Ben Smith | Secret Group Chats, Semafor, Media Fog of War Live on MTS

Ben Smith of Semafor joins MTS to discuss Marc Andreessen's retreat from media and the group chat era that followed, how Semafor was built to go straight up the middle on a polarized media landscape, and why the digital fog of war has made it harder than ever to know what's actually happening in real-time conflicts. He also reflects on BuzzFeed's collapse, the platform risk of building around X, and what Twitter has always needed but rarely had.--https://x.com/semaforben--MTS is a live news and interview show covering technology, business, politics, and culture as it happens.Follow MTS:X | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/MTSlive⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@mtsituation⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/4HUNNmV1pjV7CW6Lphm1rM⁠⁠⁠Apple | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mts/id1891088763⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Substack | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://mtslive.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Interested in sponsoring the show? ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠--Brought to you by:Granola - The AI notepad. Try it once and never go back. ⁠https://granola.ai/mts⁠Kong - The AI connectivity platform. Connect APIs, LLMs, agents, and systems with serious security and governance. ⁠https://konghq.com⁠Blitzy - Autonomous software development for enterprise codebases. Ship 5x faster. ⁠https://blitzy.com⁠Merge - OpenAI, Dropbox, and Ramp use Merge to get AI to production faster. ⁠https://merge.dev/mts⁠AdQuick - Make your brand a billboard. Out-of-home advertising as easy to scale as digital. ⁠https://adquick.com⁠Macroscope - AI codebase understanding for engineering leaders. ⁠https://macroscope.com/mts⁠⁠--Timestamps:(00:00) Introduction(00:36) Secret Group Chats and the Evolution of Modern Media Strategy(01:34) The Legacy of Clubhouse and Real-Time Intellectual Communities(02:58) Mark Andreessen and the Shifting Relationship Between VCs and Press(07:37) Analyzing the Media Narrative Around the 2016 Election and Tech Backlash(11:59) Evaluating the State of X and the Fragmentation of Social Discourse(13:46) Digital Media Fog of War and the Difficulty of Finding Truth in Conflict(17:42) The Collapse of Traditional Television and Everything Becoming Television(21:34) Building Semafor and Solving the Problem of Global News Polarization--Note: This podcast is not investment, legal, or tax advice, and is intended for informational and entertainment purposes only. Hosts and guests may hold positions in the companies and securities discussed; do your own research before acting on anything you hear