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This is Defector, a new sports blog and media company. We made this place together, we own it together, we run it together. Without access, without favor, without discretion, and without interference.

Defector

Patrick Redford

A splitscreen image. On the left, New York magazine reporter Olivia Nuzzi. On the right, former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Media Meltdowns

Sending Horny Texts To RFK Jr. Is Not A Public Service


<p>Luisa Rollenhagen is a German-Argentinian freelance journalist based in Berlin. She&#8217;s written for publications such as <em>The Guardian</em>, BuzzFeed News, Deutsche Welle, and <em>GQ</em>. </p>


Luisa Rollenhagen

POTSDAM, GERMANY - SEPTEMBER 22: Protesters gather outside the venue where members of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) were holding their election evening party in Brandenburg state elections on September 22, 2024 near Potsdam, Germany. The AfD entered the election today in a neck-and-neck race against the incumbent German Social Democrats (SPD).(Photo by Michele Tantussi/Getty Images)

Politics

What’s Driving The Rise Of The Far Right Among Young Germans?

Justin Ellis

Red crime scene tape marking off an area outside the Trump International Golf Club sign in West Palm Beach, Florida, as law enforcement investigate an apparent assassination attempt on Donald Trump.

Cope Is A Terrible Way Not To Die

New York Magazine Suspends Olivia Nuzzi Over “Inappropriate Relationship” With Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

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<div class="p-rich_text_section">Tom Scocca is the editor of <a href="http://indignity.net">Indignity</a>, a subscription-supported newsletter of news, essays, and commentary.</div>
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Tom Scocca

Donald Trump makes a loony-eyed face while speaking at IAC.

Where Racism Goes To Become Rhetoric

David Roth

Republican presidential candidate, former U.S. President Donald Trump (L) and Republican vice presidential candidate, U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) appear on the first day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum on July 15, 2024 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Delegates, politicians, and the Republican faithful are in Milwaukee for the annual convention, concluding with former President Donald Trump accepting his party's presidential nomination

What A Lie Is For

Donald Trump and Kamala Harris debate on September 10, 2024 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Donald Trump Talked Honestly About Policy

Alex Sujong Laughlin

A person stops to watch a TV screen at a bar in Washington D.C. showing the U.S. presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.

Who Won The Debate? The Swirling Existential Void That Will Consume Us All

a Washington Commanders helmet rests near the sidelines during the game between the Washington Commanders and the Miami Dolphins on Saturday, August 17, 2024 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla.

Disgraced Conservative Media Creep Gets Commanders Employee Fired With Hidden-Camera Video

Samer Kalaf

Patrick Beverley Reveals More Than He Intended About Life In Israel

Barry Petchesky

A man waves the Russian national flag as he arrives at the patriotic concert at the Red square in downtown Moscow ahead the Russia Day on June 11, 2023. (Photo by Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP) (Photo by KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP via Getty Images)

Dimwitted Right-Wing Influencers Accused Of Being Unwitting Russian Assets

A picture of Donald Trump at the first presidential debate next to a rendering of a trading card which includes a swatch of the suit he wore in that debate, taken from the website selling those cards.

Donald Trump Is Still Selling NFTs, Now Also Selling Trading Cards With Bits Of His Suit Embedded In Them

Donald Trump wears an ain't-I-a-stinker smirk while Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks onstage at a campaign event at which the latter announced the end of his presidential campaign and endorsement of the former.

Stupid And Contagious

Dave McKenna

Viewer discretion warning at the start of FBI PSA

Dadfector

Run, Hide, Fight, Die

Attendees calling for a ceasefire in Gaza demonstrate as President Joe Biden deliver the keynote speech during the first day of the Democratic National Convention on August 19, 2024,

Everyone At The DNC Speaks For Palestine, Except For Palestinians

<p>Hamilton Nolan is a journalist based in New York City. Subscribe to his work at <a href="https://www.hamiltonnolan.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.hamiltonnolan.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1687350200913000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0naFbUVOe-5ZgtPDtIM3gz">HamiltonNolan.com</a>.</p>


Hamilton Nolan

Patriot Games

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - AUGUST 19: Delegates from Florida chant "Lock him up," as Hillary Clinton talks about former President Donald Trump's criminal convictions during the first day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center on August 19, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois.

A Night With The Party Animals

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton waits to speak at the annual convention of the Rainbow/Push Coalition June 24, 2003 in Chicago, Illinois. Clinton said Bush Administration policies make likely the need for affirmative action programs for years to come.

Can The Pundits Pivot Toward The Center?

Republican vice presidential candidate, U.S. Sen J.D. Vance (R-OH) speaks during a press conference at the Shelby Township Police Department on August 7, 2024 in Shelby Township, Michigan.

Men On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown

<p>Nicholas Russell is a writer from Las Vegas.</p>


Nicholas Russell

Former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump leaves the stage during a commercial break as he participates in the first presidential debate of the 2024 elections with US President Joe Biden at CNN's studios in Atlanta, Georgia, on June 27, 2024.

Interviews

‘Know Your Enemy’ Host Matt Sitman Talks About Covering Politics Without Becoming A Hack

<p><a href="https://tomwhyman.com/">Tom Whyman</a> is a British philosopher.</p>


Tom Whyman

Far-right activists hold an 'Enough is Enough' protest on August 02, 2024 in Sunderland, England

U.K. Politicians Can’t Fix What They Broke

Giri Nathan

A picture of US President Donald Trump is seen during a prayer ceremony by the activists of Hindu Sena, a right wing group, for Trump's victory in the US presidential elections in New Delhi on November 3, 2020.

Donald Trump Bumbles His Way Toward A More Perfect “Kamala”

Republican vice presidential nominee U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) walks out with his wife Usha Vance to speak during a rally with running mate U.S. Republican Presidential nominee former President Donald Trump.

JD Vance, Who Loves His Wife Usha By The Way, Wants To Make Sure You Know He’s Not Racist

<p>Heather Chen is a former Defector intern and the managing editor at the <em>Columbia Daily Spectator</em>. She loves hockey, photography, and the good ol’ state of Michigan.</p>


Heather Wei-Xi Chen

A surfer in a blue wetsuit carries a light blue surfboard with him as he walks into the ocean. He is holding a Palestinian flag in his right hand and wearing a keffiyeh around his head.

The Great Outdoors

Surfers Show Solidarity At A Paddle-Out For Palestine

US Senator from Ohio and 2024 Republican vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance (R) gives a thumbs up as he shakes hands with US former President and 2024 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump during the second day of the 2024 Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, July 16, 2024. Days after he survived an assassination attempt Donald Trump won formal nomination as the Republican presidential candidate and picked right-wing loyalist J.D. Vance for running mate, kicking off a triumphalist party convention in the wake of last weekend's failed assassination attempt. (Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP)