Author and journalist Matt Taibbi says that public opinion toward U.S. intelligence agencies has shifted in the past decade in large part due to a shift in media coverage away from intelligence abuses and more toward actions by members of former President Trump’s administration.
In an interview on Hill.TV’s “Rising,” Taibbi outlined his argument in one of his most recent pieces, in which he noted that some of the most pivotal pieces of journalism over the past decade included the Wikileaks release of 75,000 secret U.S. military reports that revealed abuses within the war in Afghanistan, and former NSA intelligence contractor Edward Snowden’s release of information on a widespread domestic surveillance program.
Taibbi argued that during the Trump administration, media attention began to turn away from uncovering the inner workings of U.S. intelligence agencies, and focused more on possible Russian interference in the 2016 election and efforts to combat online misinformation campaigns.
“Suddenly in the age of Trump, they’ve successfully sort of turned public opinion completely around and the services are now seen as being sort of a force against Trump,” the journalist argued.
“They’ve managed to steer public opinion in the direction of the public should be on the side of the FBI, CIA and NSA, and I think that’s a significant development,” he added.
Watch part of Taibbi’s interview above.
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