The Lever - We Need To Talk About Elon

Friends:

As annoying as it may seem, we need to talk about Elon Musk and Twitter. Up until this point, Elon’s Twitter takeover seemed like just another culture war sideshow — until Twitter started banning journalists. On Lever Time, I spoke with a leading digital rights advocate about the significance of these recent developments and what freedom of expression should look like in the digital age.

On The Audit, the study group (including Senator Nina Turner) slog through the next five lessons from the Axelrod-Rove MasterClass. Axelrod and Rove try really hard to paint themselves as unique geniuses, but the study group provides the necessary historical context that entirely contradicts their message. It seems these political strategists still need to learn a thing or two about opposition research.

Learn more and find the episode links below.

Rock the boat,

Sirota

NEW SCOOP: Congress Still Protecting Dark Money Donors

A series of measures in Congress’ annual omnibus spending bill show that Democrats have given up their fight to end the dark money era.

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LEVER TIME: Elon Musk’s Twitter Is The Opposite Of Free Speech

In light of Elon Musk’s Twitter flippantly banning journalists last week, David Sirota chats with Producer Frank and Jordan Uhl about the broader implications. Is this just another culture war sideshow, or is it the most forward-facing example of what happens when oligarchs control the public discourse?

Then, David is joined by Evan Greer, the director of the digital rights advocacy group Fight For The Future, who helps unpack the significance of Twitter’s implosion. Unlike other social media websites, Twitter is both a news source and a town square, which makes Elon’s unilateral control of the company all the more concerning. They also dig into the practicalities of content moderation and why freedom of expression is so crucial in the digital age.

Click here for a rough transcript of the episode.

BONUS: On Lever Time Premium  (the extended version of Lever Time which is exclusively available for supporting subscribers), Producer Frank and Andrew Perez discuss the “One Thing” that’s been most on their mind recently. This week, Andrew lays out his opinions on the danger of censoring journalists online, and Frank discusses the negative effects of consumerism during the holiday season.

If you want access to Lever Premium Podcasts, click here.

THE AUDIT: Researching Your Campaign Electoral Focus

In the new episode of our “educational” series The Audit, Dave, Josh, and their study buddy Senator Nina Turner make their way through the next FIVE lessons from David Axelrod and Karl Rove’s 24-part MasterClass on campaign strategy and messaging. We tried to warn them about consuming so much garbage in one sitting, but their commitment to education is unparalleled.

This week, the study group learn from the “masters” how to conduct campaign research and understand your voters. At least that’s what Axelrod and Rove claim they’re teaching. The study group offers their counter-narrative: David Axelrod accidentally stumbled across a once-in-a-lifetime presidential candidate who didn’t really need him, while Karl Rove used vile smears to destroy his political opponents. But hey, who actually remembers these things?

Click here for a rough transcript of the episode.

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