Monday, October 10, 2022

Monday is history. Kanye West is jumping from platform to platform, Joe Biden is preparing to sit down with Jake Tapper, WaPo is launching a new Times Square ad campaign, and Harvey Weinstein's second trial is getting underway. But first, the A1.

THE A1

Judgement Day for Alex Jones

CNN Illustration/Mike Segar/Reuters

Alex Jones' day of reckoning is almost here.

A jury in Connecticut will resume deliberations on Tuesday in a case that will determine how much the right-wing conspiracy theorist will have to pay eight families of Sandy Hook shooting victims and a first-responder. By the end of the day, if the jury comes to a decision, it is possible Jones will be on the hook for a significant sum of money.

The decision will mark the culmination of a years-long process that began in 2018 when the families took legal action against Jones and his company. It also comes shortly after a trial in Texas where a jury found that the Infowars founder should pay a separate pair of Sandy Hook parents who sued him there nearly $50 million.

The reckoning for Jones comes at a pivotal moment in American society, where lies and conspiracy theories have flourished in recent years, often enriching and empowering those who peddle them to the public.

Jones has been an avatar for such behavior. He amassed both great influence and wealth by poisoning the online information well, writing a playbook that has been employed and executed throughout the years by others seeking wealth, fame, and political power.

While Jones may face a reckoning, nearly a decade after his heinous lie about the Sandy Hook shooting, the corrosive blueprint that catapulted him to fame and fortune on the political right is here to stay. It is impossible to unwind.

And it is more popular than ever, mimicked by former President Donald Trump, right-wing cable channels such as Fox News, talk-radio hosts (both local and national), and innumerable online influencers who command sizable followings on social media platforms.

Many years ago, "deep-state" rhetoric and conspiracy theories about "false flags" were confined to places like Infowars, where viewers had to sit and watch a hysterical Jones rant against shadowy, globalist forces that he said wanted to upend the American way of life.

That is no longer the case. These conspiratorial elements are now central to the conversation on the American right.

It is simply impossible to quantify or compute the enormous influence Jones has had on the conversation that has entranced the Republican Party. He has pulled the mainstream into the fringe.

Which is all to say that while judgement day is approaching for Jones, the model of information warfare that he popularized endures — now entwined into the very DNA of the American right.

——— BELOW THE FOLD ———

CNN Illustration/Gleb Garanich/Reuters

Russia Rages Against Ukraine: The attention of the world has once again turned to Ukraine after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a wave of attacks on the country's cities, killing at least 14. The missile strikes on Kyiv and other cities followed the explosion of a strategic bridge between Russia and Crimea. While Western news organizations noted the civilian toll of the attacks, Russian propaganda outlets acted predictably, minimizing or outright ignoring it. Sputnik, for instance, referred throughout the day to the attacks as "infrastructure strikes" and its main story online did not make any mention of the casualties.

OFF THE WIRE

The attacks on Ukraine are leading the homepages of CNN, The NYT, WaPo, and others Monday night.
The Daily Beast's Julia Davis, who has closely monitored Russian media, said that state-TV is "incorporating Donald Trump, Mike Pompeo & Elon Musk into their war propaganda." (Twitter)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is continuing to record video addresses to the country. His latest was from an undisclosed location from a street showing apparent damage from the Russian attacks. (Twitter)
The attacks are — once again — being caught on camera and played for the world on cable news and social media. Here's on example of surveillance footage showing missiles crash into a high-rise office building. (NYT)
A BBC reporter's live-shot was interrupted by a missile strike in the distance, sending him ducking for cover. (Deadline)

THE VALLEY

CNN Illustration/Edward Berthelot/GC Images/Getty Images

Ye Jumps Between Platforms: Kanye West has spent the last 72 hours jumping around from platform to platform as he sees his accounts locked for violating community rules. West over the weekend first migrated to Twitter after the Meta-owned Instagram locked his account. And then on Monday, he headed to YouTube after Twitter restricted access to his account (ironically after its likely new owner Elon Musk welcomed him with open arms).

🔎 Zooming in: One question that hasn't been answered is whether Musk is supportive of Twitter's decision to lock West's account, following the artist's tweet in which he vowed to go "death con 3 [sic] On JEWISH PEOPLE." I shot Musk an email, but didn't hear back.

TOO MANY TABS

Driving the convo: Ryan Mac, Sheera Frenkel, and Kevin Roose have a deep-dive on Mark Zuckerberg's "Metaverse struggles." (NYT)
Data shows that users participating in Twitter's "Birdwatch" community moderation program have tackled misinfo related to Covid, earthquakes, and US politics the most. (The Verge)
Anna Gross writes about how the "campaign to make Big Tech pay for telecoms networks" is "gathering pace." (FT)
YouTube says that it will soon incorporate user handles into its platform. (The Verge)
After Hurricane Ian devastated parts of Florida, Google's AI "scanned satellite imagery to identify the worst-hit neighborhoods—helping direct aid to residents' phones." (WIRED)

THE BUSINESS

CNN Illustration/Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters

Talking With Tapper: Jake Tapper is set to air a sit-down with President Joe Biden on Tuesday when he debuts in prime time. I'm told the interview, which is Biden's first with CNN since taking office, will tape in the afternoon. It will then air 9pm on "CNN Tonight With Jake Tapper."

► Tapper is also set to interview Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson on his debut show Tuesday night.

LAT's Bombshell: Leaked audio published by the Los Angeles Times in which the city council president privately made racist remarks, was the result of "illegal" recordings, the L.A. County Federation of Labor said internally, according to the paper. As The Times' Matt Pearce reported, "The federation's internal messaging raises questions about how many more secret recordings of top L.A. power brokers might exist or become public." Previously, the federation had also warned LAT that by publishing the audio, which has rocked the California city, it would be "condoning this illegal conduct." But an attorney for The Times responded by saying, "It is a fundamental principle in the United States that we do not prohibit or punish the receipt and publication of newsworthy information."

CNN Apologizes: CNN has removed a report and apologized after two of its journalists entered the Thailand childcare center in which at least 36 people were killed and recorded inside the crime scene for an on-air package. The journalists, correspondent Anna Coren and cameraman Daniel Hodge, were detained after the incident, though they were later cleared and no charges were pressed. CNN International EVP Mike McCarthy said in a statement that the team "sought permission from Thailand Health Department officials present there," but later learned "that these officials were not authorized to grant this permission." McCarthy added, "If the team had understood the building and its rooms were off limits, they would not have entered."

► In a video that has been widely circulated, and which appears to have been shot while they were detained, Coren also offered her "deepest apologies" for having caused "more pain and suffering." Coren and Hodge, who were also fined for working on tourists visas, have agreed to leave the country. The AP's David Rising has more here.

IN THE MARKET

A crucial vote among shareholders at Digital World Acquisition Corp., the company that will take Trump's media company public, has been delayed again for another three weeks. (CNBC)
WaPo now has a presence in Times Square. The paper on Monday debuted its first-ever ad buy in the city hub. (WaPo)
Netflix will struck deals with Ad Science and DoubleVerify to analyze ad measurement when its new ad-tier launches, Garett Sloane reports. (AdAge)
The National Scholastic Press Association has awarded Frank LoMonte, Tamra McCarthy, and April van Buren with with its Pioneer award. LoMonte joined CNN's legal team earlier this year. (NSPA)

MEDIA MOVES

John Fithian will retire next May as the head of the National Association of Theatre Owners. (Variety)
First in Reliable: Joi-Marie McKenzie has been named as the new editor-in-chief of Insider's Life division. She will take the helm of the vertical later this month.
Rick Rojas has been named by NYT as its Atlanta bureau chief. (NYT)
Shruti Rajkumar is joining HuffPost as a breaking news reporter. (Twitter)

THE INFO WARS

IN THE BATTLEFIELD

New research finds that "there is an association between areas with higher Fox News viewership and lower [Covid-19] vaccinations." (WaPo)
Margaret Sullivan tells Aidan McLaughlin that Fox News is "unhinged from reality" and not comparable to CNN or MSNBC. (Mediaite)
Former Newsmax host Grant Stinchfield says he still isn't sure why the right-wing channel canceled his show, but suggested it was perhaps in part due to his refusal to attack competitor Tucker Carlson. (MMFA)
Ted Cruz is parting ways with The Daily Wire's Michael Knowles as he takes his podcast show, "Verdict With Ted Cruz," over to iHeartRadio. Cruz's new co-host will be Ben Ferguson. (Mediaite)
John Cleese is working on a show for GB News, the fledging conservative news channel in the UK. (Deadline)

CURTAIN CALL

CNN Illustration/Etienne Laurent/AFP/Getty Images

Weinstein Back On Trial : The second trial for disgraced filmmaker Harvey Weinstein commenced Monday in Los Angeles, with jury selection getting underway. Weinstein, who was sentenced in 2020 to 23 years in prison, faced more sexual assault charges out in California. A number of new accusers are expected to participate in the trial, including Jennifer Siebel Newsom, a former actress and current wife of California Gov. Gavin Newsom. LAT Has more here.

OFF STAGE

John Oliver blasted the NFL, calling it "prime time programming where people kill themselves for entertainment." (Vanity Fair)
In an open letter, filmmaker Babak Anvari urged those in the media industry to "amplify the voice" of the Iranian protesters. (THR)
Netflix has teamed up with Cineworld to give "Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery" a theatrical release in the UK as well. (THR)
Apple bought the rights to J.J. Abrams' animated short film, "The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse." It will debut Dec. 25. (Variety)
"Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes" has started production at Disney Studios in Australia. (Deadline)
The Wrap published its 2022 Innovators List, featuring 12 of "Hollywood and media's most exciting disruptors." (The Wrap)