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Brian Reed

@brihreed

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Investigative Journalist
Host, @questioneverything.podcast
Past @stownpodcast, @serial, @thisamerlife
Signal: brihreed.45

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On Thursday morning, David Ellison rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange to officially mark the merger between Paramount and Warner Bros. This means David and his father Larry Ellison, who is a close friend of President Donald Trump, will be able to influence CNN and CBS News.

@brihreed reached out to Marius Dragomir who studies the way authoritarian regimes around the world are able to kneecap the independent media in their countries in something called “media capture.” Hungary is a textbook example: by doing things like weaponizing the media regulator and getting rich friends to buy up private media companies, former Prime Minister Viktor Orban and his party weren able to co-opt most of the press and crush independent outlets.

Marius told Brian that he was “flabbergasted” by the way this merger, and therefore media capture, has come to fruition so quickly in the U.S. This comes just weeks after 12 states settled their antitrust lawsuit against Paramount for the merger.

Hit the link in our bio to listen to the latest Question Everything episode and follow us for more. by @brihreed

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10 days ago

Our team at Question Everything is honored to be nominated for six different awards for the 5th annual @SignalAwards highlighting risk-takers and daring creators in podcasting. From our episode showcasing @drewharwell’s reporting on internal messages that show how badly ICE officials wanted to go viral to a 20-year-old’s lawsuit against Instagram over its addictive features and its destruction of their childhood, Question Everything is a weekly investigation into how truth gets buried, distorted and denied—and how people are fighting to make it matter again.

Thank you to our listeners for all your support which powers our mission. To vote:

Click “SIGNAL AWARDS” in our link in bio Click search and type in “Question Everything” Head to each category press “VOTE” for Question Everything’s episode
Swipe through for a more detailed description of each of the six episodes we are nominated for. Our last slide has a video instructional on how to vote.

Again, we are honored to be among such an intrepid field of finalists and thank you again for the support. #SignalAwards

Many people were surprised that ICE officer Jonathan Ross was filming with his phone when he shot and killed Renee Good in Minneapolis. But Washington Post reporter Drew Harwell was leaked thousands of internal ICE messages that show the agency is obsessed with creating viral videos, and is using arrests of immigrants slapped with “hooky” captions and pop music to feed their content machine.

In the span of two days, juries handed down landmark verdicts against Meta and Google. In New Mexico, a jury ordered Meta to pay the state $375 million for failing to protect young people from predators on Instagram. And in Los Angeles, a jury found that Meta and Google knowingly designed social media platforms that addicted a young girl, causing depression, body dysmorphia, and self-harm.

But as listeners to this show might wonder – isn’t suing social media companies supposed to be impossible, because of Section 230?

Brian talks to co-lead counsel in LA, Mariana McConnell, about how they pulled off the win, what this huge verdict means for the internet, and the internal Meta document that said, “Young ones ar by @brihreed

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11 days ago

Before going on her apology tour, former MAGA influencer Ashley St. Clair amassed over 1 million followers on Twitter (now X) where she posted anti-trans messages, racist talking points about migrants and also amplified Trump’s lie that the election was stolen. @brihreed showed her a few of these posts to her in front of a live audience during an interview taping for our latest episode of Question Everything. She tried to stop us from releasing this interview. Then said she never did.

What do you think? Do you accept Ashley St. Clair’s transformation from MAGA to “woke”?

In the full interview, St. Clair also gets into what it was like being a major figure inside the right-wing propaganda machine and the remorse she says she feels for what she’s done. She also talked about why she’s suing xAI, the artificial intelligence company behind Grok, which generated millions of sexually explicit deepfake images of St. Clair and other women. It’s a watershed case about who is liable for what’s created using generative AI tools. xAI is owned by St. Clair’s ex, Elon Musk, who she also has a child with.

Hit the link in bio to listen to the full interview in this week’s episode of Question Everything. by @brihreed

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4 months ago

In our interview from earlier this year, Ashley St. Clair talks to @brihreed about her landmark lawsuit against xAI, the artificial intelligence company behind Grok, which generated millions of sexually explicit deep fake images of her and other women. xAI is owned by St. Clair’s ex, Elon Musk, and Brian asks her to share stories and insights from her relationship with Musk to help people understand his erratic and offensive behavior. Brian also asks St. Clair about her years as a major figure inside the right-wing propaganda machine. It’s those questions that seemed to bother her most. Hit the link in our bio to listen to the full interview now. by @brihreed

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2 days ago

Last December, Question Everything’s @brihreed spoke to Frances Haugen, the whistleblower who in 2021 leaked tens of thousands of documents about Facebook and its role pushing users into extremist groups ahead of the 2020 election, as well as its platforms dangers to kids. She’s also the central figure in Aaron’s Sorkin’s latest film “The Social Reckoning”, a sequel to his 2010 hit “The Social Network” about Mark Zuckerberg and Meta’s evolution. (She’s played by Mikey Madison.) Haugen broke down how Instagram and Facebook’s algorithms actually work and why the platforms continue to lead their users to shocking, horrifying, and extremist posts and communities even when that goes against their policies. by @brihreed

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3 days ago

As David Ellison and Skydance consolidate control over CNN and CBS News after last week’s merger with Warner Bros., Connecticut Attorney General William Tong tells Question Everything he’s “angry” and worried for the future of journalism. Earlier this year, Tong, along with 11 other AGs slapped Skydance with an antitrust lawsuit blocking the deal, alleging Ellison would create a media monopoly. But Tong says what he was especially worried about in the deal is the impact it’ll have on independent news. Still, the state AGs ultimately settled without requiring CNN, CBS News, or any other networks or assets to be carved out of the merger, and it was finalized last Tuesday.

In an unusually frank interview, Tong reflects with @brihreed on what went wrong with their case, what the new mega-company Skydance will mean for independent news in America, and why he doesn’t regret standing up for journalism, even if it gave David Ellison an opening to attack him.

Hit the link in our bio to listen to the latest Question Everything episode and follow us for more. by @brihreed

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5 days ago

Just a few weeks ago, David Ellison and Paramount were staring down the barrel of a $7 million per day fine for every day their merger with Warner Bros was not finalized, with a 12 state antitrust lawsuit standing in the way. The states, led by California attorney general Rob Bonta, seemed to have Ellison backed into a corner.

But then, in what seemed like an abrupt 180, Bonta announced a settlement with Paramount that allowed the merger to go through. The deal closed this week, officially giving Trump allies David and his father Larry Ellison control over vast swaths of the entertainment industry, including CBS News and CNN and a whole lot more.

Connecticut Attorney General William Tong is mad the states didn’t fight harder. In an unusually frank interview, he reflects with @brihreed on what went wrong with their case, what the new mega-company Skydance will mean for independent news in America, and why he doesn’t regret standing up for journalism, even if it gave David Ellison an opening to attack him.

Hit the link in our bio to listen to the latest Question Everything episode and follow us for more. by @brihreed

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6 days ago

It’s official. David and Larry Ellison’s Paramount deal to buy Warner Bros has gone through, which means he now controls CBS News and CNN. Just a few weeks ago, the Ellisons and Paramount were staring down the barrel of a $7-million-dollar-per-day fine for every day their merger with Warner Bros was not finalized after October 1st, with a 12-state antitrust lawsuit standing in the way. The states, led by California attorney general Rob Bonta, seemed to have the Ellisons backed into a corner.

Then, at what seemed like the 11th hour, Bonta announced a settlement with Paramount that would allow the merger to go through.
As the settlement was announced, Connecticut Attorney General William Tong wrote in a statement that he was deeply disappointed with the terms he and his fellow Democratic attorneys general agreed to. He said he’d fought to the bitter end to stave off the acquisition of CNN, but was overruled by other states.

“We wanted to save ethical and independent journalism and news,” he wrote. “We fought aggressively for that remedy. I am deeply disappointed that we could not do more.”

Here is a clip from this week’s upcoming Question Everything episode where @brihreed asks Tong why the attorneys general capitulated to the Ellisons and why he’s “angry” about it. Follow us at Question Everything for more and find our episode dropping on October 8th. by @brihreed

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12 days ago

This is Dustin Weir, an engineer, father and resident of Tewksbury, Mass. concerned about the Flock cameras in his town. When he first noticed a camera near the fishing hole that he and his daughter go to, he wondered, who exactly is seeing this footage and who owns it? What was Flock doing with the potentially thousands of images taken of him and his vehicle over the years?

When he pushed his town’s leaders and Flock Safety for answers, he told @brihreed that he was met with evasive answers every time. What was especially concerning was that when his town emailed him a copy of the contract they had signed with Flock, it looked more like an order form than a detailed agreement for how the cameras were allowed to operate in Tewksbury. As he shared his concerns at public meetings, a select board member James Mackey, who is also a cybersecurity expert, decided to join Dustin in pushing Flock for answers. After months of emails and calls with Flock that led basically nowhere, Dustin and James were able to push Flock representatives to come to Tewksbury in person to answer questions.

To find out what happened, click the link in bio to listen to our latest episode and follow us for more. Also, Question Everything has been nominated for six @SignalAwards. Find “SIGNAL AWARDS” in our link in bio, enter Question Everything in the search bar, and start voting! Thank you again for your support. by @brihreed

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13 days ago

When Dustin Weir first noticed a Flock camera near his local fishing hole in Tewksbury, Massachusetts, he was concerned. What was it recording? Who was watching? Who owned the footage? That question led him down a Kafkaesque spiral. He filed public records requests and confronted his town’s leaders and Flock Safety for more information on what exactly the networked automatic license plate cameras were recording in his town.

When Dustin finally got his hands on the original contract his town signed with Flock years earlier, he was even more alarmed. The only mention of the Terms and Conditions of their agreement to install the cameras was a hyperlink to Flock’s own site, a webpage that could be updated by the company anytime. Dustin then joined hands with another resident, James Mackey, a select board member and cyberoperations expert, to push Flock to share the original Terms and Conditions from the date their town had signed with the company. That eventually led to Flock representatives coming to Tewksbury to speak to residents in person – and Dustin and James took the opportunity to confront the Flock flak face to face.

To find out what happened, click the link in bio to listen to our latest episode and follow us for more. Also, Question Everything has been nominated for six @SignalAwards. Find “SIGNAL AWARDS” in our link in bio, enter Question Everything in the search bar, and start voting! Thank you again for your support. by @brihreed

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16 days ago

Flock Safety’s license plate cameras are in about 6,000 towns across the U.S. But lately, towns have been pulling out of their contracts after all sorts of creepy stories about cops using the cameras to spy on people in their personal lives and doing lookups for ICE.

But in Tewksbury, Mass., residents have a different concern: they can’t get Flock to tell them what their town originally agreed to. For months, residents and town officials have been asking the company a simple question, which the company will not answer. @brihreed spoke to two residents who went down a Kafkaesque rabbit hole to figure out what Flock might be hiding.

Click the link in bio to listen to our latest episode and follow us for more. Also, Question Everything has been nominated for six @SignalAwards. Find “SIGNAL AWARDS” in our link in bio, enter Question Everything in the search bar, and start voting! Thank you again for your support. by @brihreed

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17 days ago

Our team at Question Everything is honored to be nominated for six different awards for the 5th annual @SignalAwards highlighting risk-takers and daring creators in podcasting. From our episode showcasing @drewharwell’s reporting on internal messages that show how badly ICE officials wanted to go viral to a 20-year-old’s lawsuit against Instagram over its addictive features and its destruction of their childhood, Question Everything is a weekly investigation into how truth gets buried, distorted and denied—and how people are fighting to make it matter again. by @brihreed

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19 days ago