Name: Journalists Attack the Powerless, Then Self-Victimize to Bar Criticisms of Themselves
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Journalists Attack the Powerless, Then Self-Victimize to Bar Criticisms of Themselves

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SubscribeSign inShare this postJournalists Attack the Powerless, Then Self-Victimize to Bar Criticisms of Themselvesgreenwald.substack.comCopy linkTwitterFacebookEmailMar 29, 2021Share this postJournalists Attack the Powerless, Then Self-Victimize to Bar Criticisms of Themselvesgreenwald.substack.comCopy linkTwitterFacebookEmailThe daily newspaper USA TodayThe New York TimesThe Washington PostThe Wall Street JournalIn other words, the only purpose of the article — headlined: “Insurrection fundraiser: Capitol riot extremists, Trump supporters raise money for lawyer bills online” — was to pressure and shame tech companies to do more to block these criminal defendants from being able to raise funds for their legal fees, and to tattle to tech companies by showing them what techniques these indigent defendants are using to raise money online. USA TodayAs of Wednesday afternoon, the Biggs fundraiser was listed as having received&nbsp;$52,201. Pezzola had received $730. Biggs' campaign&nbsp;disappeared from the site shortly after USA TODAY inquired about it….Friday, a USA TODAY reporter donated to Pezzola's fundraiser using Stripe.&nbsp;Stripe told USA TODAY it does not comment on&nbsp;individual users. A&nbsp;USA TODAY reporter was able to make a $1 donation to Pezzola's fundraiser using Venmo, a payment app owned by PayPal. After being alerted by USA TODAY, Venmo removed the account.&nbsp;Soon a PayPal account took its place. PayPal caught that and removed it, too.&nbsp;The Washington PostWashington PostThe PostUSA Todayanything other thanCNNHuffPostThe Daily BeastMy principal critique of the contemporary media posture — and my governing view of the real purpose of journalism — is summarized by this:depict themselves as the real marginalized peopleThis new journalistic tacticapplying it to themselvesThe New York Timeswho criticized her journalism for the Paper of Record —What these journalists are doing is as transparent as it is tawdry. They insist that you not treat them as what they are: people who wield extreme power and influence to shape political discourse, widely disseminate disinformation, wreck people’s reputations, expose the identity of private citizens, and propagandize the public. No, increasingly they are demanding that you treat them as exactly the opposite: the most marginalized, vulnerable, endangered and fragile members of society whose standing is so tenuous that publicly criticizing them should be barred as an act of violence, and those expressing critiques of their work must be consequently shunned as harassers and abusers.CNNin dangerThe New York TimesAnd just like that, the real victims in America are not the jobless or the homeless or residents of addiction-ravaged communities or victims of violent crime but, instead, the rich, famous TV personalities for CNN. This is the fictitious melodrama — with themselves cast as the stars — that they are demanding you ingest to treat them with deference and respect.isUSA TodayMy criticism of Carless, a white straight male listed last on the byline, attracted no criticism for some reason. But my criticism of Smith, the lead reporter, caused such an explosion of indignation and rage from the corporate media class that it caused my name to trend on Twitter (yet again) as a dastardly online villain: that’s how grave my moral transgression was.What was my moral offense here? According to these media mavens and the self-serving, manipulative framework they are trying to implant, I did not voice criticisms of a piece of journalism in one of the most influential newspapers in the country. Instead — in their hands — they converted it, just as they did with criticisms of Lorenz, into a narrative in which I bullied a poor, fragile, young lady who is too weak and too vulnerable to handle public critique. Bellingcat The New York Times — USA TodaytheyUSA TodayJournalists with these outlets wield immense power and influence. These are not the voiceless, marginalized, powerless people in society. They’re the ones who attack, expose and ruin marginalized people if they dare express political views of which these journalists disapprove.It is not just morally repugnant but quite dangerous for them to try to place themselves off limits from criticism this way. The whole point of journalism — the reason why a free press is vital — is because it is the only way to hold accountable powerful institutions and powerful actors. Corporate media outlets and those they employ as reporters are among the most powerful and influential actors in society and, as such, are completely fair game for criticisms, protests, and denunciations.What they are trying to do by exploiting the language of oppression and marginalization to cast themselves as vulnerable victims who cannot be criticized is despicable. It deserves nothing but contempt. That is precisely why I intend to heap scorn on it every time they try it, precisely because these in-group, swarming corporate journalists are the real bullies, trying to stigmatize and destroy the reputations of ordinary citizens who commit the crime of criticizing their journalism or expressing political opinions they want banished. trying to prevent them from raising needed money for a legal defenseThis lowly tactic will succeed only if people are cowed and intimidated by it. It will fail, as it should, if people ignore it and treat them like any other power centers by freely expressing the criticisms you think their journalism merits regardless of what names they call you as a result. 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SubscribeSign inShare this postJournalists Attack the Powerless, Then Self-Victimize to Bar Criticisms of Themselvesgreenwald.substack.comCopy linkTwitterFacebookEmailMar 29, 2021Share this postJournalists Attack the Powerless, Then Self-Victimize to Bar Criticisms of Themselvesgreenwald.substack.comCopy linkTwitterFacebookEmailThe daily newspaper USA TodayThe New York TimesThe Washington PostThe Wall Street JournalIn other words, the only purpose of the article — headlined: “Insurrection fundraiser: Capitol riot extremists, Trump supporters raise money for lawyer bills online” — was to...

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Glenn Greenwald is one of three co-founding editors of The Intercept. He is a journalist, constitutional lawyer, and author of four New York Times best-selling books on politics and law. His most recent book, “No Place to Hide,” is about the U.S. surveillance state and his experiences reporting on the Snowden documents around the world. Prior to co-founding The Intercept, Glenn’s column was featured in the Guardian and Salon. He was the debut winner, along with Amy Goodman, of the Park Center I.F. Stone Award for Independent Journalism in 2008, and also received the 2010 Online Journalism Award for his investigative work on the abusive detention conditions of Chelsea Manning. For his 2013 NSA reporting, he received the George Polk Award for National Security Reporting; the Gannett Foundation Award for investigative journalism and the Gannett Foundation Watchdog Journalism Award; the Esso Premio for Excellence in Investigative Reporting in Brazil (he was the first non-Brazilian to win), and the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s Pioneer Award. Along with Laura Poitras, Foreign Policy magazine named him one of the top 100 Global Thinkers for 2013. The NSA reporting he led for the Guardian was awarded the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for public service.

https://theintercept.com/staff/glenn-greenwald/

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Journalists Attack the Powerless, Then Self-Victimize to Bar Criticisms of Themselves

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