(2019-08-25). Hong Kong Crisis: Made in America. globalresearch.ca Claims that Western interests are driving unrest in Hong Kong to undermine China have been decried across the Western media as "fake news," "disinformation," and even grounds for censorship from platforms like Facebook and Twitter. | Yet a look at the …
(2019-08-25). Community Members Report Encounters with Paid Recall Canvassers. indybay.org Increasingly, community members in Santa Cruz are reporting on social media enocunters with people they claim are being paid to gether signatures for the petition to recall Progressive Santa Cruz City Councilmembers Drew Glover and Chris Krohn. Keith McHenry, the co-founder of Food Not Bombs, described yesterday an encounter he had with a person who was paid to collect signatures for the recall petitions. "A poor guy outside Trader Joes told me he was paid $6 per signature and that the people who hired him said the money came from local people," McHenry said. In his latest column, Bruce Bratton writes: "It can't…
(2019-08-25). Venezuela: Major Natural Gas Explosion Act of 'Sabotage'. telesurenglish.net Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro says an investigation will immediately begin regarding the explosion of a natural gas-filling plant located in Miranda State on Saturday evening that forced some 6,500 residents of Ocumare del Tuy to temporarily leave their homes. | RELATED: | Maduro: #NoMoreTrump Petition Hits 5 Million | Venezuela's Minister of Popular Power of Oil and president of Petrol of Venezuela (PDVSA) tweeted that President Maduro is starting an investigation into the case, and has a…
(2019-08-24). Twitter relying on US/European gov-funded regime-change groups to crack down on foreign states. thegrayzone.com Twitter is relying on organizations funded by the US government and European allies, such as right-wing lobby group Freedom House,…
(2019-08-24). 'A Green New Deal, but for guns': Parkland students propose groundbreaking gun policy. nationofchange.org President Donald Trump may have already moved on from pushing for stronger gun control but the Parkland students haven't forgotten the massacre at their Florida high school last year. Now the students who survived the horrific mass shooting have launched a comprehensive new gun control policy described as 'A Green New Deal, but for guns.' | t.co/d9FMWq1oHt— Jaclyn Corin (@JaclynCorin) (2019-08-24). Wall Street falls as US-China trade conflict intensifies. wsws.org Tweets by Trump in response to tariff measures by Beijing were his most belligerent to date, taking aim not only against China, but US corporations and the Federal Reserve.
(2019-08-23). Free speech v free enterprise? Lawsuit over big tech censorship strikes at core of American values. rt.com 
A looming court battle over social media censorship challenges America's dual devotion to free speech and free enterprise, an analyst told RT, arguing that popular platforms like Facebook have essentially become public utilities. | The DC Court of Appeals has agreed to hear the merits of a lawsuit brought against Apple, Facebook, Google, and Twitter by conservative commentator Laura Loomer, who accused the big tech giants of conspiring to silence her political views. Loomer has been banned from several major internet platforms, including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Medium, and PayPal. | The case has sparked…
(2019-08-23). David Koch, billionaire conservative & one of the world's richest people, dies at 79. rt.com 
US billionaire businessman and key Republican Party donor David Koch has died at the age of 79. | Koch stepped down from the family business, Koch Industries, last year amid health problems. His death has been confirmed by his older brother Charles. | "It is with a heavy heart that I announce the passing of my brother David," says Charles Koch in statement.— Steve Herman (@W7VOA) August 23, 2019 | David was listed by Forbes…
(2019-08-23). WaPo Complicit in Corruption of DC Council's Corporate 'Concierge'. fair.org 
After years of hiding in plain sight, Jack Evans' ethical problems are suddenly a story (WJLA, 3/5/19). | When the FBI came knocking on DC Councilmember Jack Evans' door in June, it set off an earthquake in local politics and business. | Over his 28 years on the DC Council, Evans has served as " concierge" for the elite, steering gobs of public money to stadiums, arenas and luxury condos. Along the way, it wasn't just developers and banks that profited; so did Evans. | Ev…
(2019-08-23). 'Who is our bigger enemy?': Trump lashes out, compares Fed chairman Powell to Chinese President Xi. rt.com 
President Donald Trump has lashed out at the Federal Reserve chairman, after Jay Powell refused to cut interest rates to Trump's liking, a move that would have given the president ammunition to escalate his trade war with China. | "As usual, the Fed did NOTHING!" Trump tweeted on Friday, after Powell announced that he would "sustain the expansion" of the US economy, but not by slashing interest rates by a whole percentage point, as Trump has repeatedly called for. Instead, Powell is likely to lower rates by around a quarter of a percentage point, from their current level of 2.25 percent. | Also on rt.com…
(2019-08-23). Youtube Bans 210 Pro-Beijing Channels Posting About Hong Kong. telesurenglish.net YouTube's parent company, Google, announced Thursday that they had disabled 210 channels engaged in posting pro-Beijing content related to Hong Kong's protests. | By doing so, Google joins Facebook and Twitter, which also informed Monday that hundreds of thousands of accounts were deleted from their platforms for similar reasons. Twitter published a statement in which first line they imply that state-backed information was some sort of a crime. | According to Twitter's version this accounts were…
(2019-08-23). Giant 5G Drones in Hawaii Skies? Pushback Is Growing… globalresearch.ca As we approach the 5G Crisis: Awareness & Accountability online summit, Dr. Debra Greene uncovers a crazy development in Hawaii, in her 4-min video above, or on YouTube here. Sign the petition to help stop the 5G drone development …
(2019-08-23). Israel's Online Occupation of Palestine. progressive.org How a Facebook post can land you in prison.
(2019-08-22). Trump Tweets About Disloyal Jews, Then Tweets He's "King of Israel" therealnews.com 
Haggai Matar, editor of #972 Magazine discusses Netanyahu's Trump-inspired Omar and Tlaib ban, Trump's bizarre retweets, and its effect on Jews and the U.S. election…
(2019-08-22). NYT editor's tweets mocking Jews, Indians amid newspaper's 'anti-racist' drive. rt.com 
A politics editor at the New York Times faces charges of anti-Semitism and bigotry after a series of old insensitive tweets surfaced online. This comes after a similar scandal with its Washington editor and leaked editorial tapes. | Breitbart News uncovered the tweets in an investigation published on Thursday, detailing a litany of offensive and racially-charged remarks from senior staff editor Tom Wright-Piersanti, who has worked at the Gray Lady for a little over five year…
(2019-08-21). OMG Trump Cancels Denmark! dissidentvoice.org 
This morning the Danes could wake up to a Twitter message from US President Trump that he was anyhow not going to Denmark on September 2-3 — in spite of the fact that it had been confirmed and that, formally at least, he had been invited by Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II herself. Here is …
(2019-08-21). Rep Ayanna Pressley on Israel's Ban: "Bigoted, Short-Sighted and Cruel" therealnews.com 
These are the words tweeted by Rep. Ayanna Pressley in response to the Israeli decision to ban the entry of Rep. Ilhan Omar and Rep. Rashida Tlaib. The story has a striking resemblance to South Africa and Rhodesia blocking the entry of African American Democratic Representative Charles C. Diggs Junior in January 1972…
(2019-08-21). Representatives Omar and Tlaib speak out against being banned from Palestine. fightbacknews.org St. Paul, MN – On August 19, Representative Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota) and Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Michigan) held a press conference in the State Capitol in Saint Paul to a packed room, with an overflow of 100 people, on the human cost of the Israeli occupation of Palestine and travel restrictions. | On August 16, the Israeli government denied the representatives visas to visit Palestine. Their visas previously had been approved, but after a tweet by Donald Trump denouncing Omar and Tlaib's visit, the approval was revoked. Congresswoman Stacy Plaskett, delegate to House for the Virgin Islands, was to join them on th…
(2019-08-21). In one tweet, Jeremy Corbyn shows exactly why he's the leader the world needs. thecanary.co As The Canary reported, a coup is currently underway in Turkey against democratically elected mayors in three predominately Kurdish cities. But while there's been a deafening silence from the Conservative Party over the actions of Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoƒüan, Jeremy Corbyn has spoken out: | The arrest of political leaders and act…
(2019-08-20). The racist chicken boxes are getting a make-over and it's total genius. thecanary.co As The Canary previously reported, the home office's latest attempt to tackle knife crime through chicken boxes was lambasted for "racial profiling". | Chicken stores are replacing their usual packaging with special boxes. Bearing the hashtag #knifefree, the boxes also feature "real life stories to show people how they can go…
(2019-08-20). Twitter's new policy on 'state-controlled news media' should concern us all. thecanary.co Twitter has announced an update to its advertisement policy which may reflect yet another assault on free speech by social media giants. On 19 August, Twitter declared that: Going forward, we will not accept advertising from state-controlled news media entities. | While this may not see…
(2019-08-20). NPR Mocks Cancer Survivor in Drumbeat of Syria Propaganda. dissidentvoice.org 
Asma al-Assad, First Lady of Syria (from released Syrian Presidency Facebook page) It may be a new low in propaganda. National Public Radio (NPR) used the news that Syrian First Lady Asma al-Assad had overcome breast cancer to mock her and continue the information war against Syria. They interviewed a Human Rights Watch staffer named …
(2019-08-20). Key questions about Boris Johnson's Brexit letter to Donald Tusk. thecanary.co 
With Brexit due on October 31, Boris Johnson has set out in writing his demands for changes to the UK's divorce deal from the European Union.— What has the Prime Minister said?In his letter to European Council president Donald Tusk, Johnson confirmed his aim of removing the backstop — the contingency plan to keep a soft border with Ireland in all circumstances — from the legally binding Withdrawal Agreement. | I have written to @eucopresident about key aspects of the UK's…
(2019-08-20). Headlines for August 20, 2019. democracynow.org NYPD Fires Daniel Pantaleo 5 Years After He Killed Eric Garner, Planned Parenthood Rejects Federal Funds over Trump "Gag Rule" on Abortion Referrals, Fears of Renewed Arms Race as U.S. Tests Ground Missile and Questions Remain over Russian Blast, Sudan: Omar al-Bashir Heads to Court Days After Signing of Transitional Deal, Salvadoran Rape Survivor Cleared After Prior Conviction for Killing Stillborn, Twitter & Facebook Remove China-Linked Accounts over Hong Kong Protest Misinformation, Elizabeth Warren Apologizes to Indigenous Groups at Iowa Native American Forum, Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Asks Federal Court to H…
(2019-08-20). Jo Swinson probably wishes she hadn't posted that latest lie about Jeremy Corbyn. thecanary.co 
On 20 August, Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson lied about Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn ( again). But people were quick to call her out. And now, she probably wishes she hadn't bothered. | "Fake news": | Swinson tweeted: | Jeremy Corbyn didn't fight to remain in 2016, and he won't fight for remain now. He wants to deliver a Labour Brexit, becau…
(2019-08-19). Twitter Helped Chinese Government Promote Disinformation on Repression of Uighurs. theintercept.com Twitter helped to promote Chinese government propaganda and disinformation about the country's controversial internment camps in the Xinjiang region, a review of the company's advertising records reveals. | The social media company today announced a policy change that would bar such promotion following an inquiry from The Intercept and an earlier controversy over similar propaganda related to demonstrations in Hong Kong. | In Xinjiang, a western province in China, the United Nations has estimated that 1 milli…
(2019-08-17). How do the Western powers use social networks for their own political goals? uwidata.com 
A recent story by the Washington Post revealed that Facebook's algorithms had censored the United States' Declaration of Independence, flagging it for alleged "hate speech".
(2019-08-16). Marjorie Taylor Greene: How an Outspoken MAGA Fan Built a Following in a World of Extremists. splcenter.org 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.
(2019-08-16). What Is Israel Trying to Hide? Reps. Tlaib & Omar Blocked from Taking Official Trip to West Bank. democracynow.org 
Israel sparked outrage Thursday when it banned two freshman Democratic congresswomen of color — Reps. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota — from entering the country. Following outcry from Democratic leaders and Palestinians, Israel granted permission for Tlaib to enter the country on "humanitarian" grounds to visit her family in the West Bank — though Tlaib said Friday she will not visit her family under such conditions. Israel originally denied entrance to Tlaib and Omar after President Donald Trump tweeted, "It would show great weakness if Israel allowed Rep. Omar and Rep.Tl…
(2019-08-15). Headlines for August 15, 2019. democracynow.org Trump Administration Moves to Seize Iranian Tanker Held in Gibraltar, Chinese Paramilitaries Mass on Hong Kong Border as Pro-Democracy Protests Continue, Dow Jones Plunges 800 Points on Fears of Looming Recession, Study Finds CEO Pay Increased 1,000% Since 1978 While Wages Stagnated, Facebook Hired Hundreds to Listen In on Users' Audio Messages, Mexico City Police Officers Suspended over Rape of Two Teenagers, Italian Court Allows Rescued Migrants to Disembark as Hundreds More Remain Stranded at Sea, NBC News: ICE Now Jailing 8,000 Migrants in Mississippi, Louisiana, Federal Court Weighs Fate of Protected Status…
(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.