John Knefel

Fox News hosts want to flood Iran with small arms to incite regime change

Fox News' Sean Hannity, Brian Kilmeade, and Jesse Watters want to flood Iran with small arms to incite regime change (or more likely state collapse), an idea so reckless even one of Fox's biggest war cheerleaders, retired Gen. Jack Keane, said it was a bad idea [research from @slawton.bsky.social]

Right-wing media figures are getting briefed on the Iran war before Congress

MAGA media figures like Benny Johnson and Greg Kelly seemed to have inside information about the Iran war before Trump launched it. Fox News' Brian Kilmeade said he attended a "briefing with high-ranking Trump officials" on Saturday. Congress, meanwhile, is scheduled to get briefed tomorrow.

Indistinguishable from an old self-help bit by Rob Lathan

I will simply reiterate what I have said for years, namely that whatever their utility when it comes to individual psychopathology, the ideas of repetition compulsions and the death drive are super clarifying when it comes to the libidinal economies of settler colonial imperial violence

MAGA media provocateur Nick Shirley boosted an antisemitic video. It was only a matter of time.

I wrote about Nick Shirley endorsing an antisemitic video made by Tyler Oliveira. They're two of the rising stars of MAGA's new class of self-described "independent journalists," provocateurs who have adopted James O'Keefe's approach and play a crucial role in the right-wing media ecosystem

Co-byline with @slawton.bsky.social

Nick Shirley rebooted James O’Keefe’s debunked voter fraud myths for a new audience

Nick Shirley is rebooting old James O'Keefe myths about voter fraud and serving them up to a new audience. Did either of them find fraud? No. But did they come close? Also no. But what if you simply imagined the fraud? Well, now we're talking!

Right-wing media hyped a supposed “shovel” attack against ICE. Prosecutors just dropped the charges.

Shortly after an ICE agent shot and killed Renee Good, right-wing media seized on a story that could reset the narrative. DHS said an immigrant attacked federal officers with a shovel, and the story was everywhere in MAGA media. The case has since fallen apart & prosecutors just dropped the charges.

CBS Evening News inverts its network's own reporting on ICE arrestees’ low rates of violent criminal histories

CBS Evening News just inverted CBS News' own reporting, which found very low rates of so-called criminal histories for ICE arrestees.

But the Evening News distorted its own network's article, making it seem like the Trump admin was rounding up the "worst of the worst." Very cool editorial process

in august, TOM HOMAN admitted that this was the law www.mediamatters.org/immigration/... via @johnknefel.bsky.social

Democrats want ICE to comply with the Fourth Amendment. Right-wing media are trying to muddy the waters.

I wrote about the right-wing media campaign to erode 4th Amendment protections by mischaracterizing demands that ICE/BP get a judicial warrant before entering a home. Even Tom Homan admitted as much last summer.

Tom Homan in August: ICE agents “need a judicial warrant for a search” ⬇️

Border Czar Tom Homan in resurfaced Fox interview: “We need a judicial warrant for a search”

I found a Fox News interview from August 2025 where Border Czar Tom Homan acknowledges that ICE needs a judicial warrant to perform a search of private property -- contrary to an ICE memo that says agents only need an administrative warrant. Curious what he believes now.

As there is a lot of news about immigration and who is "supposed" to be deported, it's worth talking about why the media and commentators keep using the word "criminal." Most people I hear will casually say, oh sure, we should "deport criminals."

List of Dems that supported suppressing the Gaza death toll Allred, Texas Gottheimer, New Jersey Norcross, New Jersey Stevens, Michigan Auchincloss, Massachusetts Harder, California Pallone, New Jersey Strickland, Washington Boyle, Pennsylvania Hoyer, Maryland Panetta, California Suozzi, New York Caraveo, Colorado Jackson, Illinois Pappas, New Hampshire Swalwell, California Cohen, Tennessee Kennedy, New York Perez, Washington Thanedar, Michigan Correa, California Kilmer, Washington Pettersen, Colorado Torres, California Costa, California Craig, Minnesota Landsman, Ohio Ryan, New York Torres, New York Cuellar, Texas Lee, Nevada Schiff, California Trone, Maryland Davis, North Carolina Levin, California Schneider, Illinois Vargas, California Espaillat, New York Lieu, California Scholten, Michigan Veasey, Texas Manning, North Carolina Schrier, Washington Wasserman Schultz, Florida Fletcher, Texas McBath, Georgia Scott, David, Georgia Frankel, Lois, Florida Meng, New York Sherman, California Gallego, Arizona Morelle, New York Slotkin, Michigan Golden, Maine Moskowitz, Florida Soto, Florida Goldman, New York Mrvan, Indiana Spanberger, Virginia Gonzalez, Vicente, Texas Nickel, North Carolina Stanton, Arizona

NEW: The Israeli military today accepted the Gaza Health Ministry's estimate of 70,000+ killed.

But in 2024, 62 Dems joined 207 Republicans to ban the State Dept. from citing the Ministry's stats.

Now, even Israel accepts them — perhaps because they realize what is feared: the toll is even higher.

As demonstrated by his very normal media hits

Of course he has no real job. How can Congress let someone they didn’t vote on run an agency?

Fox’s absurd attempt to cast Tom Homan as Trump’s good cop on immigration

I wrote about how Fox News is trying to portray Tom Homan as the immigration good cop, the professional, the cooler head -- all of which is absurd to anyone who knows the first thing about him. Fox is trying for a rebrand but the underlying policy hasn't changed.

I've been studying the history of US, and indeed, global policing my whole career and I can't make it more clear to law makers that this isn't a bastardization of policing, it is its purest form and logical conclusion. The impunity, militarization, deference, legitimacy, racial targeting, etc.

Bill Melugin is Fox News’ top anti-migrant reporter

Just a little background on Bill Melugin, the Fox News reporter who posted a photo of a gun supplied to him by DHS.

www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/bil...

This is obviously not legal advice, and there's a lot that's case specific, but in general I'd say: not all "violent crimes" are deportable offenses, though most serious ones are; and attorneys may challenge depo orders in extenuating circumstances, file appeals, etc.

Since Dec 26, Fox has repeated the 70% stat at least 32 times, sometimes with the caveat that it includes "pending charges," making the figure narrowly true but still wildly misleading as it includes minor offenses like traffic violations. Other times there's no caveat or context at all.

Fox keeps repeating misleading talking point about ICE arrestees’ criminal records

New piece on Fox News' repeated use of a totally misleading talking point about the supposed criminality of ICE arrestees. The number of people in ICE custody with a conviction for a violent criminal offense is about 5-7%. Fox's coverage falsely suggests the number is closer to 70%.

Right-wing media are describing pro-immigrant Minnesota activists using the language of war Right-wing media figures and outlets are using the language of war to characterize protests against the presence of violent Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Minnesota.The fatal shooting o...

The rhetoric MAGA media is using to describe Minnesota protesters is increasingly unhinged and militaristic -- "insurgents" and "terrorists" waging "guerilla warfare,” looking to provoke a "Fort Sumter moment" and start a civil war.

New from me and @slawton.bsky.social at @mmfa.bsky.social

Minneapolis School Officials Are Shielding Illegal Aliens from ICE ... and Opening Themselves Up to Federal Felony Prosecutions

Nativist think tank and close ally of Trump admin calls for Minneapolis school officials to be charged with felonies for allowing hybrid/remote classes during ICE rampages

Fox’s Laura Ingraham is practically begging Trump to invoke the Insurrection Act

Wrote a short thing about Laura Ingraham's show last night, where she practically begged Trump to invoke the Insurrection Act and repeatedly referred to pro-immigrant activists as "insurgents."
New at @mmfa.bsky.social

Fox’s Laura Ingraham is practically begging Trump to invoke the Insurrection Act

Wrote a short thing about Laura Ingraham's show last night, where she practically begged Trump to invoke the Insurrection Act and repeatedly referred to pro-immigrant activists as "insurgents."
New at @mmfa.bsky.social

MAGA media interviews suggest Trump’s denaturalization push is driven by pure Islamophobia

I wrote about Trump's new push to ramp up denaturalizations, and how MAGA media is making it clear that they want this effort to target Muslims specifically.

Latest at @mmfa.bsky.social

I will NEVER vote for a politician who votes for anti-trans legislation. Never. I don't care who it is, it's a dead issue. Move on. If my vote is so important to the future of democracy they should have thought of that before they voted to exterminate my child.

With research by Rob Savillo, Tyler Monroe, and Harrison Ray