Tech companies' account removals reveal pro-U.S. corporate slant
Julianne Tveten | peoplesworld.org | 2019-09-03
Who benefits as tech monopolies continue to remove or flag "coordinated" accounts in the name of "integrity" and "open conversation"? Last month, Twitter, Facebook, and Google suspended or removed accounts criticizing the ongoing protests in Hong Kong. The protests originated in opposition to a revised–and now suspended–extradition law proposed by the Chinese government, and have …
peoplesworld.org/article/tech-companies-account-removals-reveal-pro-u-s-corporate-slant/

Anti-Semitism or sarcasm? Labor Department official fired over misunderstood Facebook comments
rt.com | 2019-09-03
Less than three weeks into his new job, a Texas conservative has been forced out after Bloomberg dug through his Facebook history and claimed to have detected the whiff of anti-Semitism from three years ago. | Leif Olson clocked in for his first day on the job at the Labor Department's Wage and Hour Division on August 12, after being cleared for the position by the White House. Less than three weeks later, Olson handed in his resignation. | The reason? A journalist at Bloomberg Law dug through his Facebook history and unearthed some supposedly anti-Semitic comments he made in 2016. The journalist called his em…
rt.com/usa/467909-bloomberg-labor-anti-semitism/

Please Shut Up, Mr. President, and Read Some Books
Michael Winship | commondreams.org | 2019-09-03
A display of a phone with tiny hands is seen near tweets by US President Donald Trump at "The Daily Show Presents: The Donald J. Trump Presidential Twitter Library" exhibition in Washington, DC on June 14, 2019. – The Daily Show opened the Washington, DC exhibition of "The Donald J. Trump Presidential Twitter Library" in celebration of President Trump's 73rd birthday. (Photo: Andrew CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP / Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/trump_read_book.jpg …
commondreams.org/views/2019/09/03/please-shut-mr-president-and-read-some-books?cd-origin=rss

Ex-Tory MP Phillip Lee quits to join Liberal Democrats
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2019-09-03
Former Conservative MP Phillip Lee has quit the party to join the Liberal Democrats. | In a moment of high drama in the Commons, Lee crossed the floor while prime minister Boris Johnson was delivering a statement on the recent G7 summit: | Here's @DrPhillipLeeMP going to sit with the Lib Dems. Govt no longer has a working majority pic.twitter.com/Vv9HBvF36s | — Daniel Kraemer (@dcak…
thecanary.co/breaking-news/2019/09/03/ex-tory-mp-phillip-lee-quits-to-join-liberal-democrats/

US-Israeli journalist reveals 'really sad' truth about far-right support for Israel
Ed Sykes | thecanary.co | 2019-09-03
Israeli-American journalist Mairav Zonszein has shared a "really sad" assessment of far-right support for the Israeli state. | As supporters of Donald Trump held a 'straight pride' event in Boston on 31 August, Zonszein tweeted about the presence of Israeli flags, insisting: | t.co/6nRv…
thecanary.co/us/us-analysis/2019/09/03/us-israeli-journalist-reveals-really-sad-truth-about-far-right-support-for-israel/

Despite Reversal for Harvard Student, Deportations Based on US Search of Social Media Denounced as Troubling 'New Normal'
Julia Conley, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2019-09-03
Representatives for Ismail Ajjawi, a 17-year-old Palestinian student who was refused entry to the U.S. last week when he arrived to begin his freshman year at Harvard, credited outcry that resulted from Ajjawi's treatment with forcing immigration officials to allow him into the country—while his story drew attention to similar cases. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/gettyimages-8033713581.jpg …
commondreams.org/news/2019/09/03/despite-reversal-harvard-student-deportations-based-us-search-social-media-denounced?cd-origin=rss

New Report Warns of Deepfakes and Social Media Disinformation Campaigns That Aim to Undermine 2020 Election
Jessica Corbett, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2019-09-03
A report published Tuesday by New York University warns that fake videos and other misleading or false information could be deployed by domestic and foreign sources in efforts influence the U.S. 2020 presidential election campaign and details how voters, federal lawmakers, and social media companies can combat such disinformation. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/report_cover_deepfakes.jpg …
commondreams.org/news/2019/09/03/new-report-warns-deepfakes-and-social-media-disinformation-campaigns-aim-undermine?cd-origin=rss

Western "Progressives" Support Yet Another Color Revolution in Hong Kong
K.J. Noh | dissidentvoice.org | 2019-09-02
Misinformed "progressive" western "activists" and pundits are putting down their remote controls and organic smoothies just long enough to tweet out that Hong Kong protesters need to be supported as paragons of virtue and justice. Some have even blogged and bloviated about the importance of these protests as a struggle for freedom against "dictatorship." Most …
dissidentvoice.org/2019/09/western-progressives-support-yet-another-color-revolution-in-hong-kong/

Fakes for me, not for thee: US govt to use false social media profiles to monitor immigrants
rt.com | 2019-08-31
US Citizenship and Immigration officers can now use fake social media accounts to surveil foreigners seeking visas and citizenship, even after years of US lawmakers blasting foreign rivals for supposedly doing the same. | Officers have until recently been banned from creating fictitious profiles, but a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) privacy review dated July 2019 but posted online on Friday has reversed that ban. According to the review, officers with the department's…
rt.com/usa/467715-immigration-officers-fake-profiles/

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey's account 'compromised,' posted racial slurs
rt.com | 2019-08-30
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey was hacked on his own platform, his company said, with a torrent of strange tweets sent from his account. Twitter said it is investigating the matter further. | Dorsey's Twitter account began putting out inflammatory tweets on Friday afternoon, just before 4pm, according to CNBC. Some of…
rt.com/usa/467651-jack-dorsey-hacked-twitter/

Stunning but deadly: Satellite imagery shows Hurricane Dorian sparkling as it approaches US (VIDEO)
rt.com | 2019-08-30
As Hurricane Dorian makes its way to the US, a meteorologist has shared stunning satellite snaps of the "extremely dangerous" storm's brightly colored lightning eruptions amid swirling clouds that look like a fireworks display. | Hurricane Dorian putting on a lightning show tonight. | Spectacular imagery. pic.twitter.com/cdrs22PZqe– Dakota Smith (@weatherdak) August 30, 2019 | Meteorologist Dakota Smith shared the footage on Twitter and explained that the flashes seen in the…
rt.com/usa/467644-hurricane-dorian-lightning-imagery/

'Good luck determining what happened': Trump says US not involved in Iranian satellite 'incident'
rt.com | 2019-08-30
US President Donald Trump denied any American involvement after reports of a failed Iranian satellite launch, in which a rocket is said to have exploded on a launch pad. Iran, meanwhile, has not issued any accusations of the sort. | In a tweet on Friday, the president assured Washington had nothing to do with the apparently botched satellite mission, and wished Tehran "good luck" in figuring out what went wrong. He also attached an image of damage done to the launch site. | "The United States of America was not involved in the catastrophic accident during final launch preparations for the Safir SLV Launch at S…
rt.com/usa/467649-trump-us-iran-satellite/

When Ilhan Omar Is Accused of Anti-Semitism, It's News. When a Republican Smears Muslims, There's Silence
Mehdi Hasan | theintercept.com | 2019-08-28
Rep. Ilhan Omar participates in a panel discussion during the Muslim Collective for Equitable Democracy Conference and Presidential Forum at the National Housing Center in Washington, D.C., on July 23, 2019. | the Benjamins, baby." | That is, of course, what Rep. Ilhan Omar famously tweeted on February 10, in response to a tweet from my colleague Glenn Greenwald decrying "how much time U.S. political leaders spend defending a foreign nation" — namely, the state of Israel. Then, when a journalist followed up by asking Omar w…
theintercept.com/2019/08/28/when-ilhan-omar-is-accused-of-anti-semitism-its-news-when-a-republican-smears-muslims-theres-silence/

Israel's Online Occupation of Palestine
Miriam Deprez | progressive.org | 2019-08-23
How a Facebook post can land you in prison.
progressive.org/dispatches/israels-online-occupation-of-palestine-deprez-190823/

Marjorie Taylor Greene: How an Outspoken MAGA Fan Built a Following in a World of Extremists
Hatewatch Staff | splcenter.org | 2019-08-16
Originally a MAGA supporter but now an emerging MAGA star, Marjorie Taylor Greene has deftly leveraged social media and confrontations in public to increase her visibility. Now she's entering politics as a GOP candidate for Georgia's 6th Congressional District.
splcenter.org/hatewatch/2019/08/16/marjorie-taylor-greene-how-outspoken-maga-fan-built-following-world-extremists