(2019-11-14). 'DISLIKE': Russia's Facebook rival VK to roll out this ONE button FB users always wanted but never got. rt.com 
Russian social network VKontakte has unveiled the upcoming 'dislike' button, a simple feature that has been cruelly denied to Facebook users despite years of begging. Now Mark Zuckerberg can claim it was a Russian plot all along! | The feature was announced on Wednesday at VK's Content Day conference in Moscow, and the company thinks it will help "invigorate" the comment section. | VK has answered its users' prayers with the button, which will appear as an option next to the 'like' button on comments, giving users the ability to regi…
(2019-11-13). Morales exiled in Mexico; Bolivian army unleashes violence on the people. peoplesworld.org 
Bolivia's ousted President Evo Morales landed in Mexico yesterday after its government offered him sanctuary. "It pains me to leave the country for political reasons, but I'll return soon, with more strength and energy," he tweeted, as police and army violence against his supporters was reported across Bolivia. Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said the …
(2019-11-13). Facebook Says It Axed 3.2 Billion Fake Accounts in Last Six Months. truthdig.com 
The company also says it removed 18.5 million instances of child nudity and sexual exploitation, an increase from the previous six months.
(2019-11-13). Code Pink founder raided by DC police on dubious Venezuelan embassy 'assault' charges (VIDEO). rt.com 
Police have tried to detain Code Pink founder Medea Benjamin without a warrant on belated and mysterious charges of 'assaulting' a Democratic congresswoman during this summer's siege of the Venezuelan embassy in Washington. | Benjamin was accused of assaulting Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-Florida) — months after the alleged incident — when over a dozen officers surrounded her home on Wednesday in Washington, DC. | In footage she posted to Facebook, Benjamin strenuously denies the accusations, explaining that she was the one assaulted — pushed and pulled by right-wing Venezuelans ("b…
(2019-11-13). While Greta Thunberg hitches another top-dollar yacht ride to Europe, plebs will live with 'flight shame'. rt.com 
Swedish eco-activist Greta Thunberg has managed to find a ride across the Atlantic with a pair of sailing YouTubers. Once again, the activist will make her journey on a yacht far beyond the means of the ordinary working Joe. | After hitching a ride from Europe to New York aboard a €4 million racing yacht in August, Thunberg embarked on a whirlwind tour of climate change summits and street-level protests. However, when the UN's COP25 climate summit in Chile was moved to Spain due to political unrest, the Swedish activist was left marooned in the US. | Avoiding combustion-powered planes and boats, Thunberg'
(2019-11-13). Venice 'on Its Knees' After Worst Flood in 5 Decades. truthdig.com 
VENICE, Italy—The worst flooding in Venice in more than 50 years prompted calls Wednesday to better protect the historic city from rising sea levels as officials calculated hundreds of millions of euros in damage. | The water reached 1.87 meters (6.14 feet) above average sea level Tuesday, the second-highest level ever recorded in the city and just 7 centimeters (2 Ω inches) lower than the historic 1966 flood. Another wave of exceptionally high water followed Wednesday. | "Venice is on its knees," Mayor Luigi Brugnaro said on Twitter. "St. Mark's Basilica has sustained serious damage, like the entire…
(2019-11-13). Election chances dashed with a splash of milk? British PM mocked on social media for TEA-MAKING faux pas. rt.com 
British social media gasped in disbelief after watching Conservative PM Boris Johnson's election campaign video… in which he committed a cardinal sin while attempting to casually make a cup of tea. | There is probably nothing more quintessentially British than a lovely cup of tea. However, Brits can be pretty uncompromising when it comes to how you make that perfect cuppa. It's widely recognised that the order is: tea bag in – hot water – tea bag out – milk – stir. | So when Johnson posted a video on Tuesday, showing him adding milk before taking the tea bag out, all hell broke loose on social media. |
(2019-11-13). Man City's Silva banned over 'racist' tweet comparing teammate Mendy to cartoon. rt.com 
Bernardo Silva will miss one game and has been fined $64,000 amid a furore regarding a supposedly racially insensitive tweet in which he compared Manchester City teammate Benjamin Mendy to a character from a brand of chocolates. | Silva compared Mendy to a dark-skinned character used to promote a brand of confectionary in Portugal and Spain – a move which drew criticism from several figures within the sport, particularly given the wave of racist fan behavior which has blighted football in recent months. | Silva, however, has vigorously denied that there was a racist undertone in his social media message which,…
(2019-11-13). While the media obsessed on the Corbyn heckle, Johnson got the lampooning of his life. thecanary.co The media was all over the Islamophobic heckling Jeremy Corbyn got on 13 November. But at the same time, Boris Johnson faced the ire of…
(2019-11-13). Bolivian Senate's Leader Attacked By Police and Coup Supporters. telesurenglish.net The legitimate President of the Senate, Adriana Salvatierra, was violently assaulted by the police as she was trying to enter the Senate on Wednesday in order to comply with the constitutional rule that automatically proclaims the head of the upper chamber the Interim President when the President steps down, after Evo Morales was forced to resign on Sunday. | RELATED: | Soldiers Deployed in La Paz, Racism Rise Against Indigenous | In…
(2019-11-13). Trespassers Forcibly Enter Venezuelan Embassy in Brasilia. telesurenglish.net A group of trespassers forced their way into the Venezuelan Embassy in Brasilia on Wednesday, resulting in the brief disruption of diplomatic affairs. | RELATED: | Trump Threatens Venezuela And Nicaragua After Coup in Bolivia | The Deputy Minister for Europe of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Venezuela , Yván Gil, took to Twitter shortly after the incident to denounce the forcibly entry into the headquarters of the Venezuelan Embassy in Brazil by militants from the far-right…
(2019-11-13). Bolivia: Over 4000 Twitter Accounts Created to Legitimize Coup. telesurenglish.net It ¥s becoming more and more clear the role of social media as yet another political party able to legitimize or remove any Government, especially through social networks. A few days after the consummated coup against Bolivian President Evo Morales, there have been more than 4500 new Twitter accounts created, without almost any followers, with the hashtag #BoliviaNoHayGolpe installed. | RELATED: | 'OAS Is a Tool of the US Empire': Bolivia's Evo Morales | Luciano Galup, director of th…
(2019-11-12). Marco Rubio blames 'Putin's disinformation' for coverage of Bolivia coup that he doesn't like. rt.com 
Eager to find some way to implicate Russia in Bolivia's political crisis and control of the US narrative, Republican senator Marco Rubio branded any skeptical coverage of events as an example of how "Putin uses disinformation." | Rubio, an early and avid supporter of protests that ousted former Bolivian President Evo Morales this week, tweeted that those wishing to understand Russian disinformation should "study current coverage" of Bolivia. | In Rubio's world, Russia has created "fake news" on Bolivia and is spreading it via a "vast network of outlets" and "social media actors" before it is "echoed in mainstr…
(2019-11-12). Another day, and yet another Tory candidate is accused of lying. thecanary.co A Conservative MP has been caught out playing fast and loose with the truth on the campaign trail. Cornish MP George Eustice has been accused of lying about one of his constituents on his Facebook campaign page."The way Momentum train them to behave": Eustice is seeking re-election as the Conservative MP for Camborne, Redruth and Hayle (CRH). He's also agriculture minister at the Department for…
(2019-11-12). Fear, confusion, and resistance after far-right coup in Bolivia. thecanary.co On the evening of 10 November, sections of the Bolivian military and police launched a successful coup against left-wing president Evo Morales. Though Morales had agreed to hold new elections, the military demanded he step aside. Sources close to Morales claim that he did so in an attempt to prevent more violence, and opposition lawmaker Jeanine An…
(2019-11-12). Israel is Silencing the Last Voices Trying to Stop Abuses Against Palestinians. counterpunch.org 
It has been a week of appalling abuses committed by Israeli soldiers in the West Bank — little different from the other 2,670 weeks endured by Palestinians since the occupation began in 1967. The difference this past week was that several entirely unexceptional human rights violations that had been caught on film went viral on social media. One shows a Palestinian father in the West Bank city of Hebron leading his son by the hand to kindergarten. The pair are stopped by two heavily armed soldiers, there to help enforce the rule of a few hundred illegal Jewish settlers over the city's Palestinian population.
(2019-11-12). The video of Boris Johnson endorsing Jeremy Corbyn as PM is not a deepfake. thecanary.co 
The BBC has released footage of Boris Johnson appearing to endorse Jeremy Corbyn as prime minister. It comes amid efforts to raise awareness of the power of 'deepfake' videos. But this video is not actually a deepfake. It would have been a much scarier, more effective story if it was.The endorsements: The BBC's Catrin Nye teamed up with Future Advocacy to produce two so-called deepfakes. The videos show Johnson and Corbyn seemingly endorsing one another for prime minister in the upcoming general el…
(2019-11-11). Evo Morales slams coup plotters for keeping up violence. mronline.org 
"Mesa and Camacho, discriminators and conspirators, will go down in history as racists and coup plotters," Morales said in a tweet early Monday morning. | Source
(2019-11-11). Israel is silencing the last voices trying to prevent abuse of Palestinians. dissidentvoice.org It has been a week of appalling abuses committed by Israeli soldiers in the West Bank — little different from the other 2,670 weeks endured by Palestinians since the occupation began in 1967. The difference this past week was that several entirely unexceptional human rights violations that had been caught on film went viral on …
(2019-11-09). 'Reverse Pol Pot': Berkeley philosophy lecturer slammed after saying rural Americans made 'bad life decisions' & should be SHAMED. rt.com 
A Harvard-educated UC Berkeley philosophy lecturer is catching flak for bashing rural Americans as parasites on more "efficient" city-dwellers. He has since apologized for the tone of the original tweets, but not their substance. | Disdain for "flyover country" by the coastal elites is a trope of American politics and culture wars at this point, but Jackson Kernion apparently sought to embody it with a series of tweets this week, declaring that Americans living in the countryside should not be "subsidized by those who choose a more efficient way of life." | Pretty sure I did a bad tweet here. Gonna delete it.
(2019-11-08). A Facebook Ban on Political Ads Would Be a Major Blow to the Left. Just Look at AOC's Campaign. theintercept.com AOC fueled her rise, and the rise of a movement, by deftly combining on-the-ground organizing with sophisticated targeting on Facebook.
(2019-11-07). Ex-Twitter Workers Charged with Spying for Saudis as Part of Kingdom's Growing Crackdown on Dissent. democracynow.org 
The U.S. Department of Justice has charged two former Twitter employees with helping Saudi Arabia spy on thousands of the kingdom's critics. Ali Alzabarah and Ahmad Abouammo are accused of giving the Saudi government detailed information about users, including telephone numbers and email addresses linked to the accounts, as well as internet protocol addresses that could be used to identify a user's location. The charges are being filed just over a year after the brutal murder of Saudi journalist and critic Jamal Khashoggi, who was killed inside the Saudi Consulate in Turkey. A new report by Human Rights Watch fin…
(2019-11-07). Headlines for November 7, 2019. democracynow.org Televised Impeachment Hearings Begin Next Week, Sessions to Run for Old Senate Seat; Pressley Endorses Warren, Trump Expands Military Mission in Syria Aimed at Controlling Oil Fields, Esper to Urge Trump Not to Intervene in Cases of Soldiers Accused of Murder, Judge Voids Trump Rule Allowing Medical Workers to Deny Care on Religious Grounds, ProPublica: Pence's Office Meddled in Foreign Aid Money to Favor Christians, DOJ Charges Ex-Twitter Employees; California Investigates Facebook, New Zealand Approves Landmark Climate Legislation Aimed at Zero Carbon Emissions, U.S.-Manufactured Ammunition Used in Massacre of…
(2019-11-07). Former British Ambassador to Syria: UK Complicit in Trump's Syria Oil Grab. mintpressnews.com 
The cat is out of the bag. The UK is potentially complicit in a war crime. With typical insouciance the U.S. military dropped this bombshell by tweet and apparently without realizing the implications for U.S. partners: | We are repositioning @CJTFOIR forces to Deir ez Zor #Syria to continue partnering w/ #SDF to defeat ISIS remnants, protect critical infrastructure, & deny ISIS access to revenue sources…
(2019-11-05). Media Conceal Chile's State Criminality, Delegitimize Bolivian Democracy. fair.org 
Chilean protester beaten by government forces (Twitter, 10/21/19) | Chile's anti-neoliberal rebellion is entering its third week, and the brutal crackdown continues. Hard-right President Sebastian Piñera and his generals have effectively decreed the country's oligarch-dominated democracy out of existence by sending soldiers into the streets to kill, maim and torture their own people. | And, for the most part, the Western corporate media blackout persists unabated. | October 25's historic 1.2 million—person march in Santiago—the…
(2019-10-23). YouTube Yanks Second Red Ice Channel. splcenter.org YouTube has taken down a second Red Ice channel after the hate network tried to circumvent the media giant's initial ban.