Former MyPillow CEO and current LindellTV founder Mike Lindell is changing the media ecosystem as we know it. It’s his unusual approach to ethics in journalism that has people talking. Lindell, a former pillow salesman, has emerged as one of the loudest proponents for unfounded claims of election fraud. It’s why he’s built a new platform to amplify pro-Trump and anti-establishment content. LindellTV hit the airwaves earlier this year and immediately found its niche in the crowded alternative media landscape. Despite its questionable production quality and absence of a classic over-the-air television network distribution, it refuses to go away.
Lindell’s metamorphosis from a successful pillow entrepreneur to an election conspiracy theorist has received a lot of press. His public comments are often framed around his conviction that the United States is in the midst of a deep electoral crisis. The United States has literally the most messed up elections on planet Earth. There’s nobody worse than us. You can find communist countries – nobody has worse elections than the United States, he stated during one of his broadcasts. His claims have led to multiple lawsuits against him, costing him millions of dollars in legal battles regarding allegations about voting machines.
Regardless of the merits behind his claims, LindellTV has secured an audience with some of the most powerful political circles. Most recently, the White House granted that network extremely sought after press credentials. This expansion was an unprecedented effort to strengthen democratic conversation. Officials defend this move by claiming that greater diversity of viewpoints in our media will lead to a stronger democracy. LindellTV is actually operating at the highest levels of U.S. journalism right now. Others would call its production values hilariously bad.
LindellTV mostly consists of programs with Lindell himself at the controls. He takes viewer calls and comments directly for hours at a time, usually streaming from what seems like his home office. In addition, he features long-form segments—up to an hour—for unknown right-wing podcasters that lend credibility and gravitas to his programming that is designed for a different audience. The network was instrumental in pushing widespread disinformation about voting systems—mostly no evidence! It features shrill, unabashedly supportive, disinformation-filled coverage of Trump and his allies.
Beyond doomsday political commentary, Lindell employs the platform as an infomercial. He markets his MyPillow products – from pillows to bedsheets – and promotes deep discounts and specials exclusively to TV viewers. As a media host and product promoter, that dual role raises some important questions. It poses hard questions about the ethics of combining commerce with journalism.
Lindell’s growing media venture hasn’t been without its critics. Media critics say the platform’s cavalier approach to fostering conspiracy theories is killing any semblance of journalistic credibility. Advocates like Cara Castronuova argue that Lindell’s programming offers the exciting drama that keeps viewers glued to the screen, especially those looking for a different story. “You’ll be bored to death from now on,” she said, when asked about the radical departure of the show’s format.
Despite its growth, LindellTV has already been immensely impactful in the media ecosystem. This expansion raises some essential questions about the state of journalism in America today. The channel is independent of any of the traditional television networks, but that has allowed it to find its niche in a very saturated digital world. What observers are quickly realizing is that LindellTV does not operate like a typical news broadcasting outlet. It is shining a light on a deeply troubling trend towards personalized media consumption and the rise of competing narratives.