Peter Maass
@maassp.bsky.social
Editor & writer. Author of “Love Thy Neighbor” & “Crude World.” Done time at the NYT, WP, Intercept.
Pinned
Peter Maass
@maassp.bsky.social
· Apr 9
Twenty-two years ago today I stood in Baghdad's Firdos Square and watched U.S. Marines tear down a statue of Saddam Hussein. The toppling was portrayed by the American media as a symbol of Iraq's joyous liberation but the reality of what happened was quite different. (Thread)
The truth is, these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand.
November 18, 2025 at 4:29 AM
The truth is, these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand.
Co-sign
They’re wearing masks so they can’t be prosecuted later. As long as they think they can’t be prosecuted, their crimes will intensify. They will torture, starve and kill, as they have already, on greater and greater scale.
Signed, someone who’s covered the unaccountable War on Terror for 23 years.
Signed, someone who’s covered the unaccountable War on Terror for 23 years.
I’ve come to believe that we need to gather considerable forces and a campaign to demand the removal of face masks by ICE, Border Patrol, FBI and police.
It is a practice in conflict with the principles of transparency & accountability that are central to the concept of democracy.
It is a practice in conflict with the principles of transparency & accountability that are central to the concept of democracy.
November 9, 2025 at 2:57 PM
Co-sign
If you need a chaser to Spencer Ackerman's Dick Cheney masterwork, here's my 2021 obituary of Colin Powell, who helped kill hundreds of thousands of people (millions if you count indirect deaths) in the so-called war on terror. theintercept.com/2021/10/18/c...
November 4, 2025 at 8:02 PM
If you need a chaser to Spencer Ackerman's Dick Cheney masterwork, here's my 2021 obituary of Colin Powell, who helped kill hundreds of thousands of people (millions if you count indirect deaths) in the so-called war on terror. theintercept.com/2021/10/18/c...
Other than a trial at the Hague, what Dick Cheney deserved most is an obituary by Spencer Ackerman.
All day, many of you have been asking for a Cheney obituary from me. Get ready:
His Works Completed, Dick Cheney, Mass Murderer of Iraqis and American Democracy, Dies
As much as the Trumpists claim to disavow the War on Terror, they walk a path paved by the most powerful vice president in U.S. history.
www.thenation.com
November 4, 2025 at 7:02 PM
Other than a trial at the Hague, what Dick Cheney deserved most is an obituary by Spencer Ackerman.
Reposted by Peter Maass
@maassp.bsky.social unpacks the sensationalist journalism of Richard Harding Davis, America’s first star war reporter.
How America’s First Star War Reporter Set the Tone For a Century of Journalism
Richard Harding Davis is regarded by many as the first war correspondent of modern American journalism—not because he was the first to cover nineteenth-century warfare, but because he attracted a l…
buff.ly
October 9, 2025 at 7:01 PM
@maassp.bsky.social unpacks the sensationalist journalism of Richard Harding Davis, America’s first star war reporter.
Take it from me, the guy who derided/dunked/nuked the Swedish Academy for awarding the 2019 Nobel Literature Prize to genocide denialist Peter Handke -- this hilarious takedown by @alexshephard.bsky.social and @markkrotov.bsky.social merits its own Nobel. newrepublic.com/article/2015...
The Nobel Prize in Literature Is Boring Now
László Krasznahorkai, who was awarded the Prize on Thursday, is a brilliant novelist and consummate laureate. But has the Swedish Academy lost its sense of fun?
newrepublic.com
October 9, 2025 at 6:17 PM
Take it from me, the guy who derided/dunked/nuked the Swedish Academy for awarding the 2019 Nobel Literature Prize to genocide denialist Peter Handke -- this hilarious takedown by @alexshephard.bsky.social and @markkrotov.bsky.social merits its own Nobel. newrepublic.com/article/2015...
Very proud that LitHub published my retrospective on the first great war reporter, Richard Harding Davis, whose coverage of the Spanish-American war set the flawed standard for conflict journalism. My piece introduces a new publication of Davis's "Cuba in War Time." lithub.com/how-americas...
How America’s First Star War Reporter Set the Tone For a Century of Journalism
Richard Harding Davis is regarded by many as the first war correspondent of modern American journalism—not because he was the first to cover nineteenth-century warfare, but because he attracted a l…
lithub.com
October 9, 2025 at 3:09 PM
Very proud that LitHub published my retrospective on the first great war reporter, Richard Harding Davis, whose coverage of the Spanish-American war set the flawed standard for conflict journalism. My piece introduces a new publication of Davis's "Cuba in War Time." lithub.com/how-americas...
Baghdad 1979 is calling, wants its Baath Party purge back.
September 25, 2025 at 2:53 PM
Baghdad 1979 is calling, wants its Baath Party purge back.
With Lachlan Murdoch in the headlines, thanks to his buyout of his siblings for full control of Fox News, I'm re-upping my deep dive into his (revealing) years as a philosophy student at Princeton. theintercept.com/2019/03/30/l...
How Lachlan Murdoch Went From Studying Philosophy at Princeton to Exploiting White Nationalism at Fox News
Rupert Murdoch's oldest son has taken charge of Fox News. The family's role in the far-right network is coming under greater scrutiny.
theintercept.com
September 10, 2025 at 3:06 PM
With Lachlan Murdoch in the headlines, thanks to his buyout of his siblings for full control of Fox News, I'm re-upping my deep dive into his (revealing) years as a philosophy student at Princeton. theintercept.com/2019/03/30/l...
Reposted by Peter Maass
My latest story for @timemagazine.bsky.social on Labor Day, Labor Day Sales and the American Dream. A very personal essay time.com/7313480/labo... @eccobooks.bsky.social @economichardship.bsky.social @jillgrinberglit.bsky.social @maiasz.bsky.social @maassp.bsky.social @economichardship.bsky.social
What Labor Day Sales Say About the American Dream
Alissa Quart writes about the relationship between Labor Day sales and economic opportunity in America.
time.com
August 31, 2025 at 9:12 PM
My latest story for @timemagazine.bsky.social on Labor Day, Labor Day Sales and the American Dream. A very personal essay time.com/7313480/labo... @eccobooks.bsky.social @economichardship.bsky.social @jillgrinberglit.bsky.social @maiasz.bsky.social @maassp.bsky.social @economichardship.bsky.social
What I'm doing in the coming year -- a fellowship at the Leon Levy Center for Biography to work on my book about Jacob Schiff, Felix Warburg and their philanthropic support for Jewish emigration to British-controlled Palestine in the context of non-Zionism.
Congratulations to the 2025 Leon Levy Center for Biography Fellows! Peter Maass, Deborah Solomon, Kristen Iversen, Autumn Womack, Alex Traub, and Ph.D. candidate Vanessa S. Troiano www.gc.cuny.edu/news/leon-le... @maassp.bsky.social @bam-bio-mem.bsky.social
Leon Levy Center for Biography Awards Six Writing Fellowships
Prominent writers receive support for biographies of figures such as Jasper Johns, Toni Morrison, Felix Warburg, and Nikola Tesla.
www.gc.cuny.edu
August 29, 2025 at 3:52 PM
What I'm doing in the coming year -- a fellowship at the Leon Levy Center for Biography to work on my book about Jacob Schiff, Felix Warburg and their philanthropic support for Jewish emigration to British-controlled Palestine in the context of non-Zionism.
Reposted by Peter Maass
Friends, a funny but cautionary tale of how wrong GROK gets things.
I am neither Jewish, nor "Whitewashing myself" nor Antisemitic. Follow this thread my pal @maassp.bsky.social posted..you may need to go back to Peter's account to follow the whole damn thread...which gets comically absurd
I am neither Jewish, nor "Whitewashing myself" nor Antisemitic. Follow this thread my pal @maassp.bsky.social posted..you may need to go back to Peter's account to follow the whole damn thread...which gets comically absurd
August 17, 2025 at 5:22 PM
Friends, a funny but cautionary tale of how wrong GROK gets things.
I am neither Jewish, nor "Whitewashing myself" nor Antisemitic. Follow this thread my pal @maassp.bsky.social posted..you may need to go back to Peter's account to follow the whole damn thread...which gets comically absurd
I am neither Jewish, nor "Whitewashing myself" nor Antisemitic. Follow this thread my pal @maassp.bsky.social posted..you may need to go back to Peter's account to follow the whole damn thread...which gets comically absurd
Reposted by Peter Maass
“[W]hen you disregard ‘crime in the strict legal sense’ as the criterion for enforcement, grand new vistas of violence against "disordered" social populations open,” writes @attackerman.bsky.social
"Crime" And The Occupation of D.C.
What is the meaning of crime? Is it Criminals Robbing Innocent Motherfuckers Everytime?
www.forever-wars.com
August 18, 2025 at 5:22 PM
“[W]hen you disregard ‘crime in the strict legal sense’ as the criterion for enforcement, grand new vistas of violence against "disordered" social populations open,” writes @attackerman.bsky.social
Meanwhile, in upstate New York…
August 16, 2025 at 9:42 PM
Meanwhile, in upstate New York…
Here's a funny yet revealing tale about Grok (Elon Musk's AI) attributing a story I wrote to my friend @janinedigi.bsky.social, and as a result saying she's Jewish (which she's not, though I am).
It starts with a query from an X account that didn't like a post from Janine and asked Grok about her.
It starts with a query from an X account that didn't like a post from Janine and asked Grok about her.
August 16, 2025 at 7:48 PM
Here's a funny yet revealing tale about Grok (Elon Musk's AI) attributing a story I wrote to my friend @janinedigi.bsky.social, and as a result saying she's Jewish (which she's not, though I am).
It starts with a query from an X account that didn't like a post from Janine and asked Grok about her.
It starts with a query from an X account that didn't like a post from Janine and asked Grok about her.
Pulitzer Prize for Best Use of Habibi…
August 12, 2025 at 9:22 PM
Pulitzer Prize for Best Use of Habibi…
From 2024, @mollycrabapple.bsky.social:
August 11, 2025 at 2:44 PM
From 2024, @mollycrabapple.bsky.social:
Perfect 10 on the North Korea scale. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
JD Vance’s team had water level of Ohio river raised for family’s boating trip
Exclusive: Incident raises questions of exploitation of public services, but Secret Service says it was requested for ‘safe navigation’
www.theguardian.com
August 7, 2025 at 5:52 PM
Perfect 10 on the North Korea scale. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
A fascinating and meticulous article by Gary Knight about the likelihood that one of the most famous war photos of the 20th century was taken by one photographer but attributed to another. www.rollingstone.com/culture/cult...
Inside the Battle Over 'Napalm Girl'
A new documentary, 'The Stringer,' investigates the story of the famous Vietnam War photo "Napalm Girl," raising questions about who actually took it
www.rollingstone.com
August 4, 2025 at 2:55 PM
A fascinating and meticulous article by Gary Knight about the likelihood that one of the most famous war photos of the 20th century was taken by one photographer but attributed to another. www.rollingstone.com/culture/cult...
Reposted by Peter Maass
“There is a campaign in the Israeli media about Israel starving Gazans. From the pictures I see I think they need to lose some weight.”
Right-wing Israeli network Channel 14 hosts mock the mother of four-year-old Razan Abu Zaher, who died last week of starvation.
Read: zeteo.com?utm_source=n...
Right-wing Israeli network Channel 14 hosts mock the mother of four-year-old Razan Abu Zaher, who died last week of starvation.
Read: zeteo.com?utm_source=n...
July 28, 2025 at 6:48 PM
“There is a campaign in the Israeli media about Israel starving Gazans. From the pictures I see I think they need to lose some weight.”
Right-wing Israeli network Channel 14 hosts mock the mother of four-year-old Razan Abu Zaher, who died last week of starvation.
Read: zeteo.com?utm_source=n...
Right-wing Israeli network Channel 14 hosts mock the mother of four-year-old Razan Abu Zaher, who died last week of starvation.
Read: zeteo.com?utm_source=n...
Every word of this www.forever-wars.com/the-belated-...
The Belated Voices Against The U.S.-Israeli Genocide of The Palestinians
Why did the onset of famine, and not any of the previous 21 months of collective slaughter, not compel them to speak out?
www.forever-wars.com
July 28, 2025 at 6:38 PM
Every word of this www.forever-wars.com/the-belated-...
One of the loveliest articles you can read today was written by my wife, Alissa Quart, about her mother’s paintings and what spreading them in our world means. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/22/o...
Opinion | My Mother, the Artist, Discovered at 90
www.nytimes.com
July 22, 2025 at 12:41 PM
One of the loveliest articles you can read today was written by my wife, Alissa Quart, about her mother’s paintings and what spreading them in our world means. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/22/o...
Reposted by Peter Maass
This morning on BBC World Service we took time to Remember Srebrenica.
We recalled what happened&heard from survivors & relatives. David Rhode told us how he uncovered the first mass graves 30 years ago. With guests Arminka Helic and Steven Erlanger👇from min 26:30
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
We recalled what happened&heard from survivors & relatives. David Rhode told us how he uncovered the first mass graves 30 years ago. With guests Arminka Helic and Steven Erlanger👇from min 26:30
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
Weekend - Gulf states urge Trump to help achieve Gaza ceasefire - BBC Sounds
A Gaza hospital says 24 people were killed on Saturday near an aid distribution site
www.bbc.co.uk
July 13, 2025 at 11:35 AM
This morning on BBC World Service we took time to Remember Srebrenica.
We recalled what happened&heard from survivors & relatives. David Rhode told us how he uncovered the first mass graves 30 years ago. With guests Arminka Helic and Steven Erlanger👇from min 26:30
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
We recalled what happened&heard from survivors & relatives. David Rhode told us how he uncovered the first mass graves 30 years ago. With guests Arminka Helic and Steven Erlanger👇from min 26:30
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
Will be tapping this sign for years.
As someone from the Balkans I regret to inform you that the tolerance of the average public for being utterly brutalized by their government(s) for the most fantastical and asinine reasons is far greater than you may anticipate. Sectarianism is a hell of a drug, alas.
June 2, 2025 at 7:51 PM
Will be tapping this sign for years.
Upcoming at the Tribeca film festival, the short documentary "Natasha," co-directed by my friend Andrew Meier, about the slain human rights investigator in Chechnya, Natasha Estemirova. www.natashadoc.com
NATASHA | NATASHA DOCUMENTARY FILM
NATASHA documentary is the story of a fearless human rights investigator in Vladimir Putin’s Russia and war in Chechnya.
www.natashadoc.com
May 30, 2025 at 12:45 PM
Upcoming at the Tribeca film festival, the short documentary "Natasha," co-directed by my friend Andrew Meier, about the slain human rights investigator in Chechnya, Natasha Estemirova. www.natashadoc.com