Thread by @digiphile

I’m excited to be at @HowardU for this launch & conference on democracy & journalism. Gorgeous campus, brisk fall day, wee robots out front, a chance to meet new people & see old friends. twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

Here’s a “democracy toolkit” for journalists:
democracytoolkit.press
Fascists, dictators, autocrats, & demagogues see a free press as enemies to be co-opted, muzzled, jailed, or murdered, preventing the immune system of democracy from debunking viral lies & revealing corruption.

We must understand that when it comes to democracy and equality, neutrality is an abdication of duty, says @nhannahjones, who says a culture of balance & covering “both sides” impedes the ability of journalists to inform the public of threats to those ideals. #DemocracySummjt

The threat is greater today than when @dziblatt & Levitsky wrote their book: democracy requires political parties to
1) unambiguously accept results of elections
2) unambiguous reject violence
3) break completely with violent, anti-democratic extremist

All went wrong in 2020.

@dziblatt 5 recommendations for journalists from @jasonintrator:
1. Call attention to patterns. Stop acting like stuff is new.
2. No false equivalence
3. Pay attention to the world
4. There is an attention economy
5. No such thing as neutral vocabulary
#cjddemocracysummit

Warning from @ruthbenghiat:
Around the world, all leaders who tried a self coup — which Trump’s coup was — & failed, had to go to exile or to prison.
Only in the USA do we have this guy running around free & inciting violence.
If he declares his candidacy, be ready for anything.

@ruthbenghiat Expect accelerating victimization, says @ruthbenghiat, & increased threats of violence.
"No one is more desperate than a strongman who thinks his time is over."
She predicted @POTUS45 wouldn’t leave office quietly: it's like a death;
Will do anything to stay in power or get back

@ruthbenghiat @POTUS45 We're in a dangerous moment, says @SIfill_: @POTUS @JoeBiden said 'democracy was saved' – maybe Democrats were saved, but democracy & Democrats are not the same. There is a problem. Until we get legislation to fix the problem, we are not going to fix it.

https://twitter.com/digiphile/status/1450989540446031873

@ruthbenghiat @POTUS45 @SIfill_ @POTUS @JoeBiden 3 primary threats to American democracy now, says @RachelOrey:
-Concentration of power in state legislatures. States taking authority away from nonpartisan officials officials
2. Threats to state & local election officials
3. Manufacture of chaos in election processes & systems

@ruthbenghiat @POTUS45 @SIfill_ @POTUS @JoeBiden @RachelOrey Journalists aren't talking about the impact of racial gerrymandering on #ElectionDay & outcomes, says @SIfill_: the Supreme Court allowed gerrymanders to stand in Alabama & Louisiana in the shadow docket. She warns of the proliferation of voter suppression laws across the USA.

Agreement between @RachelOrey & @SIfill_ about the risk to democratic infrastructure from threats to state & local election officials.

This is why @POTUS needs to hold @SecMayorkas accountable for failing to take more action to protect these patriots.

https://twitter.com/digiphile/status/1587817464640987138

🔥 from @AntheaButler: American democracy is under threat from theocracy.

“You must understand religion” to report on our history, present, & future, she says.

Christian nationalism has been a part of the USA since its founding:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian…

#CJDDemocracySummit

https://twitter.com/digiphile/status/1365309560945262592

Watching Ta-Nehisi Coates — who left Twitter long ago — reflect on slavery & its legacy in our union.

His case for reparations remains among the best writing on race in America in our history, & remains worth your time: theatlantic.com/magazine/archi…
Livestream:

Journalism is neither a neutral cultural product or a neutral institution in American life

Journalists were a critical part of democracy dying in the South from 1875 to 1965, says @krforde, who has edited a new history of this era: press.uillinois.edu/books/?id=65st… #CJDDemocracySummit

Today, @BarackObama offered reflections on the launch of @C4JDHowardU journalism:

https://twitter.com/C4JDHowardU/status/1592601373992194048

Contrasts in statesmanship: @POTUS44 venerates journalism & its role in democracy, @POTUS45 denigrates the press as part of the autocrat's playbook.
#CJDDemocracySummit

In her remarks, @Maria_Hinojosa challenges journalists not to present lies without a warning to people that they're false.

Cf. @GeorgeLakoff's "truth sandwich."

Put the #FactsFirst in headlines & tweets, folks.
e-pluribusunum.org/2018/07/21/in-…
#CJDDemocracySummit

Frank reflection on @DrJasonJohnson on saying Charlottesville in 2017 was a terrorist attack, & that @POTUS45 was a terrorist sympathizer, & the pushback he got from @HardballChris for using that frame. (Also see: insurrection on January 6th, which sought to terrorize Congress.)

Timely warning from @Maria_Hinojosa about being not laundering propaganda & lies, airing flawed polls without checking (see "Red Wave" that wasn't) & not ceding facts or shrinking from reporting because partisans seek to delegitimize journalism as "activism". #CJDDemocracySummit

@Maria_Hinojosa If the 2020 election happened in another country, how would US media cover it, asks @DrJasonJohnson?

I think it would read something like this, reporting on the threat to the democracy in the plagued former British colonies in Nambia:

https://twitter.com/digiphile/status/1179033883960107008

#CJDDemocracySummit

@Maria_Hinojosa @DrJasonJohnson A new frame (for me) from @Maria_Hinojosa: "peace journalism." There's a Wikipedia entry on it: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peace_jou…

Bookmarked to read more: ijnet.org/en/story/impor… #CJDDemocracySummit

News narrative shape people's attitudes & beliefs, says @krforde.

Which is to say, editors & producers can't just "we report, you decide." How news outlets report & frame stories about race, crime, & gender, & what they report on at all, *matters*.

So does "leaving it there."

I never learned about the only successful coup in US history, in Wilmington, NC, until I was an adult. @krforde notes the editor of the most influential paper was involved in planning to overthrow the government
npr.org/2020/01/13/795…

https://twitter.com/digiphile/status/1528732515619459074

#CJDDemocracySummit

We've got to have a publicly funded model for journalism in the USA, says @krforde, in answer to a journalist asking about the pressure to be fast. YES to @PBS for the Internet: gmfus.org/news/full-stac…
"Pink slime" outlets filling voids, polluting minds: digiphile.medium.com/as-local-news-…

Q about journalists identifying activists, & them getting doxxed as a result.

My A: journalists & activists should model threats if they speak truth to power or reveal corruption, lock down accounts, & make a plan to stay safe: cpj.org/2019/07/digita…
#CJDDemocracySummit

What do you do if a major party becomes anti-democratic.
@jayrosen_nyu suggests:
1Shift from "what are the odds of winning?" to "what are the stakes?"
-Instead of helping people be savvy, help them be informed participants.
-Adopt a citizens' agenda:
thecitizensagenda.org

We've never had a pro-democracy press in the US, says @WesleyLowery.
What Rosen describes has never existed.
Shift to a values-based journalism, Lowery suggests. Be direct & clear, retain rigor & fairness remain.

To be pro-1A is to take a political stance.

#CJDDemocracySummit

We get too caught up in the legitimacy of the readers trust the things we write down or broadcast, says @WesleyLowery.

Instead, base the legitimacy upon whether the journalism you publish is true.

(Exactly right: let the work speak for itself.) #CJDDemocracySummit

If you do your job, you'll prove racism is unjust, says @AsteadWesley.
He went to Trump rallies to hear directly from voters.
He says he learned to talk to Trump voters by talking with Black people, learning about the legitimate ways media has hurt them, & to be accurate & fair.

Speaking of which, sometimes media outlets are too fast to run government press releases about elections & voting rights, says @cassandrajar, giving props to @TexasTribune for being skeptical, careful, & getting the story right:

https://twitter.com/digiphile/status/1089529189177483265

#CJDDemocracySummit

US history has many examples of public services journalism that has nothing to do with neutrality & objectivity, says @jayrosen_nyu. We need memory, & to shift the lines of conflict: Instead of fixating on Democrats vs Republicans, focus on supporters of democracy & opponents.

We need journalists in newsrooms able to identify politicians who are a danger to democracy, & give them resources to inform the public, says @jayrosen_nyu. That's very different than reporting on "who's winning" the horse race. (Cf. @politico @PunchbowlNews)
#CJDDemocracySummit

Does mean being pro-democracy mean being pro-Biden or Democrats? No, says @jayrosen_nyu. We're talking about having a single standard of supporting democracy & how it operates for both parties. If, in applying that standard, one party has turned anti-democratic, report that fact.

The foreign press often sees the USA more clearly than US media does.

@cassandrajar says the Spanish-speaking press recognized what was happening in the USA in December 2020: Un golpe de Estado. (An autogolpe: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-coup) #CJDDemocracySummit

FWIW, I don't watch cable or broadcast news on #ElectionDay or that night for the same reason @WesleyLowery: there's no new info. I listen to @BBCNews, follow @AP, read Twitter & have @nytimes & @washingtonpost election results pages. (Your mileage may vary.) #CJDDemocracySummit

REALLY important point about self-care for journalists. Beyond sleep, exercise, & good food, regularly disconnecting is crucial.
Put your phone in "vacation mode" & go forest bathing. huffpost.com/entry/alexande… Learn new languages. Hang out with non-journalists. #CJDDemocracySummit

Q: Is the demolition of American democracy inevitable if our Constitution isn't further amended?
Not sure it needs a complete rewrite, but we absolutely need structural reforms that force politicians & parties to compete for votes, not choose their voters:

https://twitter.com/digiphile/status/1443982337239404546

As @AsteadWesley notes, Republican voters are having these conversations. The anti-democratic position is an active one, not passive. It's the organizing principle of the [nationalist] grassroots at this moment.

(This is why some folks worry about civil war.)
#CJDDemocracySummit

What is "truth?"

The religion of journalism is verification, says @jayrosen_nyu.

Great reporters are experts in verification.

(I'd leave defining truth to philosophers like @jasonintrator.)

Huge challenge for 2024: "truth" will be socially created from "alternative facts."

What our generation of journalists are calling for is a recommitment to rigor: much more is knowable that simply quoting two people, says @WesleyLowery.

Transparency, accuracy, & honesty are the core values, says @AsteadWesley.

If a reporter can't do that, why are we here?

That's it from today's Democracy Summit from @HowardU, where journalists, & scholars of authoritarianism & democracy considered what it would mean for journalists to be "pro-democracy."

+1000 to @nhannahjones for convening this event & making space to ask/answer hard questions.