Breaching Digital Rights: India's Platform and Media Ethics Code
Binoy Kampmark | dissidentvoice.org | 2021-03-01
Having made something of a splash last month with the fuss over Australia's News Media Bargaining code, Facebook, and the digital giants, are facing another stormy front in India. The move here has nothing to do with revenue so much as alleged bad behaviour. "We appreciate the proliferation of social media in India," stated Ravi …
dissidentvoice.org/2021/02/breaching-digital-rights-indias-platform-and-media-ethics-code/
Family with young child rescued, warned after camping on CLIFF EDGE known for landslides (PHOTO)
rt.com | 2021-03-01
Police and coastguard officers responded to a call after a couple were spotted camping on a cliff edge with their young child, in contravention of lockdown rules and, arguably, common sense. | Rescue teams from Staithes and Whitby coastguard agencies, along with responding police officers, happened upon the couple's tent on Cleveland Way in North Yorkshire on Saturday. | www.facebook.com/staithes.coastguard/posts/1857131324439338 | The police were called as the family had breached Covid restrictions, though it is unclear whether or not they received a fine. Overnight stays away from a person's primary…
rt.com/uk/516845-family-warned-cliffside-camping-yorkshire/
Russia slams Twitter for breaking regulations as US tech giant ignores demands to delete thousands of posts with illegal material
rt.com | 2021-03-01
By not deleting banned material, Twitter has 'maliciously violated' Russian law. That's according to media regulator Roskomnadzor, which has revealed that the tech giant has refused to remove 2,862 posts with illegal content. | On Monday, the watchdog revealed that it had sent the California-based company a combined total of 28,000 deletion demands, with around 10 percent being refused. These include 2,336 posts on suicide, as well as 352 containing pornographic images of minors. | According to Russian law, violating the rules governing the restriction of access to illegal content could see the firm hit with a…
rt.com/russia/516850-twitter-regulations-illegal-material/
'Pretty-much everything on Gab': Leaks publisher offers private data of 'alt-tech Twitter' users to researchers of 'neo-Nazis'
rt.com | 2021-03-01
The Gab accounts of Donald Trump and Gab's own CEO are among those "compromised" by a hack of the microblogging service popular among US conservatives and right-wingers. The data is being offered to researchers and journalists. | A 70-gigabyte trove of data dubbed "Gableaks" includes public posts on the platform, but also "private posts, user profiles, hashed passwords for users, DMs, and plaintext passwords for groups," according to an entity called DDoSecrets. The information was allegedly stolen by a third party and leaked to the g…
rt.com/usa/516848-gab-user-data-hacked/
'He'll be like Khashoggi': Wife fears for Saudi-Australian detained in Morocco
Rayhan Uddin | middleeasteye.net | 2021-03-01
'He'll be like Khashoggi': Wife fears for Saudi-Australian detained in Morocco | Australian consular officials intervene, as fears grow that dual citizen arrested last month may be extradited to Riyadh | Rayhan Uddin | Mon, 03/01/2021 – 13: 02 | Osama al-Hasani was arrested on 8 February hours after arriving in Morocco to visit his newborn child (Screengrab/Twitter) | A Saudi-Australian citizen detained in Morocco l…
www.middleeasteye.net/news/saudi-arabia-australia-osama-hasani-arrest-morocco-extradition
'This is Nazi Germany!': Airline faces calls for boycott after Jewish family booted from flight over mask-less BABY
rt.com | 2021-03-01
A Hasidic Jewish family was allegedly kicked off a flight because their 18-month-old child was not wearing a face mask. The airline is now facing accusations of anti-Semitism. | In a series of videos that were posted to Twitter on Sunday, the family could be seen making its way off the Frontier Airlines flight as other passengers shouted, "This is Nazi Germany!" and "This is gonna go all over the news!" | Disturbing incident the last hour on a @FlyFrontier flight as staff told a Hasidic couple to get off because their 18 month old had no mask. A…
rt.com/usa/516869-frontier-airlines-hasidic-jews-mask/
Bangladesh: UN rights chief urges transparent probe into writer's death, review of law under which he was charged
news.un.org | 2021-03-01
The UN's top human rights official on Monday called for transparent investigation into the death in custody of a writer in Bangladesh, who was held in pre-trial detention for nine months for publishing an article and sharing social media posts critical of the Government's COVID-19 response.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2021/03/1086002
Bangladesh: UN rights chief urges transparent probe into writer's death, review of law under which he was charged
news.un.org | 2021-03-01
The United Nations top human rights official on Monday called for transparent investigation into the death in custody of a writer in Bangladesh, who was held in pre-trial detention for nine months for publishing an article and sharing social media posts critical of the Government's COVID-19 response.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2021/03/1086002
Mars striking back? Extremely bright meteor ignites wild banter on social media (VIDEOS)
rt.com | 2021-03-01
Befuddled Brits from Scotland in the North to Somerset in South were astonished by a phenomenally bright flash in the night sky which lasted some seven seconds and ended with a loud boom, according to some reports. | The fireball was so bright it triggered doorbells across the UK shortly before 10pm local time from Manchester to Cardiff, Bath, and Milton Keynes and everywhere in between, with the UK Meteor Network receiving over 120 reports of sightings. | Social media was flooded with videos purporting to show the celestial fireworks display. | Nice meteor hit the earth's atmosphere at 21: 54 slightly obscured…
rt.com/uk/516847-british-skies-glow-meteor-shower/
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
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
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/
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/
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/
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/
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
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/
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/
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/
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/
"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/
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
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
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
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
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
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/
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/
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
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/
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/
'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/
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/