Monday, January 9, 2023

Monday is a thing of the past. Cable news saw a ratings surge during House chaos, Bob Iger wants Disney employees back in the office, Sean Hannity is set to be deposed again, and Chris Harrison is talking about his "Bachelor" breakup. But first, the A1.

THE A1

Déjà Coup

CNN Photo Illustration/Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images

Election lies lead to election violence.

Horrifying images careening out of Brazil are reminding Americans — and the world — of the high cost that election disinformation brings with it as mobs of people, fueled by conspiracy theories, stormed the South American country's Congress, Supreme Court, and presidential offices in a violent outburst of chaos that overwhelmed authorities over the weekend.

The scenes that played out on January 8 shared a striking commonality with those that played out in the US on television screens almost two years to the day earlier. And, like in the US, the warning signs were apparent for some time, with election deniers mobilizing on social media ahead of the attack.

"We did see this coming," Wendy Via, the president of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism, told the Associated Press. "This doesn't just happen in Brazil, or the United States. This is a global problem. Should we compare what happened in Brazil to Jan. 6? I say 100%, because it's the same playbook."

That playbook is one of information warfare, where a propagandistic media machine is wielded to disseminate lies casting doubt on unfavorable election outcomes. This can have a devastating effect swaying public opinion, especially in our modern society where lies quickly go viral on social media and trust in mainstream institutions has weakened.

As The NYT's Jack Nicas noted on Monday, the style of coup attempt that took place over the weekend in Brazil stands apart from others, sharing more in common with January 6 than other moments in South America's history.

"Unlike other attempts to topple governments across Latin America's history, the attacks on Sunday were not ordered by a single strongman ruler or a military bent on seizing power, but rather were fueled by a more insidious, deeply rooted threat: mass delusion," Nicas wrote.

Nicas added, "Millions of Brazilians appear to be convinced that October's presidential election was rigged against Mr. Bolsonaro, despite audits and analyses by experts finding nothing of the sort."

Donald Trump employed this playbook in the aftermath of his 2020 election loss, ultimately leading to not only violence on the US Capitol but a significant swath of the American populace believing the election was in fact rigged against him. Now former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has followed his lead.

The turn of events prompted CNN anchor Jim Scuitto on Monday to ask whether the US still exports democracy or "is election denialism a new US export?"

It's not a wild question to ask.

THE SIDEBAR

Powerful arms of MAGA Media are "defending the attackers and pushing conspiracy theories about the events that unfolded in Brazil's capital," Justin Horowitz reports. (MMFA)
Need an example? Fox News' most popular host, Tucker Carlson, declared on Monday night the election in Brazil was "very clearly rigged" and voiced support for those upset about the supposedly "hijacked" government. (Twitter)
"War Room" host Steve Bannon, who drives a lot of the messaging in MAGA Media, has been laying the groundwork for denying the election results in Brazil for months, claiming the election was "stolen." (MMFA)
Don't forget that Elon Musk personally gave credence to some of the conspiracy theories in Brazil, tweeting last month that "it's possible Twitter personnel gave preference to left wing candidates" and may have been "strongly politically biased." (Twitter / Twitter)
Meanwhile: "A number of prominent Brazilian Twitter accounts which spread election denial rumors were reinstated after the election and acquisition of the company by Elon Musk, according to a BBC analysis. The accounts had previously been banned." (BBC)
"Stop the Steal" organizer Ali Alexander's account was also recently restored. Alexander has been one of the far-right personalities cheering on the election deniers in Brazil. (Rolling Stone)
Facebook and YouTube have removed content backing the Brazil attack. (Reuters)
Elizabeth Dwoskin breaks down "how social media helped drive the mayhem in Brazil." (WaPo)
Parmy Olson argues the insurrection in the South American country "shows the damage that can be done when Meta, TikTok, and other platforms neglect viral misinformation." (Bloomberg)
"The violence in Brazil again highlights the central role social media companies play in the fundamental machinery of 21st century democracy," Mark Scott writes. (POLITICO)

——— BELOW THE FOLD ———

CNN Photo Illustration/Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images

It's on the House: Cable news ratings surged on Friday night as viewers tuned in to see the Kevin McCarthy drama unfold live on the House floor. At the height of the chaos, in the 11pm ET hour, CNN averaged 2.1 million viewers, 575k of which were in the key 25-54 demo. MSNBC averaged 2.5 million viewers, with 388k in the demo. And on the right-wing talk channel Fox News, 3.4 million viewers tuned in, with 523k in the demo. The high ratings for the Friday night finale capped a week of healthy ratings across the board. A CNN spokesperson said that last week was the network's biggest audience since the war in Ukraine broke out in March 2022.

► Also capitalizing on the coverage: Punchbowl's Jake Sherman told me that his outlet observed a "very sharp spike" in subscriber numbers last week, though he wouldn't go into further detail. Semafor's Max Tani wrote Sunday about how the outlet "drove the narrative" around the speaker race.

► Cutting the cameras: Now that the speaker's election has concluded, C-SPAN is no longer permitted access to independently operate its cameras on the House floor. "C-SPAN cameras are no longer in the House chamber," the outlet tweeted Monday. "We have resumed using the feed from House/government-operated cameras."

THE BUSINESS

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Mouse in the House: Bob Iger wants employees back in the office. The Disney boss emailed employees on Monday with the edict, informing them that the company will mandate staffers return to the company's corporate offices four days a week, starting March 1, a requirement The NYT's Brooks Barnes noted is a "relatively strict policy among large companies." Iger told employees he believes "nothing can replace the ability to connect, observe and create with peers that comes from being physically together. CNBC's Alex Sherman and Sarah Whitten, who broke the story, have more here.

Royal Burnout: Prince Harry's book is sitting at No. 1 on Amazon ahead of its Tuesday release, but are US audiences growing tired of the royal drama? The ratings for Sunday's pair of interviews appear to indicate fatigue might be setting in, Variety's K.J. Yossman and Jennifer Maas argued Monday. For instance, Anderson Cooper's "60 Minutes" interview averaged 10.5 million viewers, which is only the third largest of the season. Yossman and Maas pointed out that "a big event like this could have been expected to give '60 Minutes' its largest audience." I don't disagree.

► Related: Cooper revealed Sunday that Buckingham Palace reps demanded "60 Minutes" provide them the network's full report before commenting: That's "something we never do," Cooper said.

IN THE INDUSTRY

Reed Alexander and Elaine Low spoke to 16 insiders to go "inside the turmoil at Cheddar News." The duo reports that an editorial "identity crisis" and "misfired social-media strategy divided the newsroom and drove staffers to the exits." (Insider)
The Intercept is spinning off from its parent company, First Look Media, as an independent nonprofit, Sara Fischer scoops. (Axios)
Layoffs hit NBCU on Monday. Dade Hayes reports dozens were let go across some divisions as "as the belt-tightening outlined in 2022 starts to take effect." (Deadline)
CBS News celebrated 11 years of Gayle King at the network. (CBS News)
A CTV reporter suffered a medical emergency live on-air. The station says she is now "feeling better and is resting." (Deadline)

MEDIA MOVES

Warner Bros. Discovery has inked a big new deal with Greg Berlanti that will put him at Warner Bros. Television through 2027. (THR)
Raw Story has poached Dave Levinthal from Insider to serve as its editor in chief. (Politico)
The NYT has hired Mara Hvistendahl as an investigative correspondent focusing on Asia. (NYT)
The NYT has also hired several new staffers for "The Daily," including Lexie Diao who will serve as senior editor. (NYT)
Axios has brought on Holly Moore to oversee a new centralized news hub that aims to bridge local and national coverage. (Axios)
WaPo has named Ali Pannoni as talent and community editor. (WaPo)
Streamer NBC News Now has tapped Gadi Schwartz to host its 8pm hour. (Variety)
NBC News has hired Johnny Depp attorney Camille Vasquez as a legal analyst. (Deadline)

THE VALLEY

CNN Photo Illustration/Jeenah Moon/Getty Images

Clippy's Second Coming?: Microsoft has mulled whether it should incorporate OpenAI's artificial intelligence (think ChatGPT) into its software, The Information's Aaron Holmes and Kevin McLaughlin report. The move could revolutionize how people write emails and create documents and presentations. More from Holmes and McLaughlin here.

TOO MANY TABS

Top Apple subscriptions executive, Peter Stern, is leaving the company, Claire Atkinson reports. (Insider)
Many Twitter employees are unhappy with the severance offer they have received after months of waiting, Clare Duffy reports. (CNN)
This Gizmodo headline says a lot: "Twitter had to tell ex-employees their severance emails were 'not a phishing attempt.'" (Gizmodo)
Instagram is revamping its navigation bar, replacing the shopping button with its longer-form video product Reels. (The Verge)
YouTube will begin sharing ad revenue with creators of its TikTok-style Shorts videos starting on February 1. (Engadget)
Seattle vs Big Tech: The city's public schools system has filed a lawsuit against parent companies for Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, and YouTube. (CNN)
Meta is adding more moderation features to its virtual reality social platform. (The Verge)

THE INFO WARS

CNN Photo Illustration/Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Here Comes Hannity: Sean Hannity is scheduled to sit for another deposition in Dominion Voting System's $1.6 billion lawsuit against Fox News, as WaPo's Jeremy Barr first reported Monday. The Fox propagandist, who previously sat down for a deposition last summer, is scheduled to be deposed once again at 8am Tuesday via videoconference. Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott was also compelled to undergo a second deposition in the case as well.

IN THE BATTLEFIELD

Maria Bartiromo "is still doing the kind of journalism that got Fox News sued for billions," Aidan McLaughlin notes. (Mediaite)
Fox News is freaking out over "woke" M&Ms. (Mediaite)
Ilana Berger argues that 2022 was "a year of unabashed climate change denial." (MMFA)
Kaitlyn Tiffany writes about how the cancellation idea relies on Twitter surviving: "If Twitter ceases to exist, there will be no place for viral callouts—and, arguably, no place for quick justice." (The Atlantic)
The Oversight Board has told Meta it should allow "death to Khamenei" posts. (Reuters)

CURTAIN CALL

CNN Photo Illustration/Craig Sjodin/ABC/Getty Images

Chris Comes Clean: More than a year after his exit from the "Bachelor" franchise, Chris Harrison is talking about the dramatic breakup. The former host said in his new podcast that he was "heartbroken" and "gutted" by the episode that led to his departure. "I was embarrassed," he said. "I was mad at myself. I was disappointed in myself." Harrison said that he "lost 20 pounds" and "didn't sleep" or eat for a brief period. "I was scared to death," Harrison said, adding that "mentally and physically" he "deteriorated pretty bad." Variety's Emily Longeretta has more here.

OFF STAGE

Harvey Weinstein's sentencing has been delayed until Feb. 23. (THR)
"M3GAN" killed box office expectations with a $30 million domestic debut; "Avatar: The Way of Water," however, remained box office king with $45 million. (Variety)
Netflix has dropped the trailer for "You" season four — and there's a big twist: the series' serial killer is now being hunted himself. (YouTube)
Netflix has changed its mind on "Inside Job." The animated adult comedy will no longer get a season two. (Deadline)
Kate Winslet is going viral for all the right reasons. During an interview, she paused to help boost the confidence of a young interviewer who had never participated in a press junket. (Independent)

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 around this time.