Update: As of 9:53am ET, 6129 of you have voted on whether to reinstate Annieli with 97% in yes and 3% in no. This diary exploded in a way I could not have predicated but I am happy to see Annieli has so much support in this community (especially those of us exclusively/primarily here for the Ukraine coverage). There is no way I will read through 838 comments but, other than a few concerning exceptions, the general tenor is positive and I hope Annieli sees this at some point and sees how important her work is to thousands of folks.
I am sad to write that one of our dearest diarists has been put into Timeout. Annieli has posted daily updates for 874 days about the Russian invasion of Ukraine, sourcing materials from dozens of news sites and social media to keep us informed about the state of things in the largest war on Earth.
She posted a diary yesterday about the RNC convention that included a photo of the 34 count convicted GOP nominee to the 2024 presidential race where his ear appeared undamaged. It was a picture circulated on social media by many, that purported to have been taken earlier in the day at the RNC convention in Milwaukee. The photo was actually taken before Saturday’s despicable assassination attempt in Pennsylvania. Someone in the community flagged the tip jar, and Annieli was put into Timeout for the time being.
This is what DK has posted in response to that retracted diary:
Admin note: This story has been retracted for misinformation, specifically the inclusion of an image of Trump with an unbandaged ear reported falsely to be from earlier in the Day at the RNC on July 15, 2024.
It is a personal peeve of mine that people in the community flag like lurking high school hall monitors here, when all they have to do is likely write directly to the author to point out there may be an issue with something in the post. Most all caring, intelligent, thoughtful adults, would see the mistake after being made aware of it and edit or contact DK to explain. I’m aware of the rules of the road but this behavior is silly, and flagging should only be used in cases of real abuses of Kos’ rules. This was not someone deliberately misleading people. She has also done enormous amounts of good here in her reporting on Ukraine tirelessly, daily, while also posting diaries about American politics.
Annieli, Quaoar, Mark, and RO37 were why I joined this community a year ago, and then began reading diaries about Ukraine from 22 Trucks, Decimus, Kyiv Guy, and others and felt that the perspective, intelligence, thoroughness, and insight of these authors is unmatched in American news reporting about the same subject.
And now, we have to wait weeks, months, or more before reading how Annieli has taken 23 hours of Ukraine news and condensed it for our quick overview of the goings ons in the fight against fascism and to preserve democracy in Europe.
I hope you are as upset as I am, and write Annieli to show your support and also write to DK to make a case for reinstating her ability to grace us with her diaries.
Maybe we will be lucky enough to get her back.
I also hope keyboard warriors think twice before demanding hall passes. Don’t be crappy.