Conservative Influencers Paid off by Coca Cola?!, CIA Trying to Find the Ark of the Covenant?, Ex-VP Candidate Accuses Google of Vaccine Coverup (The Five for 03/28/25)
Most anticipated summer movies. 90's pop/ska legends return after 30 years. LeBron James pairs up with legendary point guard for podcast.
Hey, welcome to The Five, a publication about the stories that matter, but don’t always make the front page.
This one’s a bit late…but let’s dive into Culture & Commentary.
[one]
Right wing influencers are taking bribes from…big soda?!
The American Beverage Association (ABA) on Tuesday denied that it paid influencers on X to denigrate proposals to restrict soda from items eligible for SNAP benefits, more commonly referred to as food stamps.
Though the ABA has made clear they don’t support SNAP restrictions on soda, Merideth Potter, the organization’s vice president of public affairs, told The Daily Wire during a press conference “clearly and emphatically” that they did not pay influencers on X.
“There’s been some misinformation and concern growing online over the weekend that American Beverage paid influencers to post about SNAP restrictions, and I can tell you clearly and emphatically that’s false,” Potter said. “We don’t know who started that, or where that’s coming from, but we did not authorize or coordinate any such campaign.”
Over the past week or so, numerous conservative influencers began posting very similar messages on X about how restricting soda from SNAP is government overreach, a violation of personal choice, and politically unpopular. The posts also almost uniformly mentioned President Donald Trump’s love for Diet Coke, and mirrored talking points put forth by the soda industry group.
In a statement sent to The Daily Wire on Tuesday, ABA President and CEO Kevin Keane further echoed the denial. “The unsubstantiated suggestion that American Beverage paid for coordinated influencer postings on X is false,” he said. “We remain unapologetic in representing an iconic American industry that fuels America. The millions of Americans whose jobs are supported by beverage manufacturing, distribution and sales deserve nothing less.”
I’m not sure I would chock this up to “paid influencer” territory here, as people who are right of center tend to be against government overreach…but I wouldn’t completely rule it out.
[two]
Well, this is interesting.
MSNBC torched Steven A. Smith for a debate between the sportscaster and conservative podcast host Ben Shapiro. If you haven’t seen it yet, keep in mind that the pair disagree on literally everything for an hour…but don’t result to petty insults and name calling.
Smith’s far-right sympathies have seemed clear to me for years. I still remember, as a high schooler, witnessing his weak defense — interestingly enough, on MSNBC — of right-wingers who formed the anti-Obama tea party back in 2009. And a report I covered last year, highlighting various platforms that disseminate right-wing propaganda and misinformation among Black audiences, listed Smith’s show as one of the top culprits.
Last year, for example, Smith told his friend Sean Hannity, whose Fox News show he has appeared on numerous times, that liberals were weaponizing the legal system to stop Donald Trump’s momentum ahead of the 2024 election.
“Primarily, I have voted Democrat throughout my life, but I’m utterly disgusted with what I’m seeing,” he said.
Smith’s embrace of the MAGA movement and its influencers has only continued since then. In recent days, for example, he has spoken with right-wing commentators Ben Shapiro, Megyn Kelly and Bill O’Reilly. You might be thinking that these were adversarial chats between a left-leaning “centrist” and a conservative — but to adroit listeners, they can come across more as conservatives in friendly discussion than anything else.
In his conversation with Shapiro, in which the two disagreed over whether Trump should pardon Derek Chauvin in the murder of George Floyd, Smith called Shapiro “a pretty brilliant dude.” Smith also praised the job Shapiro has done at The Daily Wire, the platform he launched that has become a cesspool of right-wing propaganda.
Appearing on Kelly’s show, Smith said “it’s just so bad on the left right now,” called himself a centrist — and said it would be a “cakewalk” for him to win the Democratic primaries for president in 2028.
And while hosting O’Reilly, Smith accused Democrats of “hypocrisy” because Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., used words like “waste” and “abuse” years ago while discussing Medicare. This seemed like odd bothsidesism that lacked context and gave Smith an opportunity to do what he’s been known to do lately: target liberals and provide the Trump administration some cover.
Taking this one a piece at a time.
A). If Democrats want to lose forever, this is definitely how to do it. Republicans are currently hurting their brand with Trump’s vehicle tarriffs…rather than just stand back and later the other side screw up, the left side of the aisle has to increase the stupidity meter.
To win in American politics, all you have to do is not be stupid. Neither side can do that for very long.
B). Whatever Smith said about the Tea Party (a thing no longer in existence) in 2009…nobody cares. The link goes to an old Deadspin article, commenting on a video that isn’t even on the internet.
C). After disagreeing on the topic for an hour, Smith did call Shapiro a “pretty brilliant dude.” That’s not the same thing as agreeing with his points here, you dolt.
D). The mainstream media likes to complain that independent journalism (outlets like this one) are not credible because they often don’t have editorial oversite/pushback (The Five is just me…no editor/third party that I have to get approval by).
Meanwhile, mainstream outlets put out garbage like this, with painfully unreliable/inaccurate sources. I would have never used random YouTube videos and 15-year-old reaction takes that would have never passed editorial when I was in corporate journalism.
E). MSNBC, as a network, is only slightly larger than Stephen A. Smith’s Show on ESPN…so it’s quite possible this is a good old fashioned case of jealousy.
[three]
One of the most polarizing figures on the internet managed to make atheism look pretty bad this week.
On March 23, Khalifa posted on X (formerly Twitter) the following statement:
“Becoming hyper-religious in adulthood is a sign of low intelligence, not enlightenment.”
Yes, you read that correctly. Low intelligence. Not a spiritual rebirth, not a moral compass, but sheer idiocy, according to Khalifa. This bold proclamation sent social media into a frenzy. Within hours, her tweet clocked over 1.5 million views, sparking furious debates, heated think-pieces, and, predictably, furious backlash from religious communities and influencers alike.
But Khalifa was far from done lighting the match. Shortly after the initial tweet, she followed up with a pointed clarification, differentiating between genuine believers and, as she put it, opportunistic phonies:
“There’s nothing I find more beautiful than religion and people who have the discipline to live their life by it ethically and responsibly. But these rising voices of f***boys turned pastors and clubrats turned women of god selling a far-right image…. y’all. They’re degenerates with 501(c)(3)’s. Cmon.”
For those unfamiliar, the reference to “501(c)(3)” is a jab at non-profit, tax-exempt status, implying these newfound spiritual leaders are leveraging religion for personal profit and clout rather than genuine faith. Khalifa paints a picture of grifters swapping out vodka shots for Bible verses overnight, only to rake in donations and political power.
First off, Khalifa is allowed to live and speak as she pleases, as all American citizens enjoy. Had she not immigrated with her family from Lebanon, she would have been imprisoned or beheaded (probably just imprisoned—Lebanon is a more tolerant Muslim nation than Iran, et. al.)
But as far as her theory that religion is low IQ…how much brainpower does Mia’s chosen career take, exactly?
The money accusation falls apart as well, as the only reason Khalifa is worth $10M is that she was willing to film porn wearing a Muslim hijab on her head (Mia was raised Catholic). Again, she’s free to do say and do as she pleases, but the only reason she’s rich is that she used porn to mock Islam, and became viral on social media as a result.
The thing that sticks out here is that Gen Z is becoming increasingly religious, as is America as a whole…and that makes some people very, very uncomfortable.
The nuanced arguments of “reasonable atheist” movement that took off in the 90’s and 00’s appears to be replaced by the “Old Man Yells at Cloud” meme from the Simpsons…and that aint exactly a persuasive tool that’s gonna change many minds.
[four]
Well…the CIA tried using psychics to find the Ark of the Covenant…and now we have the documents confirming this happened.
Declassified CIA documents claim that the mystical Ark of the Covenant was located by a psychic decades ago in the Middle East as part of one of the intelligence agency’s experimental, secret projects in the 1980s.
The Ark of the Covenant was thrust back into the spotlight as globetrotting archaeologist Indiana Jones attempted to uncover the artifact in Steven Spielberg’s 1981 Oscar-winning Raiders of the Lost Ark.
According to Jewish and Christian tradition, the gold-plated wooden chest housed the two tablets bearing the Ten Commandments, which God, in theology, gave to Moses between the 13th and 16th centuries BC.
The CIA conducted experiments as part of the secret Project Sun Streak with individuals known as “remote viewers”, a type of clairvoyant, who claimed they could project their consciousness to receive information about faraway objects.
There is no credible scientific evidence that remote viewing exists, and it is generally regarded as pseudoscience.
Well... dang.
[five]
As always, let's close out the hoeqquse to with a pop culture roundup…
[movies] Toy Story 5 is happening for sure. Sigh. That’s probably a bad idea. || The future of James Bond is now in the hands of Amy Pascall (Spiderman: Home Trilogy) and David Heyman (the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts movies) || Fandango release a list of the most anticipated summer movies:
[shows] Netflix’s TV adaptation of the hit video game series Devil May Cry will feature a new song from Evanescence. || Sitcom Malcom in the Middle will get a four-episode reboot on Disney+ following the adult children who were kids in the last series.
[music] Alt-rock vets Incubus finished their first album in 8 years. || 90’s piracy website Napster, which burned down the music industry and led to the creation of iTunes, and then music streaming (and the loss of billions of dollars) was sold for $200M. New ownership wants to create a “social and interactive music platform.” AKA another Spotify/Apple Music competitor. || Speaking of the myspace era, Yellowcard is back and recording with producer Travis Barker (Blink 182) who will also be playing drums on the album. || Barker is also recording with 90’s ska/pop trio Sublime, who broke up after their original singer died in 1996. This will be their first album in 30 years. || Linkin Park dropped a single off their upcoming expanded edition of From Zero—and it’s good (YouTube).
[podcasts] Amazon is probably paying a huge amount of money for the new LeBron James/Steve Nash podcast. The current Laker and former NBA point guard signed a “multi-year” deal. || Former Fox News/NBC anchor Megyn Kelly has blown up on YouTube and Sirius/XM, and is now launching a podcast network with three creators under her MK Media brand.
This is SOOO up my alley. Shia LaBeouf is in two of my favorite movies of the last 15 years (Fury, Lawless), and I’m a sucker for a boxing movie…so a “boxing crime drama” sounds like a pretty great time at the theater. Out 05/02.
Ugh. Fine. I REALLY dislike Seth Rogan (I find him to be extremely pretentious and annoying), the fact is that The Studio is getting insane ratings.
In the most self-worshipping way possible, Rogan plays a studio exec, aka a glorified, fictional version of Seth Rogan. But hey, it’s getting fantastic reviews. So, I might grudgingly check it out.
I’m not much of a horror fan, but Dan Stevens, (Downton Abbey, Beauty and the Beast), Al Pacino (Scarface, The Godfather) and Ashley Greene (Twilight, Breaking Dawn) in a horror flick is an interesting combo.
The movie is based on a real exorcism in 1928 and has been sanctioned by the Catholic Church. Out June 6th.
[new music]
A friend texted me that “John Mark McMillan manages to make worship music that manages to not suck.”
Best known for the smash “How He Loves” (that’s been recorded by…like everybody), McMillan’s latest single is something ethereal and brilliant, even if you don’t count yourself a believer.
[read & learn]
Nicole Shanahan has had quite the life. Born into deep poverty in Oakland, CA, Nicole wound up with a $1 billion via divorce court after a marital split from one of the Google co-founders. Once a passionate donor to politically left causes, Shanahan joined a third party Presidential run alongside RFK Jr., before finally endorsing Trump in the general.
An unforeseen pregnancy led to a late-term miscarriage on the campaign trail, which nearly killed Nicole. After being “so close to the other side,” Shanahan went searching for answers, and wound up at Christianity. The other headline-maker out of this convo involves Shanahan accusing ex-husband Sergey Brin and Google of censoring Autism research.