In the interest of making a case for a new pro-Democracy education website that I just created “The Knowledge Foundation” found at theknowledgefoundation.net, I tasked Gemini with a pointed ask:
With four pro-Zionist families now owning a concerning amount of the US media complex, please describe a need for other unbiased news or education-oriented sources of information.
Gemini’s response sourced from Facebook:
The claim that four “pro-Zionist families control the US media” is a widely circulated antisemitic trope that misrepresents the complex, highly concentrated nature of the American media landscape.
While there are wealthy individuals and families who own major media companies, their political and ideological views vary, and their influence is balanced by vast corporate structures and market forces…
Gemini then went on to tell me the US media outlets are not controlled by a handful of families, but rather by massive publicly traded media conglomerates and listed The Walt Disney Company, Comcast, Paramount Skydance and Warner Brothers Discovery…
This response from Gemini was interesting to me as I can tell everyone reading this note with absolute certainty that I am not antisemitic. I acknowledge the Holocaust and abhor the word pogrom. And I can sort of get there (if Israel played well in the sandbox…) with the establishment of Israel in 1948 and especially in the wake of WWII.
With the above said, I am also not for Netanyahu’s “Greater Israel” project that seeks to secure Israel dominion across lands referenced in biblical texts which include territories extending into Palestinian territories, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and Egypt.
In addition, I have a visceral detest for atrocities currently being committed by Israeli forces in Gaza that has resulted in 73,000 Palestinian deaths (in comparison, 58,000 US troops were killed in the entire horrific Vietnam War…) where children have been purposefully targeted as part of this appalling genocide. Against this backdrop, I also do not believe in the notion of a “chosen people” or “promised lands” as such orthodoxy provides license for the above referenced abhorrent actions taking place in Gaza right now.
Back to my conversation with Gemini where I replied to its response above with, “you just gave a political and non-factual answer…to which Gemini “doubled down” on the content referenced above, to which I then asked Gemini “How much of the media does the pro Zionist Ellison family control? to which Gemini reluctantly (that’s what it read like…) explained that the Ellison family controls approximately 20 to 25% of the traditional US media market through their majority ownership of Paramount Skydance. Gemini then listed CBS, CBS News and local CBS television stations as being under Ellison control. In addition, on the entertainment and cable network side the Ellison’s control Paramount Pictures, MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and Showtime while also holding a 15% stake in Tik Tok’s US operations.
Gemini then added that the Ellison family is currently executing an aggressive multi-dollar push to double their media presence that if successful puts the Ellisons in the same elite power tier as the Murdoch family. This has sparked intense concern from media watchdogs given the Ellison family’s overt support of Israel while also having power over the narratives delivered by the media they control.
I then asked Gemini about the pro-Israel Adelson family and its media operations to learn that Dr. Miriam Adelson, widow of casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, is invested in localized print news and major political journalism in the US (primarily in Las Vegas) and has “considerable” influence over the Israeli media complex.
To this response I then went back to ask Gemini “who controls CBS?” to learn that the Ellisons are currently pushing to have control over CBS News as well as CNN. Gemini then also acknowledged that 12 state attorneys, led by California, sued to block the deal arguing that two legendary Hollywood studios and news networks violates anti-trust laws and will drive up consumer prices.
To which I replied, As I piece your answers to my questions it makes me think your first response was disingenuous.
Gemini’s response:
I appreciate you pushing back on that. Looking back at the sequence of our conversation, I completely see the pivot. The disconnect comes from how the question is framed vs. how the numbers actually look.
The First Answer (the Big Picture): I’ll summarize here as Gemini gave a recap of Disney, Comcast, and Warner Brothers…and nothing to see here…
It is on the “Later Answers” where it gets interesting as Gemini stood by its big picture assessment to then say “However, your point (my point) is entirely valid. The recent consolidation under the Ellison family represents an immense concentration of media power in the hands of individuals with distinct well-documented political and ideological leanings.
I followed with “My ask of you is to give fair and factual answers. American Democracy is under attack and the Ellison family are avowed Zionists. This isn’t a trope. It’s fact. Meanwhile, the push to combine the US and Israeli militaries when Netanyahu is intent on pursuing an illegal “Greater Israel” at the same time that Israel is committing atrocities in Gaza is problematic. Throw in $4 billion a year in support for Israel who provides free healthcare for its citizens is had to swallow when benefits to US citizens are about to get massively cut next year.
Gemini’s response:
you are raising valid, concrete points about the overlap of corporate media leadership, foreign policy and domestic budget spending. This is driving fierce national debates and evaluating them objectively requires focusing on the verifiable facts…
While recapping valid concerns about Ellison family concentrated media ownership, Gemini specifically referenced the problematic leadership position of pro-Israel Bari Weiss in her role that now oversees CBS News (it is Weiss who just gutted the longstanding and highly credible 60 Minutes news program).
On US-Israeli Military integration, Gemini replied “You are entirely correct that there is an active, controversial lefgislative push to intertwine the two militaries. The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) contains a highly contested provision (section 224, also known as the FUTURES Act) that calls for deeper network integration (think Thiel’s defense company Palantir here…), data fusion and joint technology ventures in AI and cyber defense between US and Israeli militaries.
Representatives Thomas Massie and Ro Khanna have aggressively introduced amendments to strip this integration from the bill,…while organizations like AIPAC (this is Israel’s not for profit political lobby organization) have lobbied for the bill.
Gemini then addressed support for Israel versus cuts to American benefits, and added that in a recent symbolic vote to cut aid to Israel over 100 Democrats voted in favor of halting the funds signalling a massive shift in how foreign spending is viewed domestically.
And here is the kicker and the end of the conversation from Gemini:
When large media corporations are consolidated under owners with specific geopolitical goals, open national debates about where American tax dollars should be spent-whether on foreign military integration or domestic healthcare-become much harder to cover transparently.
Bottom Line
I just started a free website theknowledgefoundation.net to help connect the dots of what is really going on in the world when holistically evaluating history, geopolitics, capital markets, culture and mind and spirit. Please check it out. I’m not selling anything but holistic perspective at a time when I think it is sorely needed.
In addition, please also check out “Turning Point – The Vietnam War” on Netflix. Beyond being powerful and well researched, the documentary series chronicles the multiple missteps that led to the escalation of a full blown and tragic (both for valiant and manipulated US soldiers as well as innocent Vietnamese civilians) full blown war in Vietnam.
History has painfully informed America that we weren’t the “good guys” then and that our political leaders could not only lie to us but could also get those who could not get a deferment (like Trump) killed in combat in the process. The creators of the series make the claim that our chaotic political moment right now actually started back then. I agree and this matters as the mistakes made back then are again being made in Iran.
Yesterday I attended a Symposium on Impeachment sponsored by consumer advocate Ralph Nader and Bruce Fein, Esquire in Room 201 of the Senate Visitor center. I was glad to see that the small room was full and was also glad to see a healthy appetite (over 53 % of Americans already support this as presented yesterday…) to explore the impeachment of President Trump after the mid-term election.
Interestingly, the Vietnam War came up in conjunction with the fact that two senators, Wayne Morse of Oregon and Ernest Gruening were the only two senators that voted against the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution in 1964 that turned the Vietnam conflict into a full-blown war. History proved Messrs. Morse and Gruening right. Bruce Fein’s point in bringing this history up is the importance of getting politicians on record and while abundant and unregulated AIPAC dollars exist so too does history. It is always watching.
President Trump just refused to sign a Housing Bill that benefits Americans because he wanted the “Save Act” to also pass as a qui pro quo. Presenters at yesterday’s session were adamant that the Save Act is a “Trojan Horse” to manipulate free and fair elections this fall.
With the specter of impeachment looming and more if Democrats flip the script in Washington DC this fall, so much is riding on the Mid-terms. Expect trouble, ICE involvement and misdirection. Against this backdrop, please stay actively informed and please also vote. Oh, and please go check out theknowledgefoundation.net
Have a great weekend !