The YouTube logo seen on a screen. (Photo by Robert Michael/picture alliance via Getty Images)
In late 2020, YouTube took a decisive step: The company suspended the right-wing conspiracy factory One America News, demonetized its channel, and declared that it was not an “authoritative” source. It was the correct call: OAN has a lengthy record of spewing dangerous lies about everything from Covid to the 2020 election. At the time, YouTube insisted it had a responsibility to protect its users from corrosive disinformation, and noted that OAN had repeatedly violated its misinformation policies.
Now, less than five years later, Google boss Sundar Pichai and YouTube chief Neal Mohan have executed a shameless, whiplash-inducing reversal. On Wednesday, YouTube TV and OAN proudly announced that they had inked a carriage deal, catapulting the channel onto one of the country’s largest digital pay-TV platform. In effect, Google tossed a lifeline to the outlet, since most every other major carrier in the country had booted it from its lineup. The move will make YouTube TV among the biggest distributors of the MAGA propaganda outlet in America.
And YouTube isn’t even pretending to be embarrassed. In fact, just the opposite. Justin Connolly, YouTube’s global head of media, raved about the deal…
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Breitbart's anti-trans homepage. (Status illustration/Screen grab)
Vilifying the Vulnerable: “AGAIN: TRANS SHOOTS UP MINNEAPOLIS CATHOLIC SCHOOL.” That was the banner splashed across Breitbart’s homepage Wednesday evening, a reflection of the anti-trans narrative flowing through right-wing media after a shooter opened fire on Catholic school children during mass. Much of the coverage was fixated on the shooter’s gender identity, casting trans people as inherently dangerous. Indeed, the goal seemed to be to take the suspect's heinous actions and weaponize them into an indictment of an entire community. Elon Musk, the father of a transgender daughter, also piled on, declaring “there is a clear pattern here.” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey pushed back directly at that framing. “Anybody who is using this… as an opportunity to villainize our trans community, or any other community out there, has lost their sense of common humanity,” he said. “We should not be operating out of a place of hate for anyone.”
Trey Gowdy stunned Fox News viewers with a call for stronger gun laws after the horrific shooting, saying its time for “a conversation of freedom versus protecting children” and noting, “It’s always a young white male, almost always.” [HuffPost]
The comments sparked fierce backlash from far-right MAGA Media personalities, including Mike Cernovich, who responded: “Trey Gowdy hates you and wants to take your guns.” [TNR]
Brian Lowry penned an excellent piece: "Donald Trump looks terrible. Why won't the press ask him what's wrong?" [The Wrap]
Gideon Taaffe and Torri Lonergan chronicled how right-wing media has celebrated Trump's "campaign of retribution against political opponents." [MMFA]
Trump raged about a "sick rumor" that Seth Meyers had his contract renewed—a year after a new deal for the comedian was announced. [Deadline]
👀 Taylor Lorenz reported that a dark money initiative "aimed at boosting Democrats online offers influencers up to $8,000 a month to push the party line." Per Lorenz, "All they have to do is keep it secret—and agree to restrictions on their content." [WIRED]
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