Thread by @Okwonga

In future Sky cannot platform these liars. US democracy, already long corroded, is in such a dangerous place at the moment.

https://twitter.com/nadinebh_/status/1326215616693407746

I worry that the debate culture in which so many journalists were raised - where a smart line or argument demolishes the opposition’s case - has made them uniquely vulnerable to this political moment. You can’t beat these people in debate. The platform itself is their victory.

When it comes to anti-democratic actors, sunlight is rarely if ever disinfectant. Sunlight is what they crave. Debate didn’t reduce the effectiveness of online extremists. Removing their platforms did. But of course the biggest profits come from politics as spectacle.

We are on the brink of ecological collapse because for decades we allowed people to sit in TV studios and lie that we weren’t destroying our climate. We allowed people to deny hard and terrifying fact in the guise of “debate”. It’s actually horrific when you think about it.

If I had any say in it, I would invest huge amounts in investigative journalism, and protect it as a public good. It’s an essential non-profit. If I had a large sum of money that would be my first priority.

Investigative journalism is everything. It sets the agenda for where we go next. That’s why so many reporters have been getting murdered of late. They are too good at what they do and are getting too little protection while they do it. theguardian.com/world/2017/oct…

Here is the logical outcome of “debate culture”, where *everything* has to have two sides; where for decades well-paid lobbyists and radio hosts sat in studios and scoffed at those climate scientists and activists who were trying to save us.

https://twitter.com/ozm/status/1326925367601471493