In a time of media confusion, when what’s dominating the news cycles is the endless insanity of Donald Trump’s tweets, his attack on the fundamentals of democracy, and his cronies’ continual insistence that there’s nothing to see here, we need a grounded news source. My recommendation, and I make this on almost a daily basis to friends and family, is to read “The Intercept” and follow its reporters on Twitter.
Started in 2014 by three journalists: Jeremy Scahill, long time investigative war reporter, Glenn Greenwald formerly of The Guardian where he broke the Edward Snowden leaks and finally Laura Poitras, a documentarian who is getting The Intercept’s film production unit, Field of Vision, up and running.
When I first heard about this website, I was immediately pumped. I’ve been a longtime fan of Greenwald, especially once I started reading and watching interviews and debates of his. I found him after watching and reading the work of Noam Chomsky. Both are my heroes, and Greenwald is especially prominent today after reporting on Edward Snowden.
Chomsky is more of an old school guy. He’s not on social media and certainly isn’t on the mainstream news. Greenwald on the other hand is prominent on Twitter where he shares his latest articles and gets into fights with Sam Harris. Aside from that, there are few people I trust more when it comes to criticizing the errors of American media and I believe that’s as important as ever. Trump and the right make nonsense attacks, but Greenwald is and has always been very well thought out in his critiques of mainstream news.
Scahill, on the other hand, is an investigative reporter, most well-known for his incredible work on the private security firm, Blackwater, the Prince and Devos families and, of course, his most recent work, The Drone Papers. In vivid examination, Scahill delve into the inner workings of the Obama administration’s use of drones in the “war on terrorism.” Scahill and other reporters, detail how the most covert operations against even our own citizens can continue with little to no oversight. If you haven’t read The Drone Papers, I highly recommend it.
The Intercept is awash in daily reporting from every facet of the ugly American empire both domestic and foreign. Lee Fang, a longtime investigative reporter focuses on campaign finance and the close relationship Congress has with its allies in the business world. Murtaza Hussain, Zaid Jilani and others look at among other things: foreign policy in the Middle East and Islamophobia in the United States.
You can also read up on the work of Jenna McLaughlin and Corra Currier as they report on a new cache of documents obtained by The Intercept which looks at how the FBI’s power has expanded since 9/11. Why spend a Friday night out at the bars when you can read about the threats of a Trump presidency or the ever-encroaching deep state? Endless fun!
Also, if you’re looking for a new podcast, Scahill just started Intercepted, which airs weekly on the Intercept website. So far his interviews have been stellar with journalists like Seymour Hersh, Naomi Klein and Allan Nairn and authors such as Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor. There have only been three episodes so far and not a single one has disappointed.
The Intercept is a balancing force against the mainstream news networks which are spending continued time on the tweets and outbursts of our dangerous new world leader. It is in this time of great uncertainty and endless threats that we must rely on adversarial journalism that isn’t pretending to be neutral or whatever catchphrase that is present among the mainstream news. We need reporters willing to take a stand, and The Intercept is where you’ll find them.