1. A new @NewYorker article about Substack suggests that the subscription newsletter model "might not be in the collective interest" because it's not possible to "hold powerful people and institutions to account" via a newsletter.
@NewYorker 2. Today, I published a year in review of the reporting in my newsletter, Popular Information, which is dedicated to accountability journalism.
I think @tesszeeks and I were able to get some stuff done.
3. In March, as the COVID took hold, we published an expose on how Darden, parent of Olive Garden, was endangering staff & customers by not providing paid sick leave
Within 24 hrs, the company announced it would provide paid sick leave for all employees
5. Popular Information identified 3 companies – Abbott Labs, Comcast, & Verizon – that publicly expressed a commitment to the BLM movement, yet were paying thousands to Matt Schlapp, a lobbyist who routinely attacked BLM
6. Popular Information exposed a network of racist and violent Facebook pages that were systematically distributing content from The Daily Wire, a right-wing website founded by Ben Shapiro.
7. In a joint investigation with @emorwee (HEATED), Popular Information revealed that Facebook exempted an “opinion” piece published in the Washington Examiner promoting climate misinformation from fact-checking
8. I have a bunch more examples in my year-in-review.
But the larger point is while an independent newsletter has some DISADVANTAGES compared to large media orgs in holding power to account it also has some significant ADVANTAGES
First, no advertising. Popular Information is not financially dependent on the corps we cover in any way
That's a benefit. There isn't the psychological impact of having "FACEBOOK SUPPORTS UPDATED INTERNET REGULATIONS" plastered across every article
10. Second, independent newsletters aren't owned by billionaires. I'm not saying billionaire-owned publications can't do good work, but it's useful to have some places that aren't owned by billionaires as well
11. Are subscription newsletters on Substack and elsewhere the ANSWER to the issues with journalism?
No.
Can every journalist succeed with a newsletter?
Also no.
But I believe newsletters can play a useful role in holding the powerful accountable.
12. If you are interested in the kind of reporting I did this year, I will be doing more next year.
I've also made the publication completely FREE during the pandemic and it will stay that way until the pandemic ends
@KLoeffler@sendavidperdue 2. In 2017, Zieve was sued by Washington State for discriminating against minority applicants and imposing his racist views on his employees.
3. The case describes Zieve's outrageous conduct. Zieve allegedly screened applicants by race, hired a nearly all-white staff, and offered employees a $1000 bonus for getting married and another $1000 bonus for having children.
I also know from employees that it is being raised internally.
They've already decided that previous versions of THE EXACT SAME AD violate its rules.
So there is no reason for delay.
3. According to Facebook's own metrics, these ads, which should never have been approved, have already reached hundreds of thousands of Georgia voters.
1. I wish I didn't have to do this but this is going to be a new thread about how Facebook is STILL permitting Republican Super PACs to REPEATEDLY VIOLATE FACEBOOK'S RULES and run ads with false attacks on Raphael Warnock.
Follow along if interested.
2. The story began on December 17, after Facebook begins allowing political ads in Georgia.
American Crossroads, a Super PAC run by Karl Rove and financed by Mitch McConnell, starts running a brutally dishonest ad against Raphael Warnock
3. The American Crossroads ad tells Georgia voters on Facebook that Warnock said "God Damn America."
As if he was expressing his own views.
But he wasn't. He was quoting Jerimiah Wright in a speech he delivered on 7/11/13.
3. I made calls and spoke to several people who worked there.
"Decisions are made to benefit Republicans because they are paranoid about their reputation among conservative Republicans, particularly Trump," one former Facebook DC employee told me