Something’s up in right-wing-noise-machineland. And beyond. See all the updates.
With the addition of Jill Stein and my familiarity with horseshoe strategy, I’m inclined to think now that the Twitter silences are somehow related to Mueller investigating these people’s Putin connections. Horseshoe strategy, named after horseshoe theory (see Wikipedia entry), is supporting the most extreme ends of both sides so as to polarize, sow division and defeat the centre, which is why Putin was working to support the campaigns of Bernie Sanders and Jill Stein as well as Trump (according to a Mueller indictment), plus funding and even creating out of thin air some far-left groups.
Also a tweet-thread by Dirk Schwenk (see bottom update) has me mostly convinced that these Twitter silences are the result of a court order. It would explain why they started on the same two days and also why they are so specific, e.g. Fox can’t tweet but can still broadcast. Read his thread for more plausible thoughts.
Dirty Rubles author Greg Olear tweeted this on Saturday:
(HT MTmofo for the second tweet.)
Wikileaks also has gone dark. I just checked and they last tweeted Nov. 8. To be fair, sometimes they take two or three-day breaks.
Finally, Matt Drudge deleted every tweet, though of course I can’t tell when, and hasn’t tweeted since.
Though it’s futile to do so to hide your Twitter activity:
I can’t imagine this isn’t somehow related, however indirectly, to the Dems retaking the House, due to the timing. Perhaps Mueller has let more information out to relevant people about upcoming indictments, now that his pre-election 60 days of silence is over. Perhaps the noise machine fears House investigations that will actually have teeth.
Needless to say there is much speculation. People on Twitter are thinking Fox might have, at long last, decided to jettison Trump in the hope of saving their own reputation, because they have an idea of what’s coming down the pipes. Also that the Republicans might be planning same, for the same reason, and to either force him to resign or impeach him quick during the lame duck session, then Pence as well if he also gets nailed by Mueller, so that Paul Ryan will be president rather than Nancy Pelosi—or whomever the Dems choose; popular-vote President Hillary Clinton, anyone?—since Dems would get to choose if Trump and Pence were both forced out of office after the Dems officially take over. [Update Nov 13 12:57 pm EST: several commenters have disagreed with Twitter sources and convinced me that this is highly unlikely. Alas.]
Parts of Twitter are even thinking Fox and the GOP might be co-ordinating this, and that’s why that secret conversation between Murdoch and McConnell.
Please note I am fully aware this is all speculation. It may all be completely wrong. What’s going on may be, and most likely is, something we can’t anticipate as we simply don’t have enough information.
But one thing I feel I can report absolutely for sure, which is why I am writing this diary at all: something is up, and because it’s silencing some of the most noxious mouthpieces, it’s bad for the bad guys.
Just the fact that said mouthpieces have not been spewing lies into the public discourse like factory chimneys spewing toxic smoke into the air we breathe for a few days is good news.
But bad for the bad guys generally means good for us, the USA and the world.
Anyone else feeling the course of history shift subtly under our feet, from signs you’re seeing?
Monday, Nov 12, 2018 · 9:44:22 PM +00:00 · KM Wehrstein
Jayden, MTmofo and others point out in the comments that Fox might be on Twitter strike due to the doxxing of Tucker Carlson, as per the Daily Caller.
I don’t trust the Daily Caller as far as I could comfortably spit a rat, but there’s some plausibility there.
Update on the update, Nov. 13: I’m doubting this more now. It doesn’t explain why Wikileaks, the Enquirer and Drudge have stopped. Or Kim Dotcom or Jill Stein.
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Monday, Nov 12, 2018 · 10:15:19 PM +00:00 · KM Wehrstein
In the comments, jhop7 joins the speculation:
The new AG must have started spreading the word on where the Mueller investigation is digging.
Look at them all scrambling, trying to earn their obstruction charges. Like ants in a rainstorm.
I’d be more tentative about this, but it’s possible, since Whitaker has access to Mueller’s info. I have to wonder whether Mueller isn’t feeding him selective info to see who does what as a result, however, and so have good evidence of Whitaker obstructing justice.
Tuesday, Nov 13, 2018 · 9:23:00 AM +00:00 · KM Wehrstein
Per several commenters, most notably DoctorWho, plus Twitter: the National Enquirer’s Twitter account has been silent since Nov. 9 also. twitter.com/...
Recall that the rag’s owner, David Pecker, has been investigated by Mueller. (He was said to have been granted immunity according to the Wall Street Journal.)
I am thinking that Fox, Wikileaks and the Enquirer have gone dark for reasons related to being investigated by Mueller, and that Matt Drudge is just paranoid, as I have learned from numerous commenters that he has a habit of mass-deleting Tweets (as if they don’t all get archived). As ever, ICBW (I could be wrong).
Tuesday, Nov 13, 2018 · 9:39:40 AM +00:00 · KM Wehrstein
Numerous commenters, figuring I’m being much too optimistic, have speculated that these Twitter silences are due to a Trump & mob plot to perform a coup via declaring martial law or some such.
Not plausible, imo, because they’d do exactly the opposite. They’d be non-stop blaring scary bullcrap about whatever pretext had been invented for the coup, so as to prepare the emotional ground for it by programming the public to be terrified of that pretext. That’s what the propaganda arms of coup-plotters do, and these ones have lots of fear-mongering practice.
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