Owned

January 1, 2025

Journalist and historian Higgins looks at political ideological shifts in journalism and the influence of big tech on media. He focuses his analysis on case studies of the careers of journalists Glenn Greenwald and Matt Taibbi. Both took positions on the political left early in their careers, but they later moved to the right. Higgins asserts that their ideological shifts to the influence of money and catering of their opinions to the right-leaning media resulted in their gaining more online attention. Simultaneously, tech entrepreneurs such as Marc Andreessen, Elon Musk, and Peter Thiel invested in media platforms to assert their influence. Higgins uses controversies such as the Edward Snowden intelligence case, the Twitter Files leaks, and Musk's acquisition of Twitter/X to illustrate his points and highlight the dominance of government contracts in big tech. Higgins calls himself a "civil libertarian leftist," and his commentary and analysis are conducted through this lens. He does, however, include opinions from other journalists to temper his obvious dislike of Greenwald. VERDICT An incisive analysis of the influence of money and big-tech executives in right-wing media.--Rebekah Kati

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Starred review from January 6, 2025
Journalist Higgins debuts with an eye-opening recap of how Silicon Valley billionaires built a right-wing mediasphere with the help of lefty journalists Glenn Greenwald and Matt Taibbi. Higgins focuses primarily on Greenwald, who grew a liberal following by criticizing Bush-era civil liberties violations, rose to fame in 2013 reporting on Edward Snowden’s leak of classified documents, and cofounded left-wing news site The Intercept—but by 2020 had resigned over editorial differences, become a Fox News regular, and joined Substack. Higgins also follows tech titans Peter Thiel, Marc Andreessen, and Elon Musk, alleging that, , in their irritation at criticism from tech journalists, they sought to push online media rightward—including Substack, which, after investments from Andreessen, became a hub for right-wing politics. Higgins examines developments on other platforms (including Musk’s collaboration with Taibbi on the “Twitter Files”), but the highlight is his sharp reporting on how closely Greenwald came to operate in lockstep with Andreessen in the estimation of many observers (“He was basically Marc Andreessen’s little lapdog,” journalist Taylor Lorenz caustically asserts). Higgins is sympathetic toward his subjects (he calls Greenwald an inspiration), painting a convincing picture of how a combination of libertarian political alignment and financial incentives altered their trajectories; he also gives them space to argue back, leading to some fascinating on-the-page ripostes (“The basic premise of your book is dishonest,” Taibbi proclaims). It’s a juicy look at today’s online political landscape.

January 1, 2025
The power of the technocratic elite has been growing steadily since Silicon Valley emerged as the epicenter of advanced technology coupled with venture capitalism. Meanwhile, the U.S. government has maintained a two-faced nature, both calling for regulation of Big Tech and utilizing that same technology for its own extralegal purposes. In his first book, journalist and historian Higgins profiles two journalists who have drawn scrutiny in recent years for their break with the liberal mainstream and their embrace of more right-wing media outlets, with significant financial gain.Muckraking journalist Glenn Greenwald once helped expose the surveillance state via leaked information from NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, while rebel Matt Taibbi attacked the gluttony and corruption of the banking system. Higgins' objective and compelling look into the power wielded by tech billionaires like Peter Thiel, Elon Musk, and Marc Andreesen shows how, guided by right-wing libertarianism, these tech oligarchs operate with transparent motives. Taibbi's and Greenwald's pivot is more nuanced. Higgins' sharply insightful book raises important questions about co-opting of the media.

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