John Knefel
@johnknefel.bsky.social
senior writer at media matters (stuff here is my own opinion etc, likes are bookmarks)
I wrote about Trump's new push to ramp up denaturalizations, and how MAGA media is making it clear that they want this effort to target Muslims specifically.
Latest at @mmfa.bsky.social
Latest at @mmfa.bsky.social
MAGA media interviews suggest Trump’s denaturalization push is driven by pure Islamophobia
www.mediamatters.org
December 18, 2025 at 6:51 PM
I wrote about Trump's new push to ramp up denaturalizations, and how MAGA media is making it clear that they want this effort to target Muslims specifically.
Latest at @mmfa.bsky.social
Latest at @mmfa.bsky.social
Reposted by John Knefel
I will NEVER vote for a politician who votes for anti-trans legislation. Never. I don't care who it is, it's a dead issue. Move on. If my vote is so important to the future of democracy they should have thought of that before they voted to exterminate my child.
December 16, 2025 at 5:55 PM
I will NEVER vote for a politician who votes for anti-trans legislation. Never. I don't care who it is, it's a dead issue. Move on. If my vote is so important to the future of democracy they should have thought of that before they voted to exterminate my child.
New from @slawton.bsky.social & me: Mainstream news coverage almost completely ignored Bannon's extensive ties to Epstein. Only 8% of print articles from leading newspapers drew connections between the two. Even worse, no broadcast news segments did.
Latest at @mmfa.bsky.social
Latest at @mmfa.bsky.social
Mainstream news coverage almost totally ignored Bannon’s extensive ties to Epstein
In the month since the House Oversight Committee released the most recent batch of files concerning late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, most leading newspapers and all broadcast news ignored ...
www.mediamatters.org
December 11, 2025 at 7:24 PM
New from @slawton.bsky.social & me: Mainstream news coverage almost completely ignored Bannon's extensive ties to Epstein. Only 8% of print articles from leading newspapers drew connections between the two. Even worse, no broadcast news segments did.
Latest at @mmfa.bsky.social
Latest at @mmfa.bsky.social
I wrote about right-wing media's escalating attacks on women, from pushing for birth control restrictions to pressuring young women to leave the workforce. A new hire at The Heritage Foundation, Scott Yenor, exemplifies this trend, but it goes far beyond him. New at @mmfa.bsky.social
Right-wing media are poised to escalate attacks on women as MAGA cracks emerge
www.mediamatters.org
December 10, 2025 at 2:24 PM
I wrote about right-wing media's escalating attacks on women, from pushing for birth control restrictions to pressuring young women to leave the workforce. A new hire at The Heritage Foundation, Scott Yenor, exemplifies this trend, but it goes far beyond him. New at @mmfa.bsky.social
Reposted by John Knefel
I wrote about right-wing media's embrace of Venezuela opposition leader María Corina Machado, who supports Trump's threats of regime change and has offered fuel for conservative conspiracy theories about 2020 election fraud & Maduro's role as a supposed narco kingpin.
Latest at @mmfa.bsky.social
Latest at @mmfa.bsky.social
As Trump threatens regime change in Venezuela, right-wing media embrace opposition figure María Corina Machado
Right-wing media figures have spent the last year championing Venezuela opposition figure María Corina Machado, who has supported President Donald Trump’s threats of regime change in her home country....
www.mediamatters.org
December 3, 2025 at 6:35 PM
I wrote about right-wing media's embrace of Venezuela opposition leader María Corina Machado, who supports Trump's threats of regime change and has offered fuel for conservative conspiracy theories about 2020 election fraud & Maduro's role as a supposed narco kingpin.
Latest at @mmfa.bsky.social
Latest at @mmfa.bsky.social
I wrote about right-wing media's embrace of Venezuela opposition leader María Corina Machado, who supports Trump's threats of regime change and has offered fuel for conservative conspiracy theories about 2020 election fraud & Maduro's role as a supposed narco kingpin.
Latest at @mmfa.bsky.social
Latest at @mmfa.bsky.social
As Trump threatens regime change in Venezuela, right-wing media embrace opposition figure María Corina Machado
Right-wing media figures have spent the last year championing Venezuela opposition figure María Corina Machado, who has supported President Donald Trump’s threats of regime change in her home country....
www.mediamatters.org
December 3, 2025 at 6:35 PM
I wrote about right-wing media's embrace of Venezuela opposition leader María Corina Machado, who supports Trump's threats of regime change and has offered fuel for conservative conspiracy theories about 2020 election fraud & Maduro's role as a supposed narco kingpin.
Latest at @mmfa.bsky.social
Latest at @mmfa.bsky.social
Reposted by John Knefel
Will Zohran's NYPD also intervene to prevent ICE watch direct actions?
Moments ago, feds shove protesters out of the way as more NYPD officers arrive on scene. reporting for @thecity.nyc
November 29, 2025 at 5:04 PM
Will Zohran's NYPD also intervene to prevent ICE watch direct actions?
Reposted by John Knefel
Moments ago, feds shove protesters out of the way as more NYPD officers arrive on scene. reporting for @thecity.nyc
November 29, 2025 at 5:03 PM
Moments ago, feds shove protesters out of the way as more NYPD officers arrive on scene. reporting for @thecity.nyc
New: @slawton.bsky.social & I wrote about how Bannon has gone silent on Epstein since the latest release of emails and texts. Back in July, he was all about the need to "get to the bottom of Epstein" - but as new docs confirm their close relationship, he's avoided the topic.
New at @mmfa.bsky.social
New at @mmfa.bsky.social
Suddenly, Steve Bannon isn’t interested in transparency around Epstein anymore
When calls were renewed for the Trump administration to release the full trove of Epstein files earlier this year, War Room host Steve Bannon was among the voices pushing for their release. But since ...
www.mediamatters.org
November 21, 2025 at 3:07 PM
New: @slawton.bsky.social & I wrote about how Bannon has gone silent on Epstein since the latest release of emails and texts. Back in July, he was all about the need to "get to the bottom of Epstein" - but as new docs confirm their close relationship, he's avoided the topic.
New at @mmfa.bsky.social
New at @mmfa.bsky.social
Reposted by John Knefel
do not miss @attackerman.bsky.social on all the reasons @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social needs to get rid of ICE collaborator Jessica Tisch.
Mamdani's NYC Can't Afford NYPD Commissioner Tisch
With ICE on its way, how can we expect an ICE collaborator to protect New Yorkers? Here's a compromise: make Tisch sanitation commissioner again
www.forever-wars.com
November 17, 2025 at 5:12 PM
do not miss @attackerman.bsky.social on all the reasons @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social needs to get rid of ICE collaborator Jessica Tisch.
I wrote an op-ed for @msnbc.com about the MAGA media backlash to Trump's defense of H-1B visas. Trump reanimated the ugliest histories of nativism in the United States, and any deviation from a maximalist approach reads as apostasy to his loudest supporters.
www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnb...
www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnb...
Opinion | MAGA is furious over Trump's immigration apostasy
The president’s comments on H-1B visas were “a little hard to stomach,” said one Fox News host.
www.msnbc.com
November 14, 2025 at 8:44 PM
I wrote an op-ed for @msnbc.com about the MAGA media backlash to Trump's defense of H-1B visas. Trump reanimated the ugliest histories of nativism in the United States, and any deviation from a maximalist approach reads as apostasy to his loudest supporters.
www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnb...
www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnb...
Comrade Gutfeld forced to acknowledge Marx's core insight that capitalism produces the dictatorship of the bourgeoisie over the proletariat but then veers into vulgar Bonapartism
November 14, 2025 at 4:41 PM
Comrade Gutfeld forced to acknowledge Marx's core insight that capitalism produces the dictatorship of the bourgeoisie over the proletariat but then veers into vulgar Bonapartism
Steve Bannon today sent an unmistakable signal that he's on Tucker Carlson's side in the aftermath of his interview with Nick Fuentes. Bannon had a friendly interview with Ryan Neuhaus, recently departed from Heritage for his role in defending the Carlson-Fuentes interview. New at @mmfa.bsky.social
Amid right-wing split over Nick Fuentes, Bannon signals affinity for Tucker Carlson's faction
www.mediamatters.org
November 12, 2025 at 9:33 PM
Steve Bannon today sent an unmistakable signal that he's on Tucker Carlson's side in the aftermath of his interview with Nick Fuentes. Bannon had a friendly interview with Ryan Neuhaus, recently departed from Heritage for his role in defending the Carlson-Fuentes interview. New at @mmfa.bsky.social
Can’t wait to go to @thedigradio.bsky.social live tonight. Things might get a little rowdy*
*congenial debates about whether neoliberalism marks a distinct mode of capitalist development or is mostly congruous with earlier eras and forms of accumulation
*congenial debates about whether neoliberalism marks a distinct mode of capitalist development or is mostly congruous with earlier eras and forms of accumulation
November 7, 2025 at 10:10 PM
Can’t wait to go to @thedigradio.bsky.social live tonight. Things might get a little rowdy*
*congenial debates about whether neoliberalism marks a distinct mode of capitalist development or is mostly congruous with earlier eras and forms of accumulation
*congenial debates about whether neoliberalism marks a distinct mode of capitalist development or is mostly congruous with earlier eras and forms of accumulation
There's a decent chance that the Sydney Sweeney / Cracker Barrel cycle was the high-water mark for conservative narrative dominance
November 7, 2025 at 2:17 PM
There's a decent chance that the Sydney Sweeney / Cracker Barrel cycle was the high-water mark for conservative narrative dominance
The NYT continues to lie to its readers about the top tiers of the MAGA coalition. Just the closeness of Loomer alone (not to mention dozens of other MAGA media figures) invalidates this entire premise
November 6, 2025 at 7:44 PM
The NYT continues to lie to its readers about the top tiers of the MAGA coalition. Just the closeness of Loomer alone (not to mention dozens of other MAGA media figures) invalidates this entire premise
Reposted by John Knefel
I'm one of the four fired employees. I was a writer & producer at Bon Appétit for nearly five years, during which I helped organize our union and sat on our bargaining committee.
I am, to my knowledge, the only trans woman in our union and the only trans woman on editorial who doesn't work at Them
I am, to my knowledge, the only trans woman in our union and the only trans woman on editorial who doesn't work at Them
New: Conde Nast fired four employees who were among a group that confronted the company's head of human resources on Wednesday over the decision to fold Teen Vogue into Vogue/recent cuts. Employees who were fired included journalists from the New Yorker, Wired, and Bon Appétit.
November 6, 2025 at 6:32 PM
I'm one of the four fired employees. I was a writer & producer at Bon Appétit for nearly five years, during which I helped organize our union and sat on our bargaining committee.
I am, to my knowledge, the only trans woman in our union and the only trans woman on editorial who doesn't work at Them
I am, to my knowledge, the only trans woman in our union and the only trans woman on editorial who doesn't work at Them
Steve Bannon is wedded to the misperception that MAGA's driving force is a working class base, when in fact its core is private equity and family businesses whose aim is to capture as much public money as possible before the whole thing collapses.
My latest at @mmfa.bsky.social
My latest at @mmfa.bsky.social
Steve Bannon rips Donald Trump Jr.’s business partner for defending the "aristocracy"
www.mediamatters.org
November 6, 2025 at 6:25 PM
Steve Bannon is wedded to the misperception that MAGA's driving force is a working class base, when in fact its core is private equity and family businesses whose aim is to capture as much public money as possible before the whole thing collapses.
My latest at @mmfa.bsky.social
My latest at @mmfa.bsky.social
Honest-to-god cadre in city hall, fucking insane
November 5, 2025 at 4:41 AM
Honest-to-god cadre in city hall, fucking insane
Eric Adams reluctantly transferring boarding passes to Istanbul, on-going extortion schemes to the Mamdani team
November 5, 2025 at 4:17 AM
Eric Adams reluctantly transferring boarding passes to Istanbul, on-going extortion schemes to the Mamdani team
You’ll see this in socialists’ living rooms for decades
November 5, 2025 at 3:56 AM
You’ll see this in socialists’ living rooms for decades
Cuomo concession speech reads to me as an audition to be a Fox News pundit down the line
November 5, 2025 at 3:53 AM
Cuomo concession speech reads to me as an audition to be a Fox News pundit down the line
Good things are possible
November 5, 2025 at 2:43 AM
Good things are possible
choose your fighter
November 4, 2025 at 9:25 PM
choose your fighter
I'm sorry, this WaPo profile of Chris Buskirk reports that 3,000 people canvassed a universe of "several million" low-propensity voters and achieved a turnout of 50 percent? Doesn't that seem a bit...unlikely?
November 4, 2025 at 8:38 PM
I'm sorry, this WaPo profile of Chris Buskirk reports that 3,000 people canvassed a universe of "several million" low-propensity voters and achieved a turnout of 50 percent? Doesn't that seem a bit...unlikely?