richarddefromageApr 15, 2023
Dan Gillmor

Once again, Big Journalism is treating a right-wing extremist as a regular guy.

As @joshtpm explains, Pentagon leaker Teixeira has loudly expressed beliefs that come straight from the extremists' rancid traditions -- almost a reincarnation of Oklahoma City bomber Tim McVeigh.

So why does the Washington Post treat him with absurd deference?

It's terrible journalism, and also business as usual.

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/newsletter/no-83-do-we-know-a-far-right-radical-when-we-see-one/sharetoken/Isqdbp5pTJIw

No. 83: Do We Know a Far Right Radical When We See One?

The radical right-wing extremist at the center of the big Pentagon intelligence link has now been identified. But even journalists who should know better struggle to explain who these people are.

TPM – Talking Points Memo
Apr 15, 2023 at 12:15amWeb
Show threadVoronApr 15, 2023
@dangillmor @joshtpm agreed
Show threadIts Not A Hoax 🤞Apr 15, 2023
@dangillmor https://acrobat.adobe.com/link/review?uri=urn:aaid:scds:US:eb8b6791-6019-33e0-9282-4a76d0dfd0e1
Adobe Acrobat

Show threadBruceApr 15, 2023

@dangillmor Dan, It seems to me that you're on the same side as NPR, the NY Times and Washington Post, but you are just playing to a narrower audience.

If they all took your line, moderates and moderate-conservatives would give up on them and slide farther right. I get your frustration that they're not reporting the way you want it done, but not holding out a hand to the other side makes the problem worse, not better.

Show threadDan GillmorApr 15, 2023
@bruce By definition, no one who supports extremism is a moderate.
Show threadBruceApr 16, 2023
@dangillmor
1. False dichotomy:
You’re interpreting my toot through a lens of false dichotomy. It is not true that people are either in lock step with you or extremists. That is simply false. And that’s before my statement that specifically excludes the far right. I am saying that there is a large group of people to whom we must reach out because we need them on our side. Some may be ambivalent; some may be misinformed; some may just be busy struggling to get by.
Show threadBruceApr 16, 2023

@dangillmor
2. 50% +1:
I can’t find the quote, but SF Mayor Willie Brown once said well that in our government system, if you can’t get 50%+1 of the voters on your side, it just doesn’t matter how passionately you believe in something.

If we don’t reach out to people who might be persuaded to vote with us, our cause is lost. We can’t win swing states by stomping our feet and insisting that everyone else is wrong. And we need both those voters and those states to move forward.

Show threadAngrySexagenarianApr 15, 2023
@dangillmor @joshtpm
That's not big journalism, darling.
That's old men's corporate greed.
Journalism is when someone tells the story how it is, not how their paymaster wants it told.
Show threadOgogon !!! Apr 15, 2023
@dangillmor @joshtpm
The Washington Post is a newspaper with a distinct left-wing discourse. A person who used the resources of a democratic society all his life, and then decided, for the sake of his ambitions, defiantly does not give a damn about its values - for such media, a worthy hero. Such media are a welcome tool for totalitarian regimes with left-wing rhetoric. (Remember the precepts of Willy MĂĽnzenberg.)
In my opinion, this should not be surprising - you just need to clearly classify such mouthpieces of evil for yourself, especially if they continue to formally adhere to democratic views. This is doubly dangerous, but it's good if you can see it.
Show threadGATEKEEPERApr 15, 2023
@dangillmor @joshtpm
Seeing the American flag flying in his parents home told me everything. MAGAs have captured the flag as a call sign. In my area, I know most of the enemy. They all fly the flag as a call sign. Liberals put up" be kind"and Ukranian flags.
This little fucker has been groomed by dad.