“I don’t give credence to the ABC News op-ed,” Cohen responded when I asked him about it.
While the “Michael Cohen Live Show” appears to have launched recently, Cohen has been talking about Trump for years: He has published two books documenting his relationship with Trump and also hosts and co-hosts two podcasts with the MeidasTouch guy.
On Cohen’s Patreona club for Cohen and Meidas listeners club beating podcast, will occasionally host Zoom calls with paid followers. There are more than 1,100 and the lowest level requires a subscription of $10 per month, equivalent to at least $11,000 per month. That’s not counting $50, $150, or $500 subscriptions (or TikTok giveaways). At the beginning of these calls, Cohen and Ben Meiselas, co-founder of MeidasTouch, ask their followers to “raise their fists” and mime some boxing punches.
On Wednesday, I reached out to the folks at MeidasTouch to assess the extent of their relationship with Cohen. They did not immediately respond to comments.
Whatever the details of that relationship, Cohen has created a massive megaphone online by collaborating with Meidas and interacting directly with his fans. Basically, he’s building his own media network, which is a trend we’ve seen among politicians and pundits since the last media cycle, with people like Rudy Giulian and Tucker Carlson launching podcasts and creating boutique online news shows. And because of how fucking internet is, you can’t just post if you want to break through the noise. Cohen has to do a little of everything and pray that does not damage your credibility.
The chat room
Last week, I asked everyone to submit their thoughts on the new law that could ban TikTok in the US. You sent many thoughtful comments and emails. Here’s one that was incredibly kind and covers a general overview of what we were discussing last week.
From Barry:
“The bottom line: I don’t agree with the idea of banning TikTok just because of its connection to China, without any evidence.
The details: I turn 83 this June, I know nothing about TikTok and almost nothing about social media; I read posts from friends and family on Facebook, but I don’t post anything. My impression of social media is that it is an amalgamation of pet tricks, incompetent dances, influencers, and misinformation. It’s a lot of mass entertainment by fans, and that’s fine.
At this point I could rant about the devolution of the internet, politics, cryptocurrencies, and more broadly democracy and society, but this is why I subscribe to Wired: for Paul Ford, Steven Levy, etc. Leave that to the professionals. .”
Happy early birthday, Barry, and thanks for your thoughts!
Over the next week, I’ll be digging into all the Federal Election Commission filings on tech campaigns and super PACs that have been piling up in my inbox. I’ll report back with what I find next week. But I’m curious, is there anything I should keep an eye out for? You can find a lot in these documents, like which influencer management companies politicians use or which big campaigns big tech PACs send their money to.