Mind Matters Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

CategoryMedia

google on ipad
Bangkok, Thailand 25 AUG 2020. Men hand using digital tablet for search information on Google. Wireless Smartphone technology with intelligence search engine.
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post
Author
News
Date
January 25, 2023
Categorized
Law, Media
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U.S. Department of Justice Sues Google (Again)

The DOJ claims the tech giant is unlawfully monopolizing the digital advertising market
News
January 25, 2023
2
Law, Media

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is suing Google, claiming the technology company has monopolized the digital advertising market. This marks the second federal anti-trust suit against Google. Google has led the digital advertising market for years, although companies like TikTok and Amazon are becoming more viable competitors. Despite the competition, Google still raked in $209B in advertising in 2021, per a briefing from 1440 News, and its 2022 financial report is expected to disclose similar numbers. The official complaint notes the benefit and importance of a “vibrant internet” in American life but emphasizes the centrality of economic diversity and competition. Section 4 of the complaint claims “the ad tech space is broken,” further explaining,   One industry behemoth, Google, Read More ›

jacinda-ardern-flag
Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern
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post
Author
News
Date
January 23, 2023
Categorized
Censorship, Media, Social Media
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Jacinda Ardern’s War on Free Speech Always Deserved To Fail

Now researchers have shown why. The departing New Zealand Prime Minister claimed that “prolific misinformation” is a new weapon of war
News
January 23, 2023
5
Censorship, Media, Social Media

This piece by MercatorNet editor Michael Cook (January 20, 2023) is reprinted with permission. In October last year, the Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern, told the United Nations General Assembly that what the world needs is less free speech.   Well, not exactly that, but close enough. She pressed for vigorous censorship of the internet because “prolific misinformation” is a new weapon of war. “How do you successfully end a war if people are led to believe the reason for its existence is not only legal but noble?” she asked. “How do you tackle climate change if people do not believe it exists?” The prospect of government censorship of our views on climate change or the war in Ukraine is Read More ›

newspapers-and-laptop-different-concepts-for-news-network-or-traditional-tabloid-journals-data-sources-electronic-screen-of-computer-or-paper-pages-of-magazines-internet-or-papers-stockpack-adobe-stock
Newspapers and Laptop. Different Concepts for News - Network or Traditional Tabloid Journals. Data Sources - Electronic Screen of Computer or Paper Pages of Magazines, Internet or Papers
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post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
December 16, 2022
Categorized
Economics, Media
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Layoffs at Washington Post Show Direction of Mainstream Media

As their role has changed so much, they simply no longer have a mass popular base
Denyse O'Leary
December 16, 2022
5
Economics, Media

The Washington Post has started layoffs and it isn’t pretty: The Washington Post’s all-hands meeting turned chaotic Wednesday after the newspaper’s publisher announced looming layoffs – and then left the room as concerned employees shouted questions. The Jeff Bezos-owned broadsheet will conduct a round of layoffs during the first quarter of 2023, publisher Fred Ryan announced during what was supposed to be an hour-long meeting. Thomas Barrabi, “Washington Post announces layoffs during tense town hall before publisher Fred Ryan storms out” at New York Post (December 14, 2022) This follows the CNN layoff of hundreds of staffers, announced at the end of November and described as a gut punch to the organization. The laid-off include such figures as Chris Cillizza, Read More ›

a-television-anchorwoman-at-studio-stockpack-adobe-stock
A television anchorwoman at studio
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post
Author
News
Date
December 13, 2022
Categorized
Censorship, Media, Social Media
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As the Twitter Files Drop, Ponder the Future of Mainstream Media

Mainstream media are largely ignoring the story for reasons that go to the heart of their own growing weakness and unstoppable decline
News
December 13, 2022
8
Censorship, Media, Social Media

The Twitter files, as Elon Musk’s publication of Twitter’s internal censorship records — via dissident journalists — has come to be known, continue to drop. To recap, the drop started with the suppression of the story, on the eve of an election, about Hunter Biden’s seemingly incriminating laptop (Matt Taibbi). It continued with information about widespread shadowbanning (Bari Weiss), a practice the company denied it engaged in. Twitter files slice 3 and slice 4 (given by Musk to journalist Michael Shellenberger) address Twitter’s ban on former U.S. president Donald Trump. Slice 5 (Bari Weiss) detail doubts among Twitter employees about censoring on that scale: 7. There were dissenters inside Twitter. “Maybe because I am from China,” said one employee on Read More ›

press-and-media-camera-video-photographer-on-duty-in-public-new-stockpack-adobe-stock
press and media camera ,video photographer on duty in public new
Type
post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
December 5, 2022
Categorized
Business and Finance, Censorship, Media, Politics
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Veteran News Hound: Why Not To Trust Mainstream Media Anymore

Matt Taibbi and Douglas Murray’s resounding triumph in the Munk debates sheds light on why mainstream media are dying
Denyse O'Leary
December 5, 2022
6
Business and Finance, Censorship, Media, Politics

On November 30, at the prestigious Munk Debates in Toronto, 20-year news veteran Matt Taibbi and author and columnist Douglas Murray faced off against New Yorker writer Malcolm Gladwell and New York Times columnist Michelle Goldberg on the question: “Be it resolved, don’t trust mainstream media. The outcome was remarkable: As Taibbi tells it: A pre-event vote of attendees and listeners showed 48% support for our “side,” versus 52% for theirs. 82% of thousands of audience members claimed to be willing to change their minds. They were telling the truth, as it turned out. In a bitter slugfest that featured tense confrontations, impassioned oratory (especially from Douglas), and several almost unbelievably petty exchanges, Douglas and I swung the vote 39% Read More ›

twitter blue bird on brown tree branch.jpg
blue bird on brown tree branch
Type
post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
December 5, 2022
Categorized
Censorship, Media, Social Media
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Elon Musk Throws a Bomb at Media No One Should Trust

Musk’s release of the “Twitter files” on the suppression of the Hunter Biden laptop story has provoked media outrage and attempts to deflect the issues
Denyse O'Leary
December 5, 2022
6
Censorship, Media, Social Media

By now, you’ve probably heard that Elon Musk, Twitter’s new owner, gave journalist Matt Taibbi inside information about Twitter’s suppression of an explosive story about Hunter Biden weeks before the 2020 election. But here’s some background that may shed some light — especially on how legacy media have changed and how social media really work. First, a summary of the basic story from legal scholar Jonathan Turley: Weeks before the 2020 presidential election, the New York Post ran an explosive story about a laptop abandoned by Hunter Biden that contained emails and records detailing a multimillion dollar influence peddling operation by the Biden family. Not only was Joe Biden’s son Hunter and brother James involved in deals with an array Read More ›

scared-young-girl-in-mask-coronavirus-panic-stockpack-adobe-stock
Scared young girl in mask, coronavirus panic
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post
Author
Heather Zeiger
Date
November 21, 2022
Categorized
Media, Medicine and Health, Politics
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China’s Foxconn Walkout: How Fear Messaging Can Backfire

Workers were caught in a conflict between unrealistic COVID Zero messaging from the government and seasonal performance demands from the employer
Heather Zeiger
November 21, 2022
8
Media, Medicine and Health, Politics

Around this time of year, the factories that produce Apple’s iPhones hire thousands of additional workers to meet the demand for the holiday season. While Apple is an American company and the electronics are designed in-house, the manufacturing is done overseas where labor costs are cheaper. One of the largest manufacturers for Apple’s iPhone products is Hon Hai Technology Group, better known as Foxconn, a Taiwan-based company with factories in several countries, including mainland China. One of its largest facilities is in Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan province — dubbed “iPhone City” by the locals. Thus the Zhengzhou Foxconn factory was slated to make 80% of the iPhone 14 models and 85% of the iPhone Pro models before the end Read More ›

a-businessman-appoints-a-leader-to-the-head-of-the-team-creation-of-an-effective-teams-of-specialists-for-the-implementation-of-a-new-project-hr-recruiting-management-appointment-nepotism-stockpack-adobe-stock
A businessman appoints a leader to the head of the team. Creation of an effective teams of specialists for the implementation of a new project. HR recruiting. Management appointment. nepotism
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post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
November 2, 2022
Categorized
Censorship, Media, Social Media
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Musk’s Twitter Takeover Sparks Crazy Talk From Mainstream Media

Has entrepreneur Musk sensed a transition in the offing? Ramped-up social media may soon replace the former mainstream media altogether
Denyse O'Leary
November 2, 2022
7
Censorship, Media, Social Media

Now that Elon Musk has taken over Twitter, he isn’t short of verbal assailants, concern trolls, and volunteer freelance advisors. Brendan O’Neill offers an interesting collection at Spiked Online, including: From EuroNews Next, “Will Elon Musk’s Twitter become a beacon of free speech or a soap box for hate speech?” A Washington Post columnist: “I am frightened by the impact on society and politics if Elon Musk acquires Twitter” and, inimitably, from back in April: Today on Twitter feels like the last evening in a Berlin nightclub at the twilight of Weimar Germany. — Jeff Jarvis (@jeffjarvis) April 14, 2022 Wow. O’Neill comments: The most striking thing about Musk and Twitter is the demented reaction to it. Musk himself is Read More ›

portrait-of-happy-black-woman-working-in-bookstore-and-looking-at-camera-stockpack-adobe-stock
Portrait of happy black woman working in bookstore and looking at camera.
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post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
October 28, 2022
Categorized
Censorship, Media
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Publishing: The Cancel Mob Targets Amy Coney Barrett’s New Book

Does the future of publishing — as an intellectual enterprise — now belong to smaller, less well-known publishers?
Denyse O'Leary
October 28, 2022
6
Censorship, Media

Last year, Mind Matters News covered the new phenomenon of publishing house staff going to war against the publisher’s own books. It’s a far cry from the days when publishers might have to defend their books in a courtroom. Last year the target was, among other authors, best-selling psychologist Jordan Peterson. We were informed by Maclean’s Magazine that “Employees at Penguin Random House Canada speak out on how they’re rethinking their workplaces and why publishing, writ large, should weigh its moral responsibilities” in connection with Peterson’s latest, Beyond Order: 12 More Rules for Life (Penguin 2021). The book did get published, despite them, to five star reviews. But Cancel Culture staff continue to lead the charge for “depublishing” and have Read More ›

press-and-media-camera-video-photographer-on-duty-in-public-new-stockpack-adobe-stock
press and media camera ,video photographer on duty in public new
Type
post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
October 20, 2022
Categorized
Media, Politics, Psychology, Relationships
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Polls: Trust in Mainstream U.S. Media Still in Free Fall

Both the New York Times poll and Gallup poll illustrated that this week
Denyse O'Leary
October 20, 2022
4
Media, Politics, Psychology, Relationships

A Canadian commentator has noticed a little-publicized fact about last week’s New York Times–Siena College poll of 792 registered voters. While the poll focused on the US mid-term elections next month, the information about how typical voters view mainstream media was most revealing. A majority not only don’t trust media but see them as a threat to democracy: A New York Times-Siena College poll published Tuesday found 59 percent of voters view the media as a “major threat to democracy,” while 25 percent said the press is a “minor threat” and only 15 percent said it poses no threat. The divide fell sharply along partisan lines, with 87 percent of voters who supported former President Trump in 2020 indicating they Read More ›

Retro looking TV
Retro wave, 80s. Old tv with antenna with neon light. Top view, minimalism
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post
Author
Jonathan Bartlett
Date
October 17, 2022
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture, Media
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The Graying of the Art — and AI — World

Why is so much modern media made up of rehashes and remakes?
Jonathan Bartlett
October 17, 2022
3
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture, Media

The world of popular art (TV, movies, etc.) has a problem. I would even go as far as to label it a crisis. The problem is that the art world is becoming increasingly derivative. There are some points where it is obviously derivative—every movie is a remake, and every TV show is a reboot. We are getting the same stories regurgitated instead of novelty. However, there are also more subtle ways that this is happening.  TV comedies work largely by including inside jokes from previous TV shows.  One of the most popular writers of the 20th century was Louis L’Amour. What I think made L’Amour’s stories so great is that he could draw from a vast amount of personal experience. He could write about a lot Read More ›

woman-reading-online-news-on-digital-tablet-stockpack-adobe-stock
Woman reading online news on digital tablet
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post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
October 3, 2022
Categorized
Business and Finance, Media
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E-Books: What’s To Know About a New Way To Read

The electronic books might appeal to people with more interests than space to store stuff
Denyse O'Leary
October 3, 2022
3
Business and Finance, Media

E-books, books you can read on your computer, are becoming an ever-bigger presence in the market. MarketWatch currently wants nearly US$6000 to tell your company the market share forecast. They now make up 21% of book sales. Clearly, e-books would appeal to people who have more interests and ideas than they have space to store stuff. According to MarketWatch, the market is growing by roughly 20% a year. One source describes it like this: The global eBook market is being driven by technological advancements and the sophistication of reading devices that provide an experience similar to reading a physical book. The increased use of smartphones and the multilingual capabilities are predicted to boost global demand for eBooks. “eBook Market Overview Read More ›

megaphone-wrapped-in-barbed-wire-the-concept-of-banning-freedom-of-speech-censorship-barbed-wire-megaphone-stockpack-adobe-stock
megaphone wrapped in barbed wire. the concept of banning freedom of speech. censorship barbed wire megaphone
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post
Author
Richard W. Stevens
Date
September 30, 2022
Categorized
Censorship, Law, Media
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The Courts: May Social Media Censor Speech and Ban Users?

Two federal appeals courts came down on opposite sides. Hear the story
Richard W. Stevens
September 30, 2022
12
Censorship, Law, Media

May Twitter, Facebook, or YouTube censor your posts and ban you from using their social media platforms? May a state government require large social media platforms to allow users and posts to present lawful information, ideas, and viewpoints with which the platforms disagree? Florida and Texas both enacted laws to restrict platforms from censoring and banning users whose content the platforms disliked. Two different federal appeals courts in 2022 ruled on whether these two states’ laws were constitutional — and came out on opposite sides. The following three scenarios frame the key issues. Scenario A: Commercial Ground Transportation A fellow boards a private company-owned, regularly scheduled commercial bus bound for Berkeley, California, wearing a T-shirt proclaiming in big letters: Save Read More ›

portrait-of-paparazzi-in-a-row-with-cameras-and-microphone-stockpack-adobe-stock
Portrait of paparazzi in a row with cameras and microphone
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post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
September 16, 2022
Categorized
Media
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Tales From Why Mainstream Media Don’t Matter Like They Used To

Two incidents highlight their declining ability to just plain report. That’s BECOME the news story in many situations
Denyse O'Leary
September 16, 2022
5
Media

Recently, I wrote about the way mainstream media (MSM), facing a steep and steady decline in profitability, public interest, and public trust, have reached the point where politicians can ignore them with impunity. The politicians haven’t changed; rather, the voters have. MSM probably don’t play nearly as big a role in how voters (and consumers) make up their minds today as do social media — after all, social media is where the advertising dollars have gone, and it’s probably no accident… No longer needed for basic information, MSM now mainly advertise the views of a social elite to the public. A longtime newsman recently mourned the loss of objectivity, but the transition to upscale soapbox has made that loss inevitable Read More ›

press-and-media-camera-video-photographer-on-duty-in-public-new-stockpack-adobe-stock
press and media camera ,video photographer on duty in public new
Type
post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
August 31, 2022
Categorized
Media
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Longtime Newsman Mourns the Loss of Objectivity in Media

Peter Menzies notes that news media today are “overflowing with agenda-driven employees intent on publicizing their own opinions”
Denyse O'Leary
August 31, 2022
4
Media

Reporter and editor Peter Menzies reflects on mainstream news media journalists’ revolt against objectivity in recent years. It’s not a pretty picture: News organizations overflowing with agenda-driven employees intent on publicizing their own opinions while suppressing or ejecting anyone guilty, in [Bari] Weiss’s words, of “Wrongthink,” have proliferated across North America. The Washington Post, for example, has had to battle its own reporters over their social media activism. Staff at National Public Radio, the U.S.’s federally funded, not-for-profit network, demanded and last year received the right to participate in demonstrations and voice political opinions in public. Peter Menzies, “Objectivity: What Journalists Hate but the Public Still Craves” at C2C Journal (August 31, 2022) Menzies, a Canadian, cites similar examples from Canada, where the overall situation Read More ›

social-media-concept-corona-virus-fake-news-concept-scale-on-red-background-stockpack-adobe-stock
Social media concept. Corona virus fake news concept. Scale on red background
Type
post
Author
News
Date
August 10, 2022
Categorized
Censorship, Media, Science
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Why Misinformation Comes From the Top as Well as the Bottom

At Big Think, Cameron English asks us to look at the incentives for academic scientists to publish questionable research that gains widespread attention.
News
August 10, 2022
4
Censorship, Media, Science

Cameron English, Director of Bio-Sciences at American Council on Science and Health, offers a useful take on the need felt by some in power to crack down on Misinformation: The uncomfortable truth is that academic scientists routinely publish questionable research that attracts widespread media attention, adding to the morass of “inaccurate information” circulating online. If we want to get this problem under control, we need our trusted sources to quit releasing untrustworthy information. Cameron English, “‘Trusted’ Sources Spread Anti-Science Nonsense, Too” at Big Think (August 4, 2022) But the fact is, untrustworthy information pays: It is true that researchers live and die by their grants; they either “publish or perish,” as the old saying goes. Often, that means academic scientists Read More ›

internet-law-concept-stockpack-adobe-stock
Internet law concept
Type
post
Author
Richard W. Stevens
Date
August 10, 2022
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Law, Media
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US Federal court rules: Machines do not “invent” things

Evidently, Stephen Thaler’s aim was to get the patent office to recognize that an AI system can invent things all by itself
Richard W. Stevens
August 10, 2022
7
Artificial Intelligence, Law, Media

Check out this headline from lawandcrime.com: Federal Appellate Court Rules AI Systems Cannot Be “Inventors” Because They Are Not Human. Notice the angle: framing a battle between machines and homo sapiens, pitting human intelligence against artificial intelligence. The article’s first sentence spotlights the center attraction, stating: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled Friday [Aug. 5, 2022] that artificial intelligence or “AI” systems cannot patent their inventions because they are not “natural people.” Here the Law and Crime article subtly inserts two key beliefs: (1) that AI systems can in fact invent things all by themselves; and (2) that AI systems physically can “patent their inventions.” The sentence thus implies that the human-centric court unfairly blocked them. Read More ›

news in mobile phone
Online news in mobile phone. Close up of smartphone screen. Man reading articles in application. Hand holding smart device. Mockup website. Newspaper and portal on internet.
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post
Author
News
Date
August 3, 2022
Categorized
Media, Social Media
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Beyond the Search Engine: Shape Your Own News Feed

A news aggregator keeps you current with news YOU care about or need to know
News
August 3, 2022
5
Media, Social Media

Recently, we discussed the world beyond Google, in which a variety of easily accessible search engines offers you a choice of different advantages. But now let’s look at something even more focused… A news aggregator collects news stories and other information, sorted by categories and preferences, from across the internet. News Now is one example. Let’s say you want to know more about the asteroid Bennu. You could type “Bennu” into a search engine. But you already know the basic stuff about the asteroid; right now you want to know if there has been any recent news about it. You could go to News Now, choose Science, then Astronomy, then Asteroids, Comets, and Meteoroids, then Asteroid Bennu. You will find Read More ›

digital-marketing-new-startup-project-millennials-business-team-hands-at-work-with-financial-reports-and-a-laptop-stockpack-adobe-stock
DIGITAL MARKETING new startup project MILLENNIALS Business team hands at work with financial reports and a laptop
Type
post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
July 29, 2022
Categorized
Media
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The Role Mainstream News Media Really Play in Our Society Today

Why, exactly, traditional news media are increasingly out of touch with the public
Denyse O'Leary
July 29, 2022
5
Media

Yesterday, we looked at why politicians can now get away with ignoring news media: The mainstream media are much less influential than they used to be. One reason is that news consumers use the internet to create their own channels. Once-mighty media are reduced to competing with their own readers for mind space and relevance now. The highlighted politicians were Republicans. But their Democrat opponents are surely in the same position. Whether their base turns out to vote for them in sufficient numbers or not, traditional news media are much less likely to influence the decision than in the past. So, if traditional mainstream news media are not as directly influential as they used to be, what role do they Read More ›

woman-gesticulating-during-interview-with-media-press-conference-close-up-stockpack-adobe-stock
Woman gesticulating during interview with media, press conference, close-up
Type
post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
July 28, 2022
Categorized
Media
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Why Politicians Are Learning to Ignore News Media

Successful politicians now think they can get away with ignoring mainstream media. Could they be onto something?
Denyse O'Leary
July 28, 2022
5
Media

A recent development — politicians ignoring media — has set journalists buzzing: This past weekend, Florida governor Ron DeSantis and Sen. Marco Rubio, both of whom are up for reelection this fall, headlined the Republican Party of Florida’s annual Sunshine Summit. Other high-profile Florida Republicans were also in attendance at the Hardrock Hotel & Casino event, which this year tried something new: after seven years of being open to the press, “it limited which media could attend, giving inside-the-room access to right-wing outlets that give the governor positive coverage,” Politico reports, adding that traditional GOP figures were “largely replaced by the conservative social media influencers with massive followings who have recently moved to Florida and become some of DeSantis’ most Read More ›