According to this dude, fake news isn't fake news if it's fake news that works for you. That's why he's gathering dung, placing it in a blender, adding some ice and serving it cold.
I can only hope someone higher up in the Democratic party takes notice and can up their game. As Reed Galen of The Lincoln Project told the Democratic Women of South Orange County at their Nov 2024 meeting the dems need to
Organize more
Listen more
Contest all races
Media is shattered
We need to be loud & ugly like Rs. No more kumbayah
We need to understand who we’re talking to. Messaging must reflect the Who needs to hear the message?
Messaging must be about what party stands for. See what they need
They operate in the culture. Go to quincinerras etc
Don’t worry about offending people
TALK TO MORE PEOPLE!! How: need other than door knocking. Not effective. Need Phone, radio. Something that allows us to communicate better. Coffee is a good example
Negative advertising works!! We need to do it to win
Yes! And now! Not before midterms or leading up to primaries and general elections. Right freaking now. There are 90 million people to turn into voters!
As an educator I am 100% opposed to trying to out-lie the liars. To paraphrase the New Testament, the liars you will always have with you. Let’s not add to the murk.
Instead, LISTEN and TALK to people. That includes telling them how they can identify potentially false claims:
—-Jeff mentions bylines, which is one clue. Who wrote/recorded the claim? What organization does the originator represent? If you can’t even identify those two things, it is automatically garbage.
—-Where did the author get the information? Where else is it documented? Is it too extreme to be true? Does it make sense? These are indicators of POTENTIALLY false reporting.
There is more but these are the best starting points.
Such a depressing and cynical way to earn a living. And being married to the great-granddaughter of Chief Justice Earl Warren makes it even sadder! Think of the good he could do if he had just followed the right path.
It is a bit disappointing to hear 1) you suggest only the right wing is using these tactics. You compare Avetoom's tactics to letter campaigns, but that's a slight false equivalence because as you outline- Avetoom is not grassroots, but a paid political actor. The Left, Right, and Center all have these. They also all have grassroots people writing letters. And 2) the answer is to use these tactics more? Weirdly aligns with Matt Walsh's sentiment of "they don't play fair, neither should we," and I sit back like, "am I the only one who sees the spiral??" All that said, I appreciate the article and the links backing up your coverage! At the end of the day, knowing who the actors are is integral to calling them out, and my hope is new - real - news sites will spring up that gain support not through vitriol but through good journalism. Like this substack. Please don't fall into being jaded, we need people who do this kind of work.
I think the tax tactic of creating an online newspaper is fine. But lying is not fine. The only way democracy thrives is in transparency. There is enough REAL terrible bullshit they are pulling that you could write truthful, compelling headlines.
I can only hope someone higher up in the Democratic party takes notice and can up their game. As Reed Galen of The Lincoln Project told the Democratic Women of South Orange County at their Nov 2024 meeting the dems need to
Organize more
Listen more
Contest all races
Media is shattered
We need to be loud & ugly like Rs. No more kumbayah
We need to understand who we’re talking to. Messaging must reflect the Who needs to hear the message?
Messaging must be about what party stands for. See what they need
They operate in the culture. Go to quincinerras etc
Don’t worry about offending people
TALK TO MORE PEOPLE!! How: need other than door knocking. Not effective. Need Phone, radio. Something that allows us to communicate better. Coffee is a good example
Negative advertising works!! We need to do it to win
Being dominant is important
Yes! And now! Not before midterms or leading up to primaries and general elections. Right freaking now. There are 90 million people to turn into voters!
As an educator I am 100% opposed to trying to out-lie the liars. To paraphrase the New Testament, the liars you will always have with you. Let’s not add to the murk.
Instead, LISTEN and TALK to people. That includes telling them how they can identify potentially false claims:
—-Jeff mentions bylines, which is one clue. Who wrote/recorded the claim? What organization does the originator represent? If you can’t even identify those two things, it is automatically garbage.
—-Where did the author get the information? Where else is it documented? Is it too extreme to be true? Does it make sense? These are indicators of POTENTIALLY false reporting.
There is more but these are the best starting points.
Such a depressing and cynical way to earn a living. And being married to the great-granddaughter of Chief Justice Earl Warren makes it even sadder! Think of the good he could do if he had just followed the right path.
It is a bit disappointing to hear 1) you suggest only the right wing is using these tactics. You compare Avetoom's tactics to letter campaigns, but that's a slight false equivalence because as you outline- Avetoom is not grassroots, but a paid political actor. The Left, Right, and Center all have these. They also all have grassroots people writing letters. And 2) the answer is to use these tactics more? Weirdly aligns with Matt Walsh's sentiment of "they don't play fair, neither should we," and I sit back like, "am I the only one who sees the spiral??" All that said, I appreciate the article and the links backing up your coverage! At the end of the day, knowing who the actors are is integral to calling them out, and my hope is new - real - news sites will spring up that gain support not through vitriol but through good journalism. Like this substack. Please don't fall into being jaded, we need people who do this kind of work.
I think the tax tactic of creating an online newspaper is fine. But lying is not fine. The only way democracy thrives is in transparency. There is enough REAL terrible bullshit they are pulling that you could write truthful, compelling headlines.