Critical Sunday Message from Meidas Founder MeidasTouch Network and Ben Meiselas May 18 By Ben Meiselas It’s Sunday. I have a few important observations I want to share today. Let’s grab a coffee—or whatever drink you prefer—and chat. First, I think you can mark this week as the official moment in history when corporate news died. It’s officially over. Yes, they’ve been circling the drain for some time now. Since the November election, they’ve exposed themselves clearly as being agents of the Trump regime with their total capitulation and gleeful subservience. But this week in particular, their coordinated attacks on former President Biden to distract from Donald Trump’s collapsing presidency really sealed the deal. I think people were beyond fed up with the corporate news before this week, but some were willing to check back every now and then, hoping for corporate news to grow some modicum of something resembling a spine. However, this week, corporate news revealed full complicity with the fascist Trump agenda by focusing on attacks on the former President instead of Trump’s criminality. Relatedly, my second observation is that Trump had the worst week in the history of any presidency. Think about it. The week started with Trump caving to China and reducing 145% tariffs to 30%, with China giving no concessions. China hosted meetings with Latin American and Caribbean countries where President Xi mocked Trump as a reckless bully without even having to utter Trump’s name. The week concluded with the credit agency Moody’s reducing the United States credit score for the first time in the history of Moody’s. Trump lost a major Supreme Court case involving his powers under the Alien Enemies Act. Trump and Putin were too afraid to show up in Istanbul, Turkey, where Ukrainian President Zelenskyy showed up to talk peace. Trump was bragging about Qatar gifting him a $400 million jet. Trump’s budget blew up in the GOP-controlled House Budget Committee. Could it get any worse than this? This is why corporate news was in desperate cover-up mode for him. Third, there was a massive shift in the coverage of the week’s events which cemented independent media as the main source of news for people now. Whether it was MeidasTouch Network being recognized as the Podcast of the Year at The Webby Awards or MeidasTouch having multiple shows top the new podcast charts by YouTube, the lack of relevancy of corporate news was on full display (remember to add the MeidasTouch Podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify). Good riddance to corporate news! As they try to push dangerous and tired manufactured narratives, the people get what’s going on. There has been a wholesale rejection of their terrible coverage. This all coincides with a major milestone for me. I turn 40 tomorrow. This has been a challenging year for sure. But with you by my side, it has been rewarding. The MeidasMighty is like family to me, and I am so grateful to you. I approach my 40th birthday feeling genuine hope about the future. I am not afraid. I am driven with purpose and a clear vision for what we need to build together. I am honored that the MeidasTouch Network is not only the top independent media network but also the most consumed news network in general across digital platforms. With that comes an awesome responsibility we take very seriously. As I wrap this post up, I want to encourage you to become a subscriber today to this Substack if you have not done so yet. We are up against networks like Fox and podcasts like Joe Rogan that are funded by billions of dollars. The MeidasTouch Network has grown with zero outside investors. That’s right—zero. But we genuinely need your help to keep our independent media network growing. So if you are not a subscriber, please subscribe now, and if you are a subscriber, please consider gifting a subscription to someone you know. We appreciate you so much, Meidas Mighty. We will prevail now—for generations to come. Thanks for subscribing. Meidas+ is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.