144: Content Creators for the Authoritarian State feat. Josh Kovensky

<p>Got a problem with the liberal media? Dispatch a squad of &quot;investigative entertainers&quot;: young right-wing creators who pantomime scrappy, on-the-ground reporting while pumping out propaganda for the Trump administration.</p><p><br></p><p>On this episode, Jared and Mike welcome <a href="https://talkingpointsmemo.com/author/josh_kovensky" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"><strong>Josh Kovensky</strong></a>, an investigative reporter at Talking Points Memo who has tracked the administration&#39;s collaborations with these types of creators. Together, they walk through a rogues&#39; gallery of the genre: <strong>Nick Shirley</strong>, the former prank YouTuber whose Minneapolis daycare video earned him a Pulitzer endorsement from JD Vance, and loudmouths <strong>Nick Sortor</strong> and <strong>Cam Higby</strong>, who joined the influencer press corps DHS courted in Portland and Minneapolis. They also meet flagpole-injury survivor <strong>Katie Daviscourt</strong>; TPUSA contributor <strong>Savanah Hernandez</strong>, whose résumé starts at Infowars; and <strong>Tyler Oliveira</strong>, whose bigoted &quot;investigations&quot; into Haitian, Somali, Indian, and Hasidic communities push further than even most of his peers dare to go.</p><p><br></p><p><em>Democracy dies in darkness, so make sure you keep the ring light on.</em></p><p><br></p><p><strong>Links for Josh:</strong></p><ul><li><p><a href="https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/jayden-scott-minnesota-antifa-cases" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Extremely Online: Minnesota ‘Antifa’ Cases Born of Internet Beef With Far-right Activists</a></p></li><li><p><a href="https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/inside-the-bizarre-feedback-loop-between-dhs-and-maga-influencers" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Inside the Bizarre Feedback Loop Between DHS and MAGA Influencers</a></p></li><li><p><a href="https://talkingpointsmemo.com/the-weekender/the-influencer-administration-complex" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">The Influencer-Administration Complex</a></p></li><li><p>X: <a href="https://twitter.com/@joshkovensky" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">@joshkovensk</a>y / Bluesky: <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/joshkovensky.bsky.social" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">@joshkovensky.bsky.social</a></p></li><li><p><a href="https://talkingpointsmemo.com/podcasts/the-tpm-social-club" target="_blank" rel="noo