145: Israel is MAH WIFE, with Briahna Joy Gray

Quick Overview

Briahna Joy Gray discusses her firing from "Rising" due to pressure to present a "balanced" view on Israel, her belief that media outlets are ideologically driven in their coverage of the conflict, and critiques the shifting stances of media figures like Matt Taibbi and Bari Weiss regarding criticism of Israel and censorship, contrasting them with consistent voices like Glenn Greenwald.

Key Points: Briahna Joy Gray was fired from "Rising" after facing pressure to adopt a "balanced" view on Israel, despite her segments on Gaza performing well with the audience. She asserts that "NextStar Media" applied pressure for ideological balance, suggesting a directive that "You can't both hate Israel. One of you has to love it." Katie Halper was previously fired for calling Israel an apartheid state, a statement supported by Israeli human rights organizations. Gray critiques Matt Taibbi for his perceived shift in stance on censorship and criticism of Israel, particularly his focus on right-wing censorship while downplaying or ignoring pressure on pro-Palestine voices, and his claims of factual errors against her. She highlights Glenn Greenwald as an example of consistency, who, despite facing criticism, has never claimed the preponderance of censorship is against the right and consistently points out the foundational role of pro-Palestine voices in testing censorship methods. The discussion touches on Bari Weiss's role in the Twitter Files project and her subsequent ousting, noting that Matt Taibbi did not stand in solidarity with her. Gray reflects on the nature of "wokeness" as being hip to the tricks of backstabbers and aware of who is deceiving you, rather than simply having virtuous politics.

Context: This episode of the "Bad Hasbara" podcast features host Daniel Mate and Matt Leeb interviewing Briahna Joy Gray, host of the "Bad Faith" podcast. The conversation centers on Gray's experience being fired from the news program "Rising" following the October 7th events, the pressures faced by media figures to conform to specific narratives, particularly concerning Israel and Palestine, and the perceived ideological inconsistencies of other media personalities like Matt Taibbi and Bari Weiss.