The Daily Beast recently pussed out and stopped having comments.
So I don’t pay any attention to them.
Any website or internet news outlet that doesn’t have open comments following an essay or article is run by cowards, and I won’t bother reading their stuff.
Our local Gannett newsrag changed their online forum policy a couple of years back; they now require Facebook for commenting. Topics that used to get hundreds of responses now get a dozen or two; those that used to get a couple of dozen now get a few if any.
Lots of “news” sites have cut off comments. Many others openly delete the ones they dont like for no reason, and still others shadow-ban posters that wont fall into line.
I noticed the absence of a comments section too.
That’s a big yellow flag.
Oftentimes it is not the actual article from which I derive the bulk of info but the comments.