UH-OH! News Corpse Has Been Suspended on Daily Kos

I would like to apologize in advance for this totally self-serving note, but I thought some of my readers might like to know.

Click here to Tweet this article

Twitter Bird Censorship

Daily Kos has suspended my account because they said my headline was “hyperbolic” and inaccurate. For that they have suspended me for 2 weeks during the most important final days of the presidential election.

This is so frustrating, because they don’t provide any way to appeal or explain their action. So I’m just immediately muzzled, despite my many years as a good faith contributor to the site. The headline on the article in question, and the change made by the site admin, is…

Mine: TYRANT TRUMP Demands that ALL Network TV Licenses Be Revoked and that He Be Declared President
Admin: Trump calls for network broadcast licenses to be revoked and for Democrats to concede election

I suppose the part that they object to is that I said Trump would be declared president. But it’s not much of a distinction from demanding that Harris concede. What would then be the result, other than Trump being de facto declared the winner?

I don’t know why they couldn’t just ask for the change and allow me to continue posting. Also, I am now under a threat of being permanently banned. And I can’t even post any article on the site to inform others there that this occurred. Maybe someone else will.

In the meantime, I hope you all continue to enjoy and benefit from my work to advance progressive causes and candidates, and revealing the dishonesty of right-wing media. And now, on to elect Kamala Harris and every other Democrat running this year.

UPDATE: A Daily Kos member named Shockwave has posted an article about my suspension. It is getting some great comments that are supportive and for which I am grateful. And there’s also a poll with over 5,700 votes where 85% oppose the suspension. Thanks to all.

FOR THE RECORD: This is the third time that Daily Kos has suspended my account. Each of the other times seemed unwarranted to me and were disputed, but no re-consideration was given. They were…

FIRST: An article titled “Trump Posts Video Confirming that He Illegally Bought a Gun that His Campaign Denies He Bought”
Daily Kos asserted that the headline was inaccurate because Trump didn’t actually buy the gun. However, Trump actually did post a video on his Truth Social site that said that he bought the gun. I didn’t say he bought it. The video he posted said that. And that’s what my headline said. So it was totally accurate. But even if they still had a problem with the headline, they could have just asked for it to be changed. Instead. they just suspended my account without consultation or opportunity to appeal.

SECOND: An article titled “Trump’s Truth Social Reports Massive Losses and Warns that it Could Go Out of Business”
Daily Kos pointed out that part of the information in the article was incorrect. That’s because my source, the Hollywood Reporter, modified its article several hours after it was originally published. My reference to it was correct at the time that I read it. So Daily Kos was punishing me for quoting verbatim from a reputable news source that I corroborated from additional sources (NBC News, Forbes), who all reported the same thing. And the change didn’t even affect the substance of the story, just the amount of the loss, which was still huge. They could have alerted me to the update and asked for an edit. but once again, they just suspended my account without consultation or opportunity to appeal.

This latest matter, along with those from the past, are unfortunate incidents that I believe stem from overly sensitive moderators who refuse to consider rational appeals. Consequently, there is nothing that authors on their website can do about it. So now I’m facing a potential permanent ban based on three incidents that should not have been considered violations in the first place. Which raises the question of whether to bother continuing to post there. In the end, it’s the community that makes Daily Kos worthwhile, and if I stay, that will be why.

Advertisement:

27 thoughts on “UH-OH! News Corpse Has Been Suspended on Daily Kos

  1. Is there a “politics as usual” mentality in the DailyKos staff?

    • They have laid off many of their longtime staffers over the past few months. I’ve been told that the result is a much less tolerant crew. But I really don’t know what’s going on there. They still have a great community though.

  2. Thanks for letting us know. You will be missed.

    • Thanks so much. They said my suspension is until October 25. So look for me there, then.

      • I’m glad you’re not completely turned off by it! We all take these hits occasionally “over there”. Looking forward to when you’re back. Love the muzzled bluebird. DKos needs a mascot you can muzzle! Maybe a pootie….

        • I’ve been debating whether to go back. I will probably do so at least for the one week left until the election. After that, who knows. I’m also exploring some other opportunities.

          • I just cruised over to let you know you are missed. I think some folks over there do not understand the nature of satire or appreciate humor at all. If you decided not to come back that would be a big loss for them. The people I would read every time are disappearing – Aldous J. Pennyfarthing and Pakalolo are gone, Hunter has scaled back signifigantly. If you aren’t there that’s one less reason to even go there.

            I love your writing. Glad I can find you here.

  3. The craziest thing about this is that Daily Kos posts some of the most hyperbolic headers/articles I’ve ever read. Sorry they’ve done that to you.

    • Thanks, Terri.

      And it’s true that their articles – even the ones written by their staff – are loaded with hyperbole.. I was gonna mention that, but I didn’t want to get into a debate with them over it. And I truly appreciate your support for this and for all your past support as well.

  4. Sounds to me like a bunch of MAGAt sympathisers have gained some measure of power at Kos, and they were unhappy with you calling their lardass hero a TYRANT. Maybe if you’d written WANNABE TYRANT you’d have been ok. Is there some way we can let Kos know how pissed off we are at their censorship?

  5. I’m really tired of their persnickityness. I’m tired of worrying about self censoring for stuff that isn’t so bad. And I’m also tired of anonymous flagging and suspending and banning. You should be able to know who accused you and allowed to defend yourself. As it is, I made a rule, for myself, to never be the first to like somebody else’s comment, on Daily Kos, in case somebody flags the original comment and everybody who liked it; I can’t always tell what will set off a flag. And if a couple of people start arguing with each other, in comments, I stay out of it and even remove likes I might have already given either or both of them.
    I’m sorry they’ve done this to you.

    • Thanks for your support. And it is unfortunate that their sensitivities is making people nervous about participating.

      • PS, I post under another name, at Kos, but I’m too paranoid to use it, here!

      • Yep, me too! Some less than enlightened rabid blue Democrats did NOT like my calling out Pelosi and some other uber wealthy Democratic Party leaders for their “serendipitous” investments. Got me banned with no explanation and no recourse, no reply from DKos (timing tells all). Just being better than FauxSnooze doesn’t mean you don’t need to take a shower.

  6. I can see how you may feel. It is clear any actual comments describing a certain ‘candidate’ incessant lies, is subject to revision by others, yet no reasons given. It makes responding to an oncoming tragedy, clearly visible to everyone who can see it, seem frustrating. The candidate is called the “be best” of his Party, by his Party which did select him above all other Republican Candidates, to lead the USA. This is exactly the time , since it is a 2 Week suspension by Edict to protect the “be best” serial Adulterer and Convicted Rapist, with 34 Federal Convictions, that chose to instigate the January 6th, 2021 attack on our Nation, when he Lost. He plans to do worse, when he loses again, yet Daily Kos minimizes it.

  7. I wondered if “Tyrant” $Rump was the problem. If they’re worried about lawsuits… but surely that’s an obvious opinion, not a factual statement, and since it’s about a public political figure, it should be protected speech. Then again, IANAL!

    I wish they would be more forthcoming about exactly what the problems are.

    There is a diary up about this, which is why I clicked over, that you’ll probably want to see if you haven’t yet.

    • Thanks. I did see that article. And it’s definitely comforting to see the responses. I wish the admins would take it into consideration.

  8. Hang in there, Mark. You are a DKos treasure. The community is immeasurably enriched by your work, and we will be so glad when you’re back.

  9. If you go to substack or something like it I’ll pay.

  10. I am a long-time reader and writer on Daily Kos, but I strongly disagree with their decision to suspend your account. I don’t think that your headline was at all hyperbolic.

  11. The article by Shockwave includes a poll. According to the current results, 85% of the poll participants DISAGREE with your suspension! I hope the site administrators see the poll and reverse their decision.

  12. There appears to be a significant dearth of English majors and/or critical thinkers attached to DKos’ censoring activities.

    Ironic to me because, on occasion in the aughts, I referred to Bush/Cheney Republicans as maggots or The Maggotry. I’m not even sure “maggotry” is a word, but I used it anyway because it seemed the shoe fit. I moved on to TeaBaggers during the Obama admin

    I don’t think I’ve ever called the MAGGAts “MAGGATS” because, well, been there done that, and it’s too obvious. Nothing wrong with the nickname either; and Dkos’ persnickety pearl clutching over this term is unfortunate.

    Carry on and look forward to your return to the fold.

  13. Daily Kos is where the Henry Kissinger wing of the Democratic Party hangs out.

  14. I wish there was a way for us to “like” each other’s comments. As far as I can tell, the “like” button is only for the article? Even so, I’d like to know how many people like the article, as well as each of the comments.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*
*
Website

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.