Thread by @emptywheel

Let's unpack this little Fabergé egg, shall we?

https://twitter.com/KatzOnEarth/status/1636116654999445506

First, apparently Area Substacker claims to believe that a press release invoking Chris Rufo, Claremont Institute’s Center for the American Way of Life, and repeating meaningless propaganda terms at least 14 times, all while claiming to care abt truth, is not propaganda.

Here's the link, btw. This is literally a "DEI is the one true truth" presser.

fldoe.org/newsroom/lates…

Next, the flack for DeSantis' Department of Education decided to get pissy about being told his sloppy propaganda is sloppy propaganda.

Thin-skinned and counterproductive to the traditional definition of the job, but perfectly in line with DeSantis' One Party state.

Then, Area Substacker, who is either following an obscure flack's Twitter account or who was spoon fed this, reacted by doubling down on the propaganda-per-word quotient.

I mean, first of all, it's Axios, not MSNBC or NYT.

There's nothing inherently Democratic about reacting badly to stupid propaganda, but in ASS' book, it's the obvious mark of a Democrat.

Huh.

Then he pivots to a random @oneunderscore__ reference.

So ASS goes from objection to stupid propaganda to Democrat to @oneunderscore__.

Importantly, ASS, who claims to care about journalism, attacks someone for pushing back against stupid propaganda.

He suggests a very basic reaction to bullshit propaganda MUST be proof of partisanship.

Then, DeSantis' flack weighs in, acclaiming ASS' stupid attack turning a basic reaction to propaganda into a partisan thing.

Pushaw is ... not a friend of journalism.

Look her up.

It turns out that simply calling propaganda propaganda was too big a crime for DeSantis' flunkies.

I don't know whether ASS was himself delighting over the firing of a journalist for objecting to propaganda. BUT

BUT, first of all, the progression here went from one DeSantis flack bullying someone for calling out propaganda, to ASS applauding and bullying calling out propaganda, to another DeSantis flack applauding the bullying of someone calling out propaganda, with firing thrown in.

The idea here--& ASS is an instrumental part of this progression, in all senses of the term--is that people who call out sloppy propaganda must themselves be punished for doing so.

You must regurgitate Chris Rufo's ugly and stupid view of the world, or you will be punished.

Now, if you're one of ASS' groupies who still believe this man is engaged in civil liberties, take some time to think seriously about whether you want to be part of enabling a key engine of the bullying of those who object to stupid propaganda.

Otherwise you own the fascism.

ASS is part of a concerted effort, an effort that happens to include a bunch of angry men, like #MattyDickPics, who have spouted false claims about Russia, to punish those who call out disinformation.

This is a concerted effort to normalize an assault on rationality.