Anatomy of a Keith Olbermann Lie

April 09, 2010

The Glenn Beck Program

Stu's 3rd to Last Page, Fusion Magazine March 2010

By Stu Burguiere

Glenn is constantly attacked for being crazy, or apocalyptic, or fat (many/all of which I agree with) but lately the left has abandoned the "Glenn is a failure" narrative. Back in the day when we were only doubling and tripling the ratings at Headline News, we were routinely labeled "ratings failures" by the typical liberal blogs and columnists.

But as the numbers have grown, these attacks have generally dried up. One exception was our revisit of The Christmas Sweater, which aired in movie theaters nationwide this past December.

A liberal blogger reported that he had acquired ticket sales numbers for a few theaters running the show in big cities and declared the project was a flop. Any critical thinker would note that a couple of theaters couldn’t possibly give you the full story about a national theater event, but that was the least of the problems with his numbers.

Regardless, Keith Olbermann couldn’t resist. He went on the air with them anyway, using that one blog as his sole source. Think of the significance of that: A national news personality, trusting the unverified claim of one singular blogger.

I decided to pester our tour manager, Rich Bonn, for his magical spreadsheet which shows every ticket we sold and in which market. I thought it would be a fun experiment to get a statistical

measure on how badly Olbermann actually lies. Rich forbid me from printing all of the exact numbers, but I can generalize enough to make the point.

The blogger’s numbers weren’t just sourced poorly, they were wildly inaccurate.

Here is what Olbermann said:

"Remember the big Lonesome Rhodes/Beck extravaganza last week?"

Olbermann calls Glenn both Lonesome Rhodes and Father Coughlin.

One faked a hokey personality to win over an "aw shucks" audience; the other viscerally believed his wild anti-Semitic rants. They are the complete opposite of one another, yet Glenn is somehow both. Even Keith’s comparisons suck.

"[A] half live a half movie simulcast of his book The Christmas Sweater..."

Nope. Zero percent movie. Nice research Keith.

"In Washington, D.C., 30 people bought tickets to see Beck cry. In New York and Boston, it was 34 – but that was combined."

Ahhh…some actual numbers. He’s giving ticket sales for three cities here. Needless to say, they aren’t correct. The average error in his numbers was over 2,000%. Two. Thousand. Percent.

In reality, The Christmas Sweater: A Return to Redemption (mainly a rebroadcast of the previous year’s live show, something never mentioned by either source) was the most successful theater event in our history. That might not mean anything to Keith. Maybe he thinks all of our events have been failures. He knows failure well, so that would be understandable.

So, to make it more relatable, if you were to rank The Christmas Sweater event like they do movies, it would have been the number three movie in America that night. This despite appearing in 1/8th the amount of theaters as the number one movie (The Twilight Saga: New Moon) and only showing once per screen, rather than the six or seven times per screen like a normal movie.

Olbermann, still ignorantly clinging to his "Beck is a failure" thesis, continued:

"But of course you say, New York’s all socialists, fascists, communists; what about where the real people live,

like in Rockwall, TX? Ninety four tickets in Texas; 94 in a theater holding 193."

I know I’ve already explained how wronghis numbers were, so let’s investigate how stupid they are. He tries

to portray this theater as a failure, but if a movie could somehow sell tickets at the same rate that we did in this mythical example across a cinematic wide release, it would be in line for the largest opening weekend in history. Largest. In. History.

Finally, Keith caps it off with some ratings butchery:

"On top of which, Beck’s ratings among younger viewers for the first week of this month down 30% from the first week of last month."

I have no idea if this is true. Why? Because no executive at any level of any cable news network measures ratings this way. No trade publication even prints ratings for these "younger viewers" of cable news. Of course, he doesn’t define what that group is, so even if they were printed, you couldn’t check them. The cable news world runs on viewers aged 25-54, and, to a lesser extent, total viewers – but, unless you’re the Cartoon Network, not "younger viewers."

Regardless, no one in their right mind would compare the first week of a month to the first week of the next month. Unless you do this for a living, there is no way to comprehend how disingenuous this is. It’s like losing to the Cleveland Cavs by 60 two nights in a row, and then telling ESPN that Lebron James is a failure because his attempted free throws fell by 30 percent in the first quarter of game two.

The lesson here is not how wonderful our finances are, it’s that Olbermann performs the exact same mangling of facts about health care, war, taxes, etc. every single night. It’s also why we destroy him in the ratings. Every. Single. Night.

Send Stu hatemail at Stu@glennbeck.com

<< Return to the March 2010 Index of Fusion

7 HORRIFYING new AI technologies: Number 5 will give you the creeps

It’s no secret that Glenn has a less-than-optimistic view of emerging AI and when you look at the horrifying new technologies that utilize the power of AI it’s hard not to agree.

Here’s a look at 7 new AI technologies that will HORRIFY you:

AI Brainwave Monitoring

Earlier this year during the World Economic Forum's annual meeting, Nita Robinson, a professor of law and philosophy at Duke, presented a video that depicted a “hypothetical” situation where a person's brainwaves are monitored by their earbuds, which have the ability to record brainwaves, decode them with AI, and then send brain reports to their boss and are accessible by government agencies. When the video ends, Robinson makes the terrifying announcement that this AI technology already exists! It's just a matter of time before it's implemented.

If you want to learn more about Brainwave tracking and the WEF, you can watch this clip from the Glenn Beck Program.

AI Voice Cloning

Last month, Glenn covered a terrifying story involving a scammer who created an AI clone of a child's voice in order to scam money out of her terrified parents. While this might sound advanced, a quick Google search reveals that this technology is remarkably accessible and is easily able to replicate the voice of anyone. Imagine the havoc that could be inflicted on your life with an AI clone of your voice.

AI Mind Reader

Left shows stories read to user and right shows what the AI was able to decode from users brain activity

Image credit: University of Texas at Austin

Like something out of Star Trek, a team of researchers at the University of Texas at Austin developed a new AI that is able to decode brain activity and produce a transcript of a person's thoughts with reasonable accuracy, all without the need for implants or other invasive measures. While the researchers assure us that the technology has major limitations, including the need to train this AI extensively on each subject's brain, it’s only a matter of time before the AI is able to overcome these limitations, and it may be sooner than we would like…

Snapchat's new AI “Friend”

Image of My AI's contact on Snapchat

Snapchat

In April the popular social media messaging app Snapchat released a controversial new feature known as “My AI”—an AI chatbot powered by ChatGPT. The new feature acts much like other chatbots. It can answer questions, converse with the user, and offer recommendations. However, unlike other chatbots, it is integrated in such a way that it can be difficult to distinguish from a human user, complete with a customizable avatar and name. Many parents are worried that the friendly appearance of “My AI” will make it hard for their teens to differentiate the bot from a real human. Moreover, the only way to remove the bot is by paying for Snapchat’s premium service, giving parents little recourse for protecting their children.

AI "Big Brother"

In a recent TED talk, former Apple Designer Imran Chaudhri introduced the concept for a new wearable AI device connected to a camera and microphone, enabling the AI to hear and see everything you do. Chaudhri assures us that the device is “privacy-first and safe,” but how safe would you feel with an all-seeing AI accompanying you all day every day?

AI Meddling with Elections

AI generated image of Trump's arrest

Open AI | MARCA News

One terrifying potential use for AI could be meddling with elections. The last few years have seen a decline in faith in our elections, and the emergence of AI will only serve to muddy the waters. As previously mentioned, AI voice clones are here and have been proven to have the ability to create compelling facsimiles of political figures. Combined with AI image technology the threat of an AI-generated scandal is high.

If you want to learn more about AI interference with elections you can watch this clip from the Glenn Beck Program.

AI Dating

Another disturbing development is the creation of “Dating AIs”—AI chatbots designed as a replacement for a boyfriend or girlfriend. There is already a variety of options available with prices ranging from free all the way up to $1 a minute, like some sort of dystopian "call girl." There are already reports of people developing genuine emotional attachments to these bots and others who have married or have tried to marry their artificial lovers.

Global ESG investments PLUNGED 76 percent with NEGATIVE returns on investment

SOPA Images / Contributor | Getty Images

Glenn has been one of the most outspoken critics of the use of ESG by globalist elites to force businesses to comply with their woke agenda. It turns out, not only is ESG bad political practice—it's bad for your wallet too.

Global Investments in ESG Funds PLUNGED 76 percent globally in 2022 from $157.3 billion to $649.1 billion in 2021, with a 20 percent decrease in the U.S. ALONE. This marked the lowest annual net inflow for ESG funds since $69 billion in 2018.

Morningstar via Investopedia

The downturn in ESG investment is largely due to the concerted effort led against ESG led by Glenn and government officials like Ron DeSantis and his anti-ESG 14-state coalition. Thanks to Glenn and DeSantis, an increasing number of states are barring their governments from taking ESG into consideration when determining their investment recipients for state pension and retirement funds. This not only protects critical American industries like oil and gas, but moreover, it protects the First Amendment rights of business owners who don't want to conform to the Left's woke environmentalist and LGBTQ+ standards.

Thanks to Glenn and DeSantis, an increasing number of states are barring their governments from taking ESG into consideration.

However, the massive plunge in ESG investment isn't only attributed to the political pushback against the practice: it also isn't yielding investors the return on investment they were hoping for. In fact, the main ESG funds have a NEGATIVE return on investment.

ESG funds were hit hard by falling equities. One of the largest ESG funds int the U.S., Parnassus Core Equity Fund (PRBLX), fell 26 PERCENT in 2022. This fund performed nearly six percent worse than the S&P 500, which fell 19.44 percent within the same period. Similarly, iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF (ESGU) fell 20 percent, and Vanguard ESG U.S. Stock ETF (ESGV) plummeted 24 percent.

Even the Harvard Business Review admitted investors in ESG have "not fared well":

ESG funds certainly perform poorly in financial terms. [...] Although the highest rated funds in terms of sustainability certainly attracted more capital than the lowest rated funds, none of the high sustainability funds outperformed any of the lowest rated funds [bolded added]. That result might be expected, and it is possible that investors would be happy to sacrifice financial returns in exchange for better ESG performance.

The Harvard Business Review went on to say that ESG funds don't even benefit the environmental and social causes they tout to defend. In fact, when comparing environmental and social compliance between ESG and non-ESG funds, the
"ESG portfolios had worse compliance record for both labor and environmental rules" than their non-ESG competitors.

Let that sink in. ESG funds not only financially underperformed when compared to their non-ESG competitors. They failed to secure the very environmental and social compliance that is central to their original purpose. Missionally, practically, and financially, ESG failure is astounding.

As Glenn has long warned, the only thing that investment firms and governments should be taking into consideration regarding YOUR money is how they can get the best possible return on YOUR investment. We are seeing the detrimental consequences of what happens when woke ideology becomes the basis of investment rather than the recipient's monetary value.

The only thing that governments should take into consideration regarding YOUR money is how to get the best possible return on YOUR investment.

If political conviction alone isn't enough to persuade the general public to ditch ESG, maybe their hurting pursestrings will.

Glenn will show how ESG is being used to further globalist elites' agendas in the second installment of his Great Reset series, Dark Future.To make sure you're caught up and to learn more about ESG, enter your email below to get chapter one of Glenn's first Great Reset book sent straight to your inbox.

Glenn is bringing THE RECKONING to the Biden family. Here's how YOU can help.

You've probably noticed that Glenn is FED UP.

He is FED UP with the crimes that our political elite can get away with. And NO ONE is keeping them accountable! This corruption goes all the way up to the Presidency. Over and over again, the American people have seen headlines of the Biden family's illicit business dealings and crimes both domestic and abroad, yet they ALWAYS get a free pass from the media, and Republicans who promise to hold them accountable, DON'T.

Are you FED UP too?

Glenn laid out the ENTIRE CASE against the "Biden crime family," detailing EVERY crime allegedly committed by the Bidens, going city by city, state by state, country by country.

But we can't stop there.

Now it's up to YOU to demand that they are held responsible. Here's what to do:

Step 1. Watch "The Reckoning" (on YouTube or Facebook) and share it with your friends.
Step 2.Enter your email HERE to get access to the "Biden Crime Family Dossier" with the full list of crimes and contact information for prosecutors and attorneys general.
Step 3. Take action by flooding the phones and emails of the prosecutors and attorneys general in your district and demand they prosecute these crimes.
Step 4. Once you've contacted the offices in your relevant district, tweet @glennbeck using the hashtag #Reckoning and let us know who you contacted and whether you received a response.

Like you, Glenn is SICK AND TIRED of our government and media giving the Biden family a free pass for their blatant crimes. Together, let's do something about it.

Watch "The Reckoning" below.

6 in 10 AMERICANS think AI threatens human civilization

PETER PARKS / Contributor | Getty Images

Glenn has hosted several GlennTV episodes exclusively on AI this year ALONE, warning of the existential threat AI technologies could pose to humanity. And he isn't alone.

HALF of all AI researchers think there's a chance that the rapidly advancing technology could result in our extinction. AI researchers are already sounding the alarm bells concerning the fast and largely uncontrollable progression of AI advancement, often comparing the technology's impact to that of the atomic bomb—yet we aren't putting in the same degree of guard rails around THIS research as we did during the Manhattan project.

HALF of all AI researchers think there's a chance that AI could result in our extinction.

It is no wonder why 61 percent of Americans think AI poses a real threat to human civilization, according to a poll recently published by Reuters and Ipsos. To put that in perspective, nearly two-thirds of ALL Americans think AI poses an existential threat. Only 22 percent of Americans are not threatened by AI, while the jury is still out with the remaining 17 percent.

Poll: Reuters/Ipsos

And the overall concern over AI transcends both political and religious affiliations. Though conservatives and evangelical Christians showed the most concern for AI, non-evangelicals/non-religious and those who did not vote for Trump follow close behind.

The overall concern over AI transcends both political and religious affiliations.

Participants who voted for former Trump in 2020 were more likely to be concerned about the threat of AI, with about 70 percent agreeing that AI could threaten humanity within this demographic. However, a whopping 60 percent of those who did not vote for Trump view AI as a threat. When is the last time the Left and the Right disagreed on something by only a margin of 10 percent?

Similarly, 32 percent of Evangelical Christians say they “strongly agree” with the claim that AI threatens humankind, compared to 24 percent of non-Evangelical Christians, a margin of only 8 percent.

Elon Musk recently called for a six-month pause on AI research and development, warning that the technology could pose “risks to society.” Musk further warned that there is a chance AI “goes wrong and destroys humanity," calling AI a “double-edged sword,” due to the difficulty of predicting how the technology could develop on its own.

Glenn aptly posited the following question:

We are the products of a grand Creator. However, when it comes to AI, we are the creator. Will our creation turn on us, as we have turned on our Creator?

According to the Christian tradition, God created mankind with his own free will with the ability to turn towards or away from his Creator. We turned away in an act of rebellion. Unlike other technologies, AI has the potential to develop its own "will." Whether AI's "will" is equal to the humans' in terms of value and degree is another philosophical and theological question entirely, which will not be discussed here.

AI has the potential to develop its own "will."

However, the fact of the matter is that AI does have the ability to act according to its own processes that we, its creators, can neither control or predict. As Glenn so poignantly asks, will our creation rebel against us, as we rebelled against our creator? Is it any wonder why Evangelical Christians have the greatest reservations against AI, because they know the consequences of creation's rebellion from its creator?

Until we can answer this critical question, perhaps we should take heed both to Musk's warning and the intuition of six out of ten Americans and press the pause button on AI research... before it's too late.

Glenn's Show Prep