Where To Find National News That Tells Us What's Really Going On
Much of mainstream media is normalizing the destruction of our country. Public Enlightenment's Bluesky lists make it easy to get context for what's happening in the news.
Trump and Musk are purposefully tanking the economy in order to consolidate power and enrich themselves and their fellow oligarchs. I’ve compiled the context of this here and here. Without mainstream journalistic opposition to Trump’s betrayal, right wing disinformation outlets successfully convince large swaths of the population that the erosion of our rights and cuts to our protections are something to cheer. Mainstream media has failed to make the reality of the corrupt Trump administration clear for Americans.
“The news” has always done a bad job of conveying Trump’s utter corruption. Yes, they may have run stories critical of him over the past decade, but all of those articles ran alongside normalizing examples like those below:
Americans can no longer rely on our usual sources of fact-based news. I mean, look at this latest from Jeff Bezos’ Washington Post. They don’t even say “this is what Trump said.” They literally regurgitate Trump’s own lies and talking points about “brief pain” and assert that they, the journalists at the Washington Post, believe the nation is in fact headed towards a new Golden Age. It’s wild! It’s literal propaganda. Trump has a plan to destroy the economy and enrich himself!
Here's How To Find Fact-Based, Pro-Democracy News And Context As MSM Fails
Before known liar and white supremacist Elon Musk purchased Twitter and turned it into a cesspool of disinformation it was an amazing place to get news and context from journalists and experts. Now, a critical mass of experts, journalists, and fact-based newsrooms have switched to Bluesky making it possible to build out Lists of essential voices on a variety of subjects.
The lists I’ve built are works in progress, but they should allow anyone to quickly check in on the news and get context on the rapidly changing and confusing American landscape.
The contextualizing Lists on Public Enlightenment’s Bluesky profile are (click the titles to instantly be brought to them):
National news with a bias towards democracy, context, and facts. Plus Aaron Rupar's window into what MAGA America is being fed (disregard the disinfo). Spread fact-based info always. You won't agree with everyone on this list. That's the point. Let's restore respectable discourse rooted in fact.
Prominent fact check sites. They are not always perfect but they cut through so much of the toxic disinformation that is being pumped into American brains. Not sure about something on social media? Check here and click through to the sites for more.
When there's a big case this is where to look. Legal experts with the free will to post about other things and so sometimes they won't post about the legal system. They may even have political biases that differ from yours.
Scholars on fascism, authoritarianism, and democracy providing an honest appraisal of rising American autocracy that we only rarely see in mainstream press.
Experts on disinformation, social media, and the psychology of misinformation.
Fact-based individuals-reporters, experts, pundits, randos-who provide context on what is happening in the world.
Professional historians. These folks are talking about American society from the perspective of deeply understanding our country’s history.
Experts offering incisive criticism of major media's failures. Consult this list to gain an understanding of what's wrong with the news.
No set of lists can be perfect. For example, I cannot control how many pet photos some of these experts like to post. And many of the newsrooms in “The News” will occasionally run pieces that are clickbait (gotta pay the bills, I guess) or that I personally disagree with. And, of course, when it comes to social media some outlets and individuals post way more than others. Fact checking site Snopes definitely posts like there’s no tomorrow!
What these lists provide is perspective and a national narrative outside of the one the oligarchs who own our means of mass communication want to feed us. These newsrooms and commentators are pro-democracy and traffic in factual information.
Why should you trust me? Because I have devoted the last 5 years of my life to becoming a media reform activist. I am a partisan for truth (as it accords with facts) and democracy. But really, you shouldn’t take my word for it. You should use the lists and see if they work for you.
How To Use The Lists
To find the lists simply head to Public Enlightenment’s Bluesky profile:
Click on one of the lists, like “The News”:
If you want this list to be readily available click “Pin to home”:
Then it will be at the top of your feed for you to check out at your leisure!
Public Enlightenment provides the context we need to understand the news. When you sign up as a subscriber or pledge a paid subscription, you're agreeing that we’re in this mess because of our toxic information ecosystem and you know that we must fight like hell to improve public understanding. Every single day.
Click below to help me keep up the fight for better outcomes for everyone!
Here’s to healthier information,
Brian
Help spread this far and wide:
Like this post!
Re-stack it using the ♻️ button below!
Share this post on other social media sites:
Join the conversation, add your thoughts and other fact-based sources of information:
I livestream about media, democracy, love, and joy on TikTok. You can also see my content on Youtube, Instagram and Bluesky (here and here). Every like, follow, repost, and subscribe helps me continue the work of changing our information ecosystem to one in which we all achieve healthier outcomes.
Thanks for all the lists!
What a great feature instead of having to find each individually.
I've always tried to seek information sources from a variety of sources but especially so in the last 5 or 6 years.
I like to hear different views because sometimes I've gotten it wrong or a new viewpoint shows me why or why not my view is accurate. I miss the days when we could have conversations with each other, with people who views differ from our own. I think it's an important part of strengthening ourselves and our country. Unfortunately the past few yrs they've been working really hard to divide us
Has anyone started using Public Enlightenment's Bluesky lists? Can you tell me how they are working for you?