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| Silverfiddle Rant! |
Spoiler Alert! The case ain't that good, but kudos to Media Matters for doing some real journalism. They staked out The Joe Rogan Experience and documented specific instances of "misinformation and bigotry" guaranteed to get the Branch Covidian cultists' panties all in a wad.
Go here to read the article. They have helpfully bulleted their list of Rogan lies, so you can skip over the ranting preamble and go straight to the good stuff.
IMO, here are the most damning, from a factual standpoint:
On May 14, he falsely claimed that far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones was “right” about “actual microchips being injected into your arm to see if you have COVID-19.”
USA Today rated this "partially false," because there is such a device, but it's not technically a microchip.
On July 20, ... Rogan promoted the right-wing lie that the government was planning to monitor private citizens’ text messages for anti-vaccine misinformation.
Does this really seem far-fetched in the age of "show me your papers" to work or eat in a restaurant? Also, it was indeed a topic of conversation and study, so mouth-breathing rightwingers didn't just pull it out of thin air
At least Media Matters provided actual quotes (in most instances) and further links for you to go investigate yourself, which is better than Salon hinting darkly that Rogan is a "dangerous" nazi in Bernie Bro clothing and caters to reactionaries... Salon informs us that ... "Few vaccine refusers are willing to admit they are doing it to stick it to Biden voters."
CNN rolls its eyes and scolds, "Don't pretend you don't know what Joe Rogan is all about." CNN helpfully informs us he's a "noxious" crypto-fascist, a Father Coughlin who has learned to not say the quiet part out loud.
Rogan is, in fact, an agent of these social ills, which he packages and sends out to his audience clothed in the language of moderation and moral equivalence.
It is chilling that we have people in the media--whose livelihoods and avocations are absolutely dependent upon free speech--calling for others to be silenced. It is chilling that we are even having a public conversation about whether a person has a right to speak.
This anti-Roganism is binary thinking, illiberal, and it reveal's the left's inability to embrace life's inevitable ambiguities and contradictions
These hysterical attacks by legacy gatekeeper media outlets are borne of their enraged jealousy that a working class meathead generates 10 to 50 times their feeble listenership. He absolutely destroys them in the coveted 18-34 year old demographic.
The Infotainment Media Complex has beshat itself and destroyed its credibility. Normal people are tuning them out. Progressives are losing ground in the culture wars, so they are becoming even more screechy, preachy and dictatorial, screaming unfounded assertions at increasing volume...
! Proud Boys are an extremist group.
! Not following Fauci's dictates to the letter = you are a selfish a-hole killing your fellow citizens.
! Speech progressives disagree with is de facto dangerous and must be silenced.
! If you voted for Trump you are a racist fascist.
! Those Canadians locking up their capital and blocking bridges are Hitler's Truckers
... but their scolding isn't working like it used to. The Normals are moving on to real dialog and interesting conversation where pros and cons are discussed without the preaching.
There are cautiously hopeful signs woke could be going broke. If Rogan survives with his podcast intact, it will be one more sign cancel culture could be crumbling.
See also this excellent analysis of the left's predictable tactics to silence dissent:
