Big Brother WaPo Now?


Article in The New Republic by Michael Tomasky, 11/3/25

Headline:  “The Washington Post Has Become Right-Wing Even Faster Than I Thought”

Subhead:  “It’s not going to happen. It’s happening: The mainstream media is becoming right-wing. What are wealthy liberals going to do about it?”

“I almost wrote a column about The Washington Post’s new but increasingly clear editorial slant last week after I read the editorial headlined ‘In defense of the White House ballroom.‘ That’s the kind of headline, opening with ‘in defense of,’ that might be tongue-in-cheek; a bit catty. But no, it was a dull, moronic, straightforward defense of the president of the United States crushing to dust one-third of a building of singular historic importance that is owned by the American people, and doing so while not merely ignoring but saying a colossal fuck you to the rules and procedures that normally govern such changes. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://newrepublic.com/article/202581/washington-post-right-wing-bezos

Loony-Bin Reporting?


Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Aida Alami, 11/3/25

Headline:  “Twin Assaults on Press Freedom”

Subhead:  “The ICE detention of Sami Hamdi closely follows the deportation of Mario Guevara.”

“Hamdi’s arrest was first announced by Laura Loomer, the far-right anti-Muslim troll with close ties to the Trump administration, via a triumphant post on X with the word ‘SCOOP’ and a siren emoji: ‘As a direct result of Amy [Mekelburg]’s report and my relentless pressure on the State Department and Department of Homeland Security, US officials have now moved to take action against Hamdi’s visa status and his continued presence in this country’. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/the_media_today/twin-assaults-press-freedom-sami-hamdi-ice-abduction-loomer-amy-mek-dhs.php

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Article in The Washington Post by By Scott Nover and Drew Harwell, 11/3/25

Headline:  “Laura Loomer is now credentialed to cover the Pentagon”

Subhead:  “The far-right activist and former congressional candidate has repeatedly criticized defense officials on her website and social media accounts while boasting of her close ties to President Donald Trump.”

“Laura Loomer, the far-right political activist and former congressional candidate in Florida, has been credentialed to cover the Defense Department, according to one person familiar with the matter, joining a new cohort of right-wing media that have agreed to the Pentagon’s new press policy. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/11/03/laura-loomer-pentagon-credentials/

Entertaining Propaganda?


Article in The Atlantic by Anne Applebaum, 10/27/25

Headline:  “The Pentagon’s Version of Regime Propaganda”

Subhead:  “The Trump administration is trying to muddle reality—and create apathy.”

“When you imagine media in a dictatorship, you probably think of something dull and gray. Maybe a Soviet state-television program, extolling the annual harvest. Perhaps a smudgy newspaper photograph of Chairman Mao or General Pinochet, surrounded by blocks of turgid prose.

“But if that is your mental picture, then your imagination is out of date. Nowadays, authoritarian propaganda can be varied, colorful, even mesmerizing. . .”

“For the first time in our history, the Department of Defense has been carefully preparing to offer Americans something similar: not information but entertainment, scandal, sycophancy, and jokes. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2025/10/pentagon-press-restrictions-new-media-propaganda/684706/

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Article in Media Matters by Matt Gertz, 10/27/25

Headline:  “Pete Hegseth is replacing the Pentagon press corps with MAGA propagandists”

“Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is stifling the Pentagon’s channels for public information and cutting off avenues for accountability as U.S. forces deploy on missions of dubious legality that are fraught with potential danger. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/pete-hegseth/pete-hegseth-replacing-pentagon-press-corps-maga-propagandists

Don’t Look in the Media-Mirror!

Article in Comic Sands by Amelia Mavis Christnot, 10/23/25

Headline:  Fox News Host’s Gripe About The ‘Slobbering Media’ Is An Awkward Self-Own For The Ages”

Subhead:  “Greg Gutfeld called out the ‘allied slobbering media’ while criticizing former White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre’s new book—and the hypocrisy is off the charts. . .”

“Gutfeld, a well-documented media minion for MAGA Republican President Donald Trump, made the hypocrisy of his gripes evident by including effusive, over-the-top praise of Trump as part of his indictment of the media coverage of President Biden. . .”

“Gutfeld, apparently unaware of his own network’s programming or reality, claimed:

” ‘Who is the most successful politician this century? Donald Trump, with 98% of the media against him.’

” ‘Then you look at the KJPs, you look at the Joe Bidens, you look at the Kamala Harrises. They are all abject, pathetic figures. They’re failures, and they had the media on their side. They failed.’

” ‘What does that tell you? An allied slobbering media does you no favors. It leaves you as an incompetent, arrogant, entitled fool’. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.comicsands.com/greg-gutfeld-slobbering-media

Propaganda Journalists Selected


Article in The Guardian by Eric Berger, 10/22/25

Headline:  “Pentagon names new press corps from far-right outlets after reporter walkout”

Subhead:  “Spokesperson calls journalists who refused to agree to new rules ‘self-righteous media who chose to self-deport’”

“After the recent departure of Pentagon reporters due to their refusal to agree to a new set of restrictive policies, the defense department has announced a “next generation of the Pentagon press corps” featuring 60 journalists from far-right outlets, many of which have promoted conspiracy theories. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/22/pentagon-press-corps

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Article in Daily Kos by Oliver Willis, 10/22/25

Headline:  “Pentagon’s new press corps is the stuff of nightmares”

“The Trump administration announced Wednesday that a group of far-right media outlets have been given press access to the Pentagon. . .”

“The Pentagon’s new right-wing press corps is beyond ill-equipped to handle independent reporting. But when it comes to producing stories that get Hegseth’s approval, it’ll pass with flying colors.”

Read the full article at:

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/10/22/2349917/-Pentagon-s-new-press-corps-is-the-stuff-of-nightmares?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=top_news_slot_1&pm_medium=web

His Enemy, The Media


Article in Reporters Without Borders by Partager, 10/18/25

Headline:  “Elon Musk attacks the media nearly three times per day on X”

Subhead:  “As the third anniversary of Twitter’s takeover by Elon Musk approaches — the social media platform was purchased on 28 October 2022 and renamed X — Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is releasing the findings from its analysis of the tech billionaire’s X. .”

” ‘The New York Times is pure propaganda.’ ‘Legacy media lies.’ ‘You are the media now.’ These are just a few examples of the anti-press rhetoric found in the 1,017 posts from Elon Musk’s X account — which has over 227 million followers — that RSF analysed, which comes to an average of nearly three attacks on the media per day. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://rsf.org/en/elon-musk-attacks-media-nearly-three-times-day-x

Satanic Demons & Media?


Article in Media Matters by Payton Armstrong & Noah Dowe, 10/16/25

Headline:  “Calling their opponents ‘demonic,’ some right-leaning online shows are embracing ‘spiritual warfare’ rhetoric”

Subhead:  “Online figures and podcasters have warned of a ‘satanic world order’ and called on their audiences to ‘fight these demons in culture if we’re going to win politically’ ‘demonic.’ ”

“Some right-wing and right-leaning podcasters have embraced the extreme rhetoric of ‘spiritual warfare’ against their political opponents, accusing political and cultural figures they disagree with of harboring a ‘demonic’ ideology.”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/steve-bannon/calling-their-opponents-demonic-some-right-leaning-online-shows-are-embracing

Unhealthy Media Claim


Article in Media Matters by Zachary Pleat & Craig Harrington, 10/14/25

Headline:  “Right-wing media falsely claim benefits go to undocumented immigrants as millions of Americans face health coverage losses”

Subhead:  “Right-wing media join the Trump administration’s campaign to dismantle American health care system”

“. . .Right-wing media responded to Democrats’ demands by falsely claiming that the health care coverage losses Democrats are trying to reverse are actually benefits that will illegally go to undocumented immigrants.

“To this end, right-wing media are conflating lawfully present immigrants, who can qualify for some health benefits, with undocumented immigrants, who cannot. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/health-care/right-wing-media-falsely-claim-benefits-go-undocumented-immigrants-millions-americans

Mental Media Malpractice?


Article in AlterNet by Adam Lynch, 10/9/25

Headline:  ” ‘The right is in deep trouble’: Expert says far-right media ‘promotes mental degeneration’ “

“UnHerd Editor Sohrab Ahmari tells the Washington Post that the ravings of the right-wing media’s pundit class have lately gotten even crazier.

“ ‘Much of right-wing media now resembles star-child radio: a vast chamber of oft-malignant fantasies, where even once-reasonable minds go to get euthanized,’ said Ahmari. ‘Each flick of the feed pulls up a paranoia-monger more wild-eyed than the previous, warning about the evil machinations of all-powerful … apparitions of their fever dreams’. . . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.alternet.org/right-wing-media-mental/

Future of CBS News?

Article in Democracy Now! by Amy Goodman, 10/9/25

Headline:  “Bari Weiss to Head CBS News as Pro-Trump, Pro-Israel Billionaire Ellison Family Expands Media Emire”

“We speak to journalist David Klion about the Trump-affiliated right wing’s increasing grip on mainstream news media, as “anti-woke” pundit Bari Weiss takes the helm as the new editor-in-chief of CBS News. The former New York Times opinion writer . . .in reality has a 20-year history of suppressing speech that she finds objectionable. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.democracynow.org/2025/10/8/bari_weiss_david_klion_cbs_paramount

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Article in Status by Oliver Darcy, 10/9/25

Headline: “The Weiss House”

“As Bari Weiss settles into CBS News, she’s moving fast – taking anchors to lunch, phoning potential hires, and plotting a new “Evening News” with names like Norah O’Donnell and Tony Dokoupil in the mix. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.status.news/p/bari-weiss-cbs-news-evening-news

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Article in The Guardian by Jeremy Barr, 10/7/25

Headline: CBS News staffers react to Bari Weiss being named editor-in-chief: ‘It’s utterly depressing’ “

Subhead:  “Six network employees expressed a mix of emotions over the appointment in conversations with the Guardian”

“. . .In conversations with The Guardian, six current network employees who were not authorized to comment publicly expressed a mixture of apprehension, skepticism and frustration . . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2025/oct/07/cbs-news-staffers-react-bari-weiss-appointment

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Article in The Verge by Elizabeth Lopatto, 10/7/25

Headline:  “Memo to Bari Weiss Re: CBS News: You’re doomed”

“. . .No one can save CBS News, because it was made for a media ecosystem that is now dead. Broadcast television is slowly circling the drain, its aging audience drifting toward the great inevitable. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theverge.com/business/793525/bari-weiss-cbs-news-glass-cliff

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Article in Poynter by Tom Jones, 10/7/25

Headline:  “Opinion | What will Bari Weiss do as head of CBS News? Her past may offer clues.”

Subhead:  “Weiss promises courage and truth at CBS News. Her track record running The Free Press shows what that might look like.”

“. . .The acquisition puts one of the country’s most traditional news institutions — the former home of Edward R. Murrow and Walter Cronkite — under the editorial guidance of a journalist who rose to fame in part by critiquing old-line media. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theverge.com/business/793525/bari-weiss-cbs-news-glass-cliff