(2019-08-13). Anthony Scaramucci breaks with Trump in days-long Twitter battle. rt.com 
Anthony 'the Mooch' Scaramucci has become the latest ally of US President Donald Trump to renounce him publicly. The surprise move from one of his top supporters has predictably thrust him into the media spotlight.
(2019-08-13). 'Debate me!' Ocasio-Cortez wades into Barstool Sports feud with unions. rt.com 
A comic dispute between labor unions advocates and satirical Barstool Sports head Dave Portnoy vowing to 'crush' them took a serious turn when AFL-CIO and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez got involved.
(2019-08-13). The government is making an obscene profit from the hostile environment. thecanary.co An investigation by the Times has revealed that the Home Office is making a massive profit from the hostile environment. According to its figures, the Home Office made £500m in 2018, with profits rising 91% in the last five years. | The Times tweeted graphs showing how the government is raking money in: | Profit from the hostile envi…
(2019-08-13). The DWP is back in hot water after the UN slams its 'total surveillance'. thecanary.co The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has been slammed by the UN over its surveillance of benefit claimants. Philip Alston, the UN's special rapporteur warned that the department is not just spying on those it suspects of fraudulent claims: It's not. It will soon affect everyone and leave the society much worse off. Everyone needs to pay attention and insist on decent li…
(2019-08-13). Toni Morrison: The remarkable life of a remarkable woman. greenleft.org.au 
African-American novelist Toni Morrison — winner of the Pulitzer Prize (1988), the Nobel Prize for Literature (1993), and many other awards — died on August 5 at the age 88. Following the announcement, Derrick Johnson, president and CEO of the civil rights organisation NAACP, remarked: "Rest in power to #ToniMorrison, one of the most prolific writers of our time." | "It is with profound sadness we share that, following a short illness, our adored mother and grandmother, Toni Morrison, passed away peacefully last night surrounded…
(2019-08-13). The latest no-deal Brexit propaganda is a spin too far. thecanary.co 
On 13 August, the Telegraph front page claimed that the public backs Boris Johnson "to shut down Parliament" and force Brexit through. Only it turns out this is pure propaganda. | #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/KZG8vG7QjQ | — Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) (2019-08-12). Really? McFaul 'plants US flag' in Twitter to claim it as free speech sanctuary. rt.com 
Michael McFaul says he can say whatever he wants on Twitter because it's an American platform. Yeah, the very same Twitter that 'shadowbans,' silences alternative media, and hosts fake Russian bots that meddle in US elections.
(2019-08-12). Javier Bardem Asks Spain's Acting PM To End Open Arms Stand-Off. telesurenglish.net Oscar-winning actor Javier Bardem called Monday on Spain's acting prime minister to end a political stand-off that has left Spanish charity rescue boat stuck at sea with some 150 migrants on board. | RELATED: | 'Europe Surrenders Human Lives to Mafias', Open Arms Ship Says | In a video shared on Twitter, Bardem, 50, asked Pedro Sánchez to take on a leadership role within the European Union for the distribution of the migrants Open Arms has rescued from the Mediterranean Sea. | He…
(2019-08-12). The Tories' policing plan is bad enough. Their latest immigration one is utterly ludicrous. thecanary.co The Tory government's new plans for policing and prisons came unstuck before they'd even got off the ground. Because a thinktank chaired by Iain Duncan Smith is already calling for changes to immigration rules from home s…
(2019-08-12). Versace Apologizes over T-Shirt Showing Hong Kong as a Country. telesurenglish.net Elite fashion brand Versace apologized Sunday after receiving flak on social media for implying Hong Kong and Macau as independent territories. | RELATED: | Videos of Chinese 'Crackdown' in Hong Kong Revealed as Fake by AFP Investigation | Versace said it "respects the sovereignty of China's territorial state" as part of its apology. | A picture of one of Versace's T-shirts featuring city-country pairs appeared on social media creating a storm in China. The T-s…
(2019-08-12). FBI presses for social media surveillance "early alerting tool" in aftermath of mass shootings. wsws.org The FBI is stepping up its campaign for a real-time social media alert tool to allow continuous surveillance of all social media activity across platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
(2019-08-12). Valhalla awaits! After white terrorism at Oslo mosque, what if Trump spoke about supremacists the way he does Islam? nationofchange.org A young Norwegian man wearing body armor and carrying two shotguns and a handgun attacked the Al-Noor Mosque in a tony suburb of Oslo on Saturday. Only 3 people were in the building for afternoon prayers. On Monday, 1,000 congregants are expected, to celebrate Eid al-Adha, the feast of sacrifice in honor of Abraham's son who was spared. | Police say they found social media posts by him praising the New Zealand mosque shooter who killed 50 last March. In turn, the New Zealand white terrorist had praised Anders Breivik…
(2019-08-11). Did Indian Intelligence Invent a Russian Diplomatic Statement to Pressure Moscow on Kashmir? globalresearch.ca It remains unclear at the time of writing whether the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs really did back India's unilateral actions in Kashmir or not, with the mysterious circumstances surrounding its now-viral alleged statement of support suggesting that it might …
(2019-08-11). CanaryPod: Topple Uncaged S2 EP14. 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…
(2019-08-10). Facebook 'News': A bold step toward total control of reality? rt.com 
Facebook's plan to hook ad-cash-deprived mainstream outlets on licensing payouts seems to be an attempt to hijack narrative control en route to total domination of the infosphere — the ultimate safe space, Zuckerberg-style.
(2019-08-10). Anti-prison campaigners successfully stopped work on a new 'mega-prison'. thecanary.co Anti-prison campaigners are fighting the creation of a new 'mega-prison' in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire. And yesterday they stepped up their campaign by bringing work to a halt. | Disproportionate harm: | On 9 August, members of Community Action on Prison Expansion (CAPE) entered HMP Wellingborough's building site. They successfully occupied the site and said they shut operations down for six hours. In a press release, CAPE member Caren said the group was protestin…
(2019-08-10). The global trade in lion body parts is dealt a major blow in South Africa's high court. thecanary.co South Africa's high court has dealt a serious blow to the horrendous trade in lion body parts. Just days before World Lion Day, the court ruled that the quotas the country's authorities set in 2017 and 2018 were both "unlawful" and "constitutionally invalid". | Big business: | The African country is the main export…
(2019-08-09). A Federal Court Sounds the Alarm on the Privacy Harms of Face Recognition Technology. aclu.org The court ruled that a lawsuit alleging that Facebook is violating Illinois' biometric privacy law can proceed. | On Thursday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit became the first appellate court in the nation to directly address the privacy harms posed by face recognition technology. The decision is a significant advance in the fight against the threats of face surveillance, sounding the alarm on the potential for this technology to seriously violate people's privacy. | In Patel v. Facebook, a group of Facebook users from Illi…
(2019-08-09). Facebook Settlement Breaks a Record, But Not the Cycle of Exploitation. progressive.org For years, Facebook engaged in a pattern of deceptive conduct that misled users about how their data was being handled. Now, despite a $5 billion fine imposed by the U.S. government, it promises to do little to guarantee a change in behavior.
(2019-08-09). Documents Reveal Monsanto Surveilled Journalists, Activists & Even Musician Neil Young. democracynow.org 
Explosive new documents reveal the U.S. agribusiness giant Monsanto ran a "fusion center" to surveil and discredit journalists and activists who criticized or wrote damning reports about Monsanto, as well as legendary singer-songwriter Neil Young, who released an album in 2015 called "The Monsanto Years." Monsanto monitored Young's Twitter activity and even analyzed the lyrics of his album. The fusion center also surveilled journalist Carey Gillam, who has done extensive research and writing about Monsanto and its popular pesticide Roundup, which has been linked to cancer. The corporation also targeted the nonpro…
(2019-08-07). These 7 Prominent Conservatives Have Nothing in Common With White Supremacists, Nothing at All. theintercept.com 
A man wears a MAGA hat during the Western Conservative Summit in Denver on July 12, 2019. | cool kid's philosopher" — took to Twitter to berate those who dare draw any kind of line between President Donald Trump, the Republican Party, and U.S. conservatives on the one hand and white nationalist terrorists on the other. | So, we now have two separate NYT columnists arguing that all conservatives are basically violent white supremacists, but slightly more subtle. Let me put this gently: f*** yourselves.
(2019-08-07). UN Afghan Mission 'outraged' by deadly Taliban attack in Kabul, as hardline group threatens election violence. un.org The UN Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has expressed outrage at a Taliban attack in Kabul, that led to "scores" of civilians casualties on Wednesday. In a Tweet, the Mission said that such "indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks in heavily populated civilian areas must stop".
(2019-08-07). Líder de FRSO critica masacre en masa racista en El Paso. fightbacknews.org Washington DC – "La Organización Socialista del Camino a la Libertad (FRSO) condena enérgicamente el asesinato en masa realizado en El Paso", dijo Masao Suzuki, presidente de la Comisión de Nacionalidades Conjuntas de FRSO. Sobre el tirador dijo: "Con una cuenta de Twitter gustando el hashtag BuildtheWall y una foto de armas que deletrean a Trump, está claro que la motivación para este crimen de supremacía blanca está determinada por los ataques racistas de Trump". | El 3 de agosto, un hombre armado que apoya a Trump llevó a cabo una masacre de al menos 20 personas en El Paso, Texas, que justificó en una declarac…
(2019-08-06). Business Group Spending on Lobbying in Washington Is at Least Double What's Publicly Reported. theintercept.com Influential corporate trade organizations and nonprofits spent $535 million on lobbying in 2017 and as much as another $675 million on unregulated efforts to influence public policy, according to a two-month investigation. | The figures, taken together, highlight how business interests can exploit loopholes in lobbying rules, which don't cover many staples of modern influence campaigns, such as strategic consulting, broadcast advertising, media relations, social media posts, and polling — or even the financing of astroturf campaigns. | MapLight r…
(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.
(2019-08-01). 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.
(2019-07-29). 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.