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Judd Legum Profile picture
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11 Oct, 10 tweets, 6 min read
1. Brands are being promised ad placement in "trusted spaces for quality conversations that move our society forward"

Their ads end up on @realDailyWire, alongside conspiracy theories about COVID vaccines and anti-trans diatribes

Here is how it works

popular.info/p/how-brands-a…
@realDailyWire 2. The ad tech industry has wrecked the information ecosystem, allowing sites to easily monetize disinformation and hate

@OpenWebHQ, a venture-backed company that has raised $72 million, was supposed to be a SOLUTION

popular.info/p/how-brands-a…
3. @OpenWebHQ promises to provide "a safe advertising experience" by only partnering w/pubs that "align w/standards of journalism" and don't spread "hate speech" or "disinformation"

But one of its partner sites is The Daily Wire, which is the opposite

popular.info/p/how-brands-a…
4. Recently, @realDailyWire has been a bastion of COVID vaccine misinformation.

"What is driving this push to get everybody vaccinated? Because we know it’s not science," Candace Owen said on her Daily Wire podcast last week

popular.info/p/how-brands-a…
5. In a recent column, Owens claimed that "[i]f vaccines were cars, every single one of them would be recalled."

Another contributor, @michaeljknowles described claims that COVID-19 vaccines were "safe and effective" as "propaganda of our ruling class"

popular.info/p/how-brands-a…
@michaeljknowles 6. In recent days, The Daily Wire has urged people to defy the vaccine mandates put in place by the Biden administration.

A Daily Wire Facebook ad encouraged Americans to "fight back" against "authoritarian bureaucrats who seek to control our lives."

popular.info/p/how-brands-a…
7. Meanwhile, @OpenWebHQ is telling major brands that advertising on its network, which includes The Daily Wire, is a way to fight back against the "crisis of toxicity online" and build a "healthier web."

popular.info/p/how-brands-a…
8. In response to a request for comment, @OpenWebHQ told popular.info that it is "difficult to draw the line between upholding standards of journalism and eliminating publishers whose viewpoints may differ from our own."

popular.info/p/how-brands-a…
9. The ad tech industry is technical and complex but I wanted to cover this story because it plays such a critical (and poorly understood) role in poisoning political discourse

For more independent accountability journalism sign up for my newsletter --> popular.info/subscribe
10. This investigative project was a collaboration with BRANDED, a newsletter that focuses on the online advertising industry.

For more on this story and a deeper dive into these issues check out branded.checkmyads.org

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More from @JuddLegum

Judd Legum Profile picture
12 Oct
1. In 2020, Trump TRIED to steal the election but his only help came from Rudy Giuliani, a minority in Congress, and a rag tag group of conspiracy theorists.

Appearing in Iowa over the weekend, Trump made clear that his 2024 strategy would be different

popular.info/p/a-citizens-g…
2. "The election was a fraud and if we want to save our country and make America great again, we have only one choice. We must elect strong and unyielding American Republicans at every level," Trump said.

STACK

THE

DECK

popular.info/p/a-citizens-g…
3. Trump's 2024 strategy is not just about him running. It's about installing loyalists at every level of the state and federal government.

First, the Secretaries of State. This would put Trumpists in charge of administering elections in key states.

popular.info/p/a-citizens-g…
Read 9 tweets
Judd Legum Profile picture
7 Oct
1. Far-right extremists have been on the rise in America and now have an alarming influence on U.S. politics

A key source of funding for this movement: @ATT

Follow along if interested

popular.info/p/how-at-and-t…
@ATT 2. We knew that @ATT was a key source of funding for @OANN, a right-wing propaganda network that promotes unhinged conspiracy theories about the 2020 election, COVID, etc

Court records obtained by @Reuters reveal @ATT is the only reason @OANN exists

popular.info/p/how-at-and-t…
3. AT&T is responsible for 90% OF @OANN's REVENUE

A lawyer for @OANN testified in court that, if @ATT stopped doing business with the network "the company would go out of business tomorrow"

popular.info/p/how-at-and-t…
Read 12 tweets
Judd Legum Profile picture
6 Oct
1. One thing you'll hear about a lot between now and November 2022 is the purported "crime wave" sweeping the United States.

One thing that is lacking from this discussion is FACTS

Follow this thread for lots of facts.

popular.info/p/the-truth-ab…
2. For example, @SenTomCotton wrote a piece in @BreitbartNews titled "Democrats’ Criminal-Leniency Policies Sparked an Undeniable Crime Wave"

The piece is festooned with images of people committing property crimes.

FACT: Property crime was DOWN in 2020

popular.info/p/the-truth-ab…
@SenTomCotton @BreitbartNews 3. What about violent crime? Violent crime was up about 5% in 2020. But it is still WAY BELOW the levels we saw in the 1990s or even the early part of this century.

Does 2020's increase in violent crime constitute a "crime wave"

We report, you decide.

popular.info/p/the-truth-ab…
Read 13 tweets
Judd Legum Profile picture
5 Oct
1. While you were sleeping, the @USChamber executed one of the most brazenly hypocritical policy reversals in modern political history

It reveals the true nature of the organization

Follow along if interested

popular.info/p/trouble-in-c…
@USChamber 2. For months, the @USChamber has enthusiastically promoted the bipartisan infrastructure legislation

It called the bill "a once-in-a-generation opportunity."

The Chamber plastered Facebook with paid ads supporting it

It was ALL IN

popular.info/p/trouble-in-c…
3. For better or worse, Pelosi pushed for a vote on the infrastructure bill last week.

That's exactly what the @USChamber wanted

A group of progressives, however, would not support the bill w/o a deal on the larger reconciliation package.

popular.info/p/trouble-in-c…
Read 12 tweets
Judd Legum Profile picture
4 Oct
"A Democratic super PAC headed by a former president of Planned Parenthood is set to unleash ads targeting Dallas-based AT&T for backing Texas lawmakers who sponsored the new state law that effectively outlaws abortion after six weeks."

cnbc.com/2021/10/04/tex…
These ads reflect campaign finance reporting from popular.info, which identified @ATT as a top donor to the sponsors of Texas' abortion ban

popular.info/p/these-corpor…
@ATT .@ATT told CNBC that "AT&T’s employee political action committees have never based contribution decisions on a legislator’s positions on the issue of abortion" and the company "has never taken a position on the issue of abortion"
Read 7 tweets
Judd Legum Profile picture
4 Oct
1. The mail matters.

It may or may not matter to you but it matters to millions of people.

Particularly those in rural areas, the elderly and the disabled.

And, because of Louis DeJoy, the postal service is about to get much worse

popular.info/p/whats-really…
2. Starting this month first-class mail will TAKE UP TO FIVE DAYS TO ARRIVE AT ITS DESTINATION

This means delayed medication, missed court dates, late bills.

It's largely due to a decision to reduce the use of planes and rely on ground transportation

popular.info/p/whats-really…
3. DeJoy says the severe degradation of first-class mail delivery is necessary to SAVE MONEY.

But even by DeJoy's own estimates, it will save just $169.5 million annually.

That's 1/4 OF ONE PERCENT of the USPS' total operating expenses (82 billion)

popular.info/p/whats-really…
Read 11 tweets

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