Media Madness: The Rise of Right-Wing Influencers

Breaking from a century of tradition, the White House says it will seize control of the press pool covering the president. On this week’s On the Media, the new administration is prioritizing access for an array of far-right influencers and news outlets. Plus, what President Trump’s pivot toward Russia means for Ukraine after three years of war.

[00:00] Host Brooke Gladstone sits down with Anna Merlan, senior reporter at Mother Jones covering disinformation, technology, and extremism, to discuss the White House’s latest move to control the press pool covering the president.

[00:00] Host Micah Loewinger speaks with Brandy Zadrozny, senior reporter at NBC News covering the internet, to discuss the rise of Dan Bongino, from right wing podcaster to Donald Trump’s new pick for Deputy Director of the FBI, and his history of anti-FBI rhetoric. 

[00:00] Brooke Gladstone talks to Yaroslav Trofimov, chief foreign affairs correspondent for the Wall Street Journal and the author of No Country for Love, about the ultraconservative embrace of Putin’s Russia in the United States and how President Trump has spearheaded a paradigm shift in Republican foreign policy vis-à-vis Russia.

Further reading:

• “Meet the New State Media,” by Anna Merlan
• “Dan Bongino's yearslong history of FBI criticism and conspiracy theories,” by Brandy Zadrozny
• “How a U.S. President Pivoted Toward Russia,” by Yaroslav Trofimov
• “Russia Wants to Erase Ukraine’s Future—and Its Past,” by Yaroslav Trofimov
• No Country for Love, by Yaroslav Trofimov
• Our Enemies Will Vanish: The Russian Invasion and Ukraine's War of Independence, by Yaroslav Trofimov

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