9_tellthetruthApr 7, 2023
Mike Masnick ✅
I wrote about why Mehdi Hasan's takedown of Matt Taibbi actually destroys the entire foundation of the story Taibbi is trying to tell about the Twitter files. https://www.techdirt.com/2023/04/07/mehdi-hasan-dismantles-the-entire-foundation-of-the-twitter-files-as-matt-taibbi-stumbles-to-defend-it/
Mehdi Hasan Dismantles The Entire Foundation Of The Twitter Files As Matt Taibbi Stumbles To Defend It

So here’s the deal. If you think the Twitter Files are still something legit or telling or powerful, watch this 30 minute interview that Mehdi Hasan did with Matt Taibbi (at Taibbi’s own demand): H…

Techdirt
Apr 7, 2023 at 4:36pmWeb
Show threadtoxtethogradyApr 7, 2023
@mmasnick Remember, the mere hiring of Taibbi calls Musk's management of Tesla into question
#Proposal5
Show threadEchutaApr 8, 2023
@toxtethogrady @mmasnick
Liberals need to STOP BUYING TESLAS.
Show threadᴚ uɐᗡApr 7, 2023
@mmasnick I sure miss that guy around here @mehdihasan 👀 #mastodon
Show threadNicole ParsonsApr 8, 2023

@dannotdaniel @mmasnick @mehdihasan

Me too! Mehdi Hasan's book about how to win arguments is superb.

https://www.amazon.com/Win-Every-Argument-Debating-Persuading/dp/B0B64HRK9B/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1680936495&refinements=p_27%3AMehdi+Hasan&s=books&sr=1-1

His show on Peacock and on weekends on @Msnbc is excellent.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-mehdi-hasan-show/id1589791927

Amazon.com

Show threadslyborgApr 7, 2023

@mmasnick
Taibbi can't back down without completely ruining his brand here. His choices are to admit that he was duped into parroting a billionaire's propaganda, or that he knew that it was propaganda and deliberately supported the narrative.

And in fact being attacked by MSNBC builds his brand. Once again, the MSM itself is in league with The Man to keep people from discovering The Truth. I'm just waiting for him to guest on Tucker Carlson very soon...

Show threadCorey Rayburn YungApr 7, 2023
@mmasnick yet, despite his complete failure, Taibbi is a model of truth and diligent research compared to Shellenberger. His Twitter feed is a mix of global conspiracy theories (WEF makes frequent appearances), claims without evidence, and paranoid delusions stemming from his overblown ego. His involvement alone in the #TwitterFiles should permanently discredit the entire endeavor.
Show threadRenee DiRestaApr 8, 2023
@coreyrayburnyung @mmasnick can confirm.
Show threadPhil ReesApr 7, 2023
@mmasnick I’m deeply disappointed that neither of them drew attention to the (inadvertent?) humour of responding to the reporting of dick pics with “handled”.
Show threadSylvainApr 19, 2023

@phrees

Sorry to necro this thread, but this post deserves some form of recognition!

@mmasnick

Show thread@billclassifiedApr 7, 2023
@mmasnick Mehdi is a badass!
Show threadHeflinApr 7, 2023
@mmasnick Thank you for this. I tried watching the video, but Taibbi is such a smug, unlikable ass that I couldn't get through much.
Show thread⚡️ axeshun ⚡️  Apr 7, 2023
@mmasnick ive never seen someone more disingenuous and tainted than taibbi is. I've also never seen someone absolutely obliviated and exposed in an on-air interview. Just wow. God bless Medhi. 🙏
Show threadRoy #BLM Pardee 🇺🇸Apr 7, 2023
@mmasnick I really want to create a sankey diagram showing the flow of tweets considered -> reported -> dispositions for this report.
Show threadPete VBApr 7, 2023
@mmasnick The consistency of Taibbi from Giant Vampire Squid to today, is in it's divisiveness, right? And for those taking notes, who wants this? Putin
Who was there after the fall of the wall putting himself in positions to be kompromised (and writing about it, ie underage women, etc...)?
So if any Muskovites want a conspiracy to follow, there's a good starting place!
Show threadjoeApr 7, 2023
@mmasnick oh yeah this reminded me to finish watching that segment
Show threadJGWApr 7, 2023
@mmasnick
There was too much talking over each other in that interview...which is/was unfortunate because it seems like Taibbi would noose himself if the facts were just laid out in front of him and him be allowed to try and rationalize all of his (and Elmo's) bullshit. The more he's faced with the facts of his relationship with Elmo (in public) the more he looks like a lapdog to Elmo...and only the most ardent Cult45 members can continue to defend both their actions...
Show threadDavid WilliamsApr 7, 2023
@mmasnick It's really striking to read the details of what Taibbi fucked up while thinking back to how he and his ilk footstomped on their way to Substack about how much their reporting would benefit from not being hampered by editors and fact-checkers.
Show thread🍸Pooka🥕Boo🍸Apr 7, 2023
@mmasnick MT is such a disappointment. He has list all credibility.
Show threadGemma HentschApr 7, 2023
@mmasnick I mean I get that there's a pipeline between "lauded figure" -> "exposure as a sexual harasser/predator" -> "conservative for pay" but I don't get how he could be as incompetent and incapable in that interview, unless the books he wrote, had VERY VERY VERY good editors...
Show threadWilliam HughesApr 7, 2023

It was a pleasure to watch.

Actually when I think about #MSNBC on air talent, it's just so much better than any other "news" network. They are all there because of their brilliance and tenacity, instead of their looks or charisma.

I start every day with #JoyReid highlights, #RachelMaddow if she was on, and #AriMelber and #ChrisHayes and #StephanieRuhle they're all amazing in their own ways...

Show threadIAGApr 7, 2023
@mmasnick Real talk. If you think that governments can't manipulate social media to place content they want users to see above content they don't want users to see, you probably do not understand how social media works. It's literally baked into the system: more engagement = more recommendations. If you give a brand new post a slight nudge to put it ahead of other posts, it is far more likely to be widely recommended. Yes, this means that even open and decentralized platforms can be manipulated. And because people mistakenly believe that popular = quality/good, you, the bad actor, can make harmful opinions popular by giving them a slight boost. And again, you don't need to have any direct control over the network via a backdoor or similar.
Show threadEchutaApr 8, 2023
@iagondiscord @mmasnick
The problem is that too many people are accepting whatever they read /see/hear from whatever source as the truth. And too many people don't know how to think for themselves. Schools in Europe (especially the former Soviet controlled countries) are teaching their school children how to think critically and learn how to see propaganda and garbage information disguising as "news".
Show threadJim GoodallApr 7, 2023

@mmasnick ]
Just another in the long, long line of Republican screw-ups, disguised as "Breaking News!" hoping that uninformed idiots believe it.

More like "Breaking Bullshit."

Show threadComrade Lion-OApr 7, 2023
@mmasnick Great explanation. Thank you!
Show threadjim68000Apr 7, 2023
@mmasnick great piece but no thanks for putting the image of a naked Musk in my head with the final par
Show threadAaron K.Apr 7, 2023
@mmasnick A lot of this Taibbi stuff seems really lazy. If you were being nefarious, you wouldn't do it in such a transparently sloppy way. He seems to have accepted a compromised gig and then is just trying to make it work because he needs the attention. Sad.
Show threadAlgernon D'AmmassaApr 7, 2023
@mmasnick It’s stunning, isn’t it?
Show threadOliver HuntApr 7, 2023
@mmasnick which remains a waste of time, as none of these shitheads give a shit about whether things are true. Saying "twitter is anti-conservative" is no different to them from their usual "jews control the banks/media/government", "black people are inferior", "LGBT are predators" shit.
Show threadThomas H Jones IIApr 7, 2023
@mmasnick So... MTG's never going to request to be interviewed by Hasan: she'll stick with the Stahls?
Show threadAnathema DeviceApr 7, 2023
@mmasnick you really are trying to melt the brains of the house trolls, aren't you? :)
Show threadPam LeittermanApr 7, 2023

@mmasnick

Thanks for this well-reasoned, cohesive, easy-to-digest article! I'm bookmarking it.

Show threadDavid FowlerApr 8, 2023

@mmasnick
Poor old Matt.
Bought and paid for.
Who can believe anything he says?

Republicans don’t care if their leaders are liars. Or criminals.
They just don’t care.

Show threadFrank CoteApr 8, 2023
@mmasnick killer good interview.
Show threadMiguel de Icaza ᯅ🍉Apr 8, 2023
@mmasnick loved this summary, helped me catch up.
Show threadauthor_is_ShrikeTron🔠💉x5Apr 8, 2023

@mmasnick Is it true Substack is Taibbi's red-line to get off hell-site?

https://www.thedailybeast.com/twitter-files-reporter-matt-taibbi-bails-on-twitter-after-elon-musk-makes-it-unusable

‘Twitter Files’ Reporter Matt Taibbi Bails on Twitter After Elon Musk Makes it ‘Unusable’

On Friday, one of Musk’s handpicked Twitter Files disseminators turned his back on the social media site. The Chief Twit, meanwhile, quickly unfollowed him.

The Daily Beast
Show threadMike Masnick ✅Apr 8, 2023
@ShrikeTron yeah, I wrote about it this morning
Show threadIwillyeahApr 8, 2023
@mmasnick if I were a sports psychologist, I would show this video to athletes as an illustration of how you can lose a game before it begins. He let himself get so wound up by the preamble he mistook defense of himself for defense of his work. He was so emotionally hot the entire time he looked like a nervous wreck, flailing for purchase.
Show threadGorbaApr 11, 2023
@mmasnick Too bad facts don’t really have much impact in the overall media environment that has evolved