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Ezra sez:

I didn’t exactly wake up this morning thinking, “what I need to read is a brutal, almost overwhelming, takedown of the pseudoscience and snake oil that has come to define a large chunk of Oprah Winfrey’s show and brand.” But I’m sure glad I did.

Really?  I’ve popped out of bed on many mornings thinking exactly that.  And this week’s cover story in Newsweek delivers.

In fairness to Oprah, she’s not really any worse than the thousands of other purveyors of freak show voyeurism, inane pop psychology, and pseudoscientific nonsense that practically define the modern media universe.  But she’s by far the most influential.  Anyone who’s responsible for foisting even more of Jenny McCarthy on the world deserves whatever Newsweek can dish out.

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BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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