Imagine living in a country where billionaires who support the authoritarian leader gobble up two of the five major movie studios, take over TikTok, and participate in two mergers that give them control of two news channels.
I’m not talking about North Korea, Russia, or Hungary.
The billionaire father and son duo would control CNN, HBO, and Warner Bros studios in addition to already controlling CBS News, which they have utterly discredited after bringing on Bari Weiss, whose sole job is to run interference for the broligarchy and Israel.
Speaking of Israel, Larry Ellison is the single largest donor to “Friends of the IDF.” He’s also a major supporter of both Trump and Netanyahu. After pro-Israel Democrats and Republicans complained about TikTok “radicalizing” young people against a genocide, Ellison stepped in and bought it. This will be the media and political landscape in a country with increasing news deserts due to local newspapers folding and local news stations being bought up by pro-Trump Reeks, Sinclair Broadcasting.
You’re going to get a steady diet of disinformation, right-wing propaganda, pro-billionaire slop, and the outright censoring of content and artists who defy the regime’s cultural and political sensibilities.
What could go wrong? Everything.
But there’s still time to fight back. Earlier in the week, over 1,000 Hollywood A-listers signed an open letter protesting the merger, citing the devastating impact it would have on the economy and freedom of expression. On Wednesday, attorney and host Katie Phang joined Mark Ruffalo and others to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee to bring attention to the dangers of this merger to our freedom, democracy, and independent journalism.
Katie joins The Left Hook to discuss her testimony, why more Americans need to be outraged by this proposed merger, and the complicity of corporate media.
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Thank you Progressive Indiana Network, Caro Henry, Elaine Cimino, Rasha Refaie, LeftieProf, and many others for tuning into my live video with Katie Phang! Join me for my next live video in the app.
