting to see a sort of microblogging efficiency in your use of 400 characters here that’s a different style and mode of communication than Twitter.
Show threadWill SmithDec 21, 2022
@kentbye @jayrosen_nyu I don’t find 400 bad, but much more than that is a bit much. I wish I could set my client to add a “read more” button to stuff longer than 300 or 400 characters.
Show threadKent Bye (Voices of VR)Dec 21, 2022

@will @jayrosen_nyu

But it's not a great editing workflow, but at least it will allow you to add text behind a "show more" button.

Also requires poster to add it.

Testing to see if it works on the web client. May not work on phone apps.

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQqTPDHbdVA&t=224s

Test post where I saw this:
https://mastodon.social/@trevorflowers@xoxo.zone/109550612176317667

How to post on Mastodon (understand all the options)

YouTube
Show threadWill SmithDec 21, 2022
@kentbye I meant when other people post manifestos. My instance will remain at a reasonable limit.
Show threadenmodo ⚛️ 🧬 🇺🇦 🍉Dec 21, 2022
@jayrosen_nyu quite the hatchet job on Bari Weiss. Okay, I exaggerate, but my wife will definitely enjoy it.
Show threadAntone JohnsonDec 21, 2022

@jayrosen_nyu Outstanding piece with many pithy quotes like the one you quoted. Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised @justinpeters is here on Mastodon now. 💪🏽

The asymmetry of dishonesty reminds me of a favorite Carl Bernstein interview in which he observed it was impossible to cover the Trump admin, zealously pursuing “the best obtainable version of the truth,” without coming across as overwhelmingly critical. That’s just inevitable when covering a firehose of falsity.

Show threadJay RosenDec 21, 2022
@antone @justinpeters Yes. This has been a problem in Trump coverage since the beginning. A factual description sounds like bias because the events are so extreme.
Show threadKelley GrahamDec 21, 2022
@antone @jayrosen_nyu Denormalize, use the press to do it. Authoritarianism 101. Simple. Mainstream Journalism has been complicit since profits rise with false outrage. Something like this should be the message in every byline when addressing these topics. #Quixotic #TownSquare #democracy #news #FourthEstate
Faf/Social

Show threadNicky PenttilaDec 21, 2022
@jayrosen_nyu
“Privileging credible content over maniacally inaccurate content isn’t anti-conservative bias: It’s bias against malevolent trolls.”
Show threadJoe SchmittDec 21, 2022

“But another way to describe wokeness is accountability, and it is perhaps telling that many of those who yell the loudest about the perils of wokeness are so clearly trying to dodge accountability for their own words and deeds”

https://slate.com/technology/2022/12/elon-musk-twitter-files-bari-weiss-matt-taibbi-shadowbanning.html

The Great Internet Grievance War the Right Has Wanted Is Here. It Ain’t Going Well.

The “Twitter Files,” and the journalists hand-picked for them, don’t reveal what Elon Musk wanted.

Slate
Show threadDustin StaigerDec 21, 2022
@jayrosen_nyu Fantastic read! When paired with this article from Vox, the picture is becoming clearer.
https://www.vox.com/23505311/elon-musk-twitter-managerial-woke-james-burnham
How a 1941 book explains Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover

The long shadow of James Burnham’s The Managerial Revolution.

Vox
Show threadHeterodox ThisDec 22, 2022
@jayrosen_nyu @dustinstaiger
Thanks for this.
Show threadOld Man MikeDec 22, 2022
@jayrosen_nyu excellent read. “Musk is the richest man in the world and yet comports himself online like a pustulous incel on a Mountain Dew bender.” Classic.
Show threadmyrmepropagandistDec 28, 2022

@jayrosen_nyu

I kind of wish everyone would stop using the word "woke" they way conservatives use it and go back to using it the way it's been used for the last 100 years.

Even if it's sarcastic it just keeps gluing the word to the new meaning. IDK it's probably too late.

Woke up this morning with my mind
Stayed on freedom
Woke up this morning with my mind
Stayed on freedom
Woke up this morning with my mind
Stayed on freedom
Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelujah.

Show threadChristian WilkieDec 28, 2022

@futurebird It can be difficult when language changes significantly like that. If it's any consolation, the only languages that don't change are dead language, so at least English is still dynamic and healthy.

My understanding is Ta-Nehisi Coates coined "woke" to mean having waken from the delusion of the American Dream. Of course conservatives would find this threatening and try to weaponize it, diverting from its crucial message.

Show threadmyrmepropagandistDec 28, 2022

@cwwilkie @jayrosen_nyu

Did he say that? It's a lot older than that *I* thought. In my grandma's church it meant ready to take charge of your life and aware of the challenges that being in this country can present. Like being realistic and having a vision, not sleep walking through life and letting other people or stereotypes shape who you'll be.

She'd say "We've been woke to that one." about issues that you needed to know about to stay safe.

Show threadChristian WilkieDec 28, 2022
@futurebird That's very interesting! I've never encountered that usage before. I like how that feels, turning it around in my mind. Who knows, likely Coates was riffing on that sense when he wrote 'Between the World and I.' Like you said, this usage is much older than that, and I'd be curious as to which regions it's most popular. Guess I've got some research to do. Thank you for cluing me in.
Show threadmyrmepropagandistDec 28, 2022
@cwwilkie Anyway I'm going to keep on using it the "right" way. I do not care.
Show threadAphrodite (recharging)Jan 3, 2023

@futurebird @jayrosen_nyu

“umm, what do you have against treating people with respect?” is a schematic response i have to such malevolent use.

Show threadArgot_RobbieDec 28, 2022

@jayrosen_nyu @hoco What tipped me off was conservative lying about climate change, which was ubiquitous and sickening by 1993.

Twitter was 23 years in the future at that point.

Show threadkristophrDec 28, 2022

@jayrosen_nyu thank you for this. That really was well done.

I knew on the surface that the twitter files were a fallacy but couldn't quite wrap my head around it.

I guess what I find amusing is how all these conservatives (and trump) are like "we've never seen suppression like this!" "Never before has a president been banned!"

Of course all of this is unprecedented. It's never happened before.

Show threadAlexander RutholDec 30, 2022
@jayrosen_nyu
FWIW, ghost banning is real, BUT it did not only afflict rightwingers. Ask me how I know.