Thread by @noUpside

People say a lot of crazy things on the internet; I usually ignore it. But today, after nearly a full month of being smeared by Michael Shellenberger, including in sworn Congressional testimony, I’m releasing some files of my own.

reneediresta.substack.com/p/fiction-vs-r…

I’d been chatting w/Mike off the record for months. He reached out in Dec, wanted to learn about content moderation. Was adamant ab not doing “gotcha journalism”; I regularly talk to ppl I disagree with. We eventually did Sam Harris. samharris.org/podcasts/makin…

Then, when asked to testify ab the Twitter Files, he wrote a surreal statement smearing me as a deep state "government-funded censor" bogeyman. This week, he went further on Rogan. He’s sloppy, dishonest, or deceived, but the effect of lies/errors on the target is the same.

So I’m publishing our WhatsApp chats & an interview. Ppl can see what I actually said ab topics he chose to twist my words on, & can also see what he *didn't ask* -despite identifying as a journalist, he didn't even attempt basic checks on wild claims until after publishing.

Baseless smears and sensational theories aren’t journalism, but I imagine they do move Substack subs. If you’re a subscriber to Public, you deserve better.