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