Politico Draws Heat for Turning Over Their Playbook Newsletter to Ben Shapiro

Politico has drawn heat for handing over the most recent edition of their Playbook newsletter to conservative radio host Ben Shapiro.

Many pundits and journalists faulted the media company for giving Shapiro such a large platform, pointing out his past bigoted commentary,

In his article, The real reason most Republicans opposed impeachment, Shapiro also falsely accused Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) of inciting the shooting of Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA), comparing it President Donald Trump’s incitement of the Capitol attack.

“Don’t worry it’s not just inventing a lie that Bernie Sanders told his supporters to shoot people (???) and claiming Trump’s voter fraud lie is the same as Stacey Abrams’ loss (????) it’s also grotesque apologia for Republicans who are — get this — patriotic victims. Hooooly fuck,” The Daily Show’s Matt Negrin wrote in a Thursday tweet.

Politico’s latest newsletter earned angry reactions from many Twitter users, with Joe Lockhart calling Shapiro a “propaganda machine who uses Republican anger to make money for himself.”

Don’t worry it’s not just inventing a lie that Bernie Sanders told his supporters to shoot people (???) and claiming Trump’s voter fraud lie is the same as Stacey Abrams’ loss (????) it’s also grotesque apologia for Republicans who are — get this — patriotic victims. Hooooly fuck pic.twitter.com/iImfxJBwQp

— Matt Negrin, HOST OF HARDBALL AT 7PM ON MSNBC (@MattNegrin) January 14, 2021

There’s no doubt they defend this by saying they’re letting Democrats write Playbook some days and Republicans on other days to get Both Sides. This is a fundamental misunderstanding—or willing buy-in of the lie—of the way the parties approach the truth (big thing in journalism)

— Matt Negrin, HOST OF HARDBALL AT 7PM ON MSNBC (@MattNegrin) January 14, 2021

Journalists are supposed to be pro-truth and anti-lie. Since Trump won, that’s been the Democrats’ position, which makes it awkward for journalists because they’re not supposed to agree with one side over another. This is how Republicans weaponized their false sense of neutrality

— Matt Negrin, HOST OF HARDBALL AT 7PM ON MSNBC (@MattNegrin) January 14, 2021

Okay, why the hell did @politico hand its top newsletter @playbookplus over to @benshapiro for today? That newsroom is filled with such talented folks. We’re 1 day after impeachment, a week past insurrection and stuff days to inauguration. 4 years and they’ve learned nothing.

— Cameron Joseph (@cam_joseph) January 14, 2021

Ben Shapiro, guest editor of Politico Playbook, appears to be making an apples-to-apples “incitement” comparison between Trump’s violent rhetoric and refusal to concede the election with Bernie Sanders saying lack of health care will kill people. pic.twitter.com/HU3hUOJNpC

— Anthony L. Fisher (@anthonyLfisher) January 14, 2021

You are comparing a mainstream journalist with high integrity, to a right-wing demagogue who specializes in anti-left disinformation.

— David Rothschild (@DavMicRot) January 14, 2021

Sorry, did you just casually correlate @chrislhayes to a white supremacist?

— Matt McDermott (@mattmfm) January 14, 2021

@politco — Ben Shapiro is not a journalist. He’s a propaganda machine who uses Republican anger to make money for himself. He does it with lies that put our democracy at risk still going forward. Pretending he’s a journalist is unforgivable.

— Joe Lockhart (@joelockhart) January 14, 2021

The homework either you didn’t do or did and thought, yes, that’s good for my readershttps://t.co/3EdBO53ASC

— Sarah Rose (@thesarahrose) January 14, 2021

Politico handed over its Playbook today to Ben Shapiro, who used it to (falsely) accuse Bernie Sanders of inciting the shooting of Steve Scalise and to equate Bernie’s rhetoric with Trump’s. I kid you not.
(h/t ⁦@MattNegrin⁩) https://t.co/2TtJKUdAk3

— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) January 14, 2021

Yikes. Politico struggling after @JakeSherman and @apalmerdc left – they downgraded to Ben Shapiro writing Playbook today. Wtf.

Readers, do yourselves a favor and subscribe to @PunchbowlNews.

— Katie Hill (@KatieHill4CA) January 14, 2021

Politico sidelining their many talented, well-sourced Capitol Hill reporters to have Ben Shapiro co-author Playbook on the day after a historic impeachment vote was an unfortunate choice to say the least.

— Dan Pfeiffer (@danpfeiffer) January 14, 2021

You are truly making bad choices. Again.

— Kim Sherrell (@kim) January 14, 2021

I understand the desire to have balance, but lying about stuff like Ben Shapiro does in this column (comparing Bernie Sanders to Trump, equivocating Trump’s voter fraud lies with Stacey Abrams) isn’t really a “side” that needs to be platformed https://t.co/xfiH4TkIKX

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 14, 2021

Allowing @BenShapiro to guest-author today’s @politico “Playbook” newsletter was…not a good choice.

Lots of bad-faith arguments and whataboutism.

If I want that, I can go to Facebook anytime.

— No, you shut up Bryan! (@SchottHappens) January 14, 2021

I would appreciate if someone from @politico would read all the racist things Ben Shapiro has said about Arabs and Muslims here and then explain why they chose to give him a platform https://t.co/bH5CmhiqE4

— Sabrina Siddiqui (@SabrinaSiddiqui) January 14, 2021

lololol imagine your brain being so incredibly broken that you think @chrislhayes and ben shapiro are equivalents. https://t.co/z8pfP9bdB8

— mike casca (@cascamike) January 14, 2021

These three points by Shapiro in today’s @playbookplus are particularly enraging and I can’t believe they made it in https://t.co/PF3C6gL3co pic.twitter.com/IS6AxuLT9G

— Travis Clark (@TravClark2) January 14, 2021

Ben Shapiro in 2016: “Trayvon Martin would have turned 21 today if he hadn’t taken a man’s head and beaten it on the pavement before being shot.”

How about Ben Shapiro just this week: “Literally every regular human I know owns zip ties.”https://t.co/iyNYB6wNoM

— Gabe Ortíz (@TUSK81) January 14, 2021

What’s so disgusting about @politico handing the reins to Shapiro is knowing that the negative attention they’re getting for it is *the point* of the stunt. Not anything resembling journalism. This sucks in the best of times. With Jan 6’s trauma still fresh it is inexcusable.

— Matt Duss (@mattduss) January 14, 2021

Politico: let’s platform an arsonist and ask him to explain how the fire started. Ben Shapiro is a known racist, xenophobe and transphobic person – who constantly stokes hate. Can you google @politico?

— Amy Siskind ?️‍? (@Amy_Siskind) January 14, 2021

Have a tip we should know? tips@mediaite.com