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Most administrations have to some extent. It’s that corruption is the everyday, front-page business of this administration. It’s so brazen, it’s insulting. It demands Americans pretend nothing matters but what Trump wants and, to a lesser extent, whatever his current roster of obliging subservients want. Even MAGA should be angry. But this political movement is as bereft of intellectual honesty as it is bereft of anything approaching normal human intelligence. It’s millions of people willing to be peasants just because the king has promised to make things even worse for their fellow human beings. We, the people, end up with daily fuckery, composed and carried out by chinless nepo babies, former Fox commentators and far right podcasters, multiply-disgraced, massively-underqualified (https://www.techdirt.com/2026/02/20/trump-fires-court-appointed-us-attorney-hours-after-it-replaces-his-illegally-appointed-former-campaign-lawyer/) members of Trump’s personal legal team (https://www.techdirt.com/2026/04/06/trump-fires-attorney-general-pam-bondi-for-not-making-his-vindictive-fantasies-a-reality/), Marco Fucking Rubio (https://defector.com/report-president-donald-trump-is-giving-all-the-boys-dress-shoes-that-dont-fit-right), and the homunculus currently doing business as “Stephen Miller (https://www.techdirt.com/2026/03/16/ice-officers-admit-to-arrest-quotas-during-court-testimony/).” Then there’s Kash Patel — a guy who would have been derided as a diversity hire by the MAGA crowd if he hadn’t been given the top spot in the FBI by Donald Trump. Less than 18 months into his tenure, Patel is best known for partying with sports teams, abusing government airplane privileges, spending more time in nightclubs (https://www.techdirt.com/2026/04/21/kash-patels-defamation-suit-against-the-atlantic-is-designed-to-generate-headlines-not-win-in-court/) than in his office (ALLEGEDLY), and performing loyalty tests of FBI agents and officials, most often in the form of polygraph tests (http://techdirt.com/2026/05/11/kash-patels-leadership-is-pretty-much-just-libel-lawsuits-and-lie-detectors/). Trump’s slush fund (https://www.techdirt.com/2026/05/18/trump-just-created-an-unconstitutional-1-776-billion-loyalty-rewards-program-for-maga/) for insurrectionists might be as (nearly!) dead in the water as the Faith No More fish (https://www.grunge.com/776022/the-truth-about-the-fish-in-faith-no-mores-epic-video/) (you know the one…), but Patel has apparently found a way to misuse public funds (https://www.techdirt.com/2026/05/18/trump-just-created-an-unconstitutional-1-776-billion-loyalty-rewards-program-for-maga/) to reward loyalists willing to ride or die with a man who has managed to (ALLEGEDLY) drink his lack of qualifications under the table. “We have been receiving troubling reports that you may be using part of the budget of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as a personal slush fund to make tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars in unlawful ‘bonus’ payments to loyalist MAGA henchmen who have engaged in misconduct,” says a letter from Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., to Patel, obtained exclusively by MS NOW. Committee Democrats have information that Patel has issued more than $1 million in awards, the letter says. The letter says the money went to special agents serving on his Director’s Advisory Team, which Raskin’s letter describes as “a curated group of agents who are willing to carry out your unlawful partisan and personal orders.” It also went to agents on Patel’s security detail, “circumventing the mandatory maximum pay caps established by statute,” the letter says. I’ve got to hand it to Raskin. While some will (dishonestly) object to the tone of this official letter, it’s written in a form MAGA understands: direct accusations, delivered with contempt. Most official letters/queries sent by legislators are a bit more polite and tend to treat accusations as unconfirmed suspicions, even when the accusers have the facts in hand to deliver unqualified accusations. This letter forgoes those niceties. That makes it much more difficult for the FBI and/or Kash Patel himself to dispute the accusations. When punches aren’t pulled, the administration has to defend itself in kind. Since it far prefers to bully people who aren’t willing to deliver the first blow, it seems unsure of how to handle this: The FBI did not respond to a request for comment by MS NOW. The FBI has maintained its silence even after Sen. Raskin made the letter (https://democrats-judiciary.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/democrats-judiciary.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/2026-06-15-raskin-to-patel-fbi-re-bonuses.pdf) public by publishing it to the Judiciary Committee’s website (https://democrats-judiciary.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/ranking-member-raskin-launches-investigation-into-kash-patel-s-misuse-of-fbi-funds-for-unlawful-bonus-payments-to-inner-circle). And what’s detailed there definitely looks like the actions of a binge drinker — you know, the magical moment in a bar evening when the contents of your wallet suddenly turn into Monopoly money and you don’t realize just how much damage you’ve done to your bank account until the NSF push notifications start rolling in: In some cases, nearly $8,000 payments have been made to multiple individuals every two-week pay period despite many of the beneficiaries of your selective generosity already maxing out on a federal employee’s salary. While it is unclear at this time exactly how much each of the agents has received, we can confirm that numerous loyalist employees have received at least five such payments in consecutive pay periods, amounting to nearly $40,000 per agent. We can also confirm you have depleted the FBI reserve accounts for bonus payments at such a frenzied rate that some of the payments have bounced back from exhausted accounts. That’s insane. On one hand, you have the drunk-on-a-spending-spree indicators: a guy who doesn’t know how much money he’s spent or from what account until someone else notifies him of his overdrafts. On the other hand, you have the ugly reality of the situation: this is what it takes to keep FBI employees “bought.” The payments are large and happen frequently, strongly suggesting loyalty to his MAGA twist on FBI day-to-day operations lasts — at most — up until the next paycheck hits the bank. If you’re buying loyalty two weeks at a time, you’re not a benefactor. You’re a blackmail victim. Either Kash Patel thinks he can throw money at any problem that can’t be solved with a lie detector test and a swift dismissal or agents have figured out they can make bank by pretending to be on board with whatever vengeful kick the director happens to be on that particular week. And I’ll be honest: I prefer a yes man who’s in it for personal profit to a yes man that’s in it because toadying is the only life-hack they know. Whatever the equation, it all comes down to Patel being an absolute chump. Every negative headline increases the chance of him being tossed aside by the man whose boots he’s been licking for most of the last decade. And I can bet that most of these people walking away with inflated paychecks can easily see the buttons they need to push to ensure they get their loyalty bonuses, week in and week out. Filed Under: corruption (https://www.techdirt.com/tag/corruption/), day drinking (https://www.techdirt.com/tag/day-drinking/), fbi (https://www.techdirt.com/tag/fbi/), jamie raskin (https://www.techdirt.com/tag/jamie-raskin/), kash patel (https://www.techdirt.com/tag/kash-patel/), maga (https://www.techdirt.com/tag/maga/), slush fund (https://www.techdirt.com/tag/slush-fund/), trump administration (https://www.techdirt.com/tag/trump-administration/) https://www.techdirt.com/2026/06/26/cash-patel-fbi-director-apparently-paying-off-fbi-allies-with-personal-slush-fund/https://www.techdirt.com/2026/06/26/cash-patel-fbi-director-apparently-paying-off-fbi-allies-with-personal-slush-fund/https://reddit.com/submit?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.techdirt.com%2F2026%2F06%2F26%2Fcash-patel-fbi-director-apparently-paying-off-fbi-allies-with-personal-slush-fund%2F&title=Cash%20Patel%3A%20FBI%20Director%20Apparently%20Paying%20Off%20FBI%20Allies%20With%20Personal%20Slush%20Fundhttps://twitter.com/share?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.techdirt.com%2F2026%2F06%2F26%2Fcash-patel-fbi-director-apparently-paying-off-fbi-allies-with-personal-slush-fund%2F&text=Cash%20Patel%3A%20FBI%20Director%20Apparently%20Paying%20Off%20FBI%20Allies%20With%20Personal%20Slush%20Fund&via=Techdirthttps://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.techdirt.com%2F2026%2F06%2F26%2Fcash-patel-fbi-director-apparently-paying-off-fbi-allies-with-personal-slush-fund%2F&t=Cash%20Patel%3A%20FBI%20Director%20Apparently%20Paying%20Off%20FBI%20Allies%20With%20Personal%20Slush%20Fundhttps://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&ro=false&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.techdirt.com%2F2026%2F06%2F26%2Fcash-patel-fbi-director-apparently-paying-off-fbi-allies-with-personal-slush-fund%2F&title=Cash%20Patel%3A%20FBI%20Director%20Apparently%20Paying%20Off%20FBI%20Allies%20With%20Personal%20Slush%20Fund 15 Comments (https://www.techdirt.com/2026/06/26/cash-patel-fbi-director-apparently-paying-off-fbi-allies-with-personal-slush-fund/#comments)Leave a Comment (https://www.techdirt.com/2026/06/26/cash-patel-fbi-director-apparently-paying-off-fbi-allies-with-personal-slush-fund/#comments) If you liked this post, you may also be interested in... • ICE Detention Center Contractor Endangered Detainees, Destroyed Homicide Evidence (https://www.techdirt.com/2026/06/25/ice-detention-center-contractor-endangered-detainees-destroyed-homicide-evidence/) • Marco Rubio Personally Authorized Detention Of An Immigrant Who Criticized A Politician Trump Likes (https://www.techdirt.com/2026/06/25/marco-rubio-personally-authorized-detention-of-an-immigrant-who-criticized-a-politician-trump-likes/) • Trump Threatens ABC For Doing Journalism About His Reflection Pool Screw Up (https://www.techdirt.com/2026/06/24/trump-threatens-abc-for-doing-journalism-about-his-reflection-pool-screw-up/) • Trump Starts Arresting People Because His Reflecting Pool Makeover Is Just Algae And Peeling Paint (https://www.techdirt.com/2026/06/23/trump-starts-arresting-people-because-his-reflecting-pool-makeover-is-just-algae-and-peeling-paint/) • Trump Still Wants His MAGA Slush Fund... 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Anonymous Coward says: June 26, 2026 at 9:41 am (https://www.techdirt.com/2026/06/26/cash-patel-fbi-director-apparently-paying-off-fbi-allies-with-personal-slush-fund/#comment-5430592) On the other hand, you have the ugly reality of the situation: this is what it takes to keep FBI employees “bought.” This is how the mob works: everybody gets a taste of the action, so everybody plays nice… …unless/until the money dries up. This comment is new since your last visit. Anonymous Coward says: June 26, 2026 at 9:42 am (https://www.techdirt.com/2026/06/26/cash-patel-fbi-director-apparently-paying-off-fbi-allies-with-personal-slush-fund/#comment-5430594) It’s the openness of and gaslighting around the corruption that’s particularly insidious. This comment is new since your last visit. This comment has been deemed funny by the community. Stephen T. Stone(profile) (https://www.techdirt.com/user/regularstone/)says: June 26, 2026 at 9:44 am (https://www.techdirt.com/2026/06/26/cash-patel-fbi-director-apparently-paying-off-fbi-allies-with-personal-slush-fund/#comment-5430601) the homunculus currently doing business as “Stephen Miller” Come on, man, there’s no need to insult homunculi like that. This comment is new since your last visit. Threaded [2] Anonymous Coward says: June 26, 2026 at 2:29 pm (https://www.techdirt.com/2026/06/26/cash-patel-fbi-director-apparently-paying-off-fbi-allies-with-personal-slush-fund/#comment-5431186) Re: Why are you anti semitic? You may think this is a joke, but this is the exact thing you accused me off when I was criticizing Soros and I didn’t even know he was Jewish. This comment is new since your last visit. Threaded [3] Anonymous Coward says: June 26, 2026 at 4:34 pm (https://www.techdirt.com/2026/06/26/cash-patel-fbi-director-apparently-paying-off-fbi-allies-with-personal-slush-fund/#comment-5431439) Re: Re: Either you knew he was Jewish, or the people you spoonfed you conspiracy theories about Soros were anti-semitic and you haven’t become any less of a bigot after you learned Soros was Jewish. It’s a distinction without a difference. This comment is new since your last visit. Threaded [3] Anonymous Coward says: June 26, 2026 at 5:25 pm (https://www.techdirt.com/2026/06/26/cash-patel-fbi-director-apparently-paying-off-fbi-allies-with-personal-slush-fund/#comment-5431513) Re: Re: Your lack of comprehension does not reflect badly upon Stephen. This comment is new since your last visit. Threaded [3] Stephen T. Stone(profile) (https://www.techdirt.com/user/regularstone/)says: June 26, 2026 at 6:13 pm (https://www.techdirt.com/2026/06/26/cash-patel-fbi-director-apparently-paying-off-fbi-allies-with-personal-slush-fund/#comment-5431597) Re: Re: lol lmao, even This comment is new since your last visit. Anonymous Coward says: June 26, 2026 at 10:05 am (https://www.techdirt.com/2026/06/26/cash-patel-fbi-director-apparently-paying-off-fbi-allies-with-personal-slush-fund/#comment-5430647) [Kash] Patel has apparently found a way to misuse public funds Referring to Kash as “Cash” isn’t particularly clever, but I suppose it’s about as much cleverness as this person deserves or has shown. I mean, historically, corrupt government officials have made some effort to conceal their corruption and slush funds, whereas this is literally “give my buddies money via the usual payroll system”—without even the pretense of a “compensation committee” like corporate executives use to scratch each others’ backs. This comment is new since your last visit. Anonymous Coward says: June 26, 2026 at 11:25 am (https://www.techdirt.com/2026/06/26/cash-patel-fbi-director-apparently-paying-off-fbi-allies-with-personal-slush-fund/#comment-5430797) ‘Who do I make this donation out to?’ ‘My friends call me Cash… Patel’ This comment is new since your last visit. Anonymous Coward says: June 26, 2026 at 11:27 am (https://www.techdirt.com/2026/06/26/cash-patel-fbi-director-apparently-paying-off-fbi-allies-with-personal-slush-fund/#comment-5430803) I bet he makes it rain trumps in the champagne room. This comment is new since your last visit. Anonymous Coward says: June 26, 2026 at 1:39 pm (https://www.techdirt.com/2026/06/26/cash-patel-fbi-director-apparently-paying-off-fbi-allies-with-personal-slush-fund/#comment-5431090) See, the distinction drawn in the opening paragraph is part of why I call this the Trump regime, instead of administration. This comment is new since your last visit. Anonymous Coward says: June 26, 2026 at 2:24 pm (https://www.techdirt.com/2026/06/26/cash-patel-fbi-director-apparently-paying-off-fbi-allies-with-personal-slush-fund/#comment-5431181) Yeah, man, The FBI did terrible things under Biden and people are owed. This comment is new since your last visit. Threaded [2] Anonymous Coward says: June 26, 2026 at 11:13 pm (https://www.techdirt.com/2026/06/26/cash-patel-fbi-director-apparently-paying-off-fbi-allies-with-personal-slush-fund/#comment-5432103) Re: Surely you can name some examples? Like any examples? And then once you do that, you can then tie that to the loyalists Kash is paying off beyond what is allocated by Congress? Surely you can do that? Right? Right…? No? You can’t? Oh, right, because you’re full of shit. This comment is new since your last visit. Anonymous Coward says: June 26, 2026 at 8:37 pm (https://www.techdirt.com/2026/06/26/cash-patel-fbi-director-apparently-paying-off-fbi-allies-with-personal-slush-fund/#comment-5431836) If you’re buying loyalty two weeks at a time, you’re not a benefactor. You’re a blackmail victim. You are an employer. This is exactly what employers do, buy loyalty two weeks at a time. There’s no blackmail involved when people stop working once the pay stops, that’s the basis of our entire economic system. This comment is new since your last visit. Threaded [2] Anonymous Coward says: June 26, 2026 at 11:14 pm (https://www.techdirt.com/2026/06/26/cash-patel-fbi-director-apparently-paying-off-fbi-allies-with-personal-slush-fund/#comment-5432105) Re: So you just… totally missed (or ignored?) that this isn’t salary. This is just a slush fund above and beyond not just what these employees are owed, but what they are legally allowed to receive as compensation. Did you just not read that part of the article? 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Children need protections from predators on the internet, and this bill is an essential first step. There is no more time for delay. • https://x.com/i/status/206185715...https://x.com/i/status/2061857154957468115 (https://x.com/i/status/2061857154957468115) • aabsurdity:If you're quoting someone, it's generally accepted that you will use quote marks to indicate this. • BentFranklin:Microsoft CEO: We’re moving from OS and apps to agents instead • https://9to5mac.com/2026/06/02/m...https://9to5mac.com/2026/06/02/microsoft-ceo-were-moving-from-os-and-apps-to-agents-instead/ (https://9to5mac.com/2026/06/02/microsoft-ceo-were-moving-from-os-and-apps-to-agents-instead/) • . • Mike Masnick:at some point i'm going to write something about this, but an agentic-first computing paradigm really would fuck up all the efforts to age gate the internet... so I get why people don't like it for the AI of it all, but there are some interesting side effects • John Roddy:I know it usually misses the point to investigate how it would break once it's been established that the break is inevitable. But hey, that's still fascinating to weirdos like me. • Also, Matt Taibbi is appealing his defamation loss to the 2nd Circus. • Get in, losers. We're going losing! • candescence:https://bsky.app/profile/yashara...https://bsky.app/profile/yasharali.bsky.social/post/3mndxlp273d2g (https://bsky.app/profile/yasharali.bsky.social/post/3mndxlp273d2g) • https://bsky.app/profile/justinb...https://bsky.app/profile/justinbaragona.bsky.social/post/3mndxll2mvk2l (https://bsky.app/profile/justinbaragona.bsky.social/post/3mndxll2mvk2l) • Nick Bilton is a thin-skinned stooge. • Mike Masnick:meanwhile... [[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36jxNeV5L1Q](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36jxNeV5L1Q) • aabsurdity:https://www.youtube.com/shorts/3...https://www.youtube.com/shorts/3fS5NyKzygU (https://www.youtube.com/shorts/3fS5NyKzygU) • Seems to be a decent summary. • Leah Abram:I concur. • imatool13:@Mike Masnick with the prolifieration of Agents is MCP (mixed with skills) protocol above platform? Seems a whole lot of companies open themselves up to AI Agents more than just integrations, curious your thoughts. • BentFranklin:I didn't think we were ever going to get the Musk versus Zuckerberg slapfight we were promised, but now that we will have a cage right there, it would be wasteful not to use it at least a few more times before dismantling it. • aabsurdity:Especially now that Trump wants to keep it forever as a commemoration of his bestest and happiest birthday, like the Eiffel Tower. • intelati:What the [[article]https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2026/06/03/trump-ufc-arena-white-house-claw-permanent/90387950007/](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2026/06/03/trump-ufc-arena-white-house-claw-permanent/90387950007/) I hate this timeline • aabsurdity:It's amazing how Trump does not, and never has, and never will, have any class whatsoever. He genuinely cannot see the difference between the engineering marvel of the Eiffel Tower, and a commonplace (though still a significant technical achievement in its way) lighting scaffold. They're both made of metal. • BentFranklin:How long until his ballroom guests mosey over after dinner to watch gladiators fight to the death with Trump having the final say with or ? • aabsurdity:I can't imagine he'd be interested. He'd have to be able to care if people other than himself are alive or dead. • intelati:Not this bout. The next one is a 50/50 shot. And increasing therein • BentFranklin:You know how mobsters will make you do a crime before they can trust you? So they will always have something on you? I think about that whenever someone says "I was just Epstein's lawyer," or broker, or anything significant. • John Roddy:I someone describe the BAM article as "climbing Mount Masnick" • And my brain immediately did the movie trailer guy voice for "from the makers of Driving Ms Daisy" • Leah Abram:Maybe it’s because of where I live but when I see “BAM” I think “Brooklyn Academy of Music” • aabsurdity:[[link]https://fxbsky.app/profile/presidentkelly.blacksky.app/post/3mnkf25iyjs2s](https://fxbsky.app/profile/presidentkelly.blacksky.app/post/3mnkf25iyjs2s)[[article]https://fxbsky.app/profile/yeti-detective.bsky.social/post/3mnkhrida222h](https://fxbsky.app/profile/yeti-detective.bsky.social/post/3mnkhrida222h) AI hiring screeners apparently retaining their rejection score for applicants across multiple different jobs, at all the companies they service, for nearly a year. So, get rejected for one job, basically you're unhireable by any company that also uses that tool, for any position, for the next 330 days. That's... Pretty dang bad if true... • BentFranklin:The Smart TV in Your Living Room Is a Node in the AI Scraping Economy • [[article]https://blog.includesecurity.com/2026/06/the-smart-tv-in-your-livingroom-is-a-node-in-the-aiscraping-economy/](https://blog.includesecurity.com/2026/06/the-smart-tv-in-your-livingroom-is-a-node-in-the-aiscraping-economy/) • Leah Abram:This is why Dumb TVs are a smart option! • I want a TV dumber than Pete Hegseth! • tomacamot:Or simply don't connect your TV to the Internet • candescence:Scott Pelley is now free to shit on his former bosses and tell the world how much of a propaganda rag CBS is becoming: https://youtu.be/ePqdmbgQ4BI?si=...https://youtu.be/ePqdmbgQ4BI?si=DZq7rY81Ur9IcKUt (https://youtu.be/ePqdmbgQ4BI?si=DZq7rY81Ur9IcKUt) • Quotes include "Bari Weiss Emailed my Boss and asked 'Can you make the protestors look more violent?'" and "Can you describe Renee Good as 'driving at the officer'?" • This is why you don't fire people who know where the bodies are buried. • aabsurdity:Someone said something today that I genuinely hadn't considered, which was the idea that this isn't an anti-journalism conservative deliberately torching a journalistic institution because the money they're spending doesn't mean anything any more, or that the death of CBS is simply advantageous, and instead that this is a project someone believes in and thinks it's going to work. And I have to admit that I didn't even see that as a possibility, but now that I have, that might make it worse. • Mike Masnick:Oh, they absolutely believe it's going to work. The Bari Weisses of the world believe fully that their view of the world has a silent majority behind them who were just waiting to have what The Free Press was delivering to the world... • aabsurdity:Genuinely baffling. • intelati:https://bsky.app/profile/cdelawa...https://bsky.app/profile/cdelawalla.bsky.social/post/3mnrigweehc2t (https://bsky.app/profile/cdelawalla.bsky.social/post/3mnrigweehc2t) • candescence:It looks like Microsoft and Sony's gaming divisions have almost entirely reverted back to exclusivity • Leah Abram:The golden age is over. This is like when Comedy Specials went from DRM-free video files to being included with streaming services • candescence:Sony's pulling back from single-player PC releases is a bit more questionable since low sales there are kinda self-inflicted due to late but overpriced releases, but the Xbox division has a new boss and it seems she's decided that multiplatform releases simply aren't working and are hurting the brand • timothygeigner:Trust me, the exclusivity thing is on my radar. I definitely have things to say about it. • Though why Microsoft won't just admit that they lost the console wars is beyond me. • John Roddy:My favorite was the clarification that the new Gears of War would be exclusive to Xbox. • And PC. • The ol' Ubisoft-style definition of exclusive. • aabsurdity:As a PC gamer... • BentFranklin:Landmark German ruling declares Google's AI Overviews are Google's own words and makes it liable for false answers • [[article]https://the-decoder.com/landmark-german-ruling-declares-googles-ai-overviews-are-googles-own-words-and-makes-it-liable-for-false-answers/](https://the-decoder.com/landmark-german-ruling-declares-googles-ai-overviews-are-googles-own-words-and-makes-it-liable-for-false-answers/) • aabsurdity:> First I came for the Communists > And I laughed > Because I was not a Communist > Then I came for the Socialists > And I laughed > Because I was not a Socialist > Then I came for the trade unionists > And I laughed > Because I was not a trade unionist > Then I came for the Jews > And I laughed > Because I was not a Jew > Then they came for me > “If he would do that to me, he would do that to anybody,” I said > “There’s never going to be good enough for him, other than 100 percent, you know, slavish adherence to whatever he wants.“ • BentFranklin:Extinction-level capitalism a citizen’s thoughts on AI risk • [[article]https://matthewbutterick.com/extinction-level-capitalism.html](https://matthewbutterick.com/extinction-level-capitalism.html) • bode000:yeah they definitely want it to work. I see that "they want to destroy it" claim all the time. They don't want to really destroy it, they want to repurpose it for propaganda. Like Twitter. Or Newsweek. Or the Baltimore Sun. All bought by right wingers to seed bullshit in the electorate. And they want it to make money. The problem for them is they aren't competent. • John Roddy:The people taking over might be nepo babies, but they're not stupid. They see exactly what damage is being done to these once-successful brands. • aabsurdity:A while ago I heard the phrase "ownership is not a skill"... • It comes in handy for so many things... • John Roddy:That isn't a side effect. It's not even the goal. Just a bonus. • bode000:I think they want to leverage the credibility of existing brands to convert them into propaganda and confuse the electorate with bullshit. I also think they're ok if the patient dies on the table during that procedure. • not to say that sometimes they don't just want to kill an outlet outright, like gawker • John Roddy:Even then, Gawker was already dying when thiel got involved. • bode000:the only thing that could save us (in a country without any useful media reform policies or a working opposition party) is these folks have no idea what they're doing. • John Roddy:I think that highlights how much this has escalated since then • bode000:it's just wild now. I'm seeing people actually interested in conversations about media consolidation now. • everybody's eyes used to glaze over when I brought it up • John Roddy:And then one of those people explains how the fairness doctrine would've prevented this, and that's why I went on the rampage, your honor. • bode000:I see that exchange 50 times a day (you know the fairness doctrine only covered broadcast and was neither well crafted nor enforced, right?) • Leah Abram:Far too many liberals think the fairness doctrine is a panacea. • bode000:and Republicans spent 40 years whining about it only to engage in far, far worse. great stuff! • John Roddy:And today's existential horror is titled "Europe attempts to integrate American tech policy, but ends up only grabbing the Fifth Circuit Court instead" • Mike Masnick:and a week after the EU laid out its plan for building a local internet. and the cjeu jumps in with "lol, good luck" • BentFranklin:If people really want the Iran war to end, maybe stop rubbing Trump's failure in his face. It's schadenfreudtastic as all hell and really all most of us can do, but note that the Iranians seem to have stopped taunting him. • Also it's really nice to see Netanyahu on the outside for once. Maybe this war will get some regime change after all. And maybe Bibi can drag down Lindsay Graham with him. • timothygeigner:I'm very excited to find out Friday just how much Trump capitulated in whatever this "deal" is. The fact that they won't release the text until after signing is, well, quite transparent. • John Roddy:"Iran agrees to purchase Ninja Theory and Compulsion Studios" • timothygeigner:And to never vaccinate against anything ever again. All my worlds colliding at once. • John Roddy:The US agrees to reinstate the Fairness Doctrine. • Leah Abram:My new BlueSky handle is ironcurtain.northsky.social • Mike Masnick:The Northsky folks are great • Leah Abram:Thank you, Mr. Masnick! • aabsurdity:[[article]https://eia.org/press-releases/epas-new-rule-on-refrigerant-management/](https://eia.org/press-releases/epas-new-rule-on-refrigerant-management/)https://bsky.app/profile/climate...https://bsky.app/profile/climatebrad.hillheat.com/post/3mjhk6gkikk2z (https://bsky.app/profile/climatebrad.hillheat.com/post/3mjhk6gkikk2z) Are the datacenter bros just straight up getting their purchased congresspersons to bring back ozone layer hole CFCs? Is that what the "silly little air conditioner bill, lol" from a few months back was really about? • John Roddy:in theory, there isn't a serious problem as long as it's contained. But that is a load bearing statement with huge consequences • aabsurdity:Oh. Well, I guess we can trust Elon Musk to be a good steward of the planet, right? • strange_luck:And if he isn't, he can merge the Earth and Mars and IPO the leftovers • Leah Abram:Now you know why I’m a huge fan of giving the land back to the indigenous people from whom it was stolen • benv0727:https://www.axios.com/2026/06/24...https://www.axios.com/2026/06/24/kids-online-safety-push-complicatm (https://www.axios.com/2026/06/24/kids-online-safety-push-complicatm) do you think that the stop csam act will be selected for floor consideration and adopted by the senate • tomacamot:Probably not • BentFranklin:The Exhaustion of Talking to a Tool • [[article]https://ohadravid.github.io/posts/2026-06-tool-talking/](https://ohadravid.github.io/posts/2026-06-tool-talking/) Become an Insider! (https://rtb.techdirt.com/products/watercooler/) Recent Stories Friday (https://www.techdirt.com/2026/06/26/) 19:39Whoops! 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