“Stop trying to make influence happen. It’s not going to happen!”
And stopped Pool, et al from participating in the kind of misinformation campaign that damaged Clinton in 2016.
3 Likes
They’ll keep spewing their same bull.
Sure, and so will others, but that doesn’t mean there’s no point in exposing and stopping the operations that we can. Any maga-curious schmoe who might have been influenced by Pool now sees “I don’t know what I’m talking about and I’m easily duped.” It matters.
2 Likes
You are overestimating their ability to see any fault with a member of their tribe.
3 Likes
More please. Anodyne, intellectualized, rational think pieces are not enough. Those with a voice that gets heard need to start putting real passion, anger, disgust, outrage etc., behind the effort to dezombify the unjournalism industry.
5 Likes
Of course. By maga-curious, I mean someone who is not a member of the tribe. Clinton lost by thin margins in 3 states at least partly due to Facebook pages targeted at various democratic leaning groups to undermine her. Among other things, they posted a ton of “I kind of like Hillary, but those emails look shady.” Another part of the operation was the DNC hack, which the MSM ran with like they were looking for a gold medal.
Competitive campaigns often rely on trashing the opponent at least as much as building up their own candidate, and we know that the 2016 democratic turnout was low. DT has already reportedly given up on trying to gain any more voters, so his only option is to trash Kamala. We absolutely need to stop as much of that as we can.
I would also hope that this prosecution might wake up other wingnut influencers who are either intentionally taking Russian money or who might be motivated to check into their funding.
4 Likes
Which brings up the question of how old one must be to recognize the reference? I was prime age for this cartoon when it was first released on ABC in 1959, but too old when it closed on NBC in 1964. Even at 8 I got the Russian references as I was a child of the cold war and backyard bomb shelters. I have no idea how long it was in syndication, but still… I should ask the grandkids if they know who Rocky and Bullwinkle are/were.
3 Likes
Why are the founders not facing charges?
Well, my husband, because every time the name of a sports player comes up I’m like who is that?
But Michael Jordan, come on, maybe not the best example because even I know that one.
3 Likes
As in “Committee to Re-Elect the (former) President (Second edition)”? (Am I dating myself?)
Reach (they’re Russians), but where they can go (non extradition) is limited.
1 Like
On Xitter, Andrew Weiss thinks that the founders have been cooperating with the government:
I think that this take-down holds potential to be the take down that keeps taking down.
One of the founders of Tenet Media is Lauren Chen:
5 Likes
Tim Pool’s internal struggle.
3 Likes
Mother Jones has reported that the other founder of Tenet Media is Liam Donovan, Lauren Chen’s husband.
1 Like
Speculation is that either 1) they have been, but under seal or 2) they are cooperating with authorities for a later plea deal (or both).
1 Like
Agreed. Our constitutional definitions smack of powdered wigs and Madeira imported from Portugal.
1 Like
They are true believers in their own shtick. They will do the mental gymnastics to get around this cognitive-dissonance problem. They’re very practiced at it and they’ll find a way. We have not seen the last of them.