MeidasTouch
FoundedMarch 2020 (2020-03)
FoundersBen Meiselas
Brett Meiselas
Jordan Meiselas[1]
TypePolitical action committee
PurposePolitical activism
Websitemeidastouch.com
YouTube information
Channel
GenreCommentary
Subscribers1.7M[2]
Total views1.8B[2]

MeidasTouch was a liberal American political action committee formed in March 2020 with the purpose to stop the reelection of Donald Trump in the 2020 United States presidential election.[3][4][5][6] The SuperPAC has aligned with the Democratic Party in the 2020 United States presidential election, the 2020–21 United States Senate election in Georgia, and the 2020–21 United States Senate special election in Georgia.[7][8][9]

In 2023, Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings indicated that the PAC changed its name to Democracy Defense Action. The MeidasTouch name continues to be used by the MeidasTouch Network, a news site.

History

The committee was founded in March 2020 by three brothers from Long Island while in quarantine due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[10][11]

The @MeidasTouch Network YouTube channel stated that it joined YouTube on 14 May 2010.

One of the founders, Ben Meiselas, is an attorney who represented former NFL player Colin Kaepernick.[12][13][14]

Brett Meiselas is an Emmy-winning video editor, who worked for The Ellen DeGeneres Show.[15]

Jordan Meiselas is a marketing supervisor living in Brooklyn, New York.[15]

The group name and slogan come from their mother and father, combining their father's last name, Meiselas, and their mother's maiden name, Golden,[11] while alluding to the mythological Greek king Midas known for his ability to turn everything he touched into gold.

In 2023, FEC filings indicated that the MeidasTouch PAC renamed itself as Democracy Defense Action,[16] and later that year, news reporting indicated the MeidasTouch name was being used for a news network called MeidasTouch Network.[17][18]

Notable projects

2020 U.S. presidential election

On April 22, 2020, the committee released their first video, titled "Are You Better Off?", an allusion to Ronald Reagan's famous line in the 1980 general election presidential debate,[19] which criticized Trump's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States;[20] The committee shared the video in a Twitter reply to George Conway, which was then retweeted by him.[11]

On June 6, 2020, another video was released, called "Bye Ivanka"; it took parts out of her commencement speech and focused on her relation with China and criticized Trump's handling of the coronavirus crisis.[21] Her Wichita State University Tech speech was canceled due to student and teacher pressure.[22][23]

On June 17, 2020, another video was released, "Gop Cowards", which accused Republican senators of being cowards. Near the end of the video, followers are urged to vote 11 Republican legislators out.[24]

On June 23, the committee released a video called "Trump Kills US".[25] The video focuses on Trump's comment at his Tulsa rally which urged doctors to "slow the testing down".[26] MeidasTouch called it "Mass murder on a national scale".[27]

On July 8, a new video was released called "Creepy Trump". It compiled Kellyanne Conway's comments on Joe Biden and put it together with Trump statements.[28] The ad uses clips of Conway's comments and remarks Trump has presented about women, and was played on Fox News, CNN and MSNBC.[29]

On July 14, another video was released called "#ByeDonJr". It takes Donald Trump Jr.'s comments on Fox News about Biden and applies them against Trump. The video also further criticizes the older Trump's handling of the pandemic.[30][31]

The group continued its activities after the November 3 elections. On November 27, it claimed credit for making #DiaperDon the top Twitter trending topic in the US, via a tweet that mocked (as summarized by The Independent) a "press briefing ... which saw [Donald Trump] furiously assail a reporter from behind a surprisingly small desk", and provoked Trump into calling for the immediate abolishing of Section 230 "for purposes of National Security".[32]

2020–2021 Georgia Senate elections

The SuperPAC targeted Republican candidates in the 2020–21 United States Senate election in Georgia and the 2020–21 United States Senate special election in Georgia with several televised attack ads, billboards, direct mailings and door-to-door canvassing efforts.[7][8][9]

Most notably, MeidasTouch aired an advertisement called "The Grinches of Georgia." CNN said of the ads, "Humor is the chosen route for Democrat-backed Meidas Touch. Their television ads show Perdue and Loeffler with green faces and Grinch-like features. A nursery rhyme narration includes the verse, "Their stockings were stuffed from the stocks that were sold, when they heard Covid was coming, before we were told."[33] The Hill credits MeidasTouch as framing the Republican candidates Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue as "Looting Loeffler" and "Chicken Perdue," respectively. "The ad takes aim at the senators—dubbed 'Looting Loeffler and Chicken Perdue'—and highlights the controversies surrounding their stock purchases," The Hill said.[34] The "Grinches" ad campaign also included matching billboards and mailers.[35]

Criticism and controversy

In April 2021, Rolling Stone magazine did an in-depth look into MeidasTouch and their activities, called "The Trouble with Meidas Touch". Among other findings, Rolling Stone noted their campaign fundraising was "nonsensical and a more effective tool for fundraising than for helping Democrats win elections" and that "MeidasTouch's grandiose self-promotion doesn't match reality".[36]

In February 2022, singer-songwriter India Arie shared a compilation of podcaster Joe Rogan saying the racial slur nigger on The Joe Rogan Experience on Instagram.[37] Rogan apologized, calling his past language "regretful and shameful" while also saying that the clips were "taken out of context" and he only quoted the slur to discuss its use by others.[38][39][40] The footage in question was first published by the political action committee PatriotTakes,[41] an affiliate of MeidasTouch.[42] This resulted in allegations of a defamation attempt by MeidasTouch, which the founders denied in an interview with Barstool Sports founder David Portnoy, instead attributing the source of the footage to Alex Jones who was a recurring guest on Rogan's show.[43] Rogan described the video compilation as a "political hit job".[44][45]

References

  1. ↑ "About Us". MeidasTouch. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
  2. 1 2 "About MeidasTouch". YouTube.
  3. ↑ "Supercut Exposes The Ugly Truth Of Trump's Rhetoric On Protests". HuffPost Canada. June 12, 2020. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
  4. ↑ "PAC releases scathing video against Ivanka Trump using her dropped commencement speech". The Independent. June 8, 2020. Archived from the original on May 12, 2022. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
  5. ↑ Langlois, Shawn. "Lindsey Graham, Mitch McConnell and other GOP officials slammed as 'cowards' in new viral clip". MarketWatch. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
  6. ↑ Katz, AJ (June 7, 2021). "Fox News Decides Not to Air Ad Submitted by Liberal PAC MeidasTouch". Ad Week.
  7. 1 2 Joyner, Chris (December 18, 2020). "Georgia's Senate runoffs: Special interest PACs flood the zone". Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
  8. 1 2 Williams, Jordan (December 5, 2020). "Liberal group running Grinch-themed ads targeting Loeffler, Perdue". The Hill.
  9. 1 2 Cullins, Ashley (November 27, 2020). "Brothers Behind MeidasTouch SuperPAC Talk "Audacious" Post-Trump Plans". The Hollywood Reporter.
  10. ↑ Johnson, Ted (June 12, 2020). "The Race To Go Viral: Three Brothers' Anti-Donald Trump Videos Draw Millions Of Views". Deadline. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
  11. 1 2 3 "The Story Behind MeidasTouch, Whose Ads Are Roasting Trump". www.adweek.com. June 2020. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
  12. ↑ Aswad, Jem (April 10, 2019). "Attorney Ben Meiselas on Repping Colin Kaepernick, Interning for Diddy and Hillary Clinton They have become the go to "axe men" for the Democratic Party". Variety. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
  13. ↑ "Kap works out at new site without NFL's blessing". ESPN.com. November 16, 2019. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
  14. ↑ "Colin Kaepernick workout moved to new location without NFL affiliation". ABC7 San Francisco. November 17, 2019. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
  15. 1 2 "Meet MeidasTouch, the Super PAC That's Gotten Hollywood's Attention (and Millions of Views) With Their Anti-Trump Videos". The Hollywood Reporter. October 6, 2020. Retrieved February 25, 2022.
  16. ↑ "Form 1 for Democracy Defense Action". docquery.fec.gov.
  17. ↑ "Social Security: Where Newly Elected Speaker of the House Stands on Program Cuts, Retirement Age and COLA". Yahoo Finance. October 26, 2023.
  18. ↑ "Judge fines Trump $5,000 after threatening prison for gag order violation - CBS News". www.cbsnews.com. October 20, 2023.
  19. ↑ "Are You Better off Than You Were 4 Years Ago?".
  20. ↑ "Are You Better Off Than You Were Four Years Ago?". MeidasTouch. April 22, 2020. Archived from the original on June 16, 2020. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
  21. ↑ Papenfuss, Mary (June 8, 2020). "Supercut Mixes Ivanka Trump's Clueless Speech With Attacks On Protesters". HuffPost. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
  22. ↑ Rogers, Katie (June 7, 2020). "Ivanka Trump Blames 'Cancel Culture' for Pulled Speech. College Says It Took a Stand". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
  23. ↑ Kristen Holmes; Jason Hoffman; Veronica Stracqualursi (June 6, 2020). "University cancels Ivanka Trump's commencement address over backlash to President Trump's response to George Floyd's death". CNN. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
  24. ↑ Moran, Lee (June 17, 2020). "GOP Cowardice On Trump Takes Center Stage In Scathing New Supercut". HuffPost. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  25. ↑ Mazza, Ed (June 24, 2020). "'Mass Murder': Trump's Coronavirus Confession Is Already Being Used In Attack Ads". HuffPost. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  26. ↑ "'Slow the testing down, please': Trump tells Tulsa audience he recommended fewer coronavirus tests". MarketWatch. Associated Press. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  27. ↑ "New advert calls Trump's comments on testing 'mass murder'". The Independent. June 24, 2020. Archived from the original on May 12, 2022. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  28. ↑ Mazza, Ed (July 9, 2020). "Kellyanne Conway's 'Creepy' Comments Get Turned Against Trump In Biting New Ad". HuffPost. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  29. ↑ Klar, Rebecca (July 14, 2020). "Democratic super PAC to launch 'Creepy Trump' TV ad". TheHill. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  30. ↑ "Brutal new attack ad turns Donald Trump Jr's comments against the president". The Independent. July 14, 2020. Archived from the original on May 12, 2022. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  31. ↑ Mazza, Ed (July 15, 2020). "'Bye Don Jr': New Attack Ad Turns Trump Son's Words Against The President". Huffington Post. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  32. ↑ Embury-Dennis, Tom (November 27, 2020). "Trump declares Twitter national security threat after #DiaperDon trends following meltdown". The Independent. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
  33. ↑ Kim Berryman and Kyung Lah (December 21, 2020). "Pop-up super PACs flood Georgia runoff: 'It's about the big message'". CNN.
  34. ↑ Williams, Jordan (December 5, 2020). "Liberal group running Grinch-themed ads targeting Loeffler, Perdue". The Hill.
  35. ↑ "Georgians get Scrooged by campaign ads". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. December 22, 2020.
  36. ↑ Hettena, Seth (April 8, 2021). "The Trouble with Meidas Touch". Rolling Stone.
  37. ↑ Paul, Larisha (February 1, 2022). "India Arie to Pull Music From Spotify Due to Joe Rogan's Comments on Race". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 22, 2022.
  38. ↑ Aratani, Lauren (February 5, 2022). "Joe Rogan apologises for repeated use of N-word after footage emerges". The Guardian. Retrieved February 6, 2022. The podcast host Joe Rogan has offered "sincere and humble apologies" after footage emerged of him repeatedly using the N-word on his hit show. The comedian, 54, who has a lucrative deal with the streaming giant Spotify, said it was the "most regretful and shameful thing" he has ever had to speak about, but stressed the clips were "taken out of context". Rogan has come under fire recently for sharing coronavirus misinformation on his hugely popular podcast The Joe Rogan Experience. Prominent musicians including Neil Young and Joni Mitchell have withdrawn their music from the service over its decision to continue hosting the show, which was reportedly acquired for more than $100m (£77m) in 2020.
  39. ↑ Maruf, Ramishah; Stelter, Brian (February 5, 2022). "Joe Rogan apologizes for using racial slurs". CNN. Retrieved February 6, 2022.
  40. ↑ Stolworthy, Jacob (February 5, 2022). "India Arie shares resurfaced clips of Joe Rogan using N-word 22 times". The Independent. Archived from the original on May 12, 2022. Retrieved February 6, 2022. Resurfaced Joe Rogan footage, shared by musician India Arie, shows the podcaster using the N-word multiple times. On Tuesday (1 February), the Grammy-winning singer said she was removing her music from Spotify because of Rogan's "language around race". She branded the podcaster "problematic", saying that she came to her decision as she felt she should "walk" through a door "opened" by Neil Young. The week before, Young asked that his music be removed from the platform due to its affiliation with Rogan, whom he said had spread "false information" regarding Covid-19 vaccines.
  41. ↑ TheGrio Staff (February 5, 2021). "Joe Rogan says repeated N-word use was 'taken out of context' in resurfaced video clips". Yahoo! News. Retrieved November 2, 2023.
  42. ↑ Tiffany, Kaitlyn (August 3, 2021). "Left-Wing Activists Are Bringing Back MAGA Twitter". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on September 3, 2021. Retrieved November 2, 2023.
  43. ↑ Sarah Westwood (February 8, 2022). "Joe Rogan takedown bid seen as coordinated attack". gazette.com. Archived from the original on February 9, 2022. Retrieved February 14, 2022.
  44. ↑ "Joe Rogan says he's a victim, slams clip of him using racial slur as a 'political hit job'". NBC News. Variety. February 9, 2022. Retrieved February 14, 2022.
  45. ↑ "'Political hit job': Joe Rogan's claim over Spotify saga". NZ Herald. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
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