Read by Ramiz Monsef

A cabal of tech-billionaires is colluding with once-idealistic journalists to create an entirely new media landscape. Owned is the story of the underreported and growing collusion between new wealth and new journalism. In recent years, right-wing billionaires like Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, Marc Andreessen, and David Sacks have turned to media as their next investment and source of influence. Their cronies are Glenn Greenwald and Matt Taibbi-once known as idealistic and left-leaning voices, now beneficiaries of Silicon Valley largesse. Together, this new alliance aims to exploit the failings of traditional journalism and undermine the very idea of an independent and fact-based fourth estate. Owned examines how this shift has allowed spectacularly wealthy reactionaries to pursue their ultimate goal of censoring critics so to further their own business interests-and personal vendettas-entirely unimpeded while also advancing a toxic and antidemocratic ideology. A rich history of the decades-long rise of this new right-wing alternative media takeover, Owned follows the money, names names, and offers a chilling portrait of a future social media and news landscape. It is a biting exposé of journalistic greed, tech-billionaire ambition, and a lament for a disappearing free press. "The career trajectory of two prominent and important journalists…into the snug patronage of billionaires is a story with profound and troubling implications for the future of journalism and unfettered thinking." "An eye-opening recap of how Silicon Valley billionaires built a right-wing mediasphere with the help of lefty journalists…The highlight is his sharp reporting…It's a juicy look at today's online political landscape." "An incisive analysis of the influence of money and big-tech executives in right-wing media." "Expertly tells the story of how thin-skinned hostility to scrutiny and criticism led a clique of right-wing billionaires to subvert journalism by capturing or silencing critical voices…Higgins does what really fearless independent journalists do best: tells us what we need to know." "We can only escape this nightmare if we understand how we got here-Owned shines some much needed light into the darkest recesses of today's mediascape." "An impressively researched look into the decades long partnership between tech oligarchs and the authoritarian right that have a vested interest in keeping us all less informed and perpetually agitated, and some of the key players who have benefited most from our collective loss."

Mode of access: World Wide Web