Drew Holden Profile picture
Sep 23, 2020 24 tweets 31 min read Read on X
The Kavanaugh hearing was a clarifying moment for countless conservatives because it revealed the depths to which the other side will sink in order to get power.

I don’t think most conservatives need a reminder, but in case you‘ve forgotten...

🧵Thread🧵
We saw how eager the media, Dems, and others were to push baseless claims to destroy someone without evidence.

They’ll make a monster out of you for clicks. That includes @thedailybeast, @NBCNews, @Newsweek, @KamalaHarris, among countless others. ImageImageImageImage
They’ll take unsubstantiated claims and level accusations against you as if they were already true. Elected officials, members of the media, thought leaders, and beyond would attack you from all sides.

@CoryBooker, @USATODAY, @greenhousenyt, @NYTimesCohen , @JaneMayerNYer ImageImageImageImage
Even the future Democratic Vice Presidential nominee would be involved. @KamalaHarris ImageImageImage
These attacks and general skepticism will only apply to you, of course. Your accuser will get only fawning coverage. Here’s @nytimes and one of their opinion columnists, @michelleinbklyn. ImageImage
They’ll amplify conspiracy theories and baseless accusations against you without making any pretense of vetting them first.

Here’s @NYMag, @HuffPost, @CNBC, and @ajplus (or don’t you remember the ‘fifth’ accuser?) ImageImageImageImage
And they’re happy to do it to the tune of a seedy snake oil salesman, a charlatan and a fraud.

When @MichaelAvenatti comes knocking with invented allegations, they won’t hesitate to run with them.

Here’s @politico, @voxdotcom and @TIME. ImageImageImage
You’ll see countless editorials, op-eds, thinkpieces and more where complete strangers assail your character in the strongest possible terms.

Here we’ve got @JillFilipovic, @JohnBrennan, @tedlieu and @CharlesMBlow, who called Kavanaugh a “lascivious predator” ImageImageImageImage
They’ll write “straight news” pieces that treat the situation as if the baseless claims have already been confirmed.

@RollingStone, @businessinsider, @AP, @nytimes ImageImageImageImage
Rather than have a shred of incredulity when the most ridiculous of allegations, pushed by an outright fraud, come to light, they buy the claims hook, line, and sinker.

@tribelaw, @JohnWDean, @DavidCayJ, @qz ImageImageImageImage
Hard to overstate how pervasive this phenomena was.

Here’s @CNBC’s White House reporter @christinawilkie running with the entire allegation. ImageImageImageImage
I needed an entire tweet to highlight @SethAbramson, who said of @MichaelAvenatti and his invented claims “the man plans to run for president; my gut tells me he doesn’t go public with these allegations unless he’s got some pretty compelling witnesses and evidence” ImageImageImageImage
Even their fact checkers will push unverified allegations that would eventually be referred for prosecution. Here’s @CNN’s @ddale8. ImageImage
The truth of it doesn’t matter at all. If it bleeds, it ledes.

Here we’ve got @GQMagazine, @nytimes, @VICE and @CNN ImageImageImageImage
Are you getting the picture, here?

@tedlieu, @tribelaw, @MSNBC, @CNN ImageImageImageImage
They’ll assassinate your character over the meaning of slang terms you used decades ago in high school.

Here we’ve got @BuzzFeedNews, @voxdotcom, @VICENews and @Slate. ImageImageImageImage
They’ll publicly crucify you for the crimes of others, or the crimes of a system. Here’s @voxdotcom ImageImage
And if you dare protest - if you push back with even a hint of frustration as you see your good name dragged through the mud - you’ll have that used as a mark against you, too. Here we have @JohnBrennan, @MSNBC, @MalcolmNance and @lithub. ImageImageImageImage
Really hard to overstate how frequent this line of criticism was.

I wonder if @NAACP, @NickKristof, @JoyAnnReid or @peterdaou could envision why someone would be angry for having their character picked apart on baseless claims? ImageImageImageImage
And then they’ll demand you complete yet another background check - after you’ve passed SIX of them - if you want any hope of convincing them.

Plenty of voices from the Senate got involved, including @RonWyden, @SenSchumer, @ChrisCoons and @SenSanders. ImageImageImageImage
And even if you make it through the entire ordeal, with your reputation forever sullied without evidence, they won’t stop.

Some of the most powerful people in the country will continue to heckle you and call for your head.

Here’s @ewarren doing just that. ImageImageImageImage
So, conservatives, my question to you is this:

Are these the people and institutions you think you can trust and count on? Are these the parties you think you can negotiate with on a new SCOTUS Justice? Are these your good faith partners?
Because I, for one, have had it. I’m not interested in another round of this bad faith insanity.

Put on your armor. Hold the line. Do your jobs.

#FillTheSeat
And my (unsolicited) advice to Dems (and the media): ignore the lessons of the Kavanaugh hearing at your own peril.

Nothing brought together the conservative coalition the way that it did.

But a remake of it with a new justice certainly will.

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More from @DrewHolden360

Apr 24
🧵THREAD🧵

Do you remember how bad the media’s “Covid lab leak” - the hypothesis that the virus came from a lab - coverage was?

I thought I did. But it was a more dramatic example of uniform media malpractice than even I remembered.

So I revisited it. Buckle in, it’s long. ⤵️
It started in Feb 2020 when @SenTomCotton suggested looking into the CCP lab studying bats near the initial cases in Wuhan.

The media were outraged. In a since-updated piece, @washingtonpost said the idea was a “conspiracy theory that has been repeatedly debunked by experts.”
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It wasn’t just WaPo. Shortly thereafter, @nytimes trotted out a similar allegation, calling the lab leak hypothesis a “fringe theory” and a “tale” designed to inflame social media.

@CNN’s @ChrisCillizza said Cotton was “playing a dangerous game” with his suggestions.

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Read 28 tweets
Apr 22
It's always interesting to me, the tweets outlets never bother to delete.
The reason I take screenshots is that I'm always paranoid that an outlet or journalist will scrap the evidence of a bad take. Maybe I should be giving folks more credit for standing by their inaccuracies.
Every so often I check back in on this, perhaps my all-time favorite headline from @NPR, only to see that it still exists in its original form, from April 2020. Image
Read 10 tweets
Apr 17
🧵Thread🧵

I launched a newsletter, called Holden Court, about the media, what they get wrong & why it matters. The goal is to reach beyond what my 🧵s have on Twitter & to build a better recent history of media & media criticism.

You can sign up at the link in my bio. More ⤵️
At that link you can read my launch piece and get a better idea of what it is that I’m trying to do.

The piece also walks through a recent example of bad media coverage that I worry we’re already forgetting about: the start of Covid. Image
My general premise for the newsletter is that media criticism could be a lot better; more driven by what the media actually does and says and more set in recent context, rather than an impressionistic sense that the media is hopelessly off-track.
Read 8 tweets
Apr 16
I’m launching something new, so naturally I figured the best explainer was a 🧵thread🧵.

Introducing Holden Court, my Substack about the media, what it gets wrong, and why it matters.

You probably know the drill, but more details & links to sign up in the tweets below. ⤵️ Image
Holden Court aims to unpack media failures, particularly when the media misses in unison on important political topics. But I’ll also have one-off content, Q&A opportunities, a mailbag and maybe virtual (or even in person) happy hours, too.

Sign up here: open.substack.com/pub/drewholden…
That doesn’t mean the threads are going away. But the amount of context and nuance I can capture in a thread is limited. So the Substack will (hopefully) provide that more robust analysis, aiming ultimately at *why* the media misses the way that it does.
Read 8 tweets
Mar 19
🧵THREAD🧵

“15 days to slow the spread” kicked off four years ago Saturday, sending the media into perhaps its most deranged cycle of my lifetime.

I dove back into some of the worst lockdown media coverage from those early days.

Buckle in, this one’s long. ⤵️
The real worst of the coverage was when states started reopening. The media outrage was palpable. Republicans wanted people to die, we were told.

Remember @TheAtlantic’s “Georgia’s Experiment in Human Sacrifice”? You may’ve forgotten how wild the text of it was. I did.
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But that wasn’t a one off sentiment. The belief four years ago among the media was that allowing people to leave their homes was tantamount to killing people.

@washingtonpost called it a “deadly error” — not in an opinion piece, mind you, but in a “health” news headline. Image
Read 23 tweets
Mar 12
🧵THREAD🧵

Another media conspiracy, this time that Trump attacked a Secret Service agent on Jan 6, imploded yesterday.

Remember when the media—in unison—reported the “bombshell” allegations as fact?

I do. And I’ve got screenshots.⤵️
You’re familiar with the story I suspect but just in case: when former aid Cassidy Hutchinson testified Trump had “lunged” for a secret service steering wheel on Jan. 6, the media rushed to print the salacious (& false) claims as true.

Here’s @NBCNews @CNN @ABC @washingtonpost


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Trump was allegedly going to drive himself to the Capitol to take part in the riot.

That’s what @CBSNews @Independent @NPR @NewsHour said.


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Read 18 tweets

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