Bollywood megastar Deepika Padukone's support visit to protest hotbed JNU taps into raging politics for fail-safe publicity
rt.com | 2020-01-10
Deepika Padukone, Bollywood superstar and India's highest-paid female actor, became a trending Twitter topic this week, after a strategic visit to Jawaharlal Nehru University — a center of ongoing anti-government protests. | In India's volatile political climate where a huge debate ensued, and protests are raging over a new 'anti-Muslim' citizenship law, Padukone added fuel to fire by stepping into the premises of the university in New Delhi, which has become a "symbol of resistance" against an allegedly "fascist government," to express solidarity with the protesting students. Padukone, whose latest film…
rt.com/news/477823-deepika-padukone-bollywood-protest/

China mourns native paddlefish after scientists declare it extinct
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2020-01-10
People in China have been lamenting the demise of the Chinese paddlefish after scientists declared it extinct in a research paper. | Chinese internet users and media outlets have been paying tribute to the hefty creature, whose sharp, protruding snout made it one of the largest freshwater species in the world. | "It's farewell at first sight," said China Youth Daily, noting that many were lamentably unfamiliar with the paddlefish before learning of its demise. | Users shared similar sentiments on the Twitter-like Weibo platform. | Named after its distinctive shape, the Chinese paddlefish, or Chinese swordfish, ha…
thecanary.co/discovery/news-discovery/2020/01/10/china-mourns-native-paddlefish-after-scientists-declare-it-extinct/

Study Finds Bots and MAGA Supporters Pushing #IraniansDetestSoleimani Hashtag
Alan Macleod | theantimedia.com | 2020-01-10
The hashtag #IraniansDetestSoleimani has been trending on Twitter this week, as users voiced their opposition to Qasem Soleimani.

Study Finds Bots and MAGA Supporters Pushing #IraniansDetestSoleimani Hashtag

Is ET Watching Us? 'Orbs' Swarming Around SpaceX Ship, Leaving ISS, Excites Conspiracy Theorists
sputniknews.com | 2020-01-10
Elon Musk's cargo rocket boosting Starlink satellites into orbit have already tickled the nerves of YouTube alien hunters after one of them spotted something strange passing by on the SpaceX Falcon 9 launch livestream. According to him, a winged object resembling a dragon was lurking below the rocket.
sputniknews.com/viral/202001101078000508-orbs-swarming-spacex-iss-conspiracy/

'HOLY S**T': Deepfake YouTuber 'embarasses' Netflix & Scorsese by de-aging 'The Irishman' better than they ever could
rt.com | 2020-01-10
An anonymous YouTuber spent far less time and money than Martin Scorsese and Netflix to de-age actors in 'The Irishman' using the deepfake technology — and the results are rapidly winning fans over. | Martin Scorsese's 'The Irishman' may be an awards favorite at the moment, but a spotlight was just blasted onto one of the movie's most glaring flaws: the de-aging of its star cast. Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, Al Pacino, and others are de-aged throughout the film, which tells a story that spans three decades. Even positive reviews of the Netflix feature, which debuted in November, pointed out that the de-agi…
rt.com/usa/477978-deepfake-youtuber-embarasses-netflix-irishman/

Leaked Video Footage Shows Cops Thrashing Man Over Mobile Theft in India – Reports
sputniknews.com | 2020-01-10
New Delhi (Sputnik): While the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh has the worst track record for custodial deaths, a viral video clip of a man allegedly being tortured has sent chills down the spine, with angry reactions pouring in on social media. Custodial death refers to the death of a person in police custody due to torture.
sputniknews.com/india/202001101077997288-leaked-video-footage-shows-cops-thrashing-man-over-mobile-theft-in-india—reports/

Study Finds Bots and MAGA Supporters Pushing #IraniansDetestSoleimani Hashtag
Alan Macleod | mintpressnews.com | 2020-01-10
A social media disinformation expert studied 60,000 tweets from nearly 10,000 accounts using the hashtag #IraniansDetestSoleimani and found that the most common phrases in those users' biographies were "Make America Great Again" and "Trump."
mintpressnews.com/study-bots-maga-supporters-iraniansdetestsoleimani-hashtag/264024/

"Democracy For Sale": Cambridge Analytica & Big Tech's History of Manipulating Elections
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-01-10
A longtime Facebook executive has admitted the company's platform helped Donald Trump win the 2016 election, and it may happen again this year. In an internal memo, Facebook Vice President Andrew Bosworth wrote, "So was Facebook responsible for Donald Trump getting elected? I think the answer is yes." Bosworth, who was a backer of Hillary Clinton in 2016, went on to write that the company should not change its policies in an effort to hurt Trump's re-election chances. In his memo, Bosworth referenced the role of the shadowy data firm Cambridge Analytica but downplayed its significance. However, a new Oscar-shortl…
www.democracynow.org/2020/1/10/2020_election_digital_manipulation_cambridge_analytica

"Democracy For Sale": Cambridge Analytica & Big Tech's History of Manipulating Elections
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-01-10
A longtime Facebook executive has admitted the company's platform helped Donald Trump win the 2016 election, and it may happen again this year. In an internal memo, Facebook Vice President Andrew Bosworth wrote, "So was Facebook responsible for Donald Trump getting elected? I think the answer is yes." Bosworth, who was a backer of Hillary Clinton in 2016, went on to write that the company should not change its policies in an effort to hurt Trump's re-election chances. In his memo, Bosworth referenced the role of the shadowy data firm Cambridge Analytica but downplayed its significance. However, a new Oscar-shortl…
www.democracynow.org/2020/1/10/2020_election_digital_manipulation_cambridge_analytica

Cambridge Analytica Whistleblower: Facebook Allows Racist, Sexist Political Ads
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-01-10
A longtime Facebook executive has admitted the company's platform helped Donald Trump win the 2016 election, and it may happen again this year. In an internal memo, Facebook Vice President Andrew Bosworth wrote, "So was Facebook responsible for Donald Trump getting elected? I think the answer is yes." Bosworth, who was a backer of Hillary Clinton in 2016, went on to write that the company should not change its policies in an effort to hurt Trump's re-election chances. In his memo, Bosworth r…
truthout.org/video/cambridge-analytica-whistleblower-facebook-allows-racist-sexist-political-ads/

Ukraine president received data from US on Iran plane crash
yenisafak.com | 2020-01-10
The United States has given Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy important data ahead of a call later on Friday with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo about the crash of a Ukrainian airliner in Iran, Ukraine's foreign minister said on Twitter.Zelenskiy and Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko met U.S. representatives to receive the data, which will be processed by experts, Prystaiko said, without elaborating on the nature of the data or what it signified.Zelenskiy said earlier the possibility that a missile downed the airliner, killing all on board, had not been ruled out but it had not been confirmed yet.
yenisafak.com/en/news/ukraine-president-received-data-from-us-on-iran-plane-crash-3509334

'Alien baby': Internet shook by 'pregnancy announcement' from Elon Musk's girlfriend Grimes
rt.com | 2020-01-09
What appears to be a strange pregnancy announcement by Grimes, the musician girlfriend of billionaire Elon Musk, has not gone down well on Twitter, with one user jokingly speculating that the couple might produce "the antichrist." | The internet was at pains to process the news after Grimes posted a picture of what seems to be her baby bump with an image of a fetus photoshopped onto it. "Being knocked up is a very feral & war-like state of being," she wrote in the Instagram post. | The couple, who have been dating since 2018, are generally seen as a fairly odd pairing. The idea of Grimes, with her reputatio…
rt.com/usa/477853-grimes-musk-baby-announcement/

Donald Trump's Reckless Gamble with Iran Distracts from His Domestic Political Problems
Prof Rodrigue Tremblay | globalresearch.ca | 2020-01-09
"Don't let Obama play the Iran card in order to start a war in order to get elected. –Be careful Republicans! Donald Trump (1946- ), 45th American president and hotel and casino owner, (statement made in a tweet, on Mon., …
globalresearch.ca/donald-trump-reckless-gamble-iran-distract-domestic-political-problems/5700070

Trump Backs Away from Threats to Retaliate for Iranian Missile Strikes, Promises New Sanctions
Whitney Webb | mintpressnews.com | 2020-01-08
Following Iran's military response to the deaths of Soleimani and his Iraqi ally, Trump's tone — at least publicly — was dramatically less bellicose than his recent tweets promising to strike Iranian territory should Tehran retaliate against the US.
mintpressnews.com/trump-backs-away-threats-retaliate-iran-missile-strikes-instead-promises-new-sanctions/263991/

Trump Backs Away from Threats to Retaliate for Iranian Missile Strikes, Promises New Sanctions
Whitney Webb | mintpressnews.com | 2020-01-08
Following Iran's military response to the deaths of Soleimani and his Iraqi ally, Trump's tone — at least publicly — was dramatically less bellicose than his recent tweets promising to strike Iranian territory should Tehran retaliate against the US.
mintpressnews.com/trump-backs-away-threats-retaliate-iran-missile-strikes-instead-promises-new-sanctions/263991/

Shell-shocked pundits come crawling back to Hillary over Trump's Iran belligerence… forgetting she'd have started war sooner
rt.com | 2020-01-08
Social media sang praises of would-be US President Hillary Clinton as actual President Donald Trump seemed headed for all-out war with Iran — even though Clinton had been a much more enthusiastic participant in US wars. | After Iranian missiles struck several US bases Tuesday night, #Resistance twitter wasted no time disavowing the administration they blamed for the hostilities, running into the arms of his arch-rival with the #IVotedforHillaryClinton hashtag. | I'm proud to raise my hand and say that I voted for Intelligence. | I voted for Leadership. | I voted for Experience. | I voted for Maturity.
rt.com/usa/477754-hillary-voters-brag-war-trump/

A View from Tehran: Iranian Professor Condemns U.S. Aggression & Warns U.S.-Backed Gulf States
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-01-08
Iranian forces fired 22 ballistic missiles at U.S. forces in Iraq early Wednesday in what Iran described as "fierce revenge" for the U.S. assassination of Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a U.S. drone strike last week at the Baghdad airport. The Iranian missiles targeted the Al Asad Airbase in Anbar province and a base in Erbil. There were no initial reports of U.S. or Iraqi casualties. Shortly after the attacks, Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif tweeted, "We do not seek escalation or war, but will defend ourselves against any aggression." Earlier today, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali…
www.democracynow.org/2020/1/8/mohammad_marandi_iran_us_bases_iraq

'So far, so good!' Trump tweets of US military might, set to address Americans on Wednesday over Iranian strike
rt.com | 2020-01-08
US President Donald Trump has weighed in after a series of Iranian missile strikes on American bases in Iraq, noting that a damage and casualty assessment looks "good" so far. | "All is well! Missiles launched from Iran at two military bases located in Iraq. Assessment of casualties & damages taking place now," Trump said, adding that he would make a statement to the nation on Wednesday morning. | All is well! Missiles launched from Iran at two military bases located in Iraq. Assessment of casualties & damages taking place now. So far, so good! We have the most powerful and well equipped military anywhere in t…
rt.com/usa/477686-trump-tweet-iranian-strike/

Netflix roasted for leading viewers astray with 'health misinformation' in Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop show
rt.com | 2020-01-08
Gwyneth Paltrow's wellness brand Goop has secured its own show on Netflix and anti-pseudoscience crusaders are demanding its cancellation, insisting the doyenne of jade vaginal eggs is hurting people with health misinformation. | Paltrow's medical faddism "does real harm" by contributing to the "erosion of critical thinking," University of Alberta researcher Tim Caulfield tweeted on Monday after Netflix posted a teaser for the premiere of "The Goop Lab" later this month, setting off a firestorm of panic among a certain stripe of science enthusiast. The idea of an entire show devoted to whatever bizarre health…
rt.com/usa/477673-goop-pseudoscience-paltrow-health-choice/

Ms. Ocasio-Cortez Goes to Washington: AOC shamed into un-liking antiwar journalist's tweet, apologizing for wrongthink
rt.com | 2020-01-07
New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez learned the hard way about the phalanx of thought-police waiting to pounce on politicians' 'wrongthink' when she was shamed into un-liking a tweet from an antiwar journalist. | Ocasio-Cortez (AOC, for short) stepped a little too far outside the mainstream when she clicked 'like' on a tweet by journalist Rania Khalek about US fears of Iranian retaliation over the killing of General Qassem Soleimani. An army of blue-checks and their enforcers quickly encircled her to point out the error of her ways, gloating when she finally knuckled under and apologized. | Last ni…
rt.com/usa/477659-aoc-iran-strike-trolls-khalek/

Is this the end of U.S. interference in West Asia?
Vijay Prashad | mronline.org | 2020-01-07
Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif reacted strongly to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's suggestion that Iraqis were "dancing in the street" to celebrate the assassination. On Twitter, Zarif posted pictures of the funeral procession for Soleimani and wrote, "End of U.S. malign presence in West Asia has begun." | Source…
mronline.org/2020/01/07/is-this-the-end-of-u-s-interference-in-west-asia/

Propaganda Machine: The Military Roots of Cambridge Analytica's Psychological Manipulation of Voters
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-01-07
We continue our discussion of data harvesting, targeted advertising and voter manipulation — practices used by firms like Cambridge Analytica. The secretive data firm collapsed in May 2018 after The Observer newspaper revealed the company had harvested some 87 million Facebook profiles without the users' knowledge or consent to sway voters to support Trump during the 2016 campaign. A new trove of internal Cambridge Analytica documents and emails are being posted on Twitter detailing the company's operations, including its work with President Trump's former national security adviser John Bolton. We speak wit…
www.democracynow.org/2020/1/7/cambridge_analytica_data_manipulation_john_bolton

Propaganda Machine: The Military Roots of Cambridge Analytica's Psychological Manipulation of Voters
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-01-07
We continue our discussion of data harvesting, targeted advertising and voter manipulation — practices used by firms like Cambridge Analytica. The secretive data firm collapsed in May 2018 after The Observer newspaper revealed the company had harvested some 87 million Facebook profiles without the users' knowledge or consent to sway voters to support Trump during the 2016 campaign. A new trove of internal Cambridge Analytica documents and emails are being posted on Twitter detailing the company's operations, including its work with President Trump's former national security adviser John Bolton. We speak wit…
www.democracynow.org/2020/1/7/cambridge_analytica_data_manipulation_john_bolton

"The Great Hack": Big Data Firms Helped Sway the 2016 Election. Could It Happen Again in 2020?
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-01-07
The documentary "The Great Hack," which was shortlisted for the Oscars, explores how the data firm Cambridge Analytica came to symbolize the dark side of social media in the wake of the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Cambridge Analytica collapsed in May 2018 after The Observer newspaper revealed the company had harvested some 87 million Facebook profiles without the users' knowledge or consent. Cambridge Analytica then used the data to sway voters to support President Trump during the 2016 campaign. We speak with "The Great Hack" co-directors Karim Amer and Jehane Noujaim, as well as Cambridge Analytica whistle…
www.democracynow.org/2020/1/7/the_great_hack_documentary_cambridge_analytica

Meet Brittany Kaiser, Cambridge Analytica Whistleblower Releasing Troves of New Files from Data Firm
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-01-07
New details are emerging about how the shadowy data firm Cambridge Analytica worked to manipulate voters across the globe, from the 2016 election in the United States to the Brexit campaign in Britain and elections in over 60 other countries, including Malaysia, Kenya and Brazil. A new trove of internal Cambridge Analytica documents and emails are being posted on Twitter detailing the company's operations, including its work with President Trump's former national security adviser John Bolton. The documents come from Cambridge Analytica whistleblower Brittany Kaiser, who worked at the firm for three-and-a-half yea…
www.democracynow.org/2020/1/7/the_great_hack_cambridge_analytica

Meet Brittany Kaiser, Cambridge Analytica Whistleblower Releasing Troves of New Files from Data Firm
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-01-07
New details are emerging about how the shadowy data firm Cambridge Analytica worked to manipulate voters across the globe, from the 2016 election in the United States to the Brexit campaign in Britain and elections in over 60 other countries, including Malaysia, Kenya and Brazil. A new trove of internal Cambridge Analytica documents and emails are being posted on Twitter detailing the company's operations, including its work with President Trump's former national security adviser John Bolton. The documents come from Cambridge Analytica whistleblower Brittany Kaiser, who worked at the firm for three-and-a-half yea…
www.democracynow.org/2020/1/7/the_great_hack_cambridge_analytica

More Rockets Fired At US Embassy, US Iranians Detained & Trump Says Twitter Is "Notifying Congress"
Ryan Cristián | thelastamericanvagabond.com | 2020-01-06
Welcome to The Daily Wrap Up, a concise show dedicated to bringing you the most relevant independent news, as we see it, from the last 24 hours (1/5/19). As always, take the information discussed in the video below and research it for yourself, and come to your own conclusions. Anyone telling you what the truth …
thelastamericanvagabond.com/daily-wrap-up/more-rockets-fired-at-us-embassy-us-iranians-detained-trump-says-twitter-is-notifying-congress/