Hellchico
Thomas ZimmerToday, the anti-“woke” crusaders on the Right got what they wanted – and it would not have been possible without the mainstream media eagerly propagating, laundering, and legitimizing a disgustingly disingenuous rightwing campaign. 1/
None of this is surprising – although it is still shocking to see it play out like this. It is indicative of larger issues: The media’s obsession with proving its “neutral” credentials, an increasingly reactionary, anti-“woke” stance on the center, and America’s elite accommodating extremism. 2/
Remember, this all started with Republicans trying to get the Black woman fired by accusing her of antisemitism - a brutally cynical attempt by the party of Trump, “Jewish space lasers,” QAnon, and “Great Replacement” theory to use Jews to strike against “leftist” institutions. 3/
https://thomaszimmer.substack.com/p/we-are-falling-apart
https://thomaszimmer.substack.com/p/we-are-falling-apart
When that didn’t work, the Right seamlessly pivoted to the accusation of plagiarism. Once again, Christopher Rufo, one of America’s most successful far-right activists, played a crucial role in this pivot, never hiding his true intentions – and yet, the media did exactly what he wanted. 4/
Rufo has always been completely transparent about the entirely dishonest nature of his reactionary projects. That he’s been so tremendously successful in poisoning the polity and manufacturing nationwide crusades is a devastating indictment of our political and media culture. 5/
Rufo is celebrating. Note how he is explicitly pointing to one of the New York Times’ anti-“woke” columnists, standing in for the mainstream media as a whole, as having played a crucial role in his plan. And in the replies, his extremist fans demand more blood: “Who’s next?” 6/
A while ago, I wrote about Rufo as a figure emblematic of the counter-revolutionary zeal, desire for vengeance, lust for radicalism, and brutal cynicism that characterizes the Right today.
Rightwing Dreams of American Reconquista: 7/
https://thomaszimmer.substack.com/p/rightwing-dreams-of-american-reconquista
Rightwing Dreams of American Reconquista: 7/
https://thomaszimmer.substack.com/p/rightwing-dreams-of-american-reconquista
Please read this fantastic piece by @donmoyn – a dissection of the disastrous role of the mainstream in this whole affair. It’s just not plausible anymore to assume the media “got played”: They deliberately contributed, again, to a breathtakingly disingenuous rightwing assault.
https://donmoynihan.substack.com/p/the-campaign-to-remove-the-president
Tim VerstynenI guarantee that anyone who performs the same analysis on (noted liar) Christopher Rufo’s writing as he did on Dr. Gay’s work will find the same degree, or worse, of plagiarism
bk@tdverstynen @tzimmer_history @donmoyn I suspect Rufo of plagiarism and hereby call for a full investigation of all his written work (with similar stakes as the Harvard president; #fairsfair )…
@knutson_brain @tzimmer_history @donmoyn
He will just keep lying through it. The American fascist movement (and that’s exactly what this is) doesn’t care about truth or consistency. They only care about attacking whoever is not like them.
Escarpment@tdverstynen @knutson_brain @tzimmer_history @donmoyn I'd probably skip right past cutely trying to nail him on plagiarism and instead try to get a hold of whatever horrific and depraved material exists on his hard drive.
@knutson_brain @tzimmer_history @donmoyn
Actually, if I were Dr. Gay I would sue Rufo for libel. His “evidence” was that weak. She could have a strong case and the discovery would likely be glorious.
@tdverstynen @tzimmer_history @donmoyn
Boom. Misrepresented the provenance of his degree. ( #AcademicFraud , #EveryAccusationAConfession ):
https://newrepublic.com/article/170647/christopher-rufo-harvard-degree-misleading
Boom. Misrepresented the provenance of his degree. ( #AcademicFraud , #EveryAccusationAConfession ):
https://newrepublic.com/article/170647/christopher-rufo-harvard-degree-misleading
@knutson_brain @tzimmer_history @donmoyn
I wonder how many HE grads do this. I bet it is quite common
Michael Glotzer@tzimmer_history @donmoyn It's a good piece and it was obvious from the start that the whole episode was an attack on higher Ed.
That said, her plagiarism could not be denied or ignored.
That said, her plagiarism could not be denied or ignored.
Alexander KarnLegacy media and Harvard U are in more or less the same position: beholden to wealthy elites who are too dim to counter-act the MAGA program or else are sympathetic to its key tenets.
Simon Orrell@tzimmer_history thank you. Absolutely required reading.
Ned Hamson@tzimmer_history @donmoyn And the NYTimes also facilitated/led the "lynching."
Curt Thomas@tzimmer_history @donmoyn
The thing that really sticks out for me here is: why the hell is it any of congress' business at all who the president of a private university is? Nevermind that the proper response to that congressional summons should have been a firm "fuck off" from those institutions; I'm amazed that our legislature saw this as a suitable use of its time.
The thing that really sticks out for me here is: why the hell is it any of congress' business at all who the president of a private university is? Nevermind that the proper response to that congressional summons should have been a firm "fuck off" from those institutions; I'm amazed that our legislature saw this as a suitable use of its time.
ArmageddJen@tzimmer_history @donmoyn what's really gross is I googled yesterday just to see how big of a deal the "plagiarism" is/how much is true and it's literally not plagiarism at all?? It's just a few incorrect citations that seemed to be more of a formatting error than purposeful deception?!? And like, I don't have a PhD from Harvard but every paper I've ever written has had at least one citation correction (bc we have too many stupid styles). Disgusting that "journalists" went along with this at all
Kate Nyhan is changing servers@tzimmer_history @donmoyn
🙏 that is a very good piece, thanks for sharing.
Personally I'd say that the Tessier-Lavigne story deserved *far more* coverage in news media than the Gay plagiarism claims did. The manipulated data has had big impacts on Alzheimer research and business deals in the pharmaceutical industry, and probably laid a false trail distracting researchers from progress towards future treatments that millions of people need desperately. If that's not a news story, what is?
🙏 that is a very good piece, thanks for sharing.
Personally I'd say that the Tessier-Lavigne story deserved *far more* coverage in news media than the Gay plagiarism claims did. The manipulated data has had big impacts on Alzheimer research and business deals in the pharmaceutical industry, and probably laid a false trail distracting researchers from progress towards future treatments that millions of people need desperately. If that's not a news story, what is?
Chong Yidong@tzimmer_history @donmoyn Just cause the plagiarism claims came from partisans, doesn't make them invalid. Gay's "duplicative language", or plagiarism if one prefers, is of the sort that undergrads get disciplined over. Giving her a pass would undermine efforts to instill academic integrity among students, already an uphill struggle to begin with.
My sympathy for Gay is further diminished by the fact that she didn't properly apologize for the bad scholarship, even as she resigned.
Oregon Wine Woman
Marc@tzimmer_history
The term reconquista is well known here in Santa Fe, usually referring to local history, sometimes to the original in Spain. Interesting to see you use it to refer to current US politics.
The term reconquista is well known here in Santa Fe, usually referring to local history, sometimes to the original in Spain. Interesting to see you use it to refer to current US politics.
@tzimmer_history A "lynching" plain and simple. Dropped my 20+ year subscription to NYTimes because of their role in the affair.
Erin Conroy
Rob Honeycutt@tzimmer_history
The worst part is, allowing the crazies to win in these matters only ensures they will do more, and worse.
The worst part is, allowing the crazies to win in these matters only ensures they will do more, and worse.
We Can Be Gyros@tzimmer_history Stefanik has Lee Zeldin's hand up her butt pulling the strings. He wants war and pain in the USA.
CassandraVert@tzimmer_history
Not sure the media deserves the benefit of the doubt anymore. You can only be wrong so many times before you get credited with intending that wrong result.
Not sure the media deserves the benefit of the doubt anymore. You can only be wrong so many times before you get credited with intending that wrong result.
Iain MacLean (he/him)@tzimmer_history This makes me sad and angry. I’ve been vaguely following this from the other side of the world and it has been obvious to even this poorly engaged foreigner from the start it was about a Black woman leading an elite university and nothing else. The racists have won and it will only make them cockier.