A quick note to readers. We have some new material coming, including video and (hopefully) audio content, an excerpt of the new edition of Hate Inc., and some new logistical features that should help make navigating the site a little easier. I’ll be posting a note in the next few days with details.
One other new item: we’ve created a TK Facebook page, which can be found here:
The page is among other things for releasing news of new content, but there will be other features specific to subscribers to this site, like for instance a Comment of the Week, posted with permission of course (I often feel like highlighting some of the things subscribers write in threads and under articles). I’m not looking to move discussions or content to Facebook. This is just a small additional feature designed to help distribute Substack content more quickly and easily, while also giving subscribers another way to communicate with each other, if they so desire.
Thanks, and look to this space soon for other updates.
I purposely do not have a Facebook account. Hopefully you will continue on Substack. I also never buy on Amazon but rather go directly to the dealer. In addition I try to avoid all things manufactured in China. Small acts of resistance.
I also carefully curate my attention and buying habits. No FB, no Twitter, No IG, etc. I prefer long-form think pieces and podcasts. Also no Amazon and I avoid China-made products. I feel like my efforts are futile, even joke material, but it's good to see I am not alone. There are at least two of us ; ).
i have a smeared twitter account and its easy for them cause i have few followers and im a nobody on this consumer society, like some say im a loser and i like it, since ive got food, house, car and guns
Me too! I can't find a good alternative to YouTube. Vimeo and Rumble just aren't there yet. If anyone finds a way around YouTube, let me know! I really hate them, especially what they have done/are doing to Prager and many others.
Brave and duckduckgo are a great combination. That is my go-to combo on all my devices, and as the IT guy in my house, my wife and kids are slowly getting there. Our school system is one of the worst offenders, in terms of Covid & Woke dogma, so our kids are still fully remote, going on a year. In the fall they gave them Chromebooks to use, and I've partitioned them off on our network. Like having NSA snooping devices in the house...actually, they are snooping devices.
As for DuckDuckGo, at first I was concerned that I wouldn't find what I was looking for - I'm one of those people that goes deep into the weeds on a lot of my searches, but I usually find it quickly, and to be honest, not having the rabbit hole right in front of me has freed up a lot of my time.
I also clear all my data on closing the browser, which is full of stuff, even with the blocking Brave does - same goes for Safari.
I'm right there with you. I just left instagram. Not buying from Amazon either. I have a pixel phone but am getting rid of it and Google. I'm done with big tech and censorship.
Replaced my kindle with a nook. Most of the $ are spent on books - replacing the device is a small cost. Or replace when you next plan to upgrade. You can migrate all your e books to the nook - lots of software packages for that.
Good idea but keep the Pixel phone, surprisingly enough it is the easiest phone to "de-googlify" and soon enough we'll have a stable release of Linux for phones.
I'm with you 100%. I cut the cord on my cable so I'm no longer paying the MSM to lie to me, never buy from Amazon, never use Twitter or Facebook, and avoid Google as much as I can. Brave is a great browser and coupled with DuckDuckGo, I can basically do without Google search and Google Chrome. It's hard staying away from China, but I do look long and hard for products made in the US before I buy.
It's refreshing and a sign of hope that somene such as yourself is actually willing to walk the walk, not just talk the talk.
Also, your handle on here "Conservativegirl" is, especially if apt, highly commendable, as it might actually get some left and right-leaning folks to expand their thinking and question their assumptions. (OK, I'm a dreamer.)
Those restrictions on facebook and twitter are coming either way, in that case. Nobody's moving anything to facebook, as far as I can tell, other than them putting a "comment of the week" from here on the facebook page, which I'm sure he'll duplicate here.
I used to work as a volunteer moderator and administrator, later, on one of the biggest v-bulletin forums on the planet. Anyone writing here with a large enough readership to where moderation of comments is "tedious" can surely have a few friends/sane fans/whatever do the same thing.
I agree about editing comments, though. Substack is still a work in progress like that.
I just paid for your substack a few days ago, and I've stopped using FB. If it's light promotion, fine. But if you are putting content there which is not distributed directly to paying customers, please refund my money. FB is a major accelerant of the current fuckitude and you should have NOTHING to do with it. This is bullshit. It cheapens your brand IMMENSELY.
I see you’re not gonna just roll over. We have ways of manufacturing consent (involving chocolate, whiskey and Jacuzzis). Your resolve will weaken. Facebook will WIN!!
Though I don't totally agree with you Wear Your Fukkin' Mask, and I question how your parents named you, I like your coinage "current fuckitude." I give you points for that (No Country for Old Men).
Sorry, FB was used as a gathering place for murderous assholes (see: January 6, 2021) to distribute info on one of my (non-political) kids and doxx them, resulting in dozens of death threats via phone/email. FUCK ZUCKERBERG,and fuck you MATT. It's way past cat videos, now.
I now take the sarcastic points I gave you away now, Wear Your Fukkin' Mask. With my spidey powers, I deduce that you work at The Ministry of Silly Walks. Am I correct in that guess?
Matt- I pretty much have agreed with what you’ve been writing and appreciate your willingness to speak the truth when few others will. I understand writing and selling on Substack is a tough gig to make money but going to Facebook is a big mistake. FB sucks. They are thieves and now they are manipulative censors. They piss on the notion of privacy and free speech. They are the antithesis if what you are trying to do. Please rethink this.
I am a conscientious objector to Facebook. Sad to see any encouragement of its use by you, Matt. OTOH, it’s the default platform for reaching many, so good luck, I guess.
Just please always keep your output available elsewhere.
Well as a paid subscriber I think I deserve to have my voice heard. Obviously it is up to Matt to make his decision, but it does not hurt to have some customer feedback.
Forget Sasinsea. He is a know sanctimonious troll on these pages. Seems to think an opinion required a token. Too bad there isn’t a block feature on this stiluff.
I'm adding to the "Dog Pile on Matt" regarding going to Facebook. Posting to Facebook, or Instagram (oh wait, they are the same fucking company!) gives Zuckerberg the right to use your material license- and royalty-free any way that he wants to. This would mean - for example - that Zuckerberg can plaster "Exclusive content from Matt Taibbi on Facebook" and use you and your work to draw in new Facebook customers. I pay subscriptions to people like you, David Sirota, Glenn Greenwald, and Jimmy Dore exactly because I want content independent from FB and Google.
Dore's primary platform is youtube, owned by google. Unfortunately these places have the largest audience, so I think it's okay to use them for now, as long as the exclusive content stays on independent sites like Substack, if only to reach a larger audience in order to criticize the very platforms that are hosting the content. Can't drag people off facebook if we aren't talking to them.
Dore's primary source of income is not Google, and he makes that clear in the endcard of every video. Starting about a year ago he has is distancing himself from Patreon. Since the November election, he is being clear that he sees a future where you'll only get his content over his website. Can't drag people off facebook if we give them no reason to leave. "Bringing the good stuff" to Facebook is counterproductive IMHO.
I see a lot of comments here indicating a feeling of betrayal for Matt posting on FB.
And I understand the sentiment: Due to the growing neo-McCarthyism of the Big Tech platforms, I've canceled my Twitter, Instagram, and Amazon accounts, and no longer buy from Etsy, either.
And I closed my main FB account last summer - BUT still have my even older one that I used as a newspaper reporter to engage with the local (San Diego) music community. That account is my only point of contact with a lot of San Diego musicians, and since I'm still writing about music, I keep it alive for that purpose.
We're all here, supporting Matt, because we're disgusted by the ongoing crush of Orwellian censorship, yes?
But how many people are fully aware of how bad it is? How many of your family, friends, etc., are joining you in abandoning Big Tech?
If the latest numbers are right, not many. Facebook's growth is slowing - but it's numbers aren't shrinking. Amazon is making record profits.
So, Matt can go all silo here and refuse to engage with the larger culture.
Or he can take his message to as wide an audience as possible.
Now, my guess is FB shuts him down before too long. They just shut down Project Veritas for confronting Big Tech executives about the growing censorship.
But if Matt can get people not currently thinking about the issue of censorship to make that jump and take a look at how bad it is?
Is it that big a deal? Really? All our principled outrage, which is exceeded only by our vanity. Our smug declarations. Oh, the horror. The sheer horror!
Interesting comment w/o substance. Personally, I was disappointed Matt chose to not share his reasoning for voting for H.C. in '16. But, I regularly read Matt because I don't know many who argue and write as well.
So he should join just to be able to cry "Foul!" when they censor him - unless of course he does nothing to run afoul of the Almighty Algorithm, in which case he would probably no longer be worth reading ...
Facebook? duh! never been there ever; too smart to ever have gone there ever...nor any other social platform ever...not even the ancient MSMessenger. Because I am intelligent and knew from the get go that it would all be a place to get screwed...'likes', 'retweets', how pathetic.
Hmm...this is a risky reply and I certainly don't want a keyboard war but implying your fellow followers of Matt's page are not smart, to my mind, isn't very smart. I've been on FB since about 2008. While, avoiding falling down rabbit holes is a challenge, it has been a useful tool to keep me in touch with my interest groups and my kids.
Risky, indeed! With all due respect to David, I’m 70 years old, and it’s been my long lived experience that those who blow their own horns are nearly, if not always hubristic windbags full of hyperbolic hot air. My gratitude for your diplomatically defensive posture. You helped curb me from blowing my ‘substack’.
Rob, (who didn't want to comment further 'out of respect for Matt' as if Matt gives a hoot) can you please cancel me now....I wanna feel what it feels like, you know, participate fully in woke culture...
I C. Self restraint is a virtue that reinforces self esteem. Congratulations on the virtuous exercise of it. For the support: y/w. (I can see that I’m going to have to change my username!)
this is fun. never did this before..but its pointless. wanna do a duel? that could prove more effective. problem is travel....we probably live to far apart....and I'm lazy. probably a bad idea.
Again, stating the obvious is tantamount to being redundant. Besides, dueling can be done in numerous ways and take as many forms. The challenged is traditionally given the choice of weapons. My choice would be wit, but I refuse to face an unarmed opponent, so it’s not a bad idea. It’s an unworkable idea.
Rob, I can see you taking it that way. I see it is a bit sarcastic...but I meant it. Not that I am so especially smart, it just looks that way compared to the crowd (more and more these days). You can be, likely are, an exception in many ways...I know not...but still, the vast numbers of humanity nowadays seem to be pretty darned shallow...'likes', 're tweets', 'want to be famous', 'an influencer'..by God!...its just sad. Glad if you can handle it well as a tool.
As I said, I respect this forum and I don't think this is the appropriate place for this sort of discussion. I won't comment further out of respect for Matt.
Matt, certainly you know better than to use FB. I would expect someone with your knowledge to be actively discouraging people from using it and not promoting it. I hope you don't need the money that badly.
Sorry, can't do Facebook. For many of the reasons already posted. I totally understand why you would want a proven and ready launchpad to secure more readers, but you could have taken another road, as well - expanding your own platform, as it were, beyond substack wouldn't be that hard to do, especially since your celebrity, notoriety and journalistic history is head and shoulders above the many other "newsletters" on substack today - and there are seemingly hundreds of them. And don't forget that your writing and your approach to stories and the issues of the day was what attracted most of your readers/followers.
“.......This is what makes your self-respect so important, and I don’t see how you can respect yourself if you must look in the hearts and minds of others for your happiness.” HST
Let's assume Matt has done his research. That would mean he thinks he'll find people on Facebook who will sign up for one of his offerings. And that would mean his audience is the sort of people who use Facebook regularly and even enthusiastically. Could be this is primarily intended to reach foreigners. Perhaps Matt's a globalist, after all.
I expect you to monitor—even participate in—corporate social media, because that is an essential part of your role. You monitor/participate so I don’t have to. But please don’t drag me there. We’re at Substack because we have rejected Facebook and Twitter.
It may be counterintuitive to someone whose livelihood depends on monetization of content, but please consider that going to FB may be the worst possible marketing strategy for you. You could actually lose readers. It may work for those writers with mainstream audiences and views, but, imho, you couldn’t choose a worst fit for your marketing media campaign. Going to FB could be your albatross.
At the risk of sounding snarky—not my intent—perhaps instead of looking for the next book to read, read (or re-read) your audience first.
Reusing a reply I made below But that's where the people we want to reach are. The end recipient is not FB but the people who follow FB. Not the enemy but the somewhat unaware
Well, with respect, is it not problematic to use an evil platform to reach its innocent subscribers? If your message is to defeat censorship and the cancel culture, it seems hypocritical and counterproductive to use one of the most offending platforms to spread that message. Assuming you’re not censored to begin with.
A good point and I wasn't unaware of that problem. If the medium is the message as McLuhan maintained, then you are right. If the message transforms the medium perhaps not. If we are indeed using the Devil to quote scripture, would have to think about that. Cannot remember now if the Devil was a proper channel or not.
Actually, Satan was/is very adept at quoting scripture. He tried to use it for to tempt the Master; but, as it is with all those who are practiced in the art of deception, Satan thought he could use the ‘lie-by-omission’ method. The rest, as they say, is History.
Well, maybe Matt’s intention is to see how far he can get before they cancel him. Maybe while in the lion’s den he can get Facebook users to defect in droves. I hate FB, but if Matt can gut it from within, then cool.
Sounds like the same kind of strategy that Bernie Sanders was supposed to have employed, working from within the party of the corrupt Neoliberal DINO Democrats.
Unfortunately, if Trump isn’t found by the Senate to be guilty of inciting an insurrection; or, if he isn’t finally convicted of attempted election fraud in Georgia State, or some kind of financial crime in the Southern District of New York, the absurdity of the culture hero’s grasp on the so-called ‘law-and-order’ party creates a kind of political gravitational inertia that pulls the entire body politic rightward, giving Democrats reason enough to nominate another ‘lesser evil’ candidate, and the whirlpool we’re about to drown in makes the job for people like Sanders exponentially more difficult with every passing of another leap-year.
All the bloody while, even if Matt is only able to convince two, perhaps those two can convince two more each. If that happened once every day for one month, Facebook would dry up and blow away; so, I’m with ya, pard. May God have mercy upon us all. 🙏🏽
All for getting the word out and your content in King, Matt. I hope you consider Minds or MeWe or other alternatives to FB. You are too good for censorship, Zuck & his Big Tech cronies. Your presence on the other platforms will help them GROW.
Yeah, so anyway my aunt broke her leg at a rave, and I had to walk her dog for 3 months, and by that time my son was in his 2nd trimester and started getting varicose veins, and he’s only 16. You there?
It's a very good thing to spread the word on FB and widen your readership, but PLEASE do not post content available to subscribers on FB only. I never created a FB account cause even back in the day it was obvious to me and a few others that it was a scam to monitor everyone. I am not going to start now.
Like others here - I deleted FB years ago. No intention of going back and kinda surprised that you're launching something/anything new there. Isn't that a little off-brand?
If anyone needs a list of reasons why they should delete FB - here's 10 I wrote back in 2018:
I don't like anything about facebook so I don't use it. Will you share what value facebook offers that exceeds it's deplorable offenses? Why do so many so often act against their best interests?
Matt, podcasts are the rage but please concentrate on written output rather than video. Text is easy to scan, can be read far quicker than the same material in a video, is easily forwarded, can be instantly referred back to and is far more likely to be consumed by a recipient to whom it is forwarded than a video because of the time investment. Text is random access, while one has to sit through a video to know all that is in it. Text is concentrated thinking not filled with pauses, "um's" and "uh's" and "like I was saying" and "you know what I mean" that are not characteristic of you, Matt, but is of too many people when they speak. Bottom line: I prefer more Taibbi per minute.
I loved the video - and frankly - I don't facebook and I don't twitter (that is right NEVER HAVE) BUT ... this herd mentality to boo hiss MT for 'cheating on us all' with Zuckerberg the HO - I don't get it. ITS AN EXCELLENT SUPPLEMENT TO WHAT WAS WRITTEN.
As in complementing the writing. I support you MT - even when you tart around with the Devil in a bad Hoodie.
Please DON'T migrate any content or discussions to fb, you know they will delete your Page very soon. If it's just to pull in a few more readers, great, but it's NOT a place to build a presence.
Not exactly enthralled with FB myself but mine is still active, mostly due to the number of sites I am signed into through FB (hard to disengage and don't even remember them all).
But, I agree it is offered as a supplement and have no objection. The one thing that it would improve would be the ability to share Matt's (and others') views and hopefully start more people thinking independently of the corporate or mainstream media.
While I don’t use Facebook there are plenty that do, so I think it’s great to get the truth to a larger audience because without the bodies truth will die with the few, just as the plutocracy would have it, and I simply refuse to go quietly into the night
Perhaps you shouldn't be making an effort to keep Facebook relevant? I can't tell you how much better I feel since having abandoned Twitter and Facebook. It's why I dig the Substack, actually. Happy to pay money directly to you and people like Glenn Greenwald, Judd Legum and David Sirota.
I stepped away from Facebook 2 years ago when it was clear they harvest our data. We, your readers, are trying to take the few alternate routes still available in this shrinking free world.
I purposely do not have a Facebook account. Hopefully you will continue on Substack. I also never buy on Amazon but rather go directly to the dealer. In addition I try to avoid all things manufactured in China. Small acts of resistance.
I also carefully curate my attention and buying habits. No FB, no Twitter, No IG, etc. I prefer long-form think pieces and podcasts. Also no Amazon and I avoid China-made products. I feel like my efforts are futile, even joke material, but it's good to see I am not alone. There are at least two of us ; ).
More. Resistance is frequently underground.
You are not alone.
Same here
I’m hoping we will see a little success in their next quarterly
three and counting...
make it four.
i have a smeared twitter account and its easy for them cause i have few followers and im a nobody on this consumer society, like some say im a loser and i like it, since ive got food, house, car and guns
Me too! Cancelled prime, also my fb account, buy direct from vendor. No google search or chrome or Mozilla - Brave and duckduckgo.
And proton mail! Only thing I can't seem to get rid of is YouTube.
Me too! I can't find a good alternative to YouTube. Vimeo and Rumble just aren't there yet. If anyone finds a way around YouTube, let me know! I really hate them, especially what they have done/are doing to Prager and many others.
Ditto. I vote with my time, clicks, and wallet. As someone wrote above, “small acts of resistance”. Start with you.
I, as well. Good to know there's more of us.
Same, even bought some BAT once I realized it was associated with Brave
Brave and duckduckgo are a great combination. That is my go-to combo on all my devices, and as the IT guy in my house, my wife and kids are slowly getting there. Our school system is one of the worst offenders, in terms of Covid & Woke dogma, so our kids are still fully remote, going on a year. In the fall they gave them Chromebooks to use, and I've partitioned them off on our network. Like having NSA snooping devices in the house...actually, they are snooping devices.
As for DuckDuckGo, at first I was concerned that I wouldn't find what I was looking for - I'm one of those people that goes deep into the weeds on a lot of my searches, but I usually find it quickly, and to be honest, not having the rabbit hole right in front of me has freed up a lot of my time.
I also clear all my data on closing the browser, which is full of stuff, even with the blocking Brave does - same goes for Safari.
I'm right there with you. I just left instagram. Not buying from Amazon either. I have a pixel phone but am getting rid of it and Google. I'm done with big tech and censorship.
take a look at Calyx OS : calyxos.org . i use it on my pixel 3a xl. it's de-googled android (yes that's a thing).
Replaced my kindle with a nook. Most of the $ are spent on books - replacing the device is a small cost. Or replace when you next plan to upgrade. You can migrate all your e books to the nook - lots of software packages for that.
Good idea but keep the Pixel phone, surprisingly enough it is the easiest phone to "de-googlify" and soon enough we'll have a stable release of Linux for phones.
You’ve got to be kidding. Do you have a chip foundry?
I have Pixel :O
Same here. If Matt moves his work product to Fakebook, I will be angry. And looking for a subscription refund.
I also do not have facebook, I am hoping those of us don't, won't be left adrift.
Going further. Using Signal for texting and Proton for email. Don't support the a....
I'm with you 100%. I cut the cord on my cable so I'm no longer paying the MSM to lie to me, never buy from Amazon, never use Twitter or Facebook, and avoid Google as much as I can. Brave is a great browser and coupled with DuckDuckGo, I can basically do without Google search and Google Chrome. It's hard staying away from China, but I do look long and hard for products made in the US before I buy.
add me to the list i have been fb clean for six years now and like it just fine.
It's refreshing and a sign of hope that somene such as yourself is actually willing to walk the walk, not just talk the talk.
Also, your handle on here "Conservativegirl" is, especially if apt, highly commendable, as it might actually get some left and right-leaning folks to expand their thinking and question their assumptions. (OK, I'm a dreamer.)
Many smaller dealers ship via Amazon. Even eBay in some cases.
No FB for me either. And definitely no Twitter.
Those are two of the reasons I read you. I’m being absolutely genuine there, btw.
i have a redmi6 phone and thats all
Those restrictions on facebook and twitter are coming either way, in that case. Nobody's moving anything to facebook, as far as I can tell, other than them putting a "comment of the week" from here on the facebook page, which I'm sure he'll duplicate here.
If the idea of moving to sub stack was to kick big tech in the crotch, why start a FB?
I committed FB suicide almost 10 yrs ago and have no interest in going back.
FB causes suicides... irresponsible to drive people onto that platform.
Same.
"and there are no mechanisms for content creators to control the trolls/idiots."
This is false.
https://support.substack.com/hc/en-us/articles/360041685991-How-do-I-delete-a-comment-
https://support.substack.com/hc/en-us/articles/360041688471-How-do-I-ban-or-un-ban-someone-from-commenting-on-my-publication-
I used to work as a volunteer moderator and administrator, later, on one of the biggest v-bulletin forums on the planet. Anyone writing here with a large enough readership to where moderation of comments is "tedious" can surely have a few friends/sane fans/whatever do the same thing.
I agree about editing comments, though. Substack is still a work in progress like that.
Not really. V-bulletin sites made money for the forum server owners via advertisements. There's no fundamental difference which is clear to me.
FACEBOOK!!!
What is it good for?
ABSOLUTELY NUTHIN!!!
Say it again....
👁👁
Good God, y’all!!!!
I 2nd this!
Huuh!!
It was good for politics, not sure any more though
Horrible for that. The worst. It's a cancer-filled septic tank.
That makes sense, those are the types who need something like that. I guess they are the types attracted to fb.
I am not sure about some or most of your customers but I dont use facebook at all. Or twitter or any of the other sites you mention.
I just paid for your substack a few days ago, and I've stopped using FB. If it's light promotion, fine. But if you are putting content there which is not distributed directly to paying customers, please refund my money. FB is a major accelerant of the current fuckitude and you should have NOTHING to do with it. This is bullshit. It cheapens your brand IMMENSELY.
I see you’re not gonna just roll over. We have ways of manufacturing consent (involving chocolate, whiskey and Jacuzzis). Your resolve will weaken. Facebook will WIN!!
He won't refund money. I've asked nicely about 5 times now, and no dice.
It's the hypocrisy of it. His audience is NOT the FB crowd, quite the opposite.
Apparently you don't know Matt as well as you thought you did.
I thought I knew you, Simon. Now I don’t know what to think.
I’m part of the FB crowd! Posting snaps and links. Everyone likes Twitter, but I think it just stinks.
Actual troll here. Note the smug assumptions and name-calling.
Translated from trollspeak, that means "He disagrees with my exalted opinions!" Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!
Though I don't totally agree with you Wear Your Fukkin' Mask, and I question how your parents named you, I like your coinage "current fuckitude." I give you points for that (No Country for Old Men).
Sorry, FB was used as a gathering place for murderous assholes (see: January 6, 2021) to distribute info on one of my (non-political) kids and doxx them, resulting in dozens of death threats via phone/email. FUCK ZUCKERBERG,and fuck you MATT. It's way past cat videos, now.
I now take the sarcastic points I gave you away now, Wear Your Fukkin' Mask. With my spidey powers, I deduce that you work at The Ministry of Silly Walks. Am I correct in that guess?
This is nothing compared to the comment threads on Glenn Greenwald's substack. Unfortunately, they are largely unavoidable.
Dem’s fighting words!! And with that spam-page my work is done. (I’ll be back in 10 minutes).
FaceBook, the arch enemy of all things that he disagrees with aka censorshipKING.
Matt, ask your IT person to find a more creative outlet. Please!
I think you meant the best friend of all things he disagrees with. I hope...!
Hey, buddy. No-one asked for logic.
Yup
Matt- I pretty much have agreed with what you’ve been writing and appreciate your willingness to speak the truth when few others will. I understand writing and selling on Substack is a tough gig to make money but going to Facebook is a big mistake. FB sucks. They are thieves and now they are manipulative censors. They piss on the notion of privacy and free speech. They are the antithesis if what you are trying to do. Please rethink this.
I deleted my Twitter account last year and deactivated my FB account this year. I won't do anything to empower Silicon Valley Censorship.
I am a conscientious objector to Facebook. Sad to see any encouragement of its use by you, Matt. OTOH, it’s the default platform for reaching many, so good luck, I guess.
Just please always keep your output available elsewhere.
i know you need to make a living, but is driving traffic to a capitalist spy network really necessary?
No. Bad idea.
Or at least, do not host conversation on f***book. Use it only as a link to here.
Umm ... unless you're expecting to dial your honesty WAY back, your new page on FB is already on the clock toward shutdown ...
Maybe getting deplatformed from fb will be considered a badge of honour in future
Love you Matt, but why on earth would you start a Facebook page? Fuck Facebook. Never, ever had an account and very proud of it.
Guys, if you don't have Facebook, you can just...not go to Facebook. You don't get a special challenge coin for letting us know.
Well as a paid subscriber I think I deserve to have my voice heard. Obviously it is up to Matt to make his decision, but it does not hurt to have some customer feedback.
the point
your head
Badabing.
Who is this young person? Whence their preternatural wisdom? All of these things they speak of are REVOLUTIONARY. Oh, sage, enlighten me!
You should *read* the content you paid for instead of rushing to comment:
"I’m not looking to move discussions or content to Facebook"
So yes: you were wrong.
Ah, but does that mean he is going to ADD "discussions or content" to FB as opposed to transferring them from here? In which case, why read them here?
Forget Sasinsea. He is a know sanctimonious troll on these pages. Seems to think an opinion required a token. Too bad there isn’t a block feature on this stiluff.
"People who don't share my politics are trolls."
I won't be using FB for your content Matt. But thanks anyway. I recommend, as others have, Zuboff's Surveillance Capitalism for your book review.
Great book!
I'm adding to the "Dog Pile on Matt" regarding going to Facebook. Posting to Facebook, or Instagram (oh wait, they are the same fucking company!) gives Zuckerberg the right to use your material license- and royalty-free any way that he wants to. This would mean - for example - that Zuckerberg can plaster "Exclusive content from Matt Taibbi on Facebook" and use you and your work to draw in new Facebook customers. I pay subscriptions to people like you, David Sirota, Glenn Greenwald, and Jimmy Dore exactly because I want content independent from FB and Google.
Dore's primary platform is youtube, owned by google. Unfortunately these places have the largest audience, so I think it's okay to use them for now, as long as the exclusive content stays on independent sites like Substack, if only to reach a larger audience in order to criticize the very platforms that are hosting the content. Can't drag people off facebook if we aren't talking to them.
Dore's primary source of income is not Google, and he makes that clear in the endcard of every video. Starting about a year ago he has is distancing himself from Patreon. Since the November election, he is being clear that he sees a future where you'll only get his content over his website. Can't drag people off facebook if we give them no reason to leave. "Bringing the good stuff" to Facebook is counterproductive IMHO.
That is fine if the information is sent to us in another form, as I don't do Facebook and am not going to start now!
Agreed.
I see a lot of comments here indicating a feeling of betrayal for Matt posting on FB.
And I understand the sentiment: Due to the growing neo-McCarthyism of the Big Tech platforms, I've canceled my Twitter, Instagram, and Amazon accounts, and no longer buy from Etsy, either.
And I closed my main FB account last summer - BUT still have my even older one that I used as a newspaper reporter to engage with the local (San Diego) music community. That account is my only point of contact with a lot of San Diego musicians, and since I'm still writing about music, I keep it alive for that purpose.
We're all here, supporting Matt, because we're disgusted by the ongoing crush of Orwellian censorship, yes?
But how many people are fully aware of how bad it is? How many of your family, friends, etc., are joining you in abandoning Big Tech?
If the latest numbers are right, not many. Facebook's growth is slowing - but it's numbers aren't shrinking. Amazon is making record profits.
So, Matt can go all silo here and refuse to engage with the larger culture.
Or he can take his message to as wide an audience as possible.
Now, my guess is FB shuts him down before too long. They just shut down Project Veritas for confronting Big Tech executives about the growing censorship.
But if Matt can get people not currently thinking about the issue of censorship to make that jump and take a look at how bad it is?
Power to him.
Oh don't worry. Matt ran out of courage a long time ago.
One thing Matt does not run out of is courage! Take it back.
Is it that big a deal? Really? All our principled outrage, which is exceeded only by our vanity. Our smug declarations. Oh, the horror. The sheer horror!
Only if you believe in free will.
I don’t believe in the societal construct ‘free will’. My conscience is my compass.
Interesting comment w/o substance. Personally, I was disappointed Matt chose to not share his reasoning for voting for H.C. in '16. But, I regularly read Matt because I don't know many who argue and write as well.
He voted for HRC? Some Leftist!
Are you Matt’s nemesis? Just curious. I will learn from you. Learn the rites of warfare. I am ready - teach me!
oh go join the Facebook group or something
No. I can’t. I’m scared you will absolutely *destroy* Matt with your biting wit and incredible put-downs.
He confessed this on an episode of his show with Katie Halper. Her spontaneous reaction was disbelief. Nothing more was said about it by either.
Interesting. I mentioned a couple articles ago that Matt was riding like he was a member of the establishment.
So he should join just to be able to cry "Foul!" when they censor him - unless of course he does nothing to run afoul of the Almighty Algorithm, in which case he would probably no longer be worth reading ...
Thank you Jim- good point.
Facebook? duh! never been there ever; too smart to ever have gone there ever...nor any other social platform ever...not even the ancient MSMessenger. Because I am intelligent and knew from the get go that it would all be a place to get screwed...'likes', 'retweets', how pathetic.
Hmm...this is a risky reply and I certainly don't want a keyboard war but implying your fellow followers of Matt's page are not smart, to my mind, isn't very smart. I've been on FB since about 2008. While, avoiding falling down rabbit holes is a challenge, it has been a useful tool to keep me in touch with my interest groups and my kids.
Risky, indeed! With all due respect to David, I’m 70 years old, and it’s been my long lived experience that those who blow their own horns are nearly, if not always hubristic windbags full of hyperbolic hot air. My gratitude for your diplomatically defensive posture. You helped curb me from blowing my ‘substack’.
Biden, with his subsequent post, David went from bad to worse. This time biting my tongue was very difficult. Thanks for the support.
Rob, (who didn't want to comment further 'out of respect for Matt' as if Matt gives a hoot) can you please cancel me now....I wanna feel what it feels like, you know, participate fully in woke culture...
I C. Self restraint is a virtue that reinforces self esteem. Congratulations on the virtuous exercise of it. For the support: y/w. (I can see that I’m going to have to change my username!)
He wasn’t actually calling you a tool.
actually, I'm thinking he's a tool
I turned 69 in December....and play no wind instruments.
Stating the obvious is tantamount to being redundant. (Not a reference to your chronological maturity, but to your talent.)
this is fun. never did this before..but its pointless. wanna do a duel? that could prove more effective. problem is travel....we probably live to far apart....and I'm lazy. probably a bad idea.
Again, stating the obvious is tantamount to being redundant. Besides, dueling can be done in numerous ways and take as many forms. The challenged is traditionally given the choice of weapons. My choice would be wit, but I refuse to face an unarmed opponent, so it’s not a bad idea. It’s an unworkable idea.
Rob, I can see you taking it that way. I see it is a bit sarcastic...but I meant it. Not that I am so especially smart, it just looks that way compared to the crowd (more and more these days). You can be, likely are, an exception in many ways...I know not...but still, the vast numbers of humanity nowadays seem to be pretty darned shallow...'likes', 're tweets', 'want to be famous', 'an influencer'..by God!...its just sad. Glad if you can handle it well as a tool.
As I said, I respect this forum and I don't think this is the appropriate place for this sort of discussion. I won't comment further out of respect for Matt.
A fellow traveler...
seems so...and now I am doing social media stuff?...
Exactly.
Matt, certainly you know better than to use FB. I would expect someone with your knowledge to be actively discouraging people from using it and not promoting it. I hope you don't need the money that badly.
So how does what is going on in the comments section impact the stories provided by substack? Can't you just read the stories and not feed the trolls?
Please explain further or cite examples for me to view.
Sorry, can't do Facebook. For many of the reasons already posted. I totally understand why you would want a proven and ready launchpad to secure more readers, but you could have taken another road, as well - expanding your own platform, as it were, beyond substack wouldn't be that hard to do, especially since your celebrity, notoriety and journalistic history is head and shoulders above the many other "newsletters" on substack today - and there are seemingly hundreds of them. And don't forget that your writing and your approach to stories and the issues of the day was what attracted most of your readers/followers.
I deleted FB last November can’t justify anything that gives Zuckerberg benefit. I’ll stay abreast via email :) thx.
I'm sorry to see you enabling the biggest censor of all.
Oh well..
I appreciate this is good for you Matt, but never going to use facebook or instagram
Wonder if it IS good for him ...
“.......This is what makes your self-respect so important, and I don’t see how you can respect yourself if you must look in the hearts and minds of others for your happiness.” HST
I have to agree: Facebook would be my LAST choice, bar none.
Yeah, I deleted my FB account in 2017 and not going to make a new one. But you need to advertise, so do what you must.
Let's assume Matt has done his research. That would mean he thinks he'll find people on Facebook who will sign up for one of his offerings. And that would mean his audience is the sort of people who use Facebook regularly and even enthusiastically. Could be this is primarily intended to reach foreigners. Perhaps Matt's a globalist, after all.
A disappointing decision; I thought Matt was onboard with hating Facebook.
I expect you to monitor—even participate in—corporate social media, because that is an essential part of your role. You monitor/participate so I don’t have to. But please don’t drag me there. We’re at Substack because we have rejected Facebook and Twitter.
It may be counterintuitive to someone whose livelihood depends on monetization of content, but please consider that going to FB may be the worst possible marketing strategy for you. You could actually lose readers. It may work for those writers with mainstream audiences and views, but, imho, you couldn’t choose a worst fit for your marketing media campaign. Going to FB could be your albatross.
At the risk of sounding snarky—not my intent—perhaps instead of looking for the next book to read, read (or re-read) your audience first.
Facebook? Not me.
Facebook as Doomsday Machine. I don’t participate. Your Substack was specifically part of that resistance.
I don't see much evidence Matt's heart is in the kind of resistance you're referring to.
Facebook and/or Twitter are the last places I ever expected you to be.
I must say I'm disappointed.
He's been on twitter for some time. But then, so am I. It's far more useful than facebook every was as a source of information, that is.
Trump thinks so, too ...
Whoring himself out, immediate loss of credibility.
This makes sense only on April 1
Matt — FaceBook? Sleeping with the enemy?
Reusing a reply I made below But that's where the people we want to reach are. The end recipient is not FB but the people who follow FB. Not the enemy but the somewhat unaware
Well, with respect, is it not problematic to use an evil platform to reach its innocent subscribers? If your message is to defeat censorship and the cancel culture, it seems hypocritical and counterproductive to use one of the most offending platforms to spread that message. Assuming you’re not censored to begin with.
A good point and I wasn't unaware of that problem. If the medium is the message as McLuhan maintained, then you are right. If the message transforms the medium perhaps not. If we are indeed using the Devil to quote scripture, would have to think about that. Cannot remember now if the Devil was a proper channel or not.
FB
Actually, Satan was/is very adept at quoting scripture. He tried to use it for to tempt the Master; but, as it is with all those who are practiced in the art of deception, Satan thought he could use the ‘lie-by-omission’ method. The rest, as they say, is History.
Thanks for the reminder of the lie-by-omission.
Gratified to know I’ve been helpful. 🙏🏽
Blessings to you, my friend.
Canoodling with the Commissars?
Well, maybe Matt’s intention is to see how far he can get before they cancel him. Maybe while in the lion’s den he can get Facebook users to defect in droves. I hate FB, but if Matt can gut it from within, then cool.
Sounds like the same kind of strategy that Bernie Sanders was supposed to have employed, working from within the party of the corrupt Neoliberal DINO Democrats.
Unfortunately, if Trump isn’t found by the Senate to be guilty of inciting an insurrection; or, if he isn’t finally convicted of attempted election fraud in Georgia State, or some kind of financial crime in the Southern District of New York, the absurdity of the culture hero’s grasp on the so-called ‘law-and-order’ party creates a kind of political gravitational inertia that pulls the entire body politic rightward, giving Democrats reason enough to nominate another ‘lesser evil’ candidate, and the whirlpool we’re about to drown in makes the job for people like Sanders exponentially more difficult with every passing of another leap-year.
All the bloody while, even if Matt is only able to convince two, perhaps those two can convince two more each. If that happened once every day for one month, Facebook would dry up and blow away; so, I’m with ya, pard. May God have mercy upon us all. 🙏🏽
All for getting the word out and your content in King, Matt. I hope you consider Minds or MeWe or other alternatives to FB. You are too good for censorship, Zuck & his Big Tech cronies. Your presence on the other platforms will help them GROW.
…or Medium? How about Patrion?
Matt is telling you who he really is. You should listen and be content.
Yeah, so anyway my aunt broke her leg at a rave, and I had to walk her dog for 3 months, and by that time my son was in his 2nd trimester and started getting varicose veins, and he’s only 16. You there?
I wonder how long it will take to get banned and deleted?
Of more concern is the provocation by the un "woke. Ignore it. "
Fuel for the fire!
Alternately, you could eschew Facebook entirely. Some people don't use it, and there is no need to pander to the unhappy ones who do.
It's a very good thing to spread the word on FB and widen your readership, but PLEASE do not post content available to subscribers on FB only. I never created a FB account cause even back in the day it was obvious to me and a few others that it was a scam to monitor everyone. I am not going to start now.
Like others here - I deleted FB years ago. No intention of going back and kinda surprised that you're launching something/anything new there. Isn't that a little off-brand?
If anyone needs a list of reasons why they should delete FB - here's 10 I wrote back in 2018:
https://dan-munro.com/2018/03/26/top-10-reasons-to-delete-facebook/
Is that really you MArk Zuckerberg?
Your penchant for repeating yourself doesn't prove your point, but does demonstrate limited intelligence...keep up the good work.
I think your record is skipping. A good thwack to the head should jar that sucker right out of its rut.
And a big pre-Valentine's Day smooch to you too e.
By the way, are you an e.e. cummings fan?
I don't like anything about facebook so I don't use it. Will you share what value facebook offers that exceeds it's deplorable offenses? Why do so many so often act against their best interests?
1st time Ive responded & the last. I don't believe the qty. & Absurdity. Staggering this is how people spend their days?
Damn Disappointing
Matt, podcasts are the rage but please concentrate on written output rather than video. Text is easy to scan, can be read far quicker than the same material in a video, is easily forwarded, can be instantly referred back to and is far more likely to be consumed by a recipient to whom it is forwarded than a video because of the time investment. Text is random access, while one has to sit through a video to know all that is in it. Text is concentrated thinking not filled with pauses, "um's" and "uh's" and "like I was saying" and "you know what I mean" that are not characteristic of you, Matt, but is of too many people when they speak. Bottom line: I prefer more Taibbi per minute.
I loved the video - and frankly - I don't facebook and I don't twitter (that is right NEVER HAVE) BUT ... this herd mentality to boo hiss MT for 'cheating on us all' with Zuckerberg the HO - I don't get it. ITS AN EXCELLENT SUPPLEMENT TO WHAT WAS WRITTEN.
As in complementing the writing. I support you MT - even when you tart around with the Devil in a bad Hoodie.
Not a fan of FB! We should NOT be supporting be supporting FB. They are too big for their britches!
Vote no on Facebook. Assuming I have a vote, of course.
Please DON'T migrate any content or discussions to fb, you know they will delete your Page very soon. If it's just to pull in a few more readers, great, but it's NOT a place to build a presence.
A clear reading of Matt's news does not indicate leaving the current site, but with Facebook as a supplement, correct?
But, Facebook ? Providing comfort to the enemy.
But that's where the people we want to reach are. Not the enemy but the somewhat unaware.
Oh dear. Beverly has enemies she doesn't want to talk to.
You puzzle me. Again: no one is a enemy from my point of view. It is too stressful to have enemies.
And therefore I look upon everything
as a brotherhood and a sisterhood (Mary Oliver)
Not exactly enthralled with FB myself but mine is still active, mostly due to the number of sites I am signed into through FB (hard to disengage and don't even remember them all).
But, I agree it is offered as a supplement and have no objection. The one thing that it would improve would be the ability to share Matt's (and others') views and hopefully start more people thinking independently of the corporate or mainstream media.
What's sad about this is that it implies content creators can't be successful without Facebook.
While I don’t use Facebook there are plenty that do, so I think it’s great to get the truth to a larger audience because without the bodies truth will die with the few, just as the plutocracy would have it, and I simply refuse to go quietly into the night
Ha, putting the "truth" on FB is a sure fire way of getting banned .....
Perhaps you shouldn't be making an effort to keep Facebook relevant? I can't tell you how much better I feel since having abandoned Twitter and Facebook. It's why I dig the Substack, actually. Happy to pay money directly to you and people like Glenn Greenwald, Judd Legum and David Sirota.
FACEBOOK ??? Sorry, but I don't believe in negotiating with terrorists. Especially electronic ones.
I stepped away from Facebook 2 years ago when it was clear they harvest our data. We, your readers, are trying to take the few alternate routes still available in this shrinking free world.