Why Media Loves Fascism
Because we have a global billionaire problem
***Please take out a membership to support the light of truth.***
It’s not in the interests of media owned by corporations and billionaires to tell you about Russia’s ongoing assault on global democracy. If you’re interested in why most of the world now lives in an autocracy, you have to turn to independent investigative reporters.
Billionaire-owned media aligns with the autocrats so expect normalization and reputation washing of dictators to continue.
As I have written many times, when we defeat these criminals and do the post-mortem on this latest fascist wave, media will have been the biggest villain.
During the rise of Trump, US media had the resources to investigate and inform their audiences about who he really was, rather than parrot his propaganda. They had a duty to warn and failed. Many independent outlets tried and many fine reporters within corporate owned media also continued to do good and important work, but they were outnumbered by the normalizers and reputation washers, by the controlled opposition and liars within the system, and of course, the profiteers.
Ten years ago, disgraced former CBS honcho Les Moonves famously said, “(The Trump Campaign) may not be good for America, but it’s damn good for CBS.”
As I wrote in my report on Trump’s 2024 announcement speech - where I applied the lens of How Fascism Works to reveal the fascist playbook:
“Corporate media outlets continue to platform him, while failing to confront the fact that their outdated ideas of journalistic impartiality are failing the very people they’re meant to serve.”
And Elon Musk, of course, bought Twitter in order to deliver us to directly to fascism.
Cameras Like Oxygen
Trump needs a camera like oxygen. Without constant converge he doesn’t exist, his sycophants don’t exist, and his wars are pointless.
And every camera that lights him up, sends his lies around the world, further jeopardizing all remaining democracies.
And the pattern I am seeing is the same everywhere — pro-Russian oligarchs buy the media, people consume it, the middle where people came together in their communities to get things done is steadily removed, as people move further to the right or the left, making it easy to destroy their own democratic nations from within.
The French Murdoch
I was today years old when I learned that a French billionaire, Vincent Bolloré, funded “a Christian-inspired think tank with other wealthy business leaders to propose a conservative agenda ahead of the country’s presidential election next year.”
Oh, the volumes I have written about billionaires funding “Christian” think tanks to push conservative agendas that deliver us to straight to fascism. From reports on the Koch-Murdoch-Malofeyev pipeline, to my first interview with Dave Troy, The Network - The American & Russian ‘Moralists’ Behind the January Insurrection, which mapped out how exactly the GOP got into bed with Russia.
It took just a few clicks to determine this French billionaire has his fingers in much of French media and is widely known for pushing a pro-Russian agenda. Bolloré’s media influence also includes ownership of the publisher Fayard, part of the Louis Hachette Group. His imprint published a book by Xenia Fedorova, the former director of the French version of Russian state-run foreign language channel RT, which was banned in France after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
This “retired” billionaire’s holdings include a “sprawling and increasingly rightwing media empire,” according to France 24. His son became CEO in 2019, days before being Bolloré was charged by French authorities in a bribery scheme related to his dealings in West Africa, for which he ultimately pleaded guilty.
This pattern of billionaires buying media in order to soak people in propaganda is nothing new.
But it’s becoming increasingly common in countries where democracy is under direct assault.
With upcoming elections in France and Poland, the amount of information warfare directed at both countries is going to be staggering.
I do hope that Hungary will remain fresh in voter’s minds.
In 2018, Orbán began consolidating the media — he “encouraged” owners of hundreds of Hungarian media properties to “donate” them to a Government allied foundation. The Central European Press and Media Foundation (CEMPF) began absorbing cable news channels, internet platforms, newspapers, radio stations, and magazines. The result was a centralized right-wing Government-controlled media syndicate.
Orbán was ousted last week, by a competitor who went town to town, meeting people in real life, in part, because he was banned from the Orbán-controlled media networks. But also, because it was simply good strategy.
Moldova, too, managed to keep its democracy in its most recent election, despite Russia waging full-throated active measures. The difference in Moldova is like the difference in Estonia — both countries prosecute their pro-Russian oligarchs and politicians for high treason and fraud.
Moldova convicted Ilan Shor, a pro-Russian billionaire now living in Moscow, who was sentenced to 15 years in prison in 2023 but fled to Russia rather than serve out his sentence. Until 2022, Moldovan broadcasting was dominated by Russian TV stations, including a media conglomerate owned by Shor.
These same patterns repeat over and over…
Vive la France
I see hopeful signs in France, which was the first country to arrest a tech CEO.
Telegram founder Pavel Durov was arrested in Paris in 2024, and as I wrote at the time, I had hoped the cult of the genius tech bro may be losing some of its absolute power.
The arrest of the Russian-born billionaire was a reminder that Telegram is not just a platform, but according to the indictment, has been used for trafficking such crimes such as child sexual assault material, money laundering, arms and drug trafficking, fraud, and failing to cooperate with law enforcement.
Yesterday, Elon Musk was summoned to attend a voluntary interview in Paris, according to French authorities probing his X/Twitter platform for criminal offenses related to deepfake sexual images of women and children, child sexual abuse material, and other offenses.
In February, the company’s offices were raided by the Paris prosecutor’s cyber-crime unit. Musk was given the April 20 date as part of an investigation launched in 2025 but later broadened over concerns about X’s Grok being used to create non-consensual exploitative deepfakes.
The Paris prosecutor’s office said the investigation is continuing with or without Musk’s cooperation.
French prosecutors first began investigating Musk’s platform after allegations its algorithm had been used to interfere in French politics.
People in America, watched Musk interfere in US elections in real time, as he reanimated every venal account, while pushing MAGA and right-wing extremists.
Watching France, both under siege by pro-Russian billionaires, and fighting back against the criminals running these operations, is likely what will determine the future course of the world.
We either see and support criminal convictions of those accelerating global fascism or we fall prey to their deluge of propaganda.
I’d like to think there’s enough justice still left in this world to see some quality convictions.
****
****
Bette Dangerous is a reader-funded magazine. Thank you to all monthly, annual, and founding members.
I expose the corruption of billionaire fascists, while relying on memberships for support.
Thank you in advance for considering the following:
Share my reporting with allies
Buying my ebooks
A private link to an annual membership discount for older adults, those on fixed incomes or drawing disability, as well as activists and members of the media is available upon request at bettedangerous/gmail. 🥹
More info about Bette Dangerous - This magazine is written by Heidi Siegmund Cuda, an Emmy-award winning investigative reporter/producer, author, and veteran music and nightlife columnist. She is the cohost of RADICALIZED Truth Survives, an investigative show about disinformation and is part of the Byline Media team. Thank you for your support of independent investigative journalism.
🤍
Begin each day with a grateful heart.
🤍