(2020-06-01). Beijing Sees Trump's Hand and Won't Fold. globalresearch.ca Stranger things have happened. | Everyone was expecting US President Donald Trump to go nuclear by de facto sanctioning China to death over Hong Kong. In an environment where Twitter and the President of the United States are now engaged in …
(2020-05-31). Many US Journalists Arrested After New York Times Falsely Claims That Doesn't Happen In America. thealtworld.com arrested a CNN reporter named Omar Jimenez the other day while he was live on air covering the protest of George Floyd's murder by police in Minneapolis. | The arrest was preceded by hours of sycophantic police-worshipping CNN coverage and followed by days of self-righteous preening by the entire corporate media machine about the crucial role of journalism in a free society, with (2020-05-31). Sinister Flatulence: Trump versus Twitter. dissidentvoice.org Sawing off the branch you sit on can hardly be the best of policies. But that all depends on the nature of the branch. US President Donald Trump has huffed himself into another small historical moment, going on the offensive against social media companies using the very language his faux progressive opponents use against them. …
(2020-05-31). Why Trump's Social Media Executive Order Is Troubling, Bizarre, and Dangerous. commondreams.org In this photo illustration, a Twitter logo is displayed on a mobile phone with President Trump's Twitter page shown in the background on May 27, 2020, in Arlington, Virginia. (Photo: Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/trump_twitter.jpg …
(2020-05-30). Capitalism & the home. mronline.org 
We have become used to 'stay at home' in the corner of our TV screens, behind nightly government press conferences, repeated over and over on the radio and in social media.
(2020-05-29). President Trump has No Idea How Online Speech Works. aclu.org Yesterday, President Trump signed an executive order aimed at bullying social media companies and online platforms into changing how they moderate content online. The order came the day after President Trump tweeted that Republicans feel that social media platforms silence conservative voices. And, notably, just days after Twitter's decision to place a fact-checking
(2020-05-29). James Corbett Interview — The Social Media Regulation Psyop. thelastamericanvagabond.com Originally Published August 26 2018 In a time of such obvious deceit and aggressive manipulation, not only by those who once sought our votes or our subservience but today even by each other, unwittingly doing the bidding of those who seek to control our every purchase, our every click, view and action, one would think …
(2020-05-29). UN human rights office welcomes moves to curtail spread of hatred and violence online. news.un.org The UN human rights office (OHCHR) has welcomed steps taken by social media companies to prevent their platforms from being used to promote hatred, violence and misinformation, Spokesperson Rupert Colville said on Friday.
(2020-05-29). Trump's Twitter Tirade Is the Tantrum of a Troll. thenation.com Trump's Twitter Tirade Is the Tantrum of a Troll…
(2020-05-28). We're Taking Clearview AI to Court to End its Privacy-Destroying Face Surveillance Activities. aclu.org For several years, a little-known start-up based in New York has been amassing a database of billions of our faceprints — unique biometric identifiers akin to a fingerprint or DNA profile — drawn from personal photos on our social media accounts and elsewhere online. The company has captured these faceprints in secret, without our knowledge, much less our consent, using everything from casual selfies to photos of birthday parties, college graduations, weddings, and so much more., , Unbeknownst to the public, this company has offered up this massive faceprint database to private companies, police,…
(2020-06-01). Employees Hold Virtual Walkout to Protest Facebook Inaction on Trump Posts 'Advocating Violence Against Black Demonstrators'. commondreams.org Employees at Facebook—many of whom are continuing to work from home because of the coronavirus pandemic—organized a virtual walkout on Monday to pressure the social media giant to apply a tougher standard to President Donald Trump's posts, particularly those about recent and ongoing nationwide demonstrations provoked by the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/facebook.housing_0.jpg …
(2020-06-01). Bellingcat's (race) war against RT: Russians didn't kill George Floyd, but are STILL BAD, say internet 'sleuths'. rt.com 
Bellingcat, the UK-based enablers of Western narratives in Syria and Ukraine now fueling US race riots, selectively translated a satirical post from Russian social media shared by RT's editor in chief to get her "canceled." | On Sunday, Margarita Simonyan shared a Telegram post by Dmitry Steshin, a war correspondent for the newspaper KP, which purported to give "advice" to rioters in the US how to make their uprising more "successful" along the lines of the US-backed 2014 coup in Ukraine. | Given that…
(2020-05-29). Headlines for May 29, 2020. democracynow.org Protests Rage After Minneapolis Prosecutor Does Not Bring Charges Against Officers Who Killed George Floyd, Scores Tear-Gassed, Arrested as Protests Against George Floyd's Killing Spread to Other Cities, Twitter Flags Trump Tweet for Glorifying Violence After President Attacks Minnesota Protesters as "THUGS", Trump Executive Order Threatens to Punish Social Media Companies over Fact-Checking, U.S. Economy Sheds Another 2.1 Million Jobs, Leaving 40.7 Million Unemployed Since Start of Pandemic, Pennsylvania Democratic Lawmakers Accuse Republicans of Knowingly Exposing Them to Coronavirus, Protesters Demand ICE Empt…
(2020-05-29). Twitter Warns Trump Tweet Glorifies Violence as He Signs Executive Order to Weaken Social Media. democracynow.org 
As President Trump calls Minneapolis protesters "THUGS" and tweets, "when the looting starts, the shooting starts," Twitter flags the tweet with a warning it glorifies violence, just as Trump signs an executive order to punish social media companies for how they monitor content. "Trump has prospered through his use of social media and its attention-hoarding algorithms to basically disinform and misinform people," says Ramesh Srinivasan, professor in the Department of Information Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles.
(2020-05-28). "No Justification": Minneapolis Demands Murder Charges for Police Officer Who Killed George Floyd. democracynow.org 
Parts of Minneapolis erupted into flames Wednesday night as residents again took to the streets to protest the death of George Floyd, a Black man killed by white police officer Derek Chauvin on Monday. A viral video shows Chauvin kneeling on George Floyd's neck for a number of minutes as Floyd repeatedly says "I cannot breathe." Three other officers stood by as George Floyd suffocated. They have been identified as Tou Thao, Thomas Lane and J. Alexander Kueng. All four officers were fired on Tuesday. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey has called on prosecutors to file criminal charges against Derek Chauvin. We speak wit…
(2020-05-27). From George Floyd to Chris Cooper: Ibram X. Kendi on "Racist Terror" Facing Black People in America. democracynow.org 
"I can't breathe" — that's what George Floyd, an unarmed African American man, repeatedly told a white Minneapolis police officer who pinned him to the ground Monday with a knee to his neck. Video of the police attack went viral. Now four officers have been fired. This comes as another video went viral of a white woman calling the cops on a Black man in New York City's Central Park and falsely accusing him of "threatening her life" after he asked her to leash her dog. We discuss these developments and more with Ibram X. Kendi, founding director of the Antiracist Research and Policy Center at American Univer…
(2020-05-26). Headlines for May 26, 2020. democracynow.org U.S. Nears 100,000 Deaths from COVID-19 as Trump Shuns Face Masks, Goes After Democrats on Twitter, Trump Threatens to Pull RNC Out of North Carolina If Dem Governor Refuses to Allow Packed Crowds, Second Immigrant in ICE Jail Dies from COVID-19, U.S. to Deport Haitian Death Squad Leader and COVID-Positive Haitians Amid Pandemic, U.S. Restricts Travel from Brazil as It Becomes Second Most Infected Country, South American Nations Experience Mounting Cases as New Epicenter of the Pandemic, Boris Johnson Faces Pressure over Reopening Country and Lockdown-Flouting Adviser, WHO Suspends Tests of Hydroxychloroquine as…
(2020-06-01). Police Attacked Protesters After Kneeling for Solidarity Photo Op, Activists Say. truthout.org Some of the police officers who have been prominently photographed kneeling or praying alongside demonstrators against police violence have turned around and harmed protesters soon afterward, according to numerous accounts posted by activists on social media. | Twitter user @NeeNeinNyetNo, for example, showed an image of Orlando Police praying with protesters and wrote, "Literally 45 minutes later they maced us in the face for the crime of standing in their vicinity." | t.co/85a6zU…
(2020-06-02). Defense Sec Esper, AG Barr inspect police lines in DC as protests rage on (VIDEOS). rt.com 
A number of top White House officials have been seen on the streets of Washington, DC, making visits to police lines amid intense protests around the capital, apparently hoping to boost officers' morale after days of unrest. | Attorney General Bill Barr, Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley were each spotted in the capital on Monday evening despite ongoing demonstrations and a 7pm curfew imposed in the city. | pic.twitter.com/VZ1Q5dg4o8— Ebony Bowden (@ebonybowden) Ju…
(2020-06-01). Who burned the homeless camp? Antifa and Infowars play the blame game over Austin riots. rt.com 
A mob of rioters set a homeless man's belongings on fire in Austin, Texas, and trashed his encampment. The Left then claimed the heinous act was the work of conspiracy site Infowars, but Infowars' reporters say otherwise. | As rioters clashed with police and set cars on fire in Austin on Sunday, the mayhem touched an often-forgotten segment of the Texan city: the homeless. Video footage shared on social media showed a homeless man's mattress and belongings being dragged into a fire by rioters, as a camera crew from conspiracy site Infowars filmed the carnage. | According to one self-described "anti-capitalist"
(2020-06-01). Roll in the tanks? WATCH National Guard hit streets in DC amid reports Trump considering more active-duty troops to quell unrest. rt.com 
The National Guard has been spotted on the streets of Washington, DC following days of violent unrest across dozens of American cities, as the president considers additional troop deployments to crack down on the riots. | A number of armored military vehicles and personnel carriers were seen near the White House on Monday evening in videos posted to social media, a little more than an hour before the city's new 7pm curfew is set to go into effect. | The National Guard has arrived. This is between the Executive Office Building and the White House.
(2020-06-01). 'Use chains, not rope': Archaeologist ignites outrage after posting advice on 'how to PULL DOWN racist obelisks'. rt.com 
A blue-tick verified Egyptologist has offered "advice" to rioters in US cities on how to "safely" pull down obelisks for "anyone who might be interested," drawing both abject disbelief and admiration on social media. | Sarah Parcak, a well-known US archaeologist whose work involves "using satellites to uncover ancient Egyptian ruins" according to the Smithsonian Magazine, offered the tips on how to destroy monuments in a lengthy Twitter thread on Sunday. | Parcak said she "never ever in a million years thought this advice might come in handy" before proceeding to explain how groups of people protesting the bru…
(2020-06-01). Protests controlled by Russia? Try saying that to Americans on the streets, Russia's FM spokeswoman tells Susan Rice. rt.com 
A "perfect example of barefaced propaganda" — that's how Russia's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova described the suggestion that Moscow was to blame for the violent US riots voiced by ex-Obama adviser Susan Rice . | "Are you trying to play the Russia card again? You've been playing too long — come back to reality," Zakharova wrote on her Facebook page. | Rice and the CNN, which interviewed her on Sunday, have been using "dirty methods of information manipulation" despite "having absolutely no facts to prove [the] allegations," she said. | Zakharova advised Rice to "go out and face your p…
(2020-06-01). Facebook rebellion? Zuckerberg alienates staff after REFUSING to censor Trump's warning to looters as Twitter HIDES its twin. rt.com 
Employees at Facebook are annoyed at CEO Mark Zuckerberg's refusal to act against President Donald Trump, sharing their dissatisfaction with his decision online for all to see. | Grumblings amongst the employees were heard at all levels of the company, with the main criticism being aimed at Facebook's decision to leave Trump's post allegedly "glorifying violence" untouched, even as Twitter hid the same text behind a warning. | In his May 29 Twitter thread, Trump first decried what he called "a total lack of leadership" in Minneapolis, before proceeding to unload on "THUGS" that were "dishonoring the memory of…
(2020-06-01). #DCBlackout debunked — panicked residents fear government crackdown after massive EXPLOSION heard in Washington DC. rt.com 
Amid riots in Washington DC, misinformation is spreading like wildfire. After Twitter users heard an explosion in the city, they accused the site of covering up a bombing, when they were actually sharing a TV series screenshot. | Riots shook Washington DC for a third consecutive night on Sunday. Mobs of protesters descended on the White House, and the historic St John's Church nearby was set alight by arsonists. Amid the popping of police weapons and the crack of fireworks, some Twitter users reported hearing a loud explosion, right before their internet and phone service cut off. | | A screenshot of a tweet…
(2020-06-01). 'Ridiculous lawlessness': Journalist Cassandra Fairbanks says her home ATTACKED by rioting mob as 9-year-old daughter hid inside. rt.com 
Rioters have targeted the home of right-wing journalist Cassandra Fairbanks, who says they fired shots and pounded on windows, terrifying her and her child. The unwanted visitors came after Fairbanks received death threats online. | In a Twitter thread, Fairbanks recounted how her Washington DC residence was singled out by assailants who "fired gunshots and fireworks" at her house. As the group pounded on her windows, Fairbanks ordered her daughter to lay on the floor and lock her door. The popular alt-media figure said that she had a loaded gun at her side and had been prepared to use it. | People just showed…
(2020-06-01). International Volleyball Federation seeks to broadcast Iran, S. Korea match on YouTube: report. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Jun. 01 (MNA) — The match between Iran and South Korea in the Tokyo Olympic qualifying event will be broadcast on YouTube by International Volleyball Federation.
(2020-06-01). UK Distillery Enrages Social Media Over Tweeting Their Brand as 'No 1 Gin By Rioters'. sputniknews.com As the United States faces widespread ongoing protests against police brutality following the killing of George Floyd that have turned violent and resulted in arson in several cities, some companies seem to see an advertising opportunity for their own flammable products.
(2020-06-01). Unaccompanied children in Greece in fear, misery. yenisafak.com Hundreds of people have tweeted to Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis for unaccompanied migrant and refugee children to be freed from detention in Greece, as a watchdog's campaign continued since last April.In April, the Human Rights Watch initiated a campaign with the #FreeTheKids hashtag on social media, calling for Greek authorities to release the hundreds of unaccompanied children seeking asylum in Greece and are now being locked up in police cells.While 17-year-old Kamrul from Bangladesh was detained by the Greek police for more than six weeks, 14-year-old Ibrahim from Somalia for almost three months.L…
(2020-06-01). Turkey condoles death of young Italian swimmers. yenisafak.com The Turkish Swimming Federation has expressed condolences for two Italian swimmers who were killed in a plane crash on Sunday. Fabio Lombini, 23, and Gioele Rossetti, 23, passed away after their plane crashed in the south of Rome shortly after takeoff."We share the pain of the victims' families. Our condolences," it said in a tweet on Monday.While Lombini was a 200m freestyle specialist, who won silver in a 2017 Italian championship, Rossetti had been successful at youth level in the country.
(2020-05-23). [Commentary] Data explosion during COVID-19: A call for collaboration with the tech industry & data scrutiny. thelancet.com The volume and speed of data generation in biomedical literature, social media, and other resources during the COVID-19 pandemic is unprecedented. This mountain of data is growing daily across PubMed, Twitter, Google Scholar, and the World Health Organization's COVID-19 database [1], naming a few. The recently published COVID-19 Twitter dataset may offer insights into multiple topics from compliance with social distancing to assembling homemade masks and mental health tips [2]. Beyond social media, the massive COVID-19 Open Research Dataset (CORD-19) has been assembled from tech giants like Microsoft, the Allen I…
(2020-05-19). [Commentary] Corona crisis fuels racially profiled hate in social media networks. thelancet.com The COVID-19 pandemic has the world firmly in its grip with more than 2.5 million confirmed cases worldwide [1] and over 100 countries in full or partial lockdown [2] (as of April 24th, 2020). Although political leaders call for solidarity and people all over the world have started support initiatives, various incidents prove that the corona outbreak has also given rise to a series of discrimination and racist attacks against Chinese people and people with Asian looking features [3—5]. These attacks are not restricted to the physical space but pertain to social media networks as well.
(2020-05-17). [Commentary] Serosurveys and convalescent plasma in COVID-19. thelancet.com The current pandemic is not only overwhelming the health systems of the affected countries but also is killing thousands of other ways healthy adults. Convalescent plasma has been proposed [1] and approved to treat COVID-19 based on the experience acquired treating other viral diseases such as influenza, Ebola, and SARS [2]. It is considered a safe treatment (at least its side effects and contraindications are well known) and it has proven to be efficacious in several viral infections for more than a century.
(2020-05-15). [Editorial] Riding the coronacoaster of uncertainty. thelancet.com Among all the reports, modelling, and desktop exercises in the past decade devoted to preparing for the next pandemic, when COVID-19 spread worldwide, some of the consequences had surely never been predicted. Scientists who were barely known outside a narrow academic circle are now household names, lauded and vilified in turn in the press and on social media. Twitter subscribers who until a few months ago were apparently experts in European relations or constitutional law are now skilled infectious diseases epidemiologists.
(2020-05-08). [Comment] Interferon beta-1b for COVID-19. thelancet.com Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has led to a global epidemic with more than 3 million confirmed cases and 200‚Äà000 deaths worldwide thus far.1 Several drugs with antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2 have been tested in vitro as well as in ongoing human studies.2…
(2020-04-30). [Correspondence] Feasibility of controlling COVID-19. thelancet.com We read with interest the modelling study by Joel Hellewell and colleagues,1 on the feasibility of controlling outbreaks of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) by isolation of cases and contacts. We agree that six main parameters must be considered in predicting the epidemiology—namely, number of initial cases, viral reproduction, isolation delay, tracing probability, asymptomatic transmission (considering a case incubation period of 5 ∑8 days), and subclinical infection.
(2020-04-02). [Comment] Monitoring the COVID-19 epidemic in the context of widespread local transmission. thelancet.com Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a novel viral disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which was first detected in Wuhan, China, in December, 2019.1 Given the fast spread, the severity of disease, the increasing number of cases outside China, and the number of affected countries, WHO declared the rapid spread of SARS-CoV-2 a pandemic on March 11, 2020.2 The availability of reliable surveillance platforms is crucial to monitor the COVID-19 epidemic in a timely manner and to respond with adequate control measures.
(2020-03-27). [Comment] Understanding COVID-19: what does viral RNA load really mean? thelancet.com In The Lancet Infectious Diseases, Francois-Xavier Lescure and colleagues1 describe the first cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Europe, which were reported in France. The detailed clinical features of five patients with COVID-19 are aligned with the quantitative severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) viral RNA load from nasopharyngeal and other selected sampling sites. Previous studies in patients with SARS, Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), and COVID-19 generally provide insufficient detail to allow examination of the relationship between individual patient clinical cou…
(2020-03-19). [Correspondence] Viral dynamics in mild and severe cases of COVID-19. thelancet.com Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a new pandemic disease. We previously reported that the viral load of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) peaks within the first week of disease onset.1,2 Findings from Feb, 2020, indicated that the clinical spectrum of this disease can be very heterogeneous.3 Here, we report the viral RNA shedding patterns observed in patients with mild and severe COVID-19.
(2020-03-17). [Correspondence] COVID-19 in pregnant women. thelancet.com With interest, we read the recommendation on the management of pregnant women with suspected severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) by Guillaume Favre and colleagues.1 Some of the recommendations made in the flowsheet of their Correspondence have long-term consequences (eg, termination of pregnancy, no breastfeeding) of an unforeseeable extent, are harmful when applied to the general population (eg, early cord clamping in extremely preterm infants, no breastfeeding, separation of the mother from the newborn), are not proven to reduce the risk of transmission in other viral illnesses (eg, ear…