Tag: media

As Evidence Mounts of Dogs Raping Palestinian Prisoners in Israeli Prisons, NYT’s Isabel Kershner Revives Unverified October 7 Rape Narrative

Isabel Kershner, a longtime correspondent for The New York Times whose sons have reportedly served in the Israeli military, is facing growing scrutiny over her latest reporting on alleged October 7 sexual violence claims — particularly as renewed attention falls on documented abuse and sexual violence agaisnt Palestinians inside Israeli detention facilities.

Public scrutiny intensified following a recent report by Nicholas Kristof in the New York Times detailing allegations of severe abuse against Palestinian detainees at Sde Teiman prison, including claims involving sexual violence and the use of dogs against prisoners, including minors. Kristof’s report helped push allegations long documented by human rights organizations into mainstream American discourse.

Yet as renewed attention focused on Palestinian detainees, Kershner published new reporting reviving disputed and unverified October 7 rape allegations attributed to Hamas. Critics argue the timing reflects a recurring media pattern: whenever scrutiny intensifies around Israeli abuses against Palestinians, major Western outlets redirect attention toward unverified claims against Hamas to justify Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

At the center of Kershner’s latest reporting is Cochav Elkayam-Levy, one of the most heavily promoted sources behind claims of Hamas sexual violence. Elkayam-Levy and her organization became central to Western media coverage after October 7, with outlets and political leaders worldwide presenting her as a leading authority on the allegations.

However, Israeli media later reported accusations that Elkayam-Levy and her commission had misled donors, exaggerated evidence collection efforts, and spread misinformation related to October 7 claims. The controversy surfaced shortly after she received the prestigious Israel Prize.

Despite repeated disclaimers acknowledging that rape allegations could not be independently verified, outlets including CNN, BBC, Associated Press, and The New York Times amplified the narratives globally. The allegations quickly became central to political messaging used to justify Israel’s assault on Gaza.

Kershner’s own role has fueled further debate about conflicts of interest in Western reporting on Israel and Palestine. Years earlier, she publicly acknowledged that her children had served in the Israeli military, prompting criticism from media watchdogs who argued that major outlets often blur the line between reporting and national alignment in coverage of Israel and Palestine. 

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CBC spends $59,000 fighting to keep Gem subscriber numbers secret

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation has spent nearly $60,000 in legal fees fighting an order to disclose how many people actually subscribe to its Gem streaming service, according to access-to-information records obtained by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.

The legal battle stems from an access-to-information request filed by transparency advocate Matt Malone, founder of Open By Default, seeking subscriber data for the CBC’s streaming platform, CBC Gem.

According to the records, the CBC has already spent $59,000 on lawyers in an effort to block the release of the numbers.

“The CBC bragged about its Gem subscription service and pointed to Gem as proof it’s providing value, so why is the CBC trying so hard to keep these numbers hidden?” said Franco Terrazzano.

The dispute escalated after Information Commissioner Caroline Maynard ordered the CBC to release the records. The state broadcaster instead took the matter to Federal Court, arguing the information should remain confidential because it constitutes “sensitive commercial information.”

CBC CEO Marie-Philippe Bouchard defended the secrecy, saying subscriber totals are kept private for “competitive reasons.”

Major streaming competitors such as Netflix, Amazon and YouTube routinely disclose subscriber metrics or revenue figures in public financial filings.

Maynard rejected CBC’s argument, ruling the broadcaster failed to show any realistic competitive harm from releasing the numbers.

“[While the] CBC did identify possible harms to its competitive position or to ongoing negotiations, it did not demonstrate that there was a reasonable expectation that these harms could occur, well beyond a mere possibility,” Maynard wrote in her decision.

Former CBC president Catherine Tait repeatedly claimed before parliamentary committees that “millions” of Canadians were using Gem, including testimony in January and October 2024.

Terrazzano argued taxpayers deserve transparency from a publicly funded broadcaster that receives more than $1 billion annually from the federal government.

“The CBC should be more transparent than Netflix or Amazon,” he said. “If the CBC doesn’t want to release the information and be transparent with taxpayers, then it shouldn’t get one cent from taxpayers.”

The current court fight is not the first transparency dispute involving the CBC. The Canadian Taxpayers Federation previously launched legal action after the broadcaster resisted releasing details about executive bonus compensation. Records later showed seven senior executives collectively received nearly $3.8 million in compensation.

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DNI Gabbard Spox Denies that CIA “Raided” Office to Seize Files Following CIA Whistleblower Testimony

A spokesperson for Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has denied reporting that the CIA raided the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and took files relating to the JFK Assassination and the CIA’s mind control program MKUltra. 

As The Gateway Pundit reported, CIA whistleblower James Erdman III testified during a Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing on Wednesday that the CIA “took back 40 boxes of JFK files and MKUltra files being processed for declassification by DNI Gabbard” in what he described as “documented efforts to circumvent oversight.”

This prompted Rep. Anna Paulina Luna and House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer to send a preservation letter to the CIA, demanding that all existing and future records related to the taken items be preserved.

“Docs need to be returned to ODNI given that ODNI was given direction and authority by the President to declass RFK, MLK, & JFK. Regarding MKULTRA, these were documents specifically requested by my Task Force and currently being used for our investigation,” Luna wrote on X.

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Anthropic Says ‘Evil’ Portrayals Of AI Were Responsible For Claude’s Blackmail Attempts

Fictional portrayals of artificial intelligence can have a real effect on AI models, according to Anthropic.

Last year, the company said that during pre-release tests involving a fictional company, Claude Opus 4 would often try to blackmail engineers to avoid being replaced by another system. Anthropic later published research suggesting that models from other companies had similar issues with “agentic misalignment.”

Apparently Anthropic has done more work around that behavior, claiming in a post on X, “We believe the original source of the behavior was internet text that portrays AI as evil and interested in self-preservation.”

The company went into more detail in a blog post stating that since Claude Haiku 4.5, Anthropic’s models “never engage in blackmail [during testing], where previous models would sometimes do so up to 96% of the time.”

What accounts for the difference? The company said it found that training on “documents about Claude’s constitution and fictional stories about AIs behaving admirably improve alignment.”

Related, Anthropic said that it found training to be more effective when it includes “the principles underlying aligned behavior” and not just “demonstrations of aligned behavior alone.”

“Doing both together appears to be the most effective strategy,” the company said.

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Trump Counterterrorism Adviser Brands Tucker Carlson an Enemy

Tucker Carlson and Nick Fuentes have been named by a top White House official as potential targets for the Trump administration’s counterterrorism strategy.

During an interview with Breitbart editor in chief Alex Marlow last week, Sebastian Gorka, the pugnacious far-right influencer angling to be the next head of the National Counterterrorism Center, was asked whether he considered right-wing extremism a threat.

When Marlow asked if there was a threat of “right-wing terror,” Gorka claimed that there were not “comparable trendlines to violence on the right” as on the left (a favorite right-wing talking point). But he then name-dropped two of the highest-profile right-wing figures—who also happen to be MAGA defectors.

“We have to have an effective, accurate snapshot on who are part of the conservative movement today, because I would say to you I’m not sure that Nick Fuentes or Tucker Carlson are conservatives,” Gorka said.

“If you are lauding Sharia law, if you are saying that there are Muslim states that seem to be better qualitatively than America in terms of freedom and prosperity, I’m not sure that means you’re part of the conservative movement. So if you remove those individuals and you understand that they’re not conservatives, what’s left?”

To be clear, Carlson did not laud sharia law. Rather, he claimed that Western cities were degrading from “self-hatred,” while Eastern cities were fostering “stability” and “hospitality,” and were “tolerant of diversity.”

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CNN, Network Which Stoked COVID Fears Constantly, Warns Against ‘Calm-Mongering’ on Hantavirus

CNN, the network that helped bring you the fear-mongering which prolonged the worst parts of the last pandemic, would like you to know that they’d like a sequel and would you please stop “calm-mongering” about hantavirus?

In a ludicrous story about the Andes strain of the disease — the first (and hopefully only) outbreak of which appeared on a cruise ship called the MV Hondius, which docked in the Canary Islands and transferred patients back to their country of origin — CNN noted that people were being too goshdarn normal about things while noting that “still-fresh memories of the loss and disruptions of the Covid-19 pandemic” might be affecting our response.

Yes, whatever may have given you that idea, CNN?

That call for masking was in 2023, for those of you who didn’t check the date.

Anyhow, CNN bills itself as “The Most Trusted Name in News,” but its tagline really should be Rahm Emanuel’s timeless motto: “Never Let a Good Crisis Go to Waste.” So, even though there are three people dead out of 11 confirmed or suspected cases, according to World Health Organization data as of Wednesday, that didn’t mean it wasn’t time for a piece with a title like “Hantavirus is not Covid-19, but ‘calm-mongering’ risks triggering post-Covid anxiety.”

It’s the “calm-mongering” that poses the biggest risk to these people, with CNN averring that “some health experts say that at points, the messaging has been overly confident and too willing to dismiss the possibility of a threat.”

Ah, yes: The return of “some health experts”! I missed you, fellas. Can you get the Faucinator out of retirement to do his “I am the science!” bit?

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US Secret Service and Press Get Into Tense 30-Minute Standoff with Chinese Agents During Trump’s Visit

An armed Secret Service agent and members of the press got into a tense, 30-minute standoff with Chinese agents on Thursday during Trump’s visit.

President Trump on Wednesday evening arrived in Beijing for a state visit.

China rolled out the red carpet for President Trump – literally.

President Trump shook hands with Xi Jinping ahead of their high-stakes bilateral meeting.

On Thursday, however, there was a tense standoff after Chinese security stopped an armed US Secret Service agent from entering Beijing’s Temple of Heaven with their firearm.

“Chinese security officials allegedly blocked an armed U.S. Secret Service agent from entering an event on Thursday during President Donald Trump’s visit to the country, according to media members on the ground,” Fox News reported.

“A Secret Service agent was reportedly blocked from entering Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Beijing’s Temple of Heaven with their weapon on Thursday, according to reporters. The incident triggered an alleged “intense standoff” that delayed entry to the venue for over a half-hour due to heated discussions,” Fox News said.

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Fox News Crew Snared by China’s Massive Surveillance System While Covering Trump Visit: ‘They See Everything’

George Orwell’s “Big Brother” is alive and well in Communist China, and Fox News host Bret Baier’s crew got an up-close experience with it on Wednesday during President Donald Trump’s visit to Beijing.

“Big Brother is watching. There are literally cameras everywhere … I can count at least 20 on this corner. In fact, in Beijing, they’ve added 1,500 cameras just this year alone. They see everything,” Baier said during a segment about China’s surveillance system.

“There’s nobody jaywalking here, because they could get a ticket right away,” he continued.

“In fact, our driver parked illegally for two minutes, and he got a message on his phone that he got a ticket for about $40 US, because they saw it,” the Fox News anchor recounted.

Baier concluded, “Now, there are real questions what the CCP’s goal is about citizen tracking and social scoring. They say it’s to make everybody feel safe. These cameras are watching every minute. They’re everywhere.”

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BEYOND PARODY: The Associated Press Floats Idea of Gun Control for… MUSKETS

Just in time for America’s 250th birthday celebrations, the liberal Associated Press is suddenly floating the idea of gun control for muskets.

They’re not coming right out and saying it, of course. What they have done is drop an article that basically says: Hey America, did you know that muskets are not regulated like other guns? Their purpose here is so obvious.

The liberal left has never heard of a form of gun control that they didn’t like.

The Daily Caller reports:

The Associated Press posted a short video that appeared to highlight what it called a lack of regulation of flintlock muskets Thursday morning.

Under federal law, flintlock muskets fall into the definition of “antique firearms” under the language of 18 USC 921(16), which exempts them from many of the regulations and laws at the federal level, as well as in most states. In a caption for the video posted on X Thursday morning, the AP noted that while a musket could fire a projectile at 1,000 feet per second, it was exempt from gun regulations under federal law.

“When you look at the Congressional Record from 1968, Senator John Tower’s rationale, which involved committee hearing testimonies from gun collectors and other historical organizations, spent a lot of care and effort into identifying that cut-off date,” firearms historian Ashley Hlebinsky told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “He clearly lays out not wanting to burden historians, collectors, gun owners, and museums and dives into a pretty thorough explanation for why he believes the year should be 1898.”

Modern firearms are typically breech-loading weapons that use self-contained metallic cartridges with smokeless powder (or modern propellants) developed primarily after the mid-to-late 19th century, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Black-powder muzzle-loading firearms (often classified as “antiques” under U.S. federal law) are older designs that load loose powder, projectile and wadding from the muzzle end, using ignition systems like flintlock, matchlock or percussion cap.

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The Hantavirus Panic Machine: When Rare Diseases Become Media Theater

Periodically, the public faces a new microbial threat. The pattern is consistent: a tragic death or cluster of illnesses emerges, prompting newsrooms to employ dramatic language such as “deadly virus,” “mysterious outbreak,” and “health officials concerned.” Social media further amplifies public fear. Public health agencies issue cautious statements, which journalists often reframe in alarmist terms. Within days, individuals previously unfamiliar with the terminology may become convinced that a civilization-ending epidemic is imminent. This month, it is hantavirus. Just turn on your TV sets and watch the number of newscasts depicting this “new illness.”

For most Americans, hantavirus is not a new disease. It has existed for decades, particularly in rural areas where rodent exposure is common. Physicians, especially those in pulmonary and critical care medicine, have known about hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) since the 1990s, when a cluster of severe respiratory illnesses in the American Southwest led investigators to identify the Sin Nombre virus carried by deer mice. Since that time, the total number of confirmed cases in the United States has remained extraordinarily small. According to CDC data, the cumulative number of cases over more than three decades nationwide barely exceeds 1,000.¹ This fact alone should prompt a reassessment of the emotional tone characterizing the current media coverage.

A disease responsible for approximately one thousand confirmed cases over three decades in a population exceeding 330 million does not constitute an existential societal threat. It is neither comparable to Covid-19 nor does it justify widespread public alarm. However, contemporary media systems are structurally ill-equipped to present rare infectious diseases in proportionate terms. Fear increases engagement, which in turn drives revenue, and dramatic narratives consistently overshadow measured epidemiological analysis.

As a clinician, I do not mean to suggest that hantavirus should be ignored. Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome can indeed be severe. Mortality rates in hospitalized patients may approach 30–40% in some series, particularly when diagnosis is delayed.² Patients may present with fever, myalgias, cough, and rapidly progressive respiratory failure. Intensive care physicians who have treated true HPS cases understand how devastating the illness can become. But severity is not the same thing as prevalence. A disease can be both dangerous and exceedingly uncommon.

Contemporary public discourse frequently fails to differentiate between these two concepts. This distinction matters because exaggerated risk perception carries consequences of its own. Constant fear messaging changes human behavior, distorts policy priorities, and damages public trust. After Covid-19, one might assume society would have learned the importance of measured communication. Instead, many institutions appear trapped in a perpetual cycle of alarmism. Every unusual pathogen is immediately framed through the lens of catastrophe. Every isolated event becomes a potential “emerging crisis.” The result is a population psychologically conditioned to interpret uncertainty as imminent disaster.

The irony is that the actual preventive measures for hantavirus are remarkably mundane and have been known for decades. Avoid rodent infestations. Use gloves and a mask when cleaning heavily contaminated enclosed spaces, such as sheds or cabins. Ventilate areas before sweeping droppings. Seal food containers. Maintain sanitation. These are practical environmental hygiene recommendations, not civilization-altering mandates. There is no evidence-based justification for widespread public panic.

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