@mmasnick I sure miss that guy around here @mehdihasan 👀 #mastodon

@mmasnick
It was just flimsy all around. It's more noteworthy that it lasted this long.

@mmasnick
Taibbi can't back down without completely ruining his brand here. His choices are to admit that he was duped into parroting a billionaire's propaganda, or that he knew that it was propaganda and deliberately supported the narrative.

And in fact being attacked by MSNBC builds his brand. Once again, the MSM itself is in league with The Man to keep people from discovering The Truth. I'm just waiting for him to guest on Tucker Carlson very soon...

@mmasnick yet, despite his complete failure, Taibbi is a model of truth and diligent research compared to Shellenberger. His Twitter feed is a mix of global conspiracy theories (WEF makes frequent appearances), claims without evidence, and paranoid delusions stemming from his overblown ego. His involvement alone in the #TwitterFiles should permanently discredit the entire endeavor.

@mmasnick Thanks for writing this. As someone who admired Taibbi's writings during the financial crisis of 2008, I'm starting to question whether he used similarly dishonest methods back then too.

@mmasnick I’m deeply disappointed that neither of them drew attention to the (inadvertent?) humour of responding to the reporting of dick pics with “handled”.

@mmasnick Mehdi is a badass!

@mmasnick Thank you for this. I tried watching the video, but Taibbi is such a smug, unlikable ass that I couldn't get through much.

@mmasnick ive never seen someone more disingenuous and tainted than taibbi is. I've also never seen someone absolutely obliviated and exposed in an on-air interview. Just wow. God bless Medhi. 🙏

@mmasnick I really want to create a sankey diagram showing the flow of tweets considered -> reported -> dispositions for this report.

@mmasnick The consistency of Taibbi from Giant Vampire Squid to today, is in it's divisiveness, right? And for those taking notes, who wants this? Putin
Who was there after the fall of the wall putting himself in positions to be kompromised (and writing about it, ie underage women, etc...)?
So if any Muskovites want a conspiracy to follow, there's a good starting place!

@mmasnick "Hasan notes that Taibbi falsely turned the non-profit Center for Internet Security (CIS) into the government agency the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).", https://www.techdirt.com/2023/04/07/mehdi-hasan-dismantles-the-entire-foundation-of-the-twitter-files-as-matt-taibbi-stumbles-to-defend-it/

@mmasnick oh yeah this reminded me to finish watching that segment

@mmasnick " It’s less than a Potemkin village. There isn’t even a façade. This is the Emperor’s New Clothes for a modern era. "

In other words, its bullshit. Intentional fabrication with no regard for the truth value.

Or perhaps just even simpler: red-pill propaganda.

@mmasnick
There was too much talking over each other in that interview...which is/was unfortunate because it seems like Taibbi would noose himself if the facts were just laid out in front of him and him be allowed to try and rationalize all of his (and Elmo's) bullshit. The more he's faced with the facts of his relationship with Elmo (in public) the more he looks like a lapdog to Elmo...and only the most ardent Cult45 members can continue to defend both their actions...

@mmasnick It's really striking to read the details of what Taibbi fucked up while thinking back to how he and his ilk footstomped on their way to Substack about how much their reporting would benefit from not being hampered by editors and fact-checkers.

@mmasnick MT is such a disappointment. He has list all credibility.

@mmasnick I mean I get that there's a pipeline between "lauded figure" -> "exposure as a sexual harasser/predator" -> "conservative for pay" but I don't get how he could be as incompetent and incapable in that interview, unless the books he wrote, had VERY VERY VERY good editors...

It was a pleasure to watch.

Actually when I think about #MSNBC on air talent, it's just so much better than any other "news" network. They are all there because of their brilliance and tenacity, instead of their looks or charisma.

I start every day with #JoyReid highlights, #RachelMaddow if she was on, and #AriMelber and #ChrisHayes and #StephanieRuhle they're all amazing in their own ways...