Monday, November 7, 2022

Cue the special music, it's almost Election Day in America. Elon Musk endorses, Disney is set to report earnings, Rashida Jones is facing backlash, Meta shares are up as layoffs loom, Alex Jones may have to pay much more, and Jimmy Kimmel is set to host the 2023 Oscars. But first, the A1.

THE A1

The Election Lie Era

CNN Photo Illustration/Patrick T. Fallon/AFP/Getty Images

The first major test of the election denialism era has arrived.

Tuesday's midterms will be the first significant contest since conspiracy theories and lies about the U.S. election process swallowed one of its two major parties whole. A recent poll found a disturbing 66% of Republicans still believe that President Joe Biden was not legitimately elected.

In truth, the toxicity in the country's information well has only gotten worse since 2020. The right-wing media apparatus has spent months laying the groundwork for contesting the results of the 2022 midterms if the votes don't go their way. Major stars such as Tucker Carlson have not only been giving their audiences reason to question the vote, but have effectively been encouraging them to do so. It's difficult to put into words how dominant election lies are in the information universe in which Republicans almost exclusively get their news. It cannot be overstated.

And the 2022 midterms could bring even more challenges. Margaret Sullivan, the media critic and recent author of "Newsroom Confidential," noted to me how much more complex the midterms could be to cover, given that in 2020 former President Donald Trump was the only major candidate refusing to accept the reality of the vote. "It was simpler in a way, in that it was one big contest," she said, adding that this year's midterms are "a lot more complicated" because there are multiple races that could be contested occurring across the country. "It requires a lot more nuance," she noted.

Zooming further out, news organizations and social media platforms, where many now get their information, are battling a vexing and toxic environment. In recent days, conspiracy theories about the attack on Paul Pelosi have gone viral, new Twitter owner Elon Musk — who boosted those conspiracies — has upended one of the world's most powerful communications platforms, Russia is reactivating its disinformation bots, and major candidates in the GOP are priming supporters to deny election results should they lose.

There will, of course, be some election blunders. As Donie O'Sullivan wrote, "There are tens of thousands of different cities, counties, and townships across the 50 states and multiple territories that play a role in administering elections, most of them do things a little differently. There are different machines to cast and count ballots, there are different local election laws and procedures. There is going to be confusion, there are going to be mistakes."

But small mistakes that are corrected do not translate to mass fraud. Bad-faith media organizations and personalities, however, will exploit such situations to draw sweeping and incorrect conclusions that serve to benefit their political worldview. Combatting those lies will not be easy, but as democracy teeters into peril, news organizations must work swiftly and aggressively to shoot them down as they pop up.

There is, however, a realization and general understanding in the news industry that elections can no longer be covered in the ways of the past.

Most news organizations have already started preparing their audiences for the midterms in helpful ways, underscoring that in some tight races it could take days to confidently know the winner. On CNN, political director David Chalian has stressed that in some contests, a candidate could exit Election Day appearing to have a sizable lead, only to see it dissipate as mail-in-votes are counted.

With so much distrust, news organizations are also working to be transparent about the ballot counting process. NBC News posted an article detailing how it collects and reports election data. And the Associated Press, the defacto election source for most news organizations, has published a piece explaining how it declares winners (notably, the AP says it "does not make projections.")

And on election night, viewers will notice a different type of coverage from news organizations. CBS News, for example, will have a "Democracy Desk" featured prominently in its coverage to help pour cold water on false claims, but also give viewers an understanding of the state of affairs in the country.

"It's not traditional," Mary Hager, CBS News' executive editor of politics, recently told The NYT's Michael Grynbaum. "But I'm not sure we'll ever have traditional again."

THE SIDEBAR

The Los Angeles Times cautions voters: "Forget election night results. Answers might take days or weeks in some L.A. races." (LAT)
To that point, researchers warn that the "biggest surge of misinformation" could actually come in the days after Election Day. (NYT)
Important research: Americans who watch news coverage that shows long lines at polling places are less likely to say they will vote in future elections, Kathleen Searles and Christopher Mann write. (Neiman Lab)
Ahead of the midterms, CNN scored interviews that aired Monday with both current House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and potential future House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. (CNN/CNN)
Kara Swisher spoke to John King about how he's preparing for election night, the "magic wall," and avoiding treating politics like a sport. (On)
NBC News is upping its presence on TikTok this election, using the hashtag #NBCDebunks to put falsehoods to rest. (Variety)
Lauren Feiner examined how social media companies will fight misinfo on their platforms. (CNBC)
TV news networks are also emphasizing their streaming networks this election cycle. (Deadline)

——— BELOW THE FOLD ———

CNN Photo Illustration/GDA/AP

Elon's Endorsement: After another weekend spurring mayhem at Twitter, Elon Musk commenced his Monday by encouraging the country to vote Republican in the midterm elections. The billionaire tweeted that "shared power curbs the worst excesses of both parties" and therefore he believes people should vote for the GOP. The tweet, I'm told, didn't go over super well at Twitter, which is notably based in the reliably liberal San Francisco. Twitter employees "are exhausted" with Musk, as one source told me. Hours after his tweets, Musk elaborated on his comments, stressing he has historically been registered as an independent "with an actual voting history of entirely Democrat until this year."

🔎 Zooming in: Amid significant concerns over how Musk will run Twitter, the billionaire imploring his 100M+ followers to vote Republican will certainly not quell many nerves. As this headline from The Hill pointed out, "Musks's partisan tweets call Twitter neutrality into question." Naturally, right-wing media, which would be up in arms if a social media chief openly endorsed Democrats on election eve, celebrated the move.

OFF THE WIRE

Former RNC Chairman Michael Steele's response to Musks's reasoning for voting Republican: "This is grade school logic." (Twitter)
Under Musk, Twitter is "struggling to respond to political misinformation and other harmful posts on the social media platform," Matt O'Brien and David Klepper report. (AP)
The company is responding to Musk impersonators, with Kathy Griffin being permanently suspended. Griffin is now campaigning to get back on the platform by tweeting under her late mother's handle. (Deadline)
Whoopi Goldberg announced she's leaving the platform on her own accord, saying she feels like the platform is now "so messy." (THR)
Meanwhile, Twitter is telling advertisers that user growth is growing under Musk and has hit "all-time highs," Alex Heath reports. (The Verge)
Rachel Metz noted that Mastodon has surpassed Twitter in the top charts section of the App Store. (Twitter)
Barry Diller says Twitter is a "toy" for Musk: "He bought a toy, and how long he will use it, like toys, we don't really know." (CNBC)

THE BUSINESS

CNN Photo Illustration/Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty Images

Disney On Deck: Disney is set to report Q4 earnings and full fiscal year results after the bell on Tuesday. Disney+ will be front and center — especially as the entertainment giant prepares to rollout the ad-supported version of its streaming service. The company is expected to add 8.9 million new subscribers, down from the 14.4 million it added in last quarter. The Street will also be paying attention to how Disney's theme parks business is doing, given that a slowdown there could be a good indicator of how the economy is performing. "If we see a slowdown in gross bookings, that could be a signal that there's more trouble to come," noted Yahoo Finance's Allie Canal.

Rendezvous With Rashida?: MSNBC's separation with weekend host Tiffany Cross is not going smoothly for the progressive network. Dozens of Black political leaders are demanding a meeting with network boss Rashida Jones over the decision, which has generated backlash and been widely discussed in industry circles, Semafor's Max Tani reported Monday. An MSNBC spokesperson told Tani the network is proud of its "long history celebrating diversity." The spokesperson added, "We'll continue to elevate diverse perspectives and voices during this election season and beyond."

👀 Chris Hayes tweeted Monday evening that Cross is "an extremely talented host" and noted she "became a target for basically the worst people in media." He added, "I know she's got lots and lots more to say and I'm looking forward to watching and listening to her in whatever she chooses to do next."

IN THE INDUSTRY

A big win for Insider: Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy's defamation suit against the digital outlet over his reported sexual encounters has been dismissed. (Mass Live)
Insider reporter Julia Black: "This AM, [Melkorka Licea] and I learned on a very emotional call that Dave Portnoy's defamation suit against Insider was dismissed. We knew from the start that our reporting was careful, fair, and accurate, but it's gratifying to see that validated in court." (Twitter)
Tom Jones goes behind the scenes at "Meet the Press," which just celebrated its 75th anniversary. (Poynter)
Israeli journalist Rina Matzliach has resigned after 40 years, noting that the climate for press freedoms has deteriorated in recent years. (JPost)

MEDIA MOVES

Time names Jessica Sibley as CEO as it expands beyond print. (WSJ)
The Associated Press has named Amanda Barrett as VP of standards and inclusion. (AP)
Corin Faife has joined Cornell Tech's Digital Life Initiative as a visiting scholar. (Twitter)
George Cahlink is headed to Bloomberg Government as Congress editor. (Twitter)
Longtime Kansas City Star journalist Dave Helling is retiring after 45 years on the job. (KCR)
David Woods has accepted a buyout from Gannett and will depart Indy Star after 28 years. (Twitter)

THE VALLEY

CNN Photo Illustration/Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Melancholy Meta: Meta's stock ended Monday up nearly 7% on reports that it will broadly lay off employees for the first time in its 18-year history. The WSJ's Jeff Horowitz and Salvador Rodriguez, who broke the news, indicated the cuts could come as soon as Wednesday and affect as much as 10% of the company, comprising thousands of employees. Of course, there have been calls for much deeper cuts. So the question will be: How will The Street respond to the cuts when they are all said and done?

TOO MANY TABS

Sour news from Apple: The company "expects to produce at least 3 million fewer iPhone 14 handsets than originally anticipated this year," amid softer demand, Debby Wu and Takashi Mochizuki report. (Bloomberg)
Signal is rolling out a stories feature. (TechCrunch)
"The Era of Video has definitively and irreversibly arrived," Arthur Holland Michel writes in a piece that looks at "what happens when everything becomes TikTok." (The Atlantic)
YouTube is deploying Shorts to television screens. (The Verge)

THE INFO WARS

CNN Photo Illustration/Tyler Sizemore/Hearst Connecticut Media/AP

Jones On The Hook: Attorneys representing Sandy Hook families in Connecticut on Monday asked the judge overseeing the case to order Alex Jones to pay $320 million in attorneys fees, plus hundreds of millions in punitive damages, for the Infowars host's lies about the school massacre. Jones' attorney, meanwhile, argued that no punitive damages are necessary. "There was a punishment factor in the verdict itself," Jones' attorney said. Bloomberg's Laurel Brubaker Calkins has more.

IN THE BATTLEFIELD

"We will interfere": The Kremlin-linked oligarch known as "Vladimir Putin's chef" admitted Russia is interfering in US elections. (CNN)
Important point from Erik Wemple: "No, MSNBC is not the Fox News of the left." (WaPo)
NYT broke down how Republicans were "fed a misinformation loop" about the attack on Paul Pelosi. (NYT)
No surprise here, but Candace Owens on Monday played into the conspiracy. (Mediaite)
ICYMI: NBC News pulled a report on the Pelosi attack that it said did not meet its standards. (CNN)

CURTAIN CALL

CNN Photo Illustration/Randy Holmes/ABC/Getty Images

And the Oscars Host Is: Jimmy Kimmel is set to host the 2023 Oscars, one year after The Slap put the show's emcee on center stage. "Being invited to host the Oscars for a third time is either a great honor or a trap," Kimmel joked in a statement. "Either way, I am grateful to the academy for asking me so quickly after everyone good said no." This will be Kimmel's third time hosting the show, which is set to air March 12 on ABC. The NYT's Stephanie Goodman has more here.

OFF STAGE

Wait, what? AMC — yes, the movie theater chain — is partnering with Zoom to turn some auditoriums into giant conference rooms. (THR)
Episode two of the second season of "The White Lotus" saw a slight uptick in audience. (Deadline)
Taylor Swift's "Midnights" is continuing to have phenomenal commercial success in its second week. (Variety)
Ryan Murphy's "The Watcher" is getting a second season, critics reviews be damned! (Collider)
"The Kelly Clarkson Show" has been renewed into 2025. (Deadline)
The Writers Guild of America has unveiled its negotiating committee ahead of key 2023 contract talks. (THR)
Netflix is making a film and series about the popular Xbox video game "Gears of War." (Variety)
Lin-Manuel Miranda will play the Greek god Hermes in Disney+'s "Percy Jackson" series. (THR)

Thank you for reading! This newsletter was edited by Jon Passantino. Have feedback? Send us an email here. We will be back in your inbox tomorrow.