Can You Force Fox News to Be Less Racist?
In Ep. 17 of The New Abnormal, Rick and Molly talk to Sleeping Giants’ Matt Rivitz about taking on Tucker Carlson and a former NOLA mayor takes on the confederacy.
Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast / Photos Getty
Calling out disinformation pushed by Fox News and other Trumpy outlets—you know, the guys who make up Black Lives Matter “mobs,” have “white power hours” and publish headlines like “Would you rather your daughter have cancer than feminism?”—is no easy feat. But in Episode 17 of The New Abnormal, Rick Wilson and Molly Jong-Fast talk to someone trying to do it, one screenshot at a time.
Sleeping Giants’ Matt Rivitz talks about what it’s like to take on Brietbart, Bill O’Reilly, and Tucker Carlson—and win. He’s been pushing advertisers from Kellogg's to Mars to drop the race-baiters, and they’ve responded.
“This is like the Super Bowl... It's like, OK, brands finally get it. What they choose to support with their media dollars really drives the conversation,” he says. “No media planner is like going to get all fired up about doing a Pepe campaign.”
But there’s still work to do, as extreme right-wing network One America News (aka OANN) exists, which Rick describes perfectly: “It's like Breitbart and Alex Jones had a love child with no editorial standards.”
Then, former New Orleans mayor Mitch Landrieu joins the duo and goes deep on policing and his long fight to take down confederate monuments.
Get the best of The Beast delivered right to your inbox
By clicking “SUBSCRIBE” you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
“Those monuments were put up after the war was over in reverence of the people that fought to destroy the country for the purpose of preserving slavery. Well, nothing could be more un-American than that thought right now.”
Plus! Molly Jong-Fast heralds the return of Matt “Hot Tub Crime Machine” Whittaker, the one-time attorney general. (He mixes “a toxic cocktail of macho mega swagger, the angry cant of the Christian [ultra-conservative], and the whining of a petulant child.”) And Rick Wilson wonders whether Trumpists could “solve a complex puzzle, like stacking blocks in order,” does an impression of Trump’s Rampgate! tweet and ponders the contents of Ted Cruz’s erotic fan fiction.
Listen to The New Abnormal on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Stitcher.
See more of our coverage in your search results.
Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here.
Unlock a year of full access to The Looker and The Daily Beast for $35.
Monthly
$1
First month then $5.99/month
Annual
$35
First year then $59.99/year
Premium
$79
First year then $119.99/year
*Substack access provided by the next business day, using your subscription email. Choosing the Premium plan constitutes your permission to share your subscription email with Substack and your agreement to Substack’s Privacy Policy.
Looks like you already have a subscription!
You're all set!
Thanks for subscribing.
Register below to read this article for free or subscribe
to unlock unlimited access to The Looker and The Daily Beast.
Monthly
$1
First month then $5.99/month
Annual
$35
First year then $59.99/year
Premium
$79
First year then $119.99/year
*Substack access provided by the next business day, using your subscription email. Choosing the Premium plan constitutes your permission to share your subscription email with Substack and your agreement to Substack’s Privacy Policy.
Already have an account? Sign In
Looks like you already have a subscription!
You're all set!
Thanks for subscribing.
Sign in
Login dialog