this post was submitted on 17 Feb 2026
1029 points (98.9% liked)

Technology

81534 readers
4260 users here now

This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.


Our Rules


  1. Follow the lemmy.world rules.
  2. Only tech related news or articles.
  3. Be excellent to each other!
  4. Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
  5. Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
  6. Politics threads may be removed.
  7. No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
  8. Only approved bots from the list below, this includes using AI responses and summaries. To ask if your bot can be added please contact a mod.
  9. Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed
  10. Accounts 7 days and younger will have their posts automatically removed.

Approved Bots


founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 

Hacker News.

Late-night host Stephen Colbert accused his network, CBS, of refusing to broadcast his interview with Texas Rep. James Talarico, a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, during Monday night’s airing of “The Late Show” for fear of running afoul of the Trump administration.

Colbert said CBS canceled Talarico’s appearance on air in light of guidance issued Jan. 21 by Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr, which directed daytime and late-night TV talk show hosts to offer equal airtime to all political candidates running for a given office. Talk shows have long been exempted from these “equal time” rules when conducting “bona fide news interviews,” allowing them to book political candidates without bringing on their opponents.

Talarico “was supposed to be here, but we were told in no uncertain terms by our network’s lawyers, who called us directly, that we could not have him on the broadcast,” Colbert said in a segment explaining the cancelation. “Then I was told in some uncertain terms that not only could I not have him on, I could not mention me not having him on. And because my network clearly doesn’t want us to talk about this, let’s talk about this.”

The interview was set to air on Monday night’s show the day before the start of early voting for Texas’ March 3 primaries. Talarico is vying for the Senate Democratic nomination against U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Dallas.

top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world 17 points 1 day ago (4 children)

Talarico seems to have his shit together. That said, keep your religion the fuck outta government. It’s fine pointing out the religious hypocrisy and charlatans in politics, but opening the door to religion, even if the individual is agreeable, is a bad idea.

[–] JoshuaFalken@lemmy.world 19 points 1 day ago (4 children)

Are you suggesting only agnostics should govern?

Talarico said in the interview he wants the separation of church and state to return as the current blend diminishes both.

[–] RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Wouldn’t that be something?

But that’s not what I said. I said keep your religion outta my government. I didn’t say you couldn’t have religion.

[–] JoshuaFalken@lemmy.world 5 points 1 day ago (1 children)

In the statement "keep your religion outta my government", the line between 'keep your religious beliefs from influencing governmental decision making' and 'people belonging to a religion should be restricted from participating in the running of government' is quite fine, which is why I asked.

I appreciate your answering.

Ok, I see your point. It is a fine line. But I’m trying to make the distinction here that Talarico’s popularity is in a large part because of his vocal religious take. I firmly believe in separating church and State, and just because I agree with what one “church” is saying doesn’t mean we should invite the devil in the door yet again.

load more comments (3 replies)
[–] Notyou@sopuli.xyz 6 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Did you listen to his interview?

He states that his belief is that the separation of Church and State should 100% be protected. Not just to protect the government but to protect the religion, so it doesn't get taken advantage of by political movement like Christian Nationalists.

He mainly pushed love God and love your neighbor. If you loved your neighbor, then you wouldn't push your religion or any other belief on them.

I'm paraphrasing but that's what I got out of it. I think he's someone that could break through to some of the religious right.

[–] RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

I have listened to several of his interviews. That’s why I even bother to indicate I appreciate his take. Pardon me if I treat someone with skepticism riding heavily on a platform that is at minimum rehotorically religious stating they believe in separation of church and State.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] UltraMagnus@startrek.website 4 points 1 day ago

I'm torn on this - Christianity (particularly evangelical christianity) has had an extremely negative effect on democracy in our country and has caused physical harm to others.

However, I think most people with a conscience subscribe to some form of philosophy or religion (even if atheists aren't "loyal" to any particular perspective and may not even use titles/categories to describe their value system) and I think it's fine for your morals/conscience to influence decision making. Even a purely scientific decision making process could be considered a form of philosophy.

That being said, most organized religion is about obedience to the tenets of said religion, not a method of asking questions about the world to try to find the most just way to proceed.

[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 4 points 1 day ago

The US has been ChristoFascist for decades, banning stem cell research, stopping vaccines, every President has to attend some bullshit church, even the pedophiles.

[–] roofuskit@lemmy.world 253 points 2 days ago (3 children)

Remember, CBS is now owned by a Trump ally.

[–] ceenote@lemmy.world 153 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (2 children)

Correct, they refused to air it not out of fear of the FCC, but out of fear of that Texans might like what Talarico has to say.

[–] baltakatei@sopuli.xyz 28 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Texas flips blue is on my Bingo card.

That would be awesome.

[–] Serinus@lemmy.world 20 points 2 days ago (2 children)

And it's a hell of a brave thing Colbert and crew are doing in speaking out.

They're patriots at a time when speech isn't free.

load more comments (2 replies)
load more comments (2 replies)
[–] protist@mander.xyz 181 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (8 children)

You can still (and should) watch it on YouTube!

Rep. James Talarico On Confronting Christian Nationalism, And Strange Days In The Texas Legislature

Edit: If you feel so inclined, you can donate to his US Senate campaign here: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/jt-tx-web

[–] jballs@sh.itjust.works 60 points 2 days ago (1 children)

That guy was super well spoken and had a good message. I'm surprised I hadn't heard of him before. Always nice to see the Streisand Effect in action!

[–] mPony@kbin.earth 22 points 2 days ago

He was definitely well spoken and definitely had a good message. It's not at all surprising that we haven't heard of him.

[–] Reygle@lemmy.world 30 points 2 days ago (1 children)

If the link goes dark I've pulled copy, hit me up.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] qualia@lemmy.world 19 points 2 days ago

The joy of his Colbert Report is finally returning to him.

load more comments (5 replies)
[–] chillpanzee@lemmy.ml 103 points 2 days ago (6 children)

It's subservience, not fear on CBS's part.

Good on Colbert for bringing a little Streisand effect to the party.

[–] melsaskca@lemmy.ca 5 points 1 day ago (1 children)

It's subservience because of fear.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] Serinus@lemmy.world 19 points 2 days ago

Subservience to the FCC and the administration is the excuse. The real reason is that David Ellison is afraid the dem might win.

The majority owner of CBS is Paramount Global, which itself is controlled by Skydance Media, a company led by David Ellison (son of Larry Ellison), following a significant acquisition of the Redstone family's stake in mid-2025.

load more comments (4 replies)
[–] frazw@lemmy.world 89 points 2 days ago (5 children)

Banning something is a sure fire way to give it oxygen. Streisand effect

The problem Trump has in doing this type of suppression is that it gains more attention and riles people up more than if he had let the interview air. Sure the interview might have said things he didn't want to be said, but now he has made this a much bigger issue and he looks weak because he is scared at the mere prospect of some words being uttered.

[–] furzegulo@lemmy.dbzer0.com 63 points 2 days ago (1 children)

i wouldn't have watched the interview if cbs hadn't cancelled it

[–] FauxLiving@lemmy.world 49 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Same

And, in hindsight, I'm glad I did. That guy has the right idea.

He said 'It's not left vs right, it's top vs bottom'.

Exactly what we need our politicians to be acknowledging

[–] samus12345@sh.itjust.works 19 points 2 days ago (1 children)

No wonder the Trump regime didn't want it aired. Nothing is more dangerous to them than pointing out that the culture war is fabricated to distract from the class war so the poors don't realize that the billionaires are their enemies, not immigrants and trans people.

[–] FauxLiving@lemmy.world 15 points 2 days ago

Yeah, the guy seems like a Christian that follows the bible (I've since watched other Interviews) and wants to practice the 'love thy neighbor' part and not the 'hate the gays and abortion' part (which, as he points out, do not exist).

That's a good kind of person to run in Texas, Jesus was a socialist after all...

[–] BreadstickNinja@lemmy.world 40 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Yep, and Colbert has no reason to pull any punches either. They already canceled his show to appease the administration. Why would Stephen hesitate to tell the world every time CBS bends the knee?

Good on him for calling out every time they act as state propaganda and not a news network.

[–] Darkcoffee@sh.itjust.works 18 points 2 days ago

If they cancel the show earlier they can't pretend to be impartial, and Colbert gets paid the rest of his contract without having to do any work.

Plus they'll be in the real news for a week lol

[–] Ulrich@feddit.org 12 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Banning something is a sure fire way to give it oxygen.

Depends. Stephen says he was told not to tell anyone on air that they couldn't air it. Assuming that's true, and he had decided to comply, no one really would have known. It's only through his (presumed) bravery that we've all seen it.

load more comments (2 replies)
load more comments (2 replies)
[–] LoafedBurrito@lemmy.world 56 points 2 days ago (1 children)

This stunt has caused the video to get 100 times the views it would normally get. I watched it and i never catch the colbert report unless i stumble across is online.

The Trump administration is doing their best to destroy this country, but even republicans know you don't touch the first amendment.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] FreeLikeGNU@lemmy.world 36 points 2 days ago (14 children)

Talarico is vying for the Senate Democratic nomination against U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Dallas.

Interesting. Crockett is one of the very few Dems willing if not just able to navigate through Republican tactics. What could Talarico offer?

[–] Triasha@lemmy.world 11 points 1 day ago

Talerico. Brings his sincerity, faith, and working class background in in one of the poorest school districts in the country. He has integrity and and a way of invoking Christianity that I think resonates in Texas. He appeals to a broad swath of voters without compromising his progressive ideals.

I would vote for Crocket if she wasn't up against Talerico. But as is, I think he has a better shot at the general and I trust him more.

[–] prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Literally the only defining feature I've seen listed about him is that he's very Christian.

So yeah... Not a big fan of that.

[–] mcv@lemmy.zip 2 points 1 day ago

Not for you perhaps, but for a lot of people that's important. There are way too many people who falsely think the Republicans are the Christian party, and that's unfortunately helped by Christians who separate their faith from politics. It's vital that more Christians speak out about the hypocrisy and perversion of the "Religious Right", or uninformed people will continue to be led astray by them.

It's not good for you either if they continue to vote Republican, so give him this opportunity to set them straight.

[–] CarnivorousCouch@lemmy.world 10 points 2 days ago

He's good at messaging from a Christian left perspective. Before I deleted social media, some of his more viral moments on the Texas House floor would make it to my feed. I liked what I heard, but I'm not a Texas resident or voter so Crockett vs Talarico is someone else's judgement call to make.

[–] EncryptKeeper@lemmy.world 6 points 1 day ago

Talarico resonates with the deeply Christian left

load more comments (10 replies)
[–] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 29 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Brilliant bit of marketing to blare "We've been censored by the FCC!" from the rooftops, on the day the Texas primary starts.

[–] bagsy@lemmy.world 15 points 2 days ago

It's the Orson Wells playbook. "See the movie that the Hersts dont want you to see!!"

Still brilliant either way.

[–] nednobbins@lemmy.zip 14 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Talarivo and Crockett both seem like good candidates at first glance.

Neither should be censored.

[–] lechekaflan@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Meanwhile fucking ROGER STONE is still breathing and has a soapbox.

[–] panda_abyss@lemmy.ca 21 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (4 children)

Not to say this story isn’t important, self censorship at the hands of the state is…

But what does this have to do with technology?

Important story, wrong place friend.

[–] Beep@lemmus.org 36 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

I believe that communications/media broadcasting are under the technology umbrella.

load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments (3 replies)
load more comments
view more: next ›