The Sad Saga of Glenn Greenwald: A Tale of Abandoned Integrity

https://www.counterpunch.org/2022/05/27/apologist-for-tucker-carlsons-racism-glenn-greenwald/

I wasn't surprised to see this article. In some respects I'm surprised more people aren't commenting on this. I was glad to see Greenwald leave The Guardian in the aftermath of the Snowden revelations. The founding of The Intercept looked promising but that too began to degenerate. And then in 2020, Greenwald went out on his own – it was real display of integrity, or at least so I thought.

Was it integrity or had he shifted his values? The Intercept underwent a noticeable shift with the advent of Trump. It went from being adversarial to being a shill for the DNC. Greenwald (like Snowden) has a strong Libertarian streak and as the FOX spectrum (especially with the likes of Carlson) has (along with much of the GOP) moved in that direction, he started to find some common ground. Despite accusations, Greenwald is not a fan of Trump. I wouldn't charge him with that but he likes the 'smash the Establishment' ethos that Trump represents. What he doesn't understand is that Trump isn't just resisting the Establishment (which in some respects has been overemphasized), he's replacing it with something else – something very dark and sinister, and perhaps more destabilizing and thus dangerous in the end.

In my opinion, and it's something the CounterPunch piece doesn't focus on, I think Greenwald has come to be motivated by three things – money, money, and money.

Going independent and leaving behind that considerable Intercept salary was a big step and getting plugged (unofficially) into FOX has certainly opened doors. I don't know what FOX pays him for his frequent appearances but regardless it's boosted his profile and is bound to generate traffic, book sales, and the like. The FOX market is huge.

And while I'm sure he's made many new fans, he's one of those who over the past few years has dropped off my list. I think he's still reporting some good things and I don't accept many of the accusations made against him by his opponents, but to put it simply I no longer trust his reporting. I don't trust anyone entirely but there has to be a degree of trust and that no longer exists when it comes to Glenn Greenwald.

It's interesting how things have changed. For several years I was a regular reader of The Intercept. Now if you visit the site they want you to register to read articles and as a consequence I haven't bothered stopping by in probably more than a year. As far as Greenwald, I was initially encouraged, but now I view him as a sellout. In my book he's no longer a serious journalist. I view him as someone that has abandoned his integrity.

Seymour Hersh was blacklisted too and Hersh was a much bigger deal than Greenwald ever was and yet I don't see Hersh appearing on FOX.

Between Greenwald's appearances on FOX, to his opinions regarding Trump, to his comments on Covid and the like – I really am not interested in anything has to say anymore. For several years it was a good run but now it's over and for those looking for good alternative and adversarial media – turn somewhere else.