Journalist Yashar Ali tweeted a quick thread Saturday on a subject that seems to be bothering him: anti-Trump cable news celebrities who seem to move more deeply into conspiracy territory the minute they catch the fame bug.
There's this thing that keeps happening. Anti-Trump cable news personalities start out sober/calm and offer smart analysis. Then as their celebrity grows and they get more attention..they get addicted to the attention and start saying bombastic stuff..delve into conspiracies..
— Yashar Ali ? (@yashar) April 14, 2018
2. Basically all the stuff they criticize Trump for….they turn into. It keeps happening. This is a made up example cause I'm not going to name names…a former gov official has their first hit..then they keep getting booked because they're good…then they join Twitter
— Yashar Ali ? (@yashar) April 14, 2018
3. Next thing you know they're quote tweeting Trump and talking about the "pee tape" and then tweeting out articles from random blogs and saying things like "Wow if True"…
— Yashar Ali ? (@yashar) April 14, 2018
4. And FYI for all of you speculating I'm not talking about anchors/hosts that have their own shows. I'm talking about pundits/analysts under contract…and no I'm not going to tag anyone…
— Yashar Ali ? (@yashar) April 14, 2018
He’s not going to tag anyone … but that won’t stop the rest of Twitter from chiming in.
EVERYONE should read this thread, because this is so true. Cable News is truly the worst at fomenting this. Oh and I'll start: Exhibit A — John Brennan. https://t.co/XFBw7ZBRNl
— Michael (@Michael2014abc) April 14, 2018
Sounds like @ananavarro to me. Feel free to prove me wrong. https://t.co/fGgt56K4V8
— 'Cuse Me While I Scream (@FeistyMonk) April 14, 2018
John Sipher, Renato Mariotti, Benjamin Wittes, John Brennan, Clapper. https://t.co/B8q5HJxlqf
— Chuck Ross (@ChuckRossDC) April 14, 2018
Yes this is a thing, and it's annoying. https://t.co/9QYfhYYcXR
— Joe Remi (@JoeOfTheNorth) April 14, 2018
Attention economy works the same no matter the medium https://t.co/kYKs1iwCNY
— Patrick Hruby (@patrick_hruby) April 14, 2018
An excellent encapsulation of an all too familiar progression. Thank you! https://t.co/MqEVNj1QiD
— Jabez (@realJabezWilson) April 14, 2018
Yes, and this has happened to many pundits, not just anti-Trump types. TV can be a dangerous mistress. https://t.co/gBJ9rVc7QC
— Kelly Jane Torrance (@KJTorrance) April 14, 2018
https://twitter.com/esaagar/status/985234056941129731
This is 100% correct https://t.co/AFKF13IwzS
— Storm Kollak ™ (@realStormKollak) April 14, 2018
This is smart and more generalizably true. If the sin of Facebook is that it prompts us to curate our lives to make others envious, the vice of Twitter is more like drug use or degenerate gambling: you start chasing the high, and need to go bigger and bigger in search of it. https://t.co/kwfxTacIpb
— Mooch Kenilworth (@thehispanist) April 14, 2018
What I keep saying, and now because @yashar is saying it people will pay some attention, which is good. https://t.co/KsGuFjGZKQ
— Nathan, son of Robert (@NathanWurtzel) April 14, 2018
Good thread. https://t.co/CXkSqwnE8R
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) April 14, 2018
Beware the Dopamine Junkies. They are everywhere. https://t.co/q4P4sHF8Jq
— Eric Blyler (@e_blyler) April 14, 2018
Trump Derangement Syndrome infects entire news networks not just personalities. https://t.co/Pxp0W8V8d9
— Bryan Lanza (@bclanza) April 14, 2018
True thread. https://t.co/X6NBn9tnKe
— David French (@DavidAFrench) April 14, 2018
Yashar’s right. Good mini rant. https://t.co/bfNq6xgs2o
— Carl Gottlieb (@c_cgottlieb) April 14, 2018
This is how it is with every pundit regardless of their political orientation. You get air time for being provocative/filling a role the producer wants (I.e token liberal or trump supporter). Nuance doesn’t get you a career in punditry https://t.co/HH3WJXmOcg
— Jake (@JakeW1430) April 14, 2018
Related:
LITERALLY HITLER! Ana Navarro gets dragged for using the Holocaust in tweet about McCabe's departure https://t.co/j4evLS7Sj4
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) January 29, 2018
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