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Ben Smith

@semaforben319k followers

Editor-in-chief of @semafor. Former @nytimes media columnist, @buzzfeednews EIC. "Traffic." bsmith@semafor.com, Signal semaforben.90

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Oct 17
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Posts 96 posts
#DatePost↓ OutlierViewsLikesRepostsBookmarks
1Apr 18, '23Statement from Smartmatic lawyer Erik Connolly: “Dominion’s litigation exposed some of the misconduct and damage caused by Fox’s disinformation campaign. Smartmatic will expose the100×4.5M16k3.3k178
2Feb 2, '25Scoop: Marco Rubio appointing MAGA intellectual @DarrenJBeattie to a key State Department role70.4×3.1M4.9k1k263
3Jul 26, '24Genuine question: Who, beyond the candidate, gets credit for the Kamala rollout? Has just been incredibly well executed.66.5×3M3.9k219134
4Aug 12, '24Did Kamala accidentally stumble into a new model for a very short campaign? What if the a party pushed all the primaries into the weeks before the convention? The long American cam54.4×2.4M11k647251
5Apr 2, '20How to ensure you don't get follow-up questions on Fox, apparently.43.5×083k18k2k
7Apr 7, '25Incredible story: Social media mirage (verified account, aggressive interpretation of a Fox interview w Hassett) driving really massive moves in the market.19.2×856k2.8k495234
8Apr 28, '25I hope you'll check out my story tonight on the sprawling, private network of group chats that began in 2020 as a place for Silicon Valley leaders to talk candidly, away from progr18.8×840k4.6k5351.9k
9Jan 11, '22I love how Apple communicates "Made in China"17.8×045k3.5k359
10Feb 1, '24Whoa: A quite reliable local outlet commissioned two professional translations of Ilhan Omar's remarks, and says she didn't say anything like what she's quoted saying17.3×771k3.3k994292
11Jan 19, '19In response to the statement tonight from the Special Counsel's spokesman: We stand by our reporting and the sources who informed it, and we urge the Special Counsel to make clear 15.5×024k5.9k75
12Jan 13, '20Asked Microsoft CEO @satyanadella about India's new Citizenship Act. "I think what is happening is sad... It's just bad.... I would love to see a Bangladeshi immigrant who comes to15.5×022k7.6k157
13Aug 21, '23This is actually a very serious allegation against Newsmax, which is under huge financial pressure right now from Dominion and Smartmatic15.2×679k2.9k744140
14Sep 5, '24News: Blaze Media has fired Lauren Chen, who was linked to Russian influence operation12.9×576k2.6k631151
15Jan 26, '19What a disgusting thing to say about dozens of American workers who just lost their jobs.11.3×021k2.9k38
16Apr 29, '18The Justice Department quietly removed the section headed "need for a free press" from its guidelines10×07.6k8.7k112
17Oct 15, '20Enormous pressure on NBC now to make this thing a nightmare for Trump.9.7×020k2.5k34
18Nov 8, '23.@GovAndyBeshear thanked the woman in this ad in his victory speech ...8.6×382k2.4k40052
19May 6, '25Trump is a "coffeehouse chess player," the economist Ken Rogoff told me8.0×358k4.2k493811
20Jan 6, '21Washington Post EIC Marty Baron has told Post reporters to use "mob," not "protesters," to describe people storming capitol, a staffer tells me.6.8×014k2.3k72
21Apr 29, '20Tara Reade, two people tell me, has been turning down Fox appearances for many days. Kind of remarkable MSNBC or CNN hasn't just had her on at this point.6.1×013k1.8k100
22Oct 18, '20Incredible stuff from @katie_robertson inside the New York Post's newsroom as the bosses rammed a story through on Rudy's sayso, and over reporters' objections6.0×08.2k3.5k252
23Feb 4, '21Dominion just sent letters to the social platforms asking them to preserve posts, and offered a glimpse at their target list:5.9×09.5k2.7k170
24May 15, '17An official confirming Post story to us and says, "“it’s far worse than what has already been reported"5.9×05.8k4.9k0
25Dec 19, '18My statement:5.3×09.9k2.6k76
26Jun 28, '19We Traced The Smears Against Kamala Harris To Obama Birthers And Neo-Nazis via @CraigSilverman4.9×06k3.4k118
27Nov 21, '21New: Two Fox News Contributors Quit in Protest of Tucker Carlson’s Jan. 6 Special4.5×07.4k1.6k143
28Nov 23, '22New: Here's the text message from @elonmusk telling SBF he's "welcome" to roll his public shares into Musk's twitter, as Liz reported4.5×07.4k913370
29Jan 11, '17Here's the note I sent to @buzzfeednews staff this evening4.5×03.5k2.5k1
30Mar 22, '20I spent the last week reporting on the public health disaster at Fox News. What I found was a vacuum at the top.4.2×06k2.3k388
31Aug 13, '20The media has built up such a reflex of ignoring Trump's wild comments that when he says something that's major, siren-level news — the postal service remarks — it is only leading 4.0×07.5k1.9k45
32Jan 22, '19Trump’s Lawyer Said There Were “No Plans” For Trump Tower Moscow. Here They Are.3.6×05.1k2.3k70
33Jun 8, '18This story concerns a reporter's work @BuzzFeedNews. We are deeply troubled by what looks like a case of law enforcement interfering with a reporter’s constitutional right to gathe3.4×04.8k2.2k26
34Jan 3, '20Decent chance we look back at today as the moment @BernieSanders locked up the Democratic nomination3.3×06.2k92190
35Mar 16, '20Yikes, that last line3.2×04.8k1.5k118
36Mar 12, '18This offers a kind of sad glimpse at the way some huge philanthropic and political donors go through life: being told they are geniuses by very accomplished people who want their $3.1×05.8k1.5k11
37Nov 16, '16Stunner from @CraigSilverman: Fake news *beat* real news on Facebook over last 3 months of election3.0×02k2.6k1
38Feb 2, '22The Cuomo blast radius is incredible2.7×06.8k46346
39Apr 9, '20Some of Ingraham's New York team are now being quarantined for #COVID19 , two sources tell me. Latest instance of Fox and Murdochs saying one thing, doing another.2.6×04.4k1.5k39
40Dec 9, '15Here's a memo I sent to @buzzfeed staff today on our social media policy, and Donald Trump2.5×02.8k2.2k0
41Oct 13, '18NYPD refusing to answer questions about why they didn't arrest violent far right group members2.5×02.8k1.9k29
42Sep 7, '25From my Ashe correspondent: "He came out of holding room to look at court. Was booed. He went back inside, out of view. Stadium mostly empty because security queues so long."2.5×109k2.6k47166
43Nov 10, '22NPR issues internal guidance on Twitter: don't advertise your handle, but don't delete it because someone could take it and impersonate you.2.4×03.8k1.3k117
44Nov 17, '19One of these moments when having zero credibility really makes it hard to brush this off2.4×05.6k64213
45Feb 10, '17*Six* Patriots now boycotting White House, raising the pressure on the rest2.3×03.8k1.2k0
46Oct 20, '20This is one of the ways closed societies keep reporters out -- genuinely shocking to see the US float it2.3×03.6k1.4k39
47Feb 16, '19A Costa Rican paper, @nacion, says it has found the guys who built Trump National in 2002, using fake documents. Among the details: no sneaking over the Mexican border -- they flew2.1×03.1k1.5k32
50Jan 18, '21Fox Agreed to Pay for Telling Lies. But It Insisted on One Unusual Condition.2.1×02.8k1.1k246
51May 18, '20Is Ronan Farrow Too Good to Be True?2.0×02.1k381329
52Jan 3, '20I talked to @AndrewYang, who convinced me he could win2.0×04.1k80826
53Jan 19, '21So they're purging the reality-based people, and elevating Maria Bartiromo, the clearest voice of Trump's lies.2.0×03.7k94442
54Oct 5, '17Shocking details, shocking video, of the explicit and open connections btw key Breitbart figure & white nationalists2.0×02.3k1.5k1
55Nov 3, '20Something for New York political junkies to chew on while the day passes: Chatter that a President Biden could appoint Gillibrand to a cabinet post, allowing Cuomo to put AOC in th2.0×03.1k38888
56Jul 31, '19A Marianne Williamson staffer told me in Miami that when she visits the networks, reporters and producers sneer at her but the makeup artists always cry when they meet her.1.8×04k47039
57Apr 21, '20The extent to which CNN has adopted reality TV values here is pretty remarkable. Including eliding the controversy over Cuomo's travel.1.8×03.8k54552
58Oct 25, '20Trump Had One Last Story to Sell. The Wall Street Journal Wouldn’t Buy It.1.8×03k699151
59Nov 9, '20I wrote about a dominant figure at the end of an era1.7×02.8k426255
60Apr 30, '20Biden will be on Morning Joe tomorrow, expected to be asked about Tara Reade, I'm told.1.6×02.5k37727
61May 2, '19The extent to which the alt-right infiltrated the Washington conservative establishment in the first half of this decade is astounding1.6×02k869157
62Jun 24, '20Just got a PR pitch that includes the word "covidpreneur"1.6×03k34937
63Apr 22, '18Reporter literally got written up in her performance review for failing to suggest climate change wasn't man-made1.5×01.8k1.2k15
64Dec 21, '20A key point here is that Fox can handle a drawn out, expensive lawsuit. For Newsmax and OAN, burning cash and looking for investors, it would be existential.1.5×02.8k59968
65Oct 1, '21News: Ozy is shutting down. Here's the statement from the Ozy board1.5×02.2k38660
66May 26, '20New: Twitter has added a "get the facts" link to a false Trump tweet about mail-in voting, which links to a moment refuting his claim. (background here )1.5×02k65835
67Jan 18, '21"Everyone wants to blame themselves except the people who actually deserve blame" -⁦@virginiahughes⁩1.5×02.6k652146
68Jan 12, '18Big new exclusive report from @ByTomFrank on the secret money flowing into Trump condos1.5×01.6k1.2k1
69Dec 14, '19Ivanka being interviewed by *State Dept PR person*, a former Fox News contributor, at the #DohaForum. Never quite seen anything like it.1.4×01.8k69344
70Mar 20, '18Scoop: An "Ashamed" Fox News Commentator Just Quit The"Propaganda Machine" via @TomNamako1.4×01.7k90423
71Jan 11, '21Trump’s Effort To Overturn The Election Should Be Investigated Like 9/11 via @politico1.4×03.1k43919
72May 6, '19Bizarre the extent to which the "electability" conversation leaves out the fact that the only Democrat elected in two decades is black.1.4×02.8k57610
73Dec 17, '21Fox loses the key motion; cases often settle at this point, and a settlement here would likely be a big number. It's a very strong case.1.4×02.8k51326
74May 2, '18Well this is disturbing1.4×02k3903
75Dec 17, '20WaPo, per an email from Fred Ryan, now over 3 million subs, and will create 150 jobs next year, bringing newsroom over 1,000 -- biggest ever.1.3×02.8k34816
76Oct 7, '20I think the real problem for Trump now, politically, is how hard everyone is laughing at him1.3×02.6k47953
77Sep 27, '16How Hillary Clinton Took Charge In The First Presidential Debate1.2×01.8k7980
78Jan 29, '17Actual danger to Bannon is perception that he is actually in charge reaching Trump.1.2×01.7k8790
79Feb 4, '20These conspiracy theories are so nuts. A major problem with the caucuses is that there's *no secret ballot*. The results of many precincts are on twitter. There's room for lots of 1.2×02.4k46116
80Dec 21, '20"Newsmax would like to clarify its news coverage"1.2×02.1k40196
81Jan 4, '22I'm so excited about this1.2×02.2k194125
82Apr 29, '20The thing about Reade story — and many like it — is that media decision-makers still operate under illusion they control whether it's a story. Why not shortcut the handwringing, an1.2×02.2k37729
83Mar 24, '20I saw this on Twitter in Jan, didn't make much of it, and now can't stop thinking about it.1.2×02.1k565139
84Apr 16, '21Facebook on why it blocked a NY Post article. This all applies to lots of articles on news sites.1.2×01.9k38957
85Jan 28, '21I'm told Smartmatic will "imminently" file a multi-billion dollar lawsuit against a *media company* for "a campaign of defamation and disparagement" cc @antoniomugica1.1×02.2k38323
86Jan 28, '20It's been an incredible 8 years @BuzzFeedNews. Here's the note I just sent to our staff.1.1×01.8k25872
87Jan 18, '18We were robbed. Also, a reminder of the administration's obsession with legacy media!1.1×02.5k3170
88Nov 5, '20So Fox has a very tricky decision to make: Call NV and the election, based on that early AZ call, and escalate war with Trump; or wait for someone else to call based on PA and foll1.1×02.2k34916
89Oct 2, '22I can't wait for everyone to see what we've been up to @semafor. We're launching soon, with incredible journalists, great stories, and transparent new formats. And — I'll be bringi1.1×02.4k171149
90Oct 23, '20The story Trump has been waiting for, and teeing up.... is a brief that says there's no evidence for his central claim1.1×02k41333
91Oct 27, '20Sure looks like trading on his name, in a totally explicit way.1.0×01.7k40011
92Jan 14, '21Politico editor-in-chief Matt Kaminski told staff they're not going to apologize for having Ben Shapiro guest edit Playbook, then listened to staff complaints (esp from Congress te1.0×02.1k24238
93Jan 13, '21Scottsdale prosecutors seek to arrest Tim Gionet/Baked Alaska for violating the terms of his release on assault charges for macing a bouncer in a performative attack on mask wearin1.0×01.8k50120
94Feb 4, '20I'm usually on the other side but it's really outrageous to blame older, diligent people who handled this for years then got handed a bunch of confusing rules and bad tech by young1.0×02.1k34910
95May 23, '18As a smart editor recently pointed out to me, it's shocking how little educated professionals, including tech executives, know about how the media works1.0×01.9k3956
96May 5, '18Great job representing NY police officers here1.0×02.2k3790
98May 11, '21Very rare to see on US TV0.8×01.7k23387
99Sep 17, '20Getting fired by phishing scam0.7×01.8k769
100Nov 6, '20Watching Fox right now is like watching a very difficult (and riveting) conversation inside a family.0.7×01.7k10716

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