| | | | | Good morning. Mark Zuckerberg's changes at Meta have taken the spotlight; appearing on Joe Rogan's podcast the other day, Zuckerberg revealed the truth about the Biden administration's unhinged crackdown on his company. We'll be covering this story in the coming days, but Meta and many other companies are shifting right — and quickly. | Mentioned in this edition: Ron DeSantis, Kevin O'Leary, Frank McCourt, Jeff Bezos, Kamala Harris, RFK Jr., Melania Trump, Mark Zuckerberg, Piers Morgan, Rupert Murdoch, Dana White, Adam Mosseri, Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly, McDonald's, Sweetgreen, major business moves, censorship accusations, and more. | | Have tips? Send them to me at ari@upward.news |
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| | | WHAT WE'RE WATCHING | | 📉 DEI collapses following DeSantis' Stop Woke Act. Florida's diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives have faced considerable setbacks because of the 2022 Stop Woke Act, championed by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R). Some businesses say they've lost 50 percent of their business by scaling back or eliminating DEI programs altogether, as the bill sought to restrict the teaching of certain concepts related to race, gender, and systemic oppression in workplaces, schools, and colleges. | 🏛 The Supreme Court appears ready to uphold the TikTok ban. The justices debated whether banning TikTok violates free speech and appeared likely to uphold the US ban. Right-leaning Shark Tank investor Kevin O'Leary, along with billionaire Frank McCourt — the former owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers — announced they are spearheading a group of investors making a bid for the app before it faces a January 19 ban from the US market. | 📰 Washington Post faces layoffs amid internal turmoil. The Washington Post is set to lay off dozens of staffers, with insiders describing the cuts as "deep," following financial struggles and controversy over its refusal — supposedly led by owner Jeff Bezos — to endorse Kamala Harris for president. The layoffs are expected to further erode morale at the struggling, left-leaning newspaper, which has already undergone a "talent exodus" in recent weeks. | 🥗 Sweetgreen embraces seed oil-free options. The fast-casual chain has introduced a new menu featuring avocado oil-based dressings to cater to health-conscious customers wary of seed oils like canola and sunflower. This move reflects how even major corporate chains are responding to Americans — often aligned with RFK Jr.'s Make America Healthy Again movement — who want foods free from potentially harmful products. |
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| | | 👀 WHO WE'RE WATCHING | 🔒 This section is for members only | Mentioned behind the paywall: Melania Trump, Mark Zuckerberg, Piers Morgan, Rupert Murdoch, Dana White, Adam Mosseri, the ADL, the European Commission, McDonald's, a $40 million Amazon deal, major corporate changes, Instagram, and refuting censorship accusations. | |
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| | | Bannon vs. Musk? The Next Four-Year Battle with Raheem Kassam | | Raheem Kassam is a British political commentator, author, and journalist. He has served as the editor-in-chief of The National Pulse and was formerly a senior advisor to Nigel Farage during his leadership of the UK Independence Party. | I sat down with Raheem to discuss the incoming Trump administration. One key takeaway: a brewing battle between Elon Musk's faction and Steve Bannon's. | This was before the H1-B debate dominated the conversation on the right, but it perfectly aligns with what we talked about. The H1-B fight, as we see it, was just the beginning—bigger internal battles are on the horizon for Trump's camp. | Raheem: Steve [Bannon] had no love lost for Elon Musk until last summer, when he put his money where his mouth is. Steve's attitude is: look, if you're going to do it, if you'll be on our side and put hundreds of millions on our side, then fine, I can forgive your past transgressions because of that. | There will be a lot of issues and incidents over the next months and years where Musk will not be thinking in the same direction as Steve. Especially with China, that's a big problem. Musk has been heavily investing in and partnering with China for a long time. And the banks that he partnered with to buy Twitter — there are going to be problematic moments. | We're all grown-ups. We're big boys, and we can take it. But if anyone thinks the next four years will be internal kumbaya, they've got another thing coming. | |
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