Thank you for this. I he’s in my feed a lot and I knew he was problematic, but this makes me pause a lot. I appreciate the alternative resources on BlueSky! Proud and humble paid subscriber here. Appreciate you!
Wow I have subscribed to Parnas but had zero clue of how he gets his sources, I figured they came from his own investigation process. Now I understand he can’t be everywhere all the time. I tend to stay away from mainstream journalism because it’s too scripted & I seek truth no matter what the outcome is. I don’t want to be coddled so I can have a feel warm & fuzzy with a false sense of security. I’m a realist in every level. I appreciate your honesty & candor. Thanks for passing on this information ✨
Thanks, MsYuse. I’m curious what you think of my Bluesky lists. Check them out. When something happens in the news go to the Legal Experts list or the Diverse Opinion list to get experts and scholars take instead of the media you are not feeling. And see what the newsrooms I have in The News list say about what’s going on. I’d love feedback on if it works for you or not and why.
Ok I found you on Bluesky however I’m not sure where to find the other ones. I’m going to law school so I’d like to know where to find a legal expert list without having to pay a premium fee for their opinions. I’m a gulf war veteran & trying to learn how to navigate the internet better. Any & all advice is appreciated & welcomed. Thank you for sharing this information ✨
Finally! Someone speaks the truth about this guy! And he’s everywhere,I can’t get away from this kid. His father will do anything to make a buck and in my opinion his son isn’t much different.
His father is Lev Parnas, Trump fixer in the first administration. He’s trying very hard to turn his life around and try to make right out of the fucking mess he contributed to. His information regarding Ukraine/Russia is more than you will see, hear, or read anywhere guaranteed. Like him or hate him, his sources are not mainstream media for sure because his reporting is days and weeks ahead of theirs if mainstream reports on it at all.
Thanks for sharing your opinion, Nancy. He literally gets his information from mainstream media in addition to other sources sometimes. When he cites sources in his videos they are mainstream sources. Articles written by journalists who need jobs in order for Aaron to make money off their work. He’s getting lots of news to people. He has to honor and uplift the journalism that is allowing him to do that. Thanks.
You’re correct Brian. Excuse me my mistake. I was referring to his father Lev’s sources, but it wasn’t written that way. I came across wrong. I do follow his father Lev, he is usually spot on before mainstream.
Aaron Parnas is a boring and low level journalist. I get turned off very quickly watching only a few seconds of his reporting. He has a drab voice and like you said “no sourcing”. Thanks for this article.
My personal opinion, reading, and reacting to mainstream media is on us. When I read an article or OP ed first thing I do is find out who the writer is, his or her bio and their who they write for in terms of political affiliation. I know that’s a lot. More times than not, you can tell if the writer has an agenda or talking out their collective ass and I call bullshit. People like Parnas give people what they want. News bytes. My problem with him, he doesn’t give credit to the journalists he’s “borrowed” from. That’s not cool. There’s a lot of good writers here on Substack that are doing fabulous investigative reporting that mainstream media has no interest in doing. The most important thing right now however you get your news is to stay informed.
Right on! You are definitely doing more than most and it's amazing. Understanding the agenda of someone who is communicating to you is essential media literacy behavior. Way to go! And yes, it's great that Aaron is helping more people stay informed, but based on reactions from his fans, there's something else going on. He is using highly specific language to manipulate people into thinking he is doing a ton of original reporting. He works hard, for sure, but he also is making enough that he has hired employees. Those employees should be combing his posts and adding hyperlinks to all the journalism Parnas currently doesn't credit. His fans need to demand that he uplift journalism instead of trash it. Thanks for being a fact warrior!
Brian - you have made an excellent point here about Aaron Parnas. I hope that he listens to you. I think his ‘news’ providing motive is probably good . Not sure until you pointed this out , if he realized that he was so greatly undermining the very factual pro democracy media he claims to support. But u are right - what he is doing is no better than AI generated summary content . Thank u for writing this . Pls also add Courier Newsroom to your list of independent media sources. As u know I write for them & they strive very hard to provide factual local & national news to their audiences while also fighting for funding like most of the other media you are highlighting. Thank u for your excellent work, Brian! @Mediaanddemocracyproject.
First thing I noticed when I saw one of his newsletters was the lack of citations. I scrolled through and muted him because without citations news summaries are at best worthless. There’s no easy way to check their veracity, no way to know which journalists or news outlet reported the news, and no quick way to go to the source for a deeper look.
Source reputation also cannot be assessed. Does Parnas exclude low quality or biased outlets? Does he make mistakes? Is he himself biased? To learn those answers I’d have to google the reports he summarizes and read them for comparison, so then what’s the point of the summary?
Of course if he used citations then maybe his hustle would be a little too apparent, or maybe readers would realize they can just follow the sources on Bluesky for summaries with a link. There’s even the Apple News app included on iPhones that can be customized into a pretty good feed.
All so much better than paying some rando to type summaries stripped of everything needed to evaluate their reliability and authenticity.
All the great essays here at Substack and people pay for Parnas’s slop. :rolleyes:
Your article is really good. The difference between journalism and AI is real. I never thought about the things you mentioned. I have seen some negative statements about him but never have I read it explained like you and it does make a lot of sense. To get true verified journalism that is apolitical and Truthful. Many say journalism is dead because of the oligarchs take over of what they are allowed to say about the regime. I joined substack a few months ago and have published a few articles and have some subscribers, none paid, hell most not read😂I appreciate you thoughts n and views and agree. thank you.
There’s no transcript, no sourcing, no corroboration, and no independent reporting behind Vindman’s tease — just emotional language (‘bombshell,’ ‘worse than Zelensky’) designed to drive engagement. This same narrative about a ‘Saudi call’ has circulated half a dozen times over the years and has never produced anything verifiable.
Pairing it with the Epstein files bill is a classic tactic:
bundle a high-emotion topic with a low-evidence claim to make the latter feel more credible. It’s content architecture, not journalism.
If and when there’s actual documentation — not teasers, not adjectives — then it’s worth discussing. Until then, you’re being pulled into a hype cycle built to farm outrage and clicks.
Thanks for your opinion, Vincent. As I said elsewhere in a comment, I wanna know how you feel about the Bluesky lists. Check them out. When something happens in the news go to the Legal Experts list or the Diverse Opinion list to get experts and scholars take instead of the media you are not feeling. And see what the newsrooms I have in The News list say about what’s going on. I’d love feedback on if it works for you or not and why.
Interesting perspective. That being said, it’s hard to believe the death of journalism can be impacted by one source. It seems to me journalism is changing, not necessarily being killed, where quick soundbites are as valuable as depth of reporting.
Mmmmm. Thanks. I like Parnas. It’s quick concise and timely. I do read the stories from the sources.
BUT this man has a point.
Let’em know! Thanks.
He a Zionist….he can’t even pretend to be honest about the genocide in Palestine.
The point is the powers that be are killing American journalism
Thank you for this. I he’s in my feed a lot and I knew he was problematic, but this makes me pause a lot. I appreciate the alternative resources on BlueSky! Proud and humble paid subscriber here. Appreciate you!
I am so grateful for your support, Tracy. I WILL NEVER LEAVE YOUR SIDE! ;)
Wow I have subscribed to Parnas but had zero clue of how he gets his sources, I figured they came from his own investigation process. Now I understand he can’t be everywhere all the time. I tend to stay away from mainstream journalism because it’s too scripted & I seek truth no matter what the outcome is. I don’t want to be coddled so I can have a feel warm & fuzzy with a false sense of security. I’m a realist in every level. I appreciate your honesty & candor. Thanks for passing on this information ✨
Thanks, MsYuse. I’m curious what you think of my Bluesky lists. Check them out. When something happens in the news go to the Legal Experts list or the Diverse Opinion list to get experts and scholars take instead of the media you are not feeling. And see what the newsrooms I have in The News list say about what’s going on. I’d love feedback on if it works for you or not and why.
Ok I found you on Bluesky however I’m not sure where to find the other ones. I’m going to law school so I’d like to know where to find a legal expert list without having to pay a premium fee for their opinions. I’m a gulf war veteran & trying to learn how to navigate the internet better. Any & all advice is appreciated & welcomed. Thank you for sharing this information ✨
I had not considered that he was effectively just curating other reporters work, thank you for the perspective!
Finally! Someone speaks the truth about this guy! And he’s everywhere,I can’t get away from this kid. His father will do anything to make a buck and in my opinion his son isn’t much different.
His father is Lev Parnas, Trump fixer in the first administration. He’s trying very hard to turn his life around and try to make right out of the fucking mess he contributed to. His information regarding Ukraine/Russia is more than you will see, hear, or read anywhere guaranteed. Like him or hate him, his sources are not mainstream media for sure because his reporting is days and weeks ahead of theirs if mainstream reports on it at all.
Thanks for sharing your opinion, Nancy. He literally gets his information from mainstream media in addition to other sources sometimes. When he cites sources in his videos they are mainstream sources. Articles written by journalists who need jobs in order for Aaron to make money off their work. He’s getting lots of news to people. He has to honor and uplift the journalism that is allowing him to do that. Thanks.
You’re correct Brian. Excuse me my mistake. I was referring to his father Lev’s sources, but it wasn’t written that way. I came across wrong. I do follow his father Lev, he is usually spot on before mainstream.
Ask him about the genocide in Palestine…
Aaron Parnas is a boring and low level journalist. I get turned off very quickly watching only a few seconds of his reporting. He has a drab voice and like you said “no sourcing”. Thanks for this article.
My personal opinion, reading, and reacting to mainstream media is on us. When I read an article or OP ed first thing I do is find out who the writer is, his or her bio and their who they write for in terms of political affiliation. I know that’s a lot. More times than not, you can tell if the writer has an agenda or talking out their collective ass and I call bullshit. People like Parnas give people what they want. News bytes. My problem with him, he doesn’t give credit to the journalists he’s “borrowed” from. That’s not cool. There’s a lot of good writers here on Substack that are doing fabulous investigative reporting that mainstream media has no interest in doing. The most important thing right now however you get your news is to stay informed.
Right on! You are definitely doing more than most and it's amazing. Understanding the agenda of someone who is communicating to you is essential media literacy behavior. Way to go! And yes, it's great that Aaron is helping more people stay informed, but based on reactions from his fans, there's something else going on. He is using highly specific language to manipulate people into thinking he is doing a ton of original reporting. He works hard, for sure, but he also is making enough that he has hired employees. Those employees should be combing his posts and adding hyperlinks to all the journalism Parnas currently doesn't credit. His fans need to demand that he uplift journalism instead of trash it. Thanks for being a fact warrior!
The tech giants and AI are doing the same thing.
Not a defense of Parnas but he's part of a larger problem.
Yes! That’s what this post is really about!
Brian - you have made an excellent point here about Aaron Parnas. I hope that he listens to you. I think his ‘news’ providing motive is probably good . Not sure until you pointed this out , if he realized that he was so greatly undermining the very factual pro democracy media he claims to support. But u are right - what he is doing is no better than AI generated summary content . Thank u for writing this . Pls also add Courier Newsroom to your list of independent media sources. As u know I write for them & they strive very hard to provide factual local & national news to their audiences while also fighting for funding like most of the other media you are highlighting. Thank u for your excellent work, Brian! @Mediaanddemocracyproject.
First thing I noticed when I saw one of his newsletters was the lack of citations. I scrolled through and muted him because without citations news summaries are at best worthless. There’s no easy way to check their veracity, no way to know which journalists or news outlet reported the news, and no quick way to go to the source for a deeper look.
Source reputation also cannot be assessed. Does Parnas exclude low quality or biased outlets? Does he make mistakes? Is he himself biased? To learn those answers I’d have to google the reports he summarizes and read them for comparison, so then what’s the point of the summary?
Of course if he used citations then maybe his hustle would be a little too apparent, or maybe readers would realize they can just follow the sources on Bluesky for summaries with a link. There’s even the Apple News app included on iPhones that can be customized into a pretty good feed.
All so much better than paying some rando to type summaries stripped of everything needed to evaluate their reliability and authenticity.
All the great essays here at Substack and people pay for Parnas’s slop. :rolleyes:
Your article is really good. The difference between journalism and AI is real. I never thought about the things you mentioned. I have seen some negative statements about him but never have I read it explained like you and it does make a lot of sense. To get true verified journalism that is apolitical and Truthful. Many say journalism is dead because of the oligarchs take over of what they are allowed to say about the regime. I joined substack a few months ago and have published a few articles and have some subscribers, none paid, hell most not read😂I appreciate you thoughts n and views and agree. thank you.
THANK you.
There’s no transcript, no sourcing, no corroboration, and no independent reporting behind Vindman’s tease — just emotional language (‘bombshell,’ ‘worse than Zelensky’) designed to drive engagement. This same narrative about a ‘Saudi call’ has circulated half a dozen times over the years and has never produced anything verifiable.
Pairing it with the Epstein files bill is a classic tactic:
bundle a high-emotion topic with a low-evidence claim to make the latter feel more credible. It’s content architecture, not journalism.
If and when there’s actual documentation — not teasers, not adjectives — then it’s worth discussing. Until then, you’re being pulled into a hype cycle built to farm outrage and clicks.
Thanks for your opinion, Vincent. As I said elsewhere in a comment, I wanna know how you feel about the Bluesky lists. Check them out. When something happens in the news go to the Legal Experts list or the Diverse Opinion list to get experts and scholars take instead of the media you are not feeling. And see what the newsrooms I have in The News list say about what’s going on. I’d love feedback on if it works for you or not and why.
I disagree with your opinion. Thanks for getting his name out, though!! Now more people will watch him!
Interesting perspective. That being said, it’s hard to believe the death of journalism can be impacted by one source. It seems to me journalism is changing, not necessarily being killed, where quick soundbites are as valuable as depth of reporting.
I go with Parnas. MSM is not trustworthy anymore.