that's it. streamer capitalism has gone too far. im a physical media convert starting today

The thread below:
- summarizes a magazine feature that probably took months to report
- screenshots huge swaths of the text
- never even links to it

Our dominant information platforms not only tolerate this kind of theft, they incentivize it. No wonder the media are struggling.

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Take the Blinders Off

A 🧵

Every year or so—often after a high-profile election—come the same columns I’ve read for years: “What’s Happened To Ohio?” or “What’s Wrong With Ohio?” or “Why Is Ohio No Longer a Bellwether State?”

1/

Confidence in 'the press' declines linearly with getting your news from social media.

Multi-causal, but one cause is online news commentary is overwhelmingly antagonistic (''they' are wrong, I am right'), so everybody likes their news, which tells them to distrust The News

It kind of sidesteps the central substantive question (perhaps wisely), but this Ben Smith piece is insightful and thoughtful – and, as a former nyt int'l correspondent, rings largely true to me semafor.com/article/03/03/…

'It took 10 years and three rounds of in vitro fertilization for Rania Abu Anza to become pregnant, and only seconds for her to lose her five-month-old twins'

Former US ambassador to Syria and Algeria, and he’s right

Airdropping aid to Gaza would be an absurd and embarrassing gimmick from an impotent administration that persistently refuses to enforce its own laws around military aid and utilize its considerable leverage over Israel. Just a profound policy failure axios.com/2024/02/28/bid…

Israeli troops fire on crowds seeking aid as Gaza officials say dozens killed on.ft.com/49TPq4O

all the discourse on the Michigan results is pretty sloppy. Biden and Trump are both effectively incumbents, and both are showing weakness in their primaries. Michigan was decided by 10k votes in 2016 and Biden probably can't win without it. 50k uncommitted dems tonight.

Twitter use is related to decreases in well-being + increases in sense of belonging, polarization, outrage, and boredom.

Doomscrolling was related to the drop in well-being, using it for entertainment was linked to the increase in polarization: nature.com/articles/s4427…

A fun episode of Offline this week:
1) Tina Nguyen on her escape from Tucker Carlson and conservative media
2) Max Fisher and I on why Jon Stewart's return is getting big ratings
3) Why I'm still dumb enough to treat this platform as a place for thoughtful debate

'Days later, on social media, Hamza posted a photograph of what he was eating that day: a ragged brown morsel, seared black on one side and flecked with grainy bits. 'This is the wondrous thing we call bread—a mixture of rabbit, donkey, and pigeon feed.'' newyorker.com/news/essay/my-…

More than twice the number of Palestinian refugees in 1948. More than twice, probably, number of homes destroyed in 1948. Three or four times the number of casualties. An unmitigated catastrophe that will cast a shadow for generations. What will it take to stop it?

Today Max Fisher and I cover:
-Biden's growing anger at Netanyahu & changing tone (but not policy) on Gaza as Israel prepare to invade Rafah
-Trump's attacks on NATO & fate of Ukraine funding
-Pakistan's shocking election result
& Ben intvs Andy Kim
crooked.com/podcast/trump-…

I'm changing insurance carriers and one of the questions they ask you now, along with stuff like 'do you play any dangerous sports' 'do you live in a flood zone', is 'do you have a large social media presence'

The insurance market is now pricing in a Posters Premium

?? The reason people know about these corporate abuses is because of reporting by the media. Just bc your favorite influencer repackaged that reporting for IG Reels without credit doesn’t mean it spontaneously sprang into existence.

'Crooked’s efforts in past cycles quietly became a sizable grassroots mobilization. The organization said it raised more than $55 million for candidates and causes since 2018 and pushed its listeners to fill over 211,000 volunteer shifts for campaigns and other groups.'…

Look somewhere there's an editor getting ready to commission a piece on hashtag Hillary Barbie, and I just want to say to that person: You don't need to. Sometimes it is better to simply stare into the void and see what looks back.

The UN reports that, contrary to public promises, the Israeli military radically increased its obstruction of aid to North Gaza. Even after they clear all inspection and rerouting demands, Israel now bans more than two out of three aid convoys. ochaopt.org/content/humani… by @OCHAopt