CNN's Brian Stelter newsletter included this tidbit in his Friday e-mail newsletter, about another e-mail newsletter:
In his newsletter Thursday morning, Axios co-founder Mike Allen shared a "scary thought" he had. Allen said he had conversed with Donald Trump Jr. who had told him he'd love to see Silicon Valley conservatives "start" a new social media platform. Don Jr. said if that were to happen he'd "help promote the platform and be all over that." Allen confessed that idea scared him, writing, "Imagine tribal news delivered via tribal pipes. And, as one mischievous Trump adviser told us, imagine the president moving his Twitter show to that network." [Image via Axios]
This always sounds funny to conservatives. Yes, imagine, for example, tribal Obama-worshipping media delivered via Obama-worshipping pipes. That sounds like the liberal media for eight years....and the way they touted the social media as an Obama election tool in 2012.
Naturally, Stelter left out the part that mentioned our new MRC poll on social-media censorship:
What's new: "Fake social" and "fake search" are the new "fake news" in the mind of Trump’s inner circle.
A new poll by Media Research Center/McLaughlin & Associates, reported first by Axios' Alayna Treene, showed the attacks are working: 65% of self-described conservatives believe that social media companies purposely censor the right.
A Trump operative tells me: "It's risen to the level of being an emotional or gut issue with conservatives, like guns/immigration. It's an issue that's here to stay."
Be smart: Conservatives charged bias and lies in mainstream news and then created right-wing alternatives. It should come as no surprise if they do the same two-step process to the modern form of distributing that news.
The liberals at Axios are in full Panic Mode:
Axios managing editor Kim Hart told me: "Trump has essentially hijacked the upcoming hearings. Classic Trump tactic that will likely rain on [the senators' intended] parade on the disinformation front, and shift the focus to something that ... resonates more with his base."
The takeaway: Axios' Dan Primack said on his "Pro Rata" podcast: "What Trump’s doing here seems to be part of a larger trend of discrediting not just specific media outlets or specific stories, but the idea of media in general."
