Brian Stelter
@brianstelter.bsky.social
150K followers 650 following 1.8K posts
Media nerd. CNN chief media analyst. INSIDE THE HIVE podcast host. Author of "Network of Lies," "Hoax," and "Top of the Morning." Former Shorenstein fellow, NYT reporter and blogger.
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brianstelter.bsky.social
Today's Reliable Sources lead: Portland is not burning. Trump's rhetoric is totally divorced from reality. One way to prove it is by pairing Trump's words with the pictures... cnn.it/4q0hlJs
Reposted by Brian Stelter
jrobin.bsky.social
“For a brief moment in history, video was evidence of reality. Now it's a tool for unreality.” — @brianstelter.bsky.social

That is my fear. With every kind of social media, Sora will degenerate into more deepfakes, conspiracies and disinformation. Slop.

view.newsletters.cnn.com/messages/175...
If you work in the media industry or care about the quality of the information ecosystem we all inhabit, you need to pay attention to Sora 2.
view.newsletters.cnn.com
brianstelter.bsky.social
Today's Reliable Sources lead:

When seeing stops believing

Thinking through what Sora, Vibes and the AI-generated-everything era means for media and society: cnn.it/46Mi204
Reposted by Brian Stelter
brizzyc.bsky.social
"Arrested while covering a protest. Shot in the face with a pepper ball. Shoved to the ground and taken away on a stretcher.

Journalists have repeatedly been injured & impeded while reporting on action by masked ICE officials" view.newsletters.cnn.com/messages/175... by @brianstelter.bsky.social
Welcome to October. Here's the latest on Sora, Jane Fonda, Jimmy Kimmel, Amazon, Bari Weiss, YouTube TV, "SNL," Hunter S. Thompson, and much more...
view.newsletters.cnn.com
brianstelter.bsky.social
Scoop: @ashleyallison.bsky.social is acquiring The Root and returning it to Black ownership. She plans to invest in video content, strike new partnerships with experts, and launch in-person experiences. "This isn't about making more content but rather about making meaning of this moment," she says
www.cnn.com
brianstelter.bsky.social
This morning's Reliable Sources:

New low for media trust; Elon targets Netflix; The Root goes back to its roots. ➕ much more here 🔗 cnn.it/4nAMul8
Reposted by Brian Stelter
gelliottmorris.com
A new report from Bright Line Watch finds experts now rate the U.S. as a "mixed" or "illiberal" democracy. The rating is dragged down by Trump's attacks on institutions, a weak legislature, political violence, and partisan gerrymandering www.gelliottmorris.com/p/experts-no...
Experts now rate the U.S. as a "mixed" or "illiberal" democracy
Experts say political violence, Trump's attacks against non-partisan agencies and institutions, and partisan gerrymandering are their top concerns
www.gelliottmorris.com
brianstelter.bsky.social
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker has cited the treatment of reporters as part of a broader pattern. "In any other country, if federal agents fired upon journalists and protesters when unprovoked, what would we call it?" He answered: Authoritarianism. cnn.it/4pK7hUF
brianstelter.bsky.social
In one recent instance, Unraveled Press co-founder Raven Geary said she was struck in the cheek by a pepper ball while covering a protest in Broadview, Illinois. "To me it felt like a direct attack on reporters," she told the @pressfreedomtracker.us.
Journalist shot in the face with pepper ball at Illinois ICE facility protest
Journalist Raven Geary was shot in the face with a pepper ball by federal officers while reporting on protests outside …
pressfreedomtracker.us
brianstelter.bsky.social
Arrested while covering a protest.

Shot in the face with a pepper ball.

Shoved to the ground and taken away on a stretcher. 

Journalists have repeatedly been injured and impeded while reporting on action by masked ICE agents in recent days.
Reposted by Brian Stelter
brianstelter.bsky.social
🔌 Today's Reliable Sources, featuring Sora, Jane Fonda, Jimmy Kimmel, Amazon, Bari Weiss, YouTube TV, "SNL," Hunter S. Thompson, and more... cnn.it/4pK7hUF
brianstelter.bsky.social
“South Dakota Focus” (on PBS affiliates across South Dakota), “Almanac North” (on WSDE in Duluth, Minnesota) and “Headline Humboldt” (on KEET in Eureka, California) have all been cancelled in recent weeks. Broadcasters will fill some of the local holes with national programming. Ironic?
brianstelter.bsky.social
Trump and his allies argued in favor of the rescission by railing against the perceived political bias of national NPR and PBS programs.

But those programs aren’t going away. However, some LOCAL public affairs shows and newsmagazines are...
brianstelter.bsky.social
Just as a government shutdown feels distant and "political" until it affects you personally, the defunding of public media is more tangible now that stations are cutting back on programming.

The impacts are "just beginning to sink in" among the public at large, CPB CEO Patricia Harrison says.
brianstelter.bsky.social
This is the day NPR and PBS hoped would never come: The day federal funding to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting dries up.

CPB is winding down its operations and local stations are making big changes to cope with budget shortfalls. Here's a thread about what stands out to me the most...
PBS and NPR funding cuts are hitting home as government shutdown looms | CNN Business
Cuts to NPR, PBS and other public media outlets have been in the news all year long, but now the federal funds have actually run out.
www.cnn.com
brianstelter.bsky.social
61% of Americans say Trump has gone "too far" in "pressuring media organizations" that treat Trump unfavorably. Even more notably, a mere 7% of Americans say he hasn't gone far enough, per this new NYT/Siena poll:
brianstelter.bsky.social
BTW, the appeals court did side with the Trump admin earlier this year, but The AP's case is still being litigated in the DC court of appeals. The newswire said yesterday that oral arguments are set for Nov. 24.
brianstelter.bsky.social
Trump telling warfighters about his war with The AP: "We won in court. How bout that? Isn't that so cool?"
atrupar.com
Two minutes into his speech to military leaders, Trump is ranting about renaming the "Gulf of America"
Reposted by Brian Stelter
asharangappa.bsky.social
Reminder that one of the first things this guy did was install a TV makeup studio at the Pentagon
atrupar.com
Hegseth: "It all starts with physical fitness and appearance. If the secretary of war can do regular hard PT, so can every member of our joint force. Frankly, it's tiring to look out at combat formations and see fat troops. Likewise, it's completely unacceptable to see fat generals and admirals."
brianstelter.bsky.social
Seems like an ideal outcome!
brianstelter.bsky.social
US Agency for Global Media acting CEO Kari Lake was hoping to institute a reduction in force at Voice of America today, but US District Judge Royce Lamberth has ordered her to hold off for the time being. A (temporary) win for sidelined VOA journalists. www.cbsnews.com/news/us-agen...
Judge suspends Trump administration's plan to eliminate hundreds of jobs at Voice of America's parent agency
A U.S. district judge in D.C. ruled that the U.S. Agency for Global Media cannot implement a reduction in force eliminating 532 jobs for full-time government employees.
www.cbsnews.com
brianstelter.bsky.social
Today >> Public media staffers are saying their farewells, press freedom groups are staging a protest outside the FCC, YouTube TV and NBCU are bracing for a blackout, and Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert are visiting each others' shows. We're previewing it all here >> cnn.it/3Wlzd3D
brianstelter.bsky.social
"As the US government barrels toward a shutdown, President Donald Trump shared a racist video on social media..." www.cnn.com/2025/09/29/p...