Chad Loder

The Intercept's Lee Fang worked with Elon Musk on a "Twitter Files" story and used the opportunity to launch his own personal Substack, knowing his colleague at The Intercept @micahflee is still banned by Elon Musk for his factual reporting on Musk.

If Lee Fang is going to boost his own personal substack at the expense of any kind of principled solidarity with his colleagues, why should I continue my recurring donation to @theintercept?

I'd rather donate directly to Micah Lee and Robert Mackey for their work than continue indirectly to fund Fang's work - let Fang raise money on his own substack.

Dec 23, 2022 at 6:55pmWeb
Show threadRobert DenbyDec 23, 2022
@chadloder @micahflee
I noticed that Bari Weiss also used her "contribution" as an advert for her blog as well. Honestly, their willingness to help Elon manufacture this absurd nonstory should disqualify them from being considered serious journalists...because they look like they're for sale.
Show threadGerard Cunningham ✒️Dec 23, 2022
@Bullix @chadloder @micahflee
"Look like?"
That deal was closed.
Show threadRobert DenbyDec 23, 2022
@faduda @chadloder @micahflee
I tend to enjoy understating things sometimes...because it causes this reaction, which lets me realize I'm not just seeing shit that aint there.
Show threadDannyDec 24, 2022
@Bullix @chadloder @micahflee Has Weiss ever been a serious journalist?
Show thread@[email protected]Dec 24, 2022
@Bullix @chadloder @micahflee Weiss shouldn't have been considered a 'serious' journalist for a _while_ tho
Show threadRobert DenbyDec 24, 2022
@pettter @chadloder @micahflee
That was my impression of her. I held it for long enough I forgot why, so I remain dubious but err on the side of deference since I can't remember exactly what makes me think she's an empty pantsuit.
Show threadpigletteDec 26, 2022
@Bullix @chadloder @micahflee Weiss was never a serious journo
Show threadAgoraDec 23, 2022
@chadloder @micahflee F all these collaborators and enablers🤬🤬🤬
Show threadRich Puchalsky Dec 23, 2022

@chadloder @micahflee

Why would you ever have paid for The Intercept? Pierre Omidyar was doing that. It's not like it ever existed other than as a billionaire's whim.

Show threadChad LoderDec 23, 2022
@RichPuchalsky @micahflee Because The Intercept does good work on right-wing extremists that other outlets don't.
Show threadRich Puchalsky Dec 23, 2022

@chadloder @micahflee

Whether they do good work or not (mostly, I'd say, not) it's wrong to join in on a billionaire's project with money that could otherwise go to people who aren't getting any. It lets billionaires control media not just by funding what they want to see but also by directing whatever scraps of money ordinary people have to their projects.

Show threadChad LoderDec 23, 2022
@RichPuchalsky @micahflee I don't need a lecture from someone who has absolutely no idea which causes I support. Do what you want with your own money, stop telling other people they are wrong. That's so unbelievably ignorant and offensive.
Show threadRich Puchalsky Dec 23, 2022

@chadloder

You started this thread with a lecture about principled solidarity and telling someone they were wrong. Maybe don't do that if you're that allergic to being told that other people don't care about supporting billionaires like the one that kicked you off Twitter.

Show threadChad LoderDec 23, 2022
@RichPuchalsky How is me donating to The Intercept supporting a billionaire? Do you seriously think my money goes to Omidyar? You're fucking bizarre, dude
Show threadRich Puchalsky Dec 23, 2022

@chadloder

I wrote it just above: if you don't donate to the Intercept, the writers lose nothing. Their salaries are paid by Omidyar. If you do donate to the Intercept, your money is going to underwrite his project. That makes him spend a tiny amount less money, but more importantly, it means that the tiny amount of money that you have isn't going to someone who doesn't have billionaire support.

I'm sure that you understand this, and that I didn't write "morally" above. I assume you're in a bad mood, which is fine -- I would be too.

Show threadChad LoderDec 23, 2022

@RichPuchalsky I know what you said. I don't need you to repeat it. I'm telling you that you are incorrect.

You're effectively saying that by supporting the nonprofit First Look Institute, which has over 50,000 institutional and individual donors, which releases detailed annual reports of its finances, and which has done amazing work for press freedoms over its nearly decade long existence, that I am helping Pierre Omidyar.

This is just incredibly naive and also ... not true. Nonprofit journalism is actually important and worth funding as a counterweight to the current for-profit news model. Please take your ignorance elsewhere.

Show threadRich Puchalsky Dec 23, 2022

@chadloder

Fine, I'll go away. By the way, First Look Institute's 2021 990 (the last available) says that their total revenue for that year war $13.7 million, of which $12.7 million came from the Pierre Omidyar Trust. You can feel what you like about that extra 1 million, but what I wrote is true.

Show threadCellularMooseDec 23, 2022

@chadloder @micahflee @theintercept

Very disappointed to hear that Lee Fang sank this low.

Show thread[email protected]Dec 23, 2022
@chadloder one of the most depressing aspects of muskification of social media was watching Taibbi & Fang so quickly take his bitter bait... Sigh.
Show threadTHOMnottomDec 23, 2022
@chadloder @micahflee @theintercept Thanks for reminding me why I has stopped paying attention to The Intercept to begin with. A lot of great work undermined by people like Fang.
Show threadJeff YangDec 23, 2022
@theintercept @chadloder @micahflee Lee Fang and principled solidarity are terms that don’t belong in the same sentence
Show threadGrantLorrellDec 23, 2022
@chadloder Given that Fang has regularly boosted anti-black & reactionary garbage for the last 6+ years, the fact that he's even still employed by Intercept is an indictment of that organization.
Show threadChad LoderDec 23, 2022
@GrantLorrell That part.
Show threadModel Citizen Zero DisciplineDec 23, 2022
@chadloder @micahflee @theintercept it was just about a month ago when Fang and Ken Klippenstein wrote an entirely and facially incorrect and misleading article for The Intercept alleging government censorship in tech. The Intercept has been engaging in poor journalism for some time. https://www.techdirt.com/2022/11/02/bullshit-reporting-the-intercepts-story-about-government-policing-disinfo-is-absolute-garbage/
Bullshit Reporting: The Intercept’s Story About Government Policing Disinfo Is Absolute Garbage

Do not believe everything you read. Even if it comes from more “respectable” publications. The Intercept had a big story this week that is making the rounds, suggesting that “leak…

Techdirt
Show threadChad LoderDec 23, 2022
@CrucialCaveat @micahflee @theintercept Yeah, it's been getting worse, too. The bad is really outweighing the good these days. Hence my decision finally to withdraw my support.
Show threadModel Citizen Zero DisciplineDec 23, 2022
@chadloder @micahflee @theintercept the failing of the Intercept has been that editorial oversight has been inconsistent and the bro reporters they rely on poison the well to the point I disbelieve any claims coming from the Intercept. Bro reporters Greenwald, Jilani, Fang, Klippenstein, etc, care more about their own grandiosity than accuracy or truthfulness. I’m dropping NYT for much less serious reasons, let alone the Intercept.
Show threaddavehtaylorDec 24, 2022
@CrucialCaveat @chadloder @micahflee @theintercept The Intercept was founded by garbage people. Journalistic malpractice has always underpinned everything they do
Show threadohreallytrulyDec 24, 2022
@CrucialCaveat @chadloder @micahflee @theintercept THIS! Fang has a history with this.
Show threadHammancheezDec 23, 2022
@chadloder @micahflee @theintercept any journo who stapled their lips to Musks ass in a human centipede chain of professional malpractice doesn’t deserve the label anymore. Propagandists for hire and they work cheap.
Show threadSid OozeleyDec 23, 2022
@chadloder lee fang is taking a break from his usual beat of giving sloppy top to any police department after they toetag unarmed civilians i see
Show threadEANOC 🌱Dec 24, 2022
@chadloder @micahflee @theintercept
Sounds right. The direct approach is an forgotten, but the most secure, approach.
Show threadWestcoast LawyerDec 28, 2022
@chadloder @micahflee @theintercept They are engaging in conspiracy theories to sell their substack subscriptions.