Like Diogenes looking for an honest man, I’ve been searching high and low for an honest, objective journalist. Alas, the mainstream media has become a desert, populated by talking heads and shills who openly advocate their politics and partisan causes. Reporting the news objectively, which was once the gold standard in journalism, has very few champions left.

But after a long and fruitless search, I may have found a different sort of journalist in Matt Taibbi, who left a cushy job at 𝘙𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦 to publish his own online magazine, called 𝘙𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘵, on Substack.

The 53-year-old Taibbi, who has authored ten books, including four bestsellers, made headlines when Elon Musk selected him and fellow investigator Michael Shellenberger to delve into the “Twitter Files” and write an 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 (emphasis added) assessment.

As you probably know, the two men delivered a scathing report that became a major embarrassment/indictment of the Biden Administration and its lackeys in the media. Turns out Twitter was infested with squads of full-time censors who systematically amplified certain tweets and muted others, often acting on the recommendation/insistence of the FBI, DHS, Democrat party operatives, liberal media contacts, and even individual politicians who didn’t like what certain people were saying. This government-sponsored censorship, which Shellenberger describes as a “Censorship-Industrial Complex,” succeeded in silencing thousands of Americans and suppressing online reports and discussion about the Covid lab-leak theory, the Hunter Biden laptop story, and other crucial issues. (See the links to their Congressional testimonies and interviews below.)

Before I go on, it’s important to note that Taibbi, in his own words, is an “ACLU Democrat” who has often backed progressive ideas and skewered conservatives (e.g., his 2017 book about Donald Trump, titled 𝘐𝘯𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘦 𝘊𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵).

But the fact that he and I may disagree on certain policies and politicians is not at all the point. Objectivity and courage are what I’m after, wherein the reporter makes a conscious, disciplined effort to filter out his/her prejudices and write the truth, no matter where the axe may fall. The fact that Taibbi has now enraged the left with his reporting suggests that he’s probably doing his job.

Elon Musk, who describes himself as an “absolutist” when it comes to free speech, chose Taibbi to report on the Twitter Files because he considered him a man of integrity and a champion of free speech.

Good criteria!

In the big picture, it matters not whether we agree with Biden or Trump or anyone else in government. What matters is the First Amendment, without which the Republic is lost.

𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐇𝐎𝐑𝐒𝐄’𝐒 𝐌𝐎𝐔𝐓𝐇:

Matt Taibbi and Michael Shellenberger testify before the House Select Subcommittee on Weaponization of Federal Government: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSi0wP_2sxY

Nick Gilles’ interview with Matt Taibbi (ReasonTV): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kfyw3xA2hv0&t=2529s