20 Comments
Jul 16, 2021Liked by Ben Cohen

Like you, I have been deeply disappointed by whatever it is that has happened to Matt Taibbi. I had been an enthusiastic subscriber to his substack. Over time I tried very hard to follow his thinking through a series of his posts that became increasingly harder to comprehend. I discovered he had accumulated a collection of right-wing commenters who struck me as both cruel and dishonest. Finally when the right-wing destructiveness began to be overwhelming, I had to disconnect, and at this point I have not read anything he has written for some months.

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May 18, 2023Liked by Ben Cohen

I've been a regular presence on Taibbi's comment section for the better part of two years as part of a research project. The vitriol and bad faith bandied about is truly a thing to behold, and to echo your comment, Taibbi's reporting is not only profoundly dishonest it's more often than not incomprehensible. Truly a phenomenon, albeit a very unpleasant one.

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author

Would you mind telling me what the research project is about? You can email me if you'd prefer to keep it off the comment thread!: ben@thedailybanter.com

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Jul 19, 2021Liked by Ben Cohen

Same here. I resigned my subscription to Matt's substack a few months ago. I peek at it a few times to see what he's writing about but it is the same tired bs and the far right commenters he's attracted have turned the blog into a toxic Daily Wire-lite.

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It sounds to me like he has just actually awoken. What are you all so freakin scared of? Have some Avocado toast and check your phone. It will all be OK. My Pronouns are her, his and they. By the way I heard Tucker gave up eating children for lent!

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One wonders if the Russians have kompromat on Taibbi, given how he enjoyed life in Russia and all it could offer him, perhaps a little too much. It might be how Taibbi went from being a well respected journalist into a right wing hack.

What a waste!

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Attacks on someone's integrity always show the inability to support your side of the debate and fits right into Matt's theories on the state of the establishment left. Someone could just as easily accuse The banter, or yourself, as being paid by the DNC.

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Taibbi has no integrity.

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It seems unfair somehow to speculate about that possibility, but it has occurred to me too.

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After the last five to six years, anything's possible!

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Human behavior has always been -- and I guess will always be -- unpredictable before it happens and inexplicable once it has.

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Given his prior history, he must know how terrible his current output has become. Has he lost his mind or has money become his be all and end all. Whatever the case he has become a putrid, pathetic individual. Maybe he hopes for a position in “president carlson’s” administration.

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Maybe, or maybe you have lost your mind.

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Watching Taibbi morph into a right wing shill has been a great disappointment. I had thought of him as a really good journalist

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> I had thought of him as a really good journalist

And he still is.

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Whomp Whomp

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I didn’t know if this Matt Taibbi, but it seems he might, by focusing on such as Carlson, who’s getting so much attention, be reviving his own notoriety albeit in the worst way. That to me is the only logical explanation if he was once a reputable journalist, but as they say, any publicity is good publicity, we’ll maybe.

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Well, there has been a stretch where he seemed pretty respectable and maybe did some nice work. But if he has fallen of late, is just a start in the direction from whence he came. How can anybody trust this guy?

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/matt-taibbis-not-so-secret-russian-past_b_59f729e9e4b06acda25f4b8e

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I wonder if he's learned the difference between lie and lay since he wrote that paragraph about Ailes.

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you must mean "his ideological compxdremxdre"

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