(2019-08-04). CanaryPod: Topple Uncaged S2 EP13. thecanary.co 
THIS PODCAST CONTAINS LANGUAGE AND CONTENT SOME PEOPLE MAY FIND OFFENSIVE. THE VIEWS EXPRESSED IN THIS EPISODE ARE THE OPINIONS OF THE HOST AND GUESTS. | Welcome to series two of #ToppleUncaged! | Every week, The Canary will be bringing you an innovative podcast for the media landscape; hosted by me, Steve Topple. | You'll get my quick fire round-up of the news in Topple's Twittering. Then, I'll be going in on a story or campaign you may have missed, with a very special guest, on Free Flying With… After that, you get to have your say on the week's talking points in Twitter Chirps Back. And finally, I'll be brin…
(2019-08-03). Monopoly? What monopoly? Facebook to consolidate empire by branding Instagram, WhatsApp. rt.com 
Facebook subsidiaries Instagram and WhatsApp will soon carry the 'by Facebook' brand as the company tightens its grip on social media, flaunting its monopoly status in the face of mounting antitrust probes and privacy scandals.
(2019-08-03). The democratic debates need more questions about nuclear war. nationofchange.org There is a remarkable incongruity between the existential danger of nuclear war and the absence of public discussion about preventing it. | This disconnect is all too apparent today, as arms control and disarmament treaties are scrapped, nations embark on vast nuclear weapons buildups, and governments threaten nuclear war against one another. Meanwhile, the mass media routinely avoids these issues but, instead, focuses on movie stars, athletes, and President Donald Trump's latest tweeted insults. | Do I exaggerate? Consider the following. | In May 2018, the Trump administration unilaterally withdrew from the l…
(2019-08-03). As centrists pile on to attack Corbyn, Twitter strikes back with an important dose of truth. thecanary.co The Brecon and Radnorshire constituency was a Liberal Democrat seat until the party's electoral wipeout in 2015. The Lib Dems have now won it back from the Tories in a by-election, reducing Boris Johnson's working parliamentary majority to just one. And centrists have been hailing the victory as a defeat for Jeremy Corbyn. But the truth is far less…
(2019-08-03). Former cop charged with beating unarmed man on video. nationofchange.org Caught on surveillance video repeatedly punching an unarmed man in the back of the head, a former California police officer was recently charged with using unreasonable force and filing false reports in order to cover-up his actions. In the video, another officer can be seen striking the unarmed man's legs with a metal baton. | On June 19, 2014, a home surveillance camera recorded then 27-year-old Edgar Vargas-Arzate placing his hands in the air before calmly lying on his stomach in surrender. As several officers surrounded the…
(2019-08-03). Trump escalates trade war with China. fightbacknews.org San José, CA – On Thursday, July 31, President Trump tweeted that he would be imposing new tariffs, or taxes, on the $300 billion of Chinese goods not covered by his 25% tariffs. U.S. stocks took an immediate dive, giving up all of their 300-point gain to drop 280 points for the day. They continued to fall on Friday, leading to the worst week for U.S. stocks all year. | Despite what Trump says, tariffs are taxes that are paid by U.S. importers. Up to now, most of the Chinese goods placed under heavy tariffs have not been consumer goods. But the new tariffs mainly hit consumer goods such as cell phones, consumer e…
(2019-08-03). El Paso Shooting Suspect May Have Authored Manifesto Containing White Nationalist Talking Points. splcenter.org The suspect in a shooting that left 20 people dead at an El Paso Walmart may have posted and liked anti-immigrant leaning remarks on what appears to be his Twitter account.
(2019-08-03). Priti Patel wants criminals to 'literally feel terror' but her comments should fill all of us with fear. thecanary.co 
Priti Patel has said she wants criminals to "feel terror" at the thought of offending. In her first interview as home secretary, she pledged to get a grip on violent crime after Boris Johnson committed to recruiting 20,000 more police officers. | Se told the Daily Mail: Quite frankly, with more police officers out there and greater police presence, I want (criminals) to literally feel terror at the thought of committing offences. | Be afraid. Be very afraid.: | But as Twitter users pointed out, every single one of us should be scared by Patel's comments: | This is basically Priti Patel saying she wants the…
(2019-08-02). Now urine for it: Hunt is on for ANOTHER Walmart peeing bandit. rt.com 
A 15-year-old who urinated on a wine shelf at a Texas Walmart may face felony charges after video of the teen and his friends chortling over the pee puddle was posted on social media, according to local authorities.
(2019-08-02). Real threat to democracy: Media meddle in Democrat debate by siding with Harris, demonizing Gabbard. rt.com 
Why would the most talked-about candidate at the Democratic Party debate be almost entirely invisible on Twitter and attacked on cable networks afterward? Perhaps because the establishment protects its own.
(2019-08-02). The MEK: Illusion vs. Reality. counterpunch.org The oddly named People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (known as the MKO or MEK), whose sole purpose is the overthrow of the people's government of Iran, has been busy. Some of their members, who seem to be mainly elderly, are technologically savvy, and use social media to further their disgraceful cause. But they don't just More
(2019-08-02). The Big Lie Democratic Centrists Are Telling About 2018. counterpunch.org 
Dave Wasserman of Cook Political Report tweeted it in response to Nancy Pelosi's attack on The Squad. John Hickenlooper unloaded a flatly false version of it during the first night of this week's Democratic debates. David Axelrod stated this falsehood as fact on CNN before the start of the second night of debates. Nate Silver More
(2019-08-02). People are celebrating the 'loony mudslide' that buried UKIP. thecanary.co 
While the Lib Dems won Brecon's by-election on 1 August, the Monster Raving Loony Party stole the show. 334 people voted for its candidate, Lady Lily the Pink, meaning the party came second to last — above UKIP. And the reaction on social media has been priceless. | "The seco…
(2019-08-02). 'Leningrad Lindsey': Russia-baiting senator gets taste of own medicine as xenophobic hashtag trends. rt.com 
A trending Twitter hashtag, created to shame Lindsey Graham for his alleged un-American ways, has brought Russia-baiting full circle, with the senator now on the receiving end of the mass paranoia he helped foment.
(2019-08-01). Saboteurs claim they saved the life of an otter that was being hunted illegally. thecanary.co Tense footage shows the moment that hunt saboteurs 'saved the life' of what they said was an otter. Although otters were made a protected species more than 40 years ago, the activists claim people are still hunting them illegally. | "An otter was seen… fleeing": | Saboteur groups said they caught the Culmstock H…
(2019-08-01). Labour mayor set to take power back from big banks and hand it to the people. thecanary.co North of Tyne metro mayor Jamie Driscoll promised before his election that he'd set up a locally-owned ' People's Co-operative Bank'. Now in power, this plan has just moved one step closer to reality. | The first step towards creating a customer-owned bank: | During his campaign, Driscoll promised to: establish an independent cooperative to begin the process of…
(2019-08-01). Facebook Dismantles Saudi-Linked Network of Fake Accounts. theantimedia.com More than 350 profiles and pages linked to the Saudi government with some 1.4 million followers were taken down by Facebook on Thursday.
(2019-07-31). Tulsi Gabbard vs Google Goliath. dissidentvoice.org 
Introduction The Tulsi Gabbard presidential campaign has filed a major law suit against Google. This article outlines the main points of the law suit and evidence the the social media giant Google has quietly acquired enormous influence on public perceptions and has been actively censoring alternative viewpoints. Tulsi Now vs Google Tulsi Now, Inc vs …
(2019-07-30). Permissible Deviance: Facebook's FTC Fine. dissidentvoice.org It was something of a shrug moment. One of the world's largest digital platforms had been fined $5 billion for privacy violations by the Federal Trade Commission, claiming it had violated its 2012 order. The FTC order also requires the company "to restructure its approach to privacy from the corporate board-level down, establishing strong new …
(2019-07-29). Baltimore Residents: Trump's Attacks on the City Are Rooted in "Racism and White Supremacy" democracynow.org 
President Trump is facing widespread outrage after describing Baltimore as a "disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess" in tweets attacking Congressmember Elijah Cummings, one of the most prominent African-American lawmakers in Washington. Trump tweeted that Cummings's district is "considered the Worst in the USA," and said "no human being would want to live there." Trump's initial tweets came after Fox News ran a story about Baltimore and after Cummings criticized the conditions of immigration jails along the Mexican border. Officials across Baltimore and Maryland denounced the president's remarks, and The Balti…
(2019-07-29). Texas sheriff who stars on reality show fails to publicly address sexist images posted on Facebook by one of his top officers. splcenter.org Stories about law enforcement officers disciplined for posting offensive images or words on Facebook are increasingly popping up in the news.
(2019-07-26). MSNBC's Anti-Sanders Bias Makes It Forget How to Do Math. fair.org 
When MSNBC legal analyst Mimi Rocah ( 7/21/19) said that Bernie Sanders "made [her] skin crawl," though she "can't even identify for you what exactly it is," she was just expressing more overtly the anti-Sanders bias that pervades the network. MSNBC's Mimi Rocah ( 7/21/19) explaining how Bernie Sanders makes her "skin crawl." | The hostility is so entrenched, in fact, it seems to have corrupted MSNBC's mathematical reasoni…
(2019-07-26). The 'Total Anarchy' of Wet Cops. fair.org 
by Josmar Trujillo "Total Anarchy": The headline has changed, but the tweet remains (Twitter, 7/22/19). | The family of Eric Garner, the Staten Island father infamously choked to death by a New York City cop in 2014 (Extra!, 1—2/15), was told last week by the Justice Department that charges would not be brought against that officer. Family members and activists responded with fury, mostly aimed at Mayor Bill de Blasio, whose refusal to fire the officer, Daniel Pantaleo, allo…
(2019-07-17). Retaking Everything: The Story of Identity Dixie. splcenter.org A small Facebook campaign predicated on keeping Confederate monuments in place has morphed into a group of more than 200 ardent, secretive separatists planning to make the South a separate nation. And Hatewatch has learned the identities of some of the group's leaders and members.