2021-02-28: Social Media Postees

Please be social by posting these 'POSTEES' on social media! (Copy the text of the postee below, then paste it on social media and the story images will also appear.)

Fiasco in Australia Illustrates How Facebook Is Ruining the Internet
Jennifer Grygiel | commondreams.org | 2021-02-28
The situation in Australia is a significant opportunity to examine how much power Facebook has over the ways people can seek information online. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/facebook-opinion-down-poll.jpg
commondreams.org/views/2021/02/28/fiasco-australia-illustrates-how-facebook-ruining-internet?cd-origin=rss

As Leaks Expose UK Op to 'Weaken' Russia, Suppression of Grayzone Reporting Backfires
_____ | strategic-culture.org | 2021-02-28
Twitter added an unprecedented "warning" to Max Blumenthal's Grayzone article about explosive leaks revealing a massive UK government anti-Russia propaganda operation involving Reuters, BBC, and Bellingcat. Instead of suppressing the article, it went viral. | By Max BLUMENTHAL, Aaron MATÉ | After The Grayzone's Max Blumenthal reported on newly leaked documents exposing a massive UK government propaganda campaign against Russia, Twitter added an unprecedented warning label that the material "may have been o…
strategic-culture.org/news/2021/02/28/as-leaks-expose-uk-op-weaken-russia-suppression-grayzone-reporting-backfires/

Politicians and religious groups are fuelling homophobic attacks on Ghana's LGBTQI+ community
Aaliyah Harris | thecanary.co | 2021-02-28
On 24 February, National Security raided the offices of LGBT+ Rights Ghana. It came not long after the organisation opened a new LGBTQI+ safe space to provide members support and a place to socialise. | Sharing the incident in a Twitter thread, the gay rights organisation said: This morning, our office was raided by National Security. A few days ago, traditional leaders threatened to burn down our office but the police did not help. | At this moment, we no longer have access to o…
thecanary.co/trending/2021/02/28/politicians-and-religious-groups-are-fuelling-homophobic-attacks-on-ghanas-lgbtqi-community/

President Biden Says the Experimental Coronavirus Vaccines Are Safe. The Vaccines' Fact Sheets Say Something Very Different
Adam Dick | globalresearch.ca | 2021-02-28
Via a Monday Twitter post, President Joe Biden made an …
globalresearch.ca/president-biden-says-experimental-coronavirus-vaccines-safe-vaccines-fact-sheets-say-very-different/5738221

Widow of NBA icon Kobe Bryant rages at Hollywood actress Evan Rachel Wood over 'rapist' comment
rt.com | 2021-02-28
Vanessa Bryant, the widow of late NBA icon Kobe Bryant, has hit out at actress Evan Rachel Wood over a tweet she posted in the aftermath of the basketball star's death in which Wood labeled Bryant "a rapist." | "What has happened is tragic. I am heartbroken for Kobe's family," Wood had tweeted last year in the aftermath of the helicopter crash in California which killed Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, and seven others. | "He was a sports hero. He was also a rapist. And all of these truths can exist simultaneously." | Despite the tweet being in existence for more than a year, it has only just been seen…
rt.com/sport/516799-vanessa-bryant-evan-rachel-wood-rapist-comments/

Widow of NBA icon Kobe Bryant rages at Hollywood actress Evan Rachel Wood over 'rapist' comment
rt.com | 2021-02-28
Vanessa Bryant, the widow of late NBA icon Kobe Bryant, has hit out at actress Evan Rachel Wood over a tweet she posted in the aftermath of the basketball star's death in which Wood labeled Bryant "a rapist." | "What has happened is tragic. I am heartbroken for Kobe's family," Wood had tweeted last year in the wake of the helicopter crash in California which killed Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, and seven others. | "He was a sports hero. He was also a rapist. And all of these truths can exist simultaneously." | Despite the tweet being in existence for more than a year, it has only just been seen by V…
rt.com/sport/516799-vanessa-bryant-evan-rachel-wood-rapist-comments/

One of the Anti-Maskers who Stormed Trader Joe's Said She Carries a Knife
Unmasking the Anti-Maskers | indybay.org | 2021-02-27
Staci Lares, who is one of the anti-mask protesters who stormed Trader Joe's in Santa Cruz on February 13, has stated that she carries a knife. "Mask nazis @ Tar J Know me & my knife now," Lares stated on social media in December, referring to a previous anti-mask protest she helped organize at a Trader Joe's in Santa Clara County. Lares' post about carrying a knife was made to David Rodriguez's Santa Cruz Voluntaryists Facebook group, where the protest at Trader Joe's in Santa Cruz was informally discussed and then organized among members. One of the Santa Cruz Voluntaryists asked on the group post for clarifica…
indybay.org/newsitems/2021/02/25/18840294.php

India Targets Climate Activists With the Help of Big Tech
Naomi Klein | zcomm.org | 2021-02-27
Tech giants like Google and Facebook appear to be aiding and abetting a vicious government campaign against Indian climate activists…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/india-targets-climate-activists-with-the-help-of-big-tech/

NYT columnist faces conflict of interest accusations after singing praise of Facebook 'Groups' feature in tech giant's blog post
rt.com | 2021-02-27
New York Times writer David Brooks has come under fire for a potential conflict of interest after penning a blog post for Facebook's corporate site while a project he helped to found accepted money from the social media giant. | A 900-word post by Brooks appeared on a company's blogging platform on Tuesday, stressing the importance of "trust" in online communities in a thinly veiled promotion of Facebook's "Groups" feature. The piece coinc…
rt.com/usa/516732-david-brooks-facebook-post/

NYT columnist faces conflict of interest accusations after singing praise for Facebook 'Groups' feature in tech giant's blog post
rt.com | 2021-02-27
New York Times writer David Brooks has come under fire for a potential conflict of interest after penning a blog post for Facebook's corporate site while a project he helped to found accepted money from the social media giant. | A 900-word post by Brooks appeared on a company blogging platform on Tuesday, stressing the importance of "trust" in online communities in a thinly-veiled promotion of Facebook's "Groups" feature. The piece coincid…
rt.com/usa/516732-david-brooks-facebook-post/

"Worshipping the golden jackass": CPAC mocked for displaying giant gold Trump statue
Brad Reed | salon.com | 2021-02-27
Many Twitter users noted that a gold Trump statue would seem to violate biblical commandments against idolatry…
salon.com/2021/02/27/worshipping-the-golden-jackass-cpac-mocked-for-displaying-giant-gold-trump-statue-_partner/

Politico reporter backs down after facing Twitter storm for sexist Kamala Harris post
Meaghan Ellis | salon.com | 2021-02-27
Marc Caputo retweet a photo of a stripper meme with a comment referring to the VP and the minimum wage legislation…
salon.com/2021/02/27/politico-reporter-backs-down-after-facing-twitter-storm-for-sexist-kamala-harris-post_partner/

James Charles Denies 16-Year-Old's 'Grooming' Allegations, Admits to Receiving 'Lewd' Pics From Teen
sputniknews.com | 2021-02-27
Earlier on Friday, an alleged 16-year-old posted a Twitter thread, entitled "my situation with James Charles," in which the user alleged that the popular social media influencer and beauty blogger, James Charles, had sent unsolicited, lewd photos and requested "hot" photos in return.
sputniknews.com/viral/202102271082202162-james-charles-denies-16-year-olds-grooming-allegations-admits-to-receiving-lewd-pics-from-teen/

Lockdowns are NOT 'quietly improving cities,' World Economic Forum concedes, deleting its much-ridiculed tweet
rt.com | 2021-02-27
The World Economic Forum (WEF) has taken down its tweet that claimed lockdowns have been "quietly improving cities," and admitted that is not the case. But the backdown didn't spare the globalist titan from a new wave of mockery. | The WEF's controversial message turned out to be quite short-lived, surviving less than a day on its feed under a barrage of outraged comments. The tweet was accompanied by a video, showing deserted streets and silent factories, that noted a record drop in carbon emissions. It also linked to an article claiming that silent cities contributed to better detection of minor earthquakes.
rt.com/news/516767-world-economic-forum-tweet-deleted/

[Research Paper] Hydroxychloroquine with or without azithromycin for treatment of early SARS-CoV-2 infection among high-risk outpatient adults: A randomized clinical trial
Christine Johnston, Elizabeth R. Brown, Jenell Stewart, Helen C.Stankiewicz Karita, Patricia J. Kissinger, John Dwyer, Sybil Hosek, Temitope Oyedele, Michael K. Paasche-Orlow, Kristopher Paolino, Kate B. Heller, Hannah Leingang, Harald S. Haugen, Tracy Q. Dong, Anna Bershteyn, Arun R. Sridhar, Jeanne Poole, Peter A. Noseworthy, Michael J. Ackerman, Susan Morrison, Alexander L. Greninger, Meei-Li Huang, Keith R. Jerome, Mark H. Wener, Anna Wald, Joshua T. Schiffer, Connie Celum, Helen Y. Chu, Ruanne V. Barnabas, Jared M. Baeten, for the COVID-19 Early Treatment Study Team | thelancet.com | 2021-02-27
Neither HCQ nor HCQ/AZ shortened the clinical course of outpatients with COVID-19, and HCQ, but not HCQ/AZ, had only a modest effect on SARS-CoV-2 viral shedding. HCQ and HCQ/AZ are not effective therapies for outpatient treatment of SARV-CoV-2 infection.
thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(21)00053-5/fulltext?rss=yes

UK government declares testing and wearing masks "not compulsory" in reopened schools
wsws.org | 2021-02-27
Teachers, in poll after poll and on social media, have voiced their opposition to returning to work under unsafe conditions, but are up against trade unions who are colluding in the government's plans.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2021/02/27/scuk-f27.html

Is the world poor, or unjust?
Jason Hickel | mronline.org | 2021-02-27
Social media has been ablaze with this question recently. We know we face a crisis of mass poverty: the global economy is organized in such a way that nearly 60% of humanity is left unable to meet basic needs. But the question at stake this time is different.
mronline.org/2021/02/27/is-the-world-poor-or-unjust/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=is-the-world-poor-or-unjust

Facebook censors WSWS article exposing Wuhan lab conspiracy theory
wsws.org | 2021-02-26
Facebook has labeled the WSWS Perspective column, "Washington Post's 'Wuhan Lab' conspiracy theory stands exposed," as "misinformation" and blocked users from sharing it.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2021/02/26/pers-f26.html

Refriended in Defeat: Australia Strikes a Deal with Facebook
Binoy Kampmark | counterpunch.org | 2021-02-26
The Australian Treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, was unconvincing in his efforts to summon up courage. The Australian government had been left reeling in the wake of Facebook's decision to scrap and block Australians from sharing and posting news items on hosted pages. The company's target of opprobrium: the News Media Bargaining Code. The Code's ostensible purpose…
counterpunch.org/2021/02/26/refriended-in-defeat-australia-strikes-a-deal-with-facebook/

Facebook's news blockade in Australia shows how tech giants are swallowing the web
The Conversation | juancole.com | 2021-02-26
By Jennifer Grygiel | — When Facebook disabled Australians' access to news articles on its platform, and blocked sharing of articles from Australian news organizations, the company moved a step closer to killing the World Wide Web — the hyperlink-based system of freely connecting online sites created in 1989 by Sir Tim Berners-Lee. Though the …
juancole.com/2021/02/facebooks-australia-swallowing.html

Facebook lifts ban on news pages in Australia
Online News Editor | laprensalatina.com | 2021-02-26
Sydney, Australia, Feb 26 (efe-epa).- Facebook on Friday lifted the ban it had imposed last week on the publication of news on its platform in Australia. Facebook's decision came a day after the approval by the Australian government of a law that requires technology companies to pay media for the content they publish on their …
laprensalatina.com/facebook-lifts-ban-on-news-pages-in-australia/

One of the Anti-Maskers who Stormed Trader Joe's Said She Carries a Knife
Unmasking the Anti-Maskers | indybay.org | 2021-02-26
Staci Lares, who is one of the anti-mask protesters who stormed Trader Joe's in Santa Cruz on February 13, has stated that she carries a knife. "Mask nazis @ Tar J Know me & my knife now," Lares stated on social media in December, referring to a previous anti-mask protest she helped organize at a Trader Joe's in Santa Clara County. Lares' post about carrying a knife was made to David Rodriguez's Santa Cruz Voluntaryists Facebook group, where the protest at Trader Joe's in Santa Cruz was informally discussed and then organized among members. One of the Santa Cruz Voluntaryists asked on the group post for clarifica…
indybay.org/newsitems/2021/02/25/18840294.php

Vaccine race: 88-year-old Frenchman caught speeding at 191 km/h says he was late for Covid-19 jab
rt.com | 2021-02-26
An 88-year-old man in France had his license seized for exceeding the speed limit by more than 90 km/h. The veteran driver told the police that he was hitting the gas because he was late for his vaccination appointment. | The man was travelling at 191 km/h when he was pulled over by the officers in the northeastern region of Bas-Rhin on Thursday. The speed limit of the country road he was driving on is 110 km/h. | The driver "gave as a reason for his speeding that he was late for his anti-Covid vaccine," the police said in a Facebook post. | Unsurprisingly, the officers determined that this was no excuse for r…
rt.com/news/516697-france-elderly-speeding-late-vaccine/

Real media diversity won't come when corporations dictate the terms
Pip Hinman | greenleft.org.au | 2021-02-26
Facebook's "Zucker" punch on February 18, disabling large sections of Facebook in protest at the federal government's news media bargaining code (NMBC), which led to amendments and the bill becoming law on February 25, reveals the enormous power of the media corporations.
greenleft.org.au/content/real-media-diversity-wont-come-when-corporations-dictate-terms

Real media diversity won't come when corporations dictate the terms
Pip Hinman | greenleft.org.au | 2021-02-26
Facebook's "Zucker" punch successfully forced the federal government's hand. It is another reason why we need to fight for real public interest journalism, argues Zebedee Parkes.
greenleft.org.au/content/real-media-diversity-wont-come-when-corporations-dictate-terms

Ecuador's Health Minister Resigns Amid Vaccination Scandal
telesurenglish.net | 2021-02-26
Ecuador's Health Minister Juan Carlos Zevallos Friday resigned from office amid criticism for his mismanagement of the pandemic and the uneven national vaccination campaign. | RELATED: | Ecuador To Allow Private Purchases of COVID-19 Vaccines | "I resigned due to the political situation the country is going through. My decision is irrevocable," Zevallos wrote in a letter that President Lenin Moreno shared on his Twitter account. | "Health policies will allow the vaccination campaign t…
telesurenglish.net/news/Ecuadors-Health-Minister-Juan-Carlos-Zevallos-Resigns-20210226-0013.html

A "Twitter troll come to life": Meghan McCain slaps down Marjorie Taylor Greene for anti-trans diss
Kaity Assaf | salon.com | 2021-02-26
"We are sitting in a place where people like Marjorie Taylor Greene are just doing it for the clicks"
salon.com/2021/02/26/a-twitter-troll-come-to-life-meghan-mccain-slaps-down-marjorie-taylor-greene-for-anti-trans-diss/

Kaity Assaf | salon.com | 2021-02-26
"We are sitting in a place where people like Marjorie Taylor Greene are just doing it for the clicks"
salon.com/2021/02/26/a-twitter-troll-come-to-life-meghan-mccain-slaps-down-marjorie-taylor-greene-for-anti-trans-diss/

Rep. Mary Miller's Husband Owns Three Percenters Truck Seen at Capitol Breach
Staff | truthout.org | 2021-02-26
A truck seen January 6 on Capitol grounds sporting a far right militia's symbol belongs to the husband of Rep. Mary Miller (R-Illinois), Chris Miller, the Daily Beast has confirmed. | Twitter users were the first to find the truck, which displayed a decal from the Three Percenter militia in footage taken during the breach of the U.S. Capitol. The truck was also identified in earlier photos carrying campaign poste…
truthout.org/articles/rep-mary-millers-husband-owns-three-percenters-truck-seen-at-capitol-breach/

Russian Foreign Ministry says Twitter no longer independent social media, but a tool of 'digital diktat' under control of West
rt.com | 2021-02-26
Twitter is rapidly changing from an independent platform into a tool of Western countries to impose a dictatorship over the internet. That's according to the Russian Foreign Ministry, following a recent ban of Russian accounts. | Speaking on Friday, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova blasted the US tech giant for removing 100 accounts allegedly linked to the Kremlin. On Tuesday, the site's owners announced that 69 were deleted for "undermining faith in the NATO alliance," with a further 31 banned for "targeting the United States and European Union." | "We once again can't help but notice that Twitte…
rt.com/russia/516694-twitter-tool-digital-diktat/

Netizens Spotlight Psaki's Old 'Sovereign Country' Tweet After US Airstrikes in Syria
sputniknews.com | 2021-02-26
Earlier in the day, the Pentagon confirmed that the United States had carried out airstrikes targeting "Iranian-backed" militia assets on Syrian territory, on the order of President Joe Biden, asserting that the purpose of the strikes was to "de-escalate" the situation in Eastern Syria and Iraq.
sputniknews.com/viral/202102261082191545-netizens-spotlight-psakis-old-sovereign-country-tweet-after-us-airstrikes-in-syria/

'Stunning and brave?' Oreo Cookie called out for marketing ploy after tweeting 'Trans people EXIST'
rt.com | 2021-02-26
Oreo Cookie may have been trying to signal a boldly virtuous statement for social justice by proclaiming that "Trans people exist," but while the message struck a chord with some, it fell flat with many denouncing it as a PR move. | …
rt.com/usa/516612-oreo-cookies-trans-people/

Mars trip 'can only be understood through Black Americans', NASA tweets, celebrating renaming of HQ building
rt.com | 2021-02-26
The US space agency has renamed its DC headquarters after NASA's first black female engineer Mary Jackson, celebrating with a poem about "going to Mars" even as the agency delayed the planned return to the moon. | Long merely called "NASA Headquarters," the Washington, DC building was officially renamed in honor of Jackson on Friday. She became the space agency's first black female engineer in 1958, seven years after joining its predecessor the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). | "The trip to Mars can only be understood through Black Americans." — Poet and educator Nikki Giovanni reads…
rt.com/usa/516729-nasa-black-engineer-building-woke/

Mars trip 'can only be understood through black Americans,' NASA tweets, celebrating renaming of HQ building
rt.com | 2021-02-26
The US space agency has renamed its DC headquarters after NASA's first black female engineer Mary Jackson, celebrating with a poem about "going to Mars" even as the agency delayed a planned return to the Moon. | Long merely called 'NASA Headquarters', the Washington, DC building was officially renamed in honor of Jackson on Friday. She became the space agency's first black female engineer in 1958, seven years after joining its predecessor, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). | "The trip to Mars can only be understood through Black Americans." — Poet and educator Nikki Giovanni reads a…
rt.com/usa/516729-nasa-black-engineer-building-woke/

Facebook reaches deal with Australian government
wsws.org | 2021-02-25
The deal involved an amendment to government legislation, backed by the opposition Labor party, that requires Facebook to pay news outlets for content under a bargaining code…
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2021/02/25/aust-f25.html

Australia Passes Law Requiring Google, Facebook Pay For News
sputniknews.com | 2021-02-25
Google Australia Managing Director Melanie Silva told Aussie senators last month that the news media bill, as it stood at the time, would result in a revocation of the country's access to Google Search. In recent weeks, Facebook also responded to the legislation by blocking the sharing of news on Facebook and Instagram in Australia.
sputniknews.com/us/202102251082178604-australia-passes-law-requiring-google-facebook-pay-for-news/

Twitter Testing Paid 'Super Follows' Feature in Bid to Double Profits by 2024
sputniknews.com | 2021-02-25
Twitter users have often joked they "can't believe this website is free," but the tech giant's model of profiting by selling data licenses and targeted advertising services doesn't seem to be capable of delivering the robust cashflow desired by its high-powered investors.
sputniknews.com/science/202102251082190172-twitter-testing-paid-super-follows-feature-in-bid-to-double-profits-by-2024/

Israel suspends sending its Covid vaccine doses to other countries amid legal scrutiny & defense minister's objections
rt.com | 2021-02-25
The office of Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has halted the sending of Covid-19 jabs to other countries after the move sparked questions from the state attorney general and angered Defense Minister Benny Gantz. | The suspension was announced on Thursday, shortly after Israel's attorney general, Avichai Mandelblit, asked National Security Adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat for clarification on the program. | Gantz has welcomed the freeze, writing on Twitter that Netanyahu's order to send the surplus of Israeli vaccines to foreig…
rt.com/news/516590-gantz-netanyahu-israel-vaccine/

Guardian Columnist's Firing Over Israel Joke Highlights Paper's Rightward Drift
Ari Paul | zcomm.org | 2021-02-25
The Guardian has fired one of its columnists for its US edition, Nathan Robinson, because Robinson jokingly tweeted about US military aid to Israel…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/guardian-columnists-firing-over-israel-joke-highlights-papers-rightward-drift/