We have become that place that you can't speak.

You can't speak for the fear of the mob attacking you.

From Hollywood to Fox News, cries of tyranny against President Biden's vaccine mandate.

From WNYC in New York, this is on the media. I'm Sasha Fiver. Also on this week's

show, religious exemptions are in vogue when it comes to skirting inoculation, but what actually

counts as a religious belief? There's no way to distinguish legally between a religion that you and I

might cook up right now and an ancient tradition like Judaism.

Plus, fossil fuel companies have been fighting climate-conscious legislation through media advertisements for years.

But you may not have noticed.

Influence doesn't look like an oil tycoon in a top hat showing up at your desk to twirl his mustache and tell you to

spike a story. It's all coming up after this. From WNYC in New York, this is On the Media. I'm Sasha

Pfeiffer sitting in for Brooke Ladstone. We begin this week with a plea for freedom. When I was a little

girl, the people in church would tell us, be happy that you're able to

praise God freely because people in so many countries in the world can't praise the God

they'd like to praise freely.

We have become that place that you can't speak for the fear of the mob attacking you.

This is rapper Nikki Minaj speaking on Instagram live on Wednesday after she became the subject of an absurd controversy that on its face had nothing to do with religious freedom. The internet mob was responding to this tweet which she posted to her 22 million followers on Monday.

My cousin in Trinidad won't get the vaccine because his friend got it and became impotent, she wrote.

His testicles became swollen. His friend was weeks away from getting married.

Now the girl called off the wedding.

So just pray on it and make sure you're comfortable with your decision not bullied.

Needless to say, that tweet went viral pretty much instantly, as did hashtag ballgate.

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