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this post was submitted on 18 Apr 2026
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Don't know the exact context to this story because it just popped up on my feed, but it reminds me of a Chomsky interview about his book "Manufacturing concent". The book deals with the western media and how it controls conversations by setting the overton window.
Andrew Marr: How can you know that I'm self-censoring? How can you know that journalists are...
Noam Chomsky: I’m not saying you’re self-censoring. I’m sure you believe everything you’re saying. But what I’m saying is that if you believed something different, you wouldn’t be sitting where you’re sitting.
Isn't that the guy who was giving Epstein advice on dealing with his reputation as a sex offender?
Yeah, I honestly don't know what to make of that, it's personally a real letdown as Chomsky's power came from truth telling and moral clarity, and then he hangs out with that fucking pedo. I'm not sure what he was accused of specifically. I thought it was that he had dinners with Epstein. I hadn't heard he advised him. That'd be next level bad.
However, I don't think that changes his analysis. Either it's valid or not.
He exchanged emails in 2019, advising Epstein on how to rebuild his reputation and lementing how hysterical people are about abuse of women.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce9ykjlyv50o
This is after his 2008 conviction for soliciting a minor as part of his plea deal to avoid going to trial where the prosecution had identified 36 victims between the ages of 14 and 17.
So I guess Chomsky's well honed epistemology wasn't able to detect a pattern here, or his moral clarity is worth spit. I'm fine with either because I think he's correct about 70% of the time, and a populist grifter for the rest.