In a revealing, wide-ranging user-coordinated interview with members of the Reddit community on Monday, David Brock, the CEO of Media Matters and director of the pro-Hillary Clinton Super PAC Correct the Record, criticized the Washington Free Beacon, urged a reader to continue subscribing to the New York Times, and praised Clinton as a "trailblazer."
Brock, who took part in an "Ask Me Anything" event on Reddit’s politics page, responded to questions about a variety of subjects, including the Free Beacon, the Times, Donald Trump, Bernie Sanders, and Saturday Night Live.
One user, gorgeousfallsweaters, asked Brock about the Free Beacon and conservative media in general:
I am really interested in your work. I just read your new book and I was a fan of Blinded by the Right, but there has been a lot of negative stuff about you in a blog called the Washington Free Beacon. Can I trust their reporting? [To be clear: it's not just them, it's a lot of places in the right-wing world, but they're the ones I've heard about recently. It all seems so suspicious, though.]
Answering gorgeousfallsweater’s question, Brock responded by denying that the Free Beacon engages in reporting.
"No," Brock said. "You can't trust the things they post on their website. (I won't even allow myself to refer to what they do as reporting)." He also posted a link to criticism of the Free Beacon on Media Matters’ website.
In the past, Brock has cited the Free Beacon’s reporting, referring in a speech to a story about a member of Sen. Rand Paul’s staff with a history of making pro-secessionist and neo-Confederate statements originally reported by the Beacon.
Gorgeousfallsweaters followed up by asking about the role that rank-and-file progressives play in combating the media bias alleged by Brock:
What can ordinary activists do to call attention to this kind of misleading "journalism"? : )
"Get active," Brock said in response. "And stay active," he continued, adding a link to the subscriptions section of the Media Matters website.
The same user asked Brock about alleged anti-Clinton bias at the New York Times, asking whether he or she should continue subscribing to the paper. "I am still a subscriber," gorgeousfallsweaters added, "but I feel like I always have to heave a big sad sigh when I read certain writers/reporters…"
"I’d say stay tuned and keep subscribing!" Brock said. "We should expect the NYT to adhere to its own high journalistic standards. Unfortunately, they’ve fallen short on some recent Clinton email stories. On the other hand, they’ve done some solid reporting lately on abuses by the Benghazi Committee."
Another user, Abolishthesystem, asked Brock about having an emotional connection to Hillary Clinton:
I’m a lifelong liberal, but I don't think there’s any candidate I've ever felt more emotionally connected to than Hillary—even more so than Obama. I like him just fine, but my passion for wanting to see Hillary become president is much more than that, and I know many others who share this view. (Maybe you feel the same?) What about her makes her such a transfixing force in politics? And why do you think the right-wing finds her so threatening?
"I think the reason Hillary has so many dedicated supporters is the same reason the Right finds her so threatening," Brock said in response. "She’s a trailblazer, she has a clear political vision, three decades of passionate advocacy for middle class families and is guided by strong moral principles. We know what the Republicans know: if elected, Hillary will enact an ambitious progressive agenda to keep us moving forward."
"As she’s said, ‘She’s a progressive that gets things done,’" Brock added.
Elsewhere in the exchange, Brock appeared to agree with Donald Trump’s criticism of Republican party donors.
"The one thing Trump’s right about is that the Republican party is captive to a small group of wealthy donors acting out of self-interest," Brock said in response to a question from captainmeta4.
In a response to a user asking whether Bernie Sanders was a more authentic progressive choice than Hillary Clinton for Democrats in 2016, Brock called the latter a "champion."
"I believe Hillary is the real progressive champion in this race," he said. "On issues like income inequality and reigning [sic] in Wall Street, Hillary was there before it was cool."
Brock also told fancybill, another Reddit user, that he and Correct the Record will not criticize recent Saturday Night Live sketches depicting Hillary Clinton and that he found the depictions "funny."
"Comedy is comedy," Brock said. "We don't correct comedy."
He added: "Also, I think it’s been funny so far."
Not all Reddit users found the exchange between Brock and their online coevals fruitful.
"Look up and down the thread," said a user called StrictScrutiny. "Almost all the new accounts are anti-David Brock. Looks like a conservative brigade."
Like the former Republican congressman Ron Paul, Brock has previously criticized the Free Beacon, accusing it of making use of a "familiar sexist trope" and making at least one "false claim." He has also written a memo questioning the outlet’s "unethical practices and methods."
However, in "Even the Washington Free Beacon Agrees: Last Night, Hillary Dominated," a recent blog post on the outfit’s website, Correct the Record credited the Free Beacon with declaring Clinton the winner of the recent Democratic presidential debate.