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Jordan's avatar

I love that Taibbi corrected the date error in his work, but Hasan has yet to correct this error in his work. It perfectly demonstrates the difference in journalistic integrity between an independent journalist and a mainstream news outlet.

Thanks for writing this -- it's too bad that Taibbi got railroaded into talking about this minor detail of his reporting instead of being able to focus on the key Twitter Files take-homes about the intertwined nature of federal agencies and social media networks. I really wish that Taibbi had simply responded with: "Thank you for bringing this to my attention -- I'll investigate and make any corrections as necessary after doing so. Now, would you like to comment on the meat of the story?"

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Boris Petrov's avatar

Mahdi Hasan is a deeply repulsive State Security grifter. Paid to deliberately and knowingly lie -- no. chance of ever correcting himself

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Boris Petrov's avatar

And - very pertinent:

An astonishing interview of smart and noble Elon Musk - Part One

Elon Musk FULL INTERVIEW with Tucker Carlson: AI, OpenAI, Google, TruthGPT, Twitter

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfYbxzdkk6M (34 min)

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Boris Petrov's avatar

If you love, respect and interested in Matt – a MUST see interview - OUTSTANDING

Matt Taibbi interview with Viva Frei – April 21, 2023 (PS: I have now a new respect for Viva too)

https://vivabarneslaw.locals.com/upost/3884532/live-with-matt-taibbi

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Alan Collinge's avatar

Agreed. I think/hope that Taibbi, his immediate willingness to admit that he may have erred, and his actions to correct it, will ultimately show him as a reporter with integrity.

Hasan is clearly intelligent and quick minded. Such a shame that he seems to be doing something other than searching for, finding, and exposing important truths.

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Joshua Hughes's avatar

Nice to see at least a handful of journalists weighing in on Taibbi's behalf.

Looking forward to seeing more from you on Substack. Just subscribed.

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JL's avatar

Ditto here including the subscription!

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Alan Collinge's avatar

Same!

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Maggy's avatar

Thank you for bringing forth evidence that Taibbi didn’t lie. It’s too bad”news” organizations aren’t more easily dissuaded (charged with a crime) from making knowingly false claims.

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Frank Paynter's avatar

Yeah, Matt later said on his 'America this week' podcast with Walter Kirn that he wasn't very happy with losing his temper on that interview, and said he could have handled that a lot better. I for one think that makes Matt more, not less, believable. He's just like us - trying to the best job he can, and occasionally getting flumoxed by someone who isn't bothered by little things like decency and truthfullness.

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Alan Collinge's avatar

Totally agree. I just tried to say what you just said!

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Frank Paynter's avatar

Lee, thanks for 'coming over to the dark side' where us 'deplorables' hang out. I was an engineer in the CIA for 25 years, and retired early because I could no longer handle the rampant idiocy and backstabbing. When I pulled the plug my wife and I were more than a little concerned about our ability to make it on the outside; we figured if worst came to worst we could share a work shift at McDonalds :). What we actually found though, was that in real life people thanked us for doing good work and respected (and rewarded - what a concept!) our skill sets - it was absolutely mind-blowing after all those years in the basement, being fed s...t and being told to like it. I'm telling you this long-winded story because I suspect you too will find that out here in the real world, we appreciate good, honest journalism, and while you might not get rich monetarily, your 'psychic income' will be MUCH higher! Welcome!

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No Use For a Band/Name's avatar

Welcome to Substack Lee - have followed your reporting for years, and glad to see you've found your way here. Thank you for your integrity and the perseverance with which you expose the truth - America needs real journalists like yourself & Matt Taibbi now more than ever.

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TimInVA's avatar

Matt sent me. Welcome to the Stack.

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WI Patriot's avatar

"Matt sent me" Ditto :)

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Debmo's avatar

Matt sent me.

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Howie's avatar

I’m glad you’re here full time.

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norbert hornstein's avatar

It is too bad to see another once reasonable person lured by fame and fortune. Was Hasan always as slippery as he now seems to be, or is it the opportunity to be the next Rachel Maddow that has changed him? Thanks for making it clear that with Hasan the reader must beware.

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Sprouted Bread's avatar

The Grayzone livestream from Friday, April 7 has video clips of Medhi that display his apparent careerism. Apparently he'll say anything.

A principled person trying to be interviewed by a careerist, unprincipled person... we saw how that went. I guess Matt and Medhi needed to agree to the purpose of Matt's appearance, and state it for the viewers at the outset.

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Bryan's avatar

In watching nutrtional debates, it's been very apparent to me for a long time that debate is just a sport. It doesn't get anyone closer to the truth. It just shows who's a better debater, even if they have to be underhanded.

A discussion between peers with opposing views can be fruitful if both sides are charitible. But when it becomes about point scoring and trying to pull on a single thread to invalidate a mass of evidence? Nah. When it becomes smears and character assassination? Nah

And it's been my experience super well educated people who thrive within institutions (corporations, academia) are often greater debaters. The MSM Elevates these people bc they serve a function for the state, for the party

They score their points and then John Stewart and Mark Hamill and other celebs do their victory dance and then in the hearts and minds of the public MSNBC "won". The latter fall out doesn't matter bc it didn't happen on TV.

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Mike Geyen's avatar

High praise from Matt Taibbi got me to subscribe, Welcome to Substack

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Mitchy's avatar

So glad to see you on Substack. I have appreciated you over the years, but had stopped subscribing to the Intercept at the time Glenn Greenwald left.

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Boris Petrov's avatar

Bravo and thank you, Lee

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Pam-icloud's avatar

So glad you came to Substack as I love your work but refuse to read the Intercept anymore, especially after G. Greenwald left it.

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Zinc's avatar

Just in-- Hasan shows himself a craven and ignorant sleazeball...

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Lawrence Libby's avatar

Video at 11..

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Bryan's avatar

Didn't know you left Theintercept

I paid for a year here. I hope substack works out for you and is fruitful.

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DZ's avatar

This reporting, along with the group of other journalists on Substack like Taibbi, Mate, Greenwald and others, reminds me of the principled group of journalists from the turn of the twentieth century working at McClure's Magazine. Then it was Ida Tarbell's epic exposure of the corruption and monopolization of JD Rockefeller's Standard Oil, as well as others reporting on the collusion of government and business interests. This Borg-like assimilation of government and social media platforms quietly taking shape to undermine the constitution's basic civil liberties is shocking. What's equally shocking, but not surprising, is the interference that mainstream corporate media hacks like Hasan are running to obscure and obfuscate this very dangerous and Orwellian phenomenon and effort. Fang is correct, Hasan's smear of Taibbi's congressional testimony is defamatory. I would guess Matt could care less what Hassan thinks of him but maybe it would be useful to hold Hasan accountable. After all, this entire issue boils down to freedom of speech, and the long established guardrails that U.S. law imposes in keeping freedom of speech unfettered without violating the rights of others. Maybe Taibbi should sue Hasan for slander/libel and refusing to issue an apology and retraction when asked to do so once the facts of his error was presented to him for falsely accusing Matt of purposely lying, under oath, before congress. I would gladly contribute to a GoFundMe to help with Matt's legal expenses to file such a suit. While I appreciate the effort by other principled journalists and good-faith people to get the word out about this, it seems that Hasan has a much larger platform to spread his defamatory lies and smears and therefore any effort to correct the record has a minuscule effect in setting the record straight. A law suit brought against a well-known pundit on a mainstream media platform would have a much better chance of reaching a wider audience and spreading the word about the veracity and truth of Taibbi's Twitter File's reporting. It's an uphill battle for sure and it would be an expensive and time consuming effort, especially going up against the deep pockets of such a large corporation as Comcast, but maybe it's time someone steps up and says enough is enough. It's been done before.

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