In a May 8 column that lionized the members of the so-called “intellectual dark web,” New York Times opinion columnist Bari Weiss misled her audience by portraying commentators known for inflammatory rhetoric about oppressed minorities as intellectuals exiled into the “dark web,” a name for the hard-to-reach areas of the internet. The cast of characters she profiled is far from being exiled to the dark web. In fact, they profit from broadcasting bigoted ideas on platforms that reach massive audiences.

In her column, Weiss glorified Jordan Peterson, the “alt-right’s” favorite professor who has repeatedly appeared on Fox to push anti-trans myths, and praised former Breitbart writer Ben Shapiro, without disclosing his history of bigotry. Instead, Weiss portrayed them both as martyrs for the criticism they get for voicing bigoted opinions. The term “intellectual dark web” is a useful branding ploy for bigoted commentators and far-right figures, as, according to Right Richter’s Will Sommer, “They’re appealing to this kind of forbidden nature of the knowledge they're discussing.” Weiss went on the May 8 edition of MSNBC’s Morning Joe to promote her piece, where the hosts did not push her to address any of the valid, thoughtful criticisms of her piece many journalists have shared on Twitter:

This has to be the worst work I've seen in the Times in ages. Not only are they full platforming these loons, the entire premise of this article is wrong; this "“movement”" is not new, it's decades old, and 30 seconds of research would have told you so. https://t.co/yjZViBEM5p

— Kelly Weill (@KELLYWEILL) May 8, 2018

ah yes, ben shapiro, shunned for standing up to his own and definitely not for this kind of shit pic.twitter.com/d5KPKRF1tD

— Ashley Feinberg (@ashleyfeinberg) May 8, 2018

i know i shouldn’t be surprised but it’s astounding how dishonest this is and the most frustrating thing is that, without a public editor, the times has absolutely no reason to force itself to reckon with that https://t.co/3AlZWQZCAf

— Ashley Feinberg (@ashleyfeinberg) May 8, 2018

That was the first and only story Soh wrote at Pacific Standard, so it's not as though she lost a job over it. It was clearly just a one-off freelance piece. https://t.co/Szm5O596CK

— Parker Molloy (@ParkerMolloy) May 8, 2018

here’s a good example. i’ve been super interested in Joe Rogan’s podcast and it’s influence for a long time now. Weiss got a chance to ask him about having Alex Jones on his show and then let’s him give this wishy washy “i’m not an interviewer or a journalist” answer! pic.twitter.com/OwcuSPP2Dp

— Charlie Warzel (@cwarzel) May 8, 2018

shorter Bari Weiss: rich media figures with massive platforms who frequently appear on/are published in mainstream outlets are actually brave free speech martyrs being silenced (a terrible take that she's managed to publish like 50 times) https://t.co/zC5qvDxwXQ

— Caleb Ecarma (@calebecarma) May 8, 2018

The Bari Weiss article was horrible. Contrary to what the misinformed piece says, the “Intellectual Dark Web” is actually full of conspiratorial grifters like @benshapiro @jordanbpeterson and @SamHarrisOrg using “facts and logic” to justify islamophobia, misogyny and race science pic.twitter.com/K4jdRf1tru

— Nathan Bernard (@nathanTbernard) May 8, 2018

would love for my ideas to be silenced by a glossy spread in the NYT

— Stephanie Russell-Kraft (@srussellkraft) May 8, 2018

tfw you disagree ferociously but talk civilly https://t.co/EAQ0swKSbb pic.twitter.com/eNTf05LVdA

— Dylan Matthews (@dylanmatt) May 8, 2018

here's the deal, in exchange for getting a cushy job as an editor at the NYT you no longer get to do the WHY IS NO ONE IN THE MEDIA TALKING ABOUT THIS schtick. That's not a thing youre allowed to do anymore when you literally decide what's published at the New York goddamn Times.

— Adam H. Johnson (@adamjohnsonNYC) May 8, 2018

and they ran a con advertising campaign to get liberals to subscribe and then fed them shit https://t.co/plRuUbuJCe

— Atrios (@Atrios) May 8, 2018

joe scarborough, here of the anti-trump right, is condescending to @esglaude about identity politics. telling him peterson and shapiro et al, aren’t racist. this is actual bullshit @msnbc. pure bullshit.

— marisa kabas (@MarisaKabas) May 8, 2018