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☆ NPR faces right-wing revolt and calls for defunding after editor claims left-wing bias
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-11 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Donald Trump, Fox News, and the other organs in the right-wing universe are holding up Berliner’s 3,500-word piece to demonize the outlet. And they are not stopping with a simple verbal assault, openly demanding that lawmakers strip the newsroom of its government funding. Trump on Wednesday, calling NPR a “LIBERAL DISINFORMATION MACHINE,” said that “NOT ONE DOLLAR” of government funds should be sent into its coffers moving forward. “NO MORE FUNDING FOR NPR, A TOTAL SCAM!” Trump ranted on his Truth Social platform. But the editor said that, for now, he is still employed by NPR.

Persons: Uri Berliner, Bari Weiss, Donald Trump, ”, Berliner, “, Jesse Watters, Trump, York Post’s Hunter Biden, ” Berliner, It’s, Edith Chapin, Chapin Organizations: New York CNN, National Public, NPR, Free Press, Fox News, Trump, Berliner, CNN, MAGA Media, York, Republicans, Republican, Gallup Locations: New York, LIBERAL, newsrooms

☆ Substack takes a halfsies approach to banning Nazis
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-10 | by ( Katie Notopoulos | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

download the appSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. In December 2023, The Atlantic reported that it had seen a handful of Nazi-affiliated or white supremacist blogs on the platform, some of them with paying subscribers. Last week, Newton wrote in the newsletter that he was meeting with Substack to discuss the issue and was considering taking his popular newsletter to another service if Substack wouldn't budge. AdvertisementNewton and Schiffer flexing their power worked: Substack is removing five out of the 14-plus newsletters with Nazi or white supremacist content. But Substack will continue to remove any material that includes "credible threats of physical harm," it said.

Persons: —, Hamish McKenzie, Casey Newton, Zoë Schiffer, Newton, Substack, Schiffer, it's, Hitler, Bari Weiss, Richard Dawkins Organizations: Service, Nazi, Business

☆ Bari Weiss’s Surging News Startup Lures Readers Miffed at Media Coverage of Israel
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( Alexandra Bruell | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Bari Weiss realized that her news startup, the Free Press, was attracting a lot of attention with its coverage of the Israel-Hamas war when famous people started citing its work on social media. Music executive Scooter Braun shared a Free Press video about a hostage taken by Hamas. Comedian Chelsea Handler shared on Instagram Free Press’s “Voices from Gaza” video that showed a young Gazan describing Hamas as a barrier that must be removed. Cookbook author Jessica Seinfeld posted a column by Weiss about antisemitism following the start of the war, with the comment, “Bari got me straight about liberal America today.”

Persons: Bari Weiss, Scooter Braun, Chelsea Handler, Jessica Seinfeld, Weiss, “ Bari, ” Organizations: Free Press Locations: Israel, Gaza, America

☆ It's not just the uber-rich freezing their brains and bodies when they die. An HBO show visited a conference filled with everyday people excited to do it.
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-24 | by ( Kylie Kirschner | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The series finale of HBO's "How To with John Wilson" explored cryonics and the quest for immortality. Sam Altman, Jeff Bezos, Peter Thiel, and Bryan Johnson all invested in anti-aging or cryonics. Get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in business, from Wall Street to Silicon Valley — delivered daily. Insider has previously reported on Alcor competitor Cryonics Institute, a more affordable alternative that charges $28,000 for a body to be stored indefinitely. A Cryonics Institute model of the tanks used to store bodies, which are actually stored upside down in practice.

Persons: John Wilson, Sam Altman, Jeff Bezos, Peter Thiel, Bryan Johnson, It's, Wilson, hasn't, Bari Weiss, he's, Johnson Organizations: Service, Alcor, HBO, MIT Technology, Biosciences, Altos Labs Locations: Wall, Silicon, Altos

☆ Twitter's head of trust and safety resigns, becoming the 2nd person to quit the role following Elon Musk's takeover
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Twitter's head of trust and safety, Ella Irwin, says she's resigned from Twitter. Irwin is Twitter's second trust and safety chief to quit following Musk's takeover. Twitter's head of trust and safety, Ella Irwin, says she's resigned from the company. Irwin is Twitter's second trust and safety chief to quit following Musk's takeover. Her predecessor, Yoel Roth, resigned on November 10, weeks after Musk acquired the company.

Persons: Ella Irwin, she's, Irwin, Slack, Kylie Robison, Irwin's Slack, Elon Musk, Yoel Roth, Musk, Roth, Jordan Peterson, Bari Weiss Organizations: Twitter, Reuters, Fortune, Musk's, Morning, Elon, Bloomberg, LinkedIn, Washington Post Locations: China

☆ Meet David Sacks, the friend of Elon Musk who could play kingmaker for Ron DeSantis
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Brian Schwartz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +12 min

Ron DeSantis — including hosting the candidate's kickoff event on Twitter — demonstrate how Sacks is working to become a GOP kingmaker. A DeSantis campaign spokesman did not return a request for comment before publication. Sacks, according to Puck, serves as one of the group's directors. Kevin McGrann, a lobbyist at government relations juggernaut Forbes Tate Partners, is also linked to Bay Strategies, according to Hall. And Sacks said during a recent episode that he plans to ask the DeSantis campaign for the Florida governor to agree to an interview.

Persons: David Sacks, Paul Chinn, Caroline Wren, Wren, Donald Trump's, Jan, president's, Sacks, George Soros, Puck, Ron DeSantis, Peter Thiel, Ro Khanna, didn't, Joe Biden, Thiel, Elon Musk, –, Joe Lonsdale's, Julie Samuels, Samuels, DeSantis, I've, Trump, Stewart Hall, Jill Kendrick, Hall, Sen, Richard Shelby, Kendrick, Kevin McGrann, juggernaut Forbes, McGrann, John Boehner, OpenSecrets, Musk, Bari Weiss, isn't, Peter, Jason Calacanis, David Friedberg, Chamath, Robert F, Kennedy Jr, Kennedy, Biden, Nikki Haley, Calacanis Organizations: TechCrunch, Calif, San Francisco Chronicle, Hearst Newspapers, Getty Images Venture, Trump, U.S . Capitol, Republicans, Commission, Florida Gov, Twitter, GOP, PayPal, CNBC, Democratic, Microsoft, DeSantis, Purple Good Government PAC, FEC, Ron DeSantis PAC, PAC, Republican Party, Purple Good Government, Stewart, Public, Crossroads, Altria Group, Boeing, General Electric, Hearst Corp, Washington , D.C, Forbes Tate Partners, juggernaut Forbes Tate Partners, Forbes Tate, Association of Independent Mortgage Experts, United Wholesale Mortgage, SpaceX, Republican, YouTube, Biden, CNN Locations: San Francisco, Florida, Silicon, Trump, DeSantis, Puck, Washington ,, Ohio

☆ Billionaire Peter Thiel says he's signed up to be frozen and preserved when he dies so people can revive him in the future — if the tech even works
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Peter Thiel says he's going to be cryogenically preserved, though he isn't sure if the tech works. Peter Thiel has confirmed that he's slated to be cryogenically preserved when he dies so he can be revived in the future. Weiss asked Thiel. When Weiss asked Thiel if he arranged for his loved ones to be frozen as well, he said he's "not convinced" the technology works as intended yet. Walt Disney is often erroneously cited as an example of a celebrity who was cryogenically preserved.

☆ Peter Thiel would back Ron DeSantis — but he isn't ditching Silicon Valley for Miami anytime soon due to high home prices
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Will Gendron | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Home prices in the state have been on the rise after tech workers flocked to the state during the pandemic. Rising home prices and property taxes followed. Single-family property taxes in the city increased by 12.6% from 2021 to 2022. "That kind of economic cost is probably not enough to offset all the wokeness in the world," Thiel said on Weiss's podcast. The discussion came up as he and Weiss discussed Florida Governor Ron DeSantis as the potential Republican presidential nominee.

☆ Peter Thiel says Ron DeSantis would 'make a terrific president'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Cheryl Teh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Peter Thiel says Ron DeSantis would "make a terrific president." "If he's the Republican nominee, I will strongly support him in 2024," Thiel said. "If he's the Republican nominee, I will strongly support him in 2024," Thiel told podcast host Bari Weiss in an episode of the "Honestly" podcast on Wednesday. Robert Bigelow, a UFO-loving Las Vegas hotel mogul, vowed to "go without food" if that was necessary to fund DeSantis' 2024 run. Thiel did not elaborate in the podcast on whether he plans to give money to DeSantis in the 2024 election cycle.

☆ Insiders say Tucker Carlson overplayed his hand at Fox but the 'whole universe' of right-wing media is courting him now
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

the Fox insider said. Lachlan Murdoch had defended Carlson time and again, most publicly in April 2021, pushing back against Anti-Defamation League complaints of the anchor's "great replacement theory" comments. Lachlan Murdoch and Rupert Murdoch. A second Fox News insider, who is familiar with conversations happening in Australia, said Lachlan Murdoch was looking long term. The board has also put pressure on the Murdoch family to change things at Fox News.

☆ Elon Musk says federal probe of Twitter is a 'weaponization of a government agency for political purposes' and a 'serious attack on the Constitution'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The FTC has requested access to Twitter's internal communications, The Wall Street Journal reported. Elon Musk called this a "serious attack on the Constitution" as it pertains to freedom of the press. But it's the FTC's request to "identify all journalists" who can access internal systems that appeared to have most incensed Musk. The Journal reported that the government agency had asked Twitter for detailed information on layoffs because it's worried it now cannot properly protect users' data. In November, Insider reported that Musk told Twitter staff he would do "whatever it takes" to comply with the FTC's regulations.

☆ Nikki Haley on Republicans' tepid midterms: The party 'looked like chaos'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Kimberly Leonard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Republicans came across as chaotic during the midterms, Nikki Haley said. And from an independent standpoint it looked like chaos, and they didn't want to be a part of that." Democrats have also singled out Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green of Georgia as representative of the party. In preliminary exit polls following the midterms, about equal proportions of voters said both Republicans and Democrats were "too extreme." Despite Republican disappointment over the midterms, the party did secure a narrow majority in the US House.

☆ Nikki Haley pledges to support Donald Trump if he's the GOP nominee
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Kimberly Leonard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Nikki Haley pledged to support Donald Trump if he becomes the GOP nominee for president in 2024. Haley, one of only two declared GOP rivals to Trump, described January 6 as "one sad day in America." The host, journalist Bari Weiss, asked Haley to participate in a "lighting round" of questions, in which Haley simply answered "yes" to the question over whether she would support Trump. Trump signed a loyalty pledge to support the GOP nominee when he ran in 2016, but then took it back. In her podcast, Haley defended her relationship with Trump, saying that she sometimes agreed with him and at other times didn't.

☆ Elon Musk gets a kick out of seeing information from the 'Twitter Files' released onto the platform, Matt Taibbi says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Kate Duffy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Matt Taibbi says Elon Musk gets a kick out of seeing information released via the "Twitter Files." "He gets a kick out of seeing all this stuff come out on Twitter," Taibbi said on the podcast, referring to Musk. Taibbi is one of the journalists who released the "Twitter Files," which came about after Musk acquired the platform. As part of the Twitter Files, Taibbi has posted lengthy threads containing leaked internal emails, messages, and other information he found. Later that month, Musk accused "corporate journalism" of failing to side with the people over the "Twitter Files."

☆ Elon Musk slams 'corporate journalism' over its response to the Twitter Files: 'Why is it rushing to defend the state instead of the people?'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Elon Musk accused "corporate journalism" of failing to side with the people over the Twitter Files. Musk retweeted a Substack article that criticized CNN for a report that denied his accusations. Musk added: "Why is corporate journalism rushing to defend the state instead of the people?" FBI agents then sent emails to Twitter staff suggesting certain accounts be banned for spreading misinformation about issues such as election integrity, per the Twitter Files. But Musk and some freelance journalists are annoyed that the Twitter Files haven't received more support from the press.

☆ Tesla investors plead with Elon Musk to leave Twitter and refocus on the electric car company in 'a vote of no confidence in Elon'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Some high profile investors agreed Tesla's stock is down because Musk is distracted with Twitter. Musk is trying to get new investment for the platform, and just sold $3.6 billion in Tesla stock. "We all know why Tesla stock is down and it has nothing to do with the company," Gerber said. Both Gerber and Black suggested that Musk is selling Tesla stock to invest in Twitter, a company that Black noted "makes no money and probably never will." That should make a long-term stock investment like Tesla more intriguing to investors.

On Thursday, Twitter accounts for at least nine journalists and one left-leaning political pundit were suspended. That is the real problem here.”According to Musk, Thursday’s suspensions were related to new rules around sharing real-time location information, which he tied to an alleged stalking incident. Musk said, “Any account doxxing real-time location info of anyone will be suspended, as it is a physical safety violation. On Wednesday, Musk tweeted that legal action would be taken against Sweeney. Andrew Torba, founder of the far-right social platform Gab, also criticized Musk and touted his company as an alternative to Twitter.

☆ DeSantis' latest anti-COVID-19 vaccine push puts him on a collision course with Trump over the pandemic
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Kimberly Leonard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Ron DeSantis intensified his attacks on the COVID-19 vaccines on Tuesday, in a move that positions the Republican governor to contrast his pandemic record with that of former President Donald Trump. It's not clear whether Trump will lean into his success on the COVID-19 vaccine through his Operation Warp Speed program. Then-President Donald Trump with then-Florida governor candidate Ron DeSantis at a July 2018 “Make America Great Again” rally in Tampa, Florida. For instance, the FDA and CDC have cleared the bivalent booster for those as young as 6 months of age depending on what COVID-19 vaccine a person has previously had. The committee will issue guidance about COVID vaccines and other healthcare matters.

☆ Elon Musk has divided Silicon Valley friendships in the same way Donald Trump divided American families, according to former Facebook executive
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Tom Dotan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Musk's fans and critics in Silicon Valley find it increasingly hard to get along, according to Alex Stamos, Facebook's former CISO. Stamos, who helped oversee content moderation at Facebook during the turbulent post-2016 election period, compared the situation to Donald Trump's divisiveness. "There's a scary impulse in the valley right now [to defend Musk]," Stamos said. "The fact that he has become this pied piper for otherwise serious people...it feels in Silicon Valley like after Trump was elected and families got a little riven." Stamos also predicted that as the Musk-Twitter experiment continues to unravel, Musk's Silicon Valley supporters will recant their position if his free-for-all approach results in real-world consequences.

☆ The real revelation from the ‘Twitter Files’: Content moderation is messy
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The releases so far have focused on some of the social media company’s most high-profile, and controversial, content moderation decisions. The Twitter Files reports appear aimed at calling into question the integrity of Twitter’s former leadership and riling up the right-leaning user base that new owner Elon Musk has increasingly courted. But outside of Musk’s core base, reaction to the Twitter Files, which provide little new insight into the company’s policy and decision-making, has been largely muted. The “Twitter Files” threads appear to have been written “with a very clear agenda,” the former executive said. Still, the Twitter Files reports show just how many of the company’s employees and teams were involved in the deliberations over difficult content decisions.

☆ Jack Dorsey apologizes for his Twitter moderation choices, saying he did the 'wrong thing for the internet and society' despite calling his decisions the 'right thing' at the time
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | Hannah Getahun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Dorsey condemned attacks on his former colleagues and laid out his thoughts for the future of social media. As CEO, Dorsey said he led Twitter to do the "wrong thing for the internet and society." When he co-founded Twitter in 2006, Dorsey's approach to content moderation was seen as pro-free speech and the company "had to be dragged" into content moderation, J.M. Berger, a researcher on extremism on social media like Twitter, told Insider. Dorsey, Musk, and representatives for Twitter did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.

☆ Elon Musk smeared Twitter's former head of trust and safety by baselessly claiming he supports child sexualization
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Sawdah Bhaimiya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Elon Musk falsely claimed that Twitter's ex-safety head supports the sexualization of children. Musk posted an excerpt from Yoel Roth's PhD thesis about "Gay Data" and misconstrued it. In the excerpt Musk posted, Roth advocated for social platforms like Grindr to become safe spaces for queer youth under the age of 18. Roth was the most senior member of Twitter's trust and safety team after executive Vijaya Gadde was fired by Musk on his first day as CEO. Musk then insinuated that executives including Roth were making "controversial decisions," often "without getting Jack's [Dorsey] approval."

☆ Newsletter writer Matt Taibbi got access to Twitter's internal systems like Slack as Elon Musk continues his 'Twitter Files' campaign
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Twitter CEO Elon Musk gave newsletter writer Matt Taibbi access to internal company tools. Taibbi is part of Musk's release of internal content moderation decisions dubbed "Twitter Files." Conservative commentator Bari Weiss was previously given access to company systems. Newsletter writer Matt Taibbi now has access to internal Twitter systems amid CEO Elon Musk's continued release of the "Twitter Files," or internal information about the company's past content moderation decisions. Last weekend, Taibbi was the first to begin tweeting about what Musk dubbed the "Twitter Files."

☆ Elon Musk said Twitter will start showing users how many people have seen their tweets, and got Jack Dorsey's approval
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Sawdah Bhaimiya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Elon Musk tweeted that Twitter will introduce a new feature showing "view count" on tweets, soon. Musk says he wants to improve transparency around so-called "shadow banning" on the site. Musk tweeted: "Tweets will show view count in a few weeks, just like videos do. Musk was responding to a thread discussing the issue of shadow banning on Twitter. Musk tweeted later that the group often made controversial decisions "without getting Jack's approval," who has "a pure heart imo."

☆ Elon Musk says a controversial new feature is coming to Twitter
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Last month, Musk said Twitter’s “new” policy is “freedom of speech, not freedom of reach,” echoing an approach that is something of an industry standard. Musk on Friday shared Weiss’ thread in a tweet and added, “The Twitter Files, Part Duex! The release of internal documents from Twitter’s prior leadership comes as Musk attempts to reshape the platform in his image. But Musk has also said he doesn’t want Twitter to “become a free-for-all hellscape” and plans to moderate content in a way that appears largely consistent with Twitter’s prior policies. “Freedom of speech,” the blog post stated, “not freedom of reach.”

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