Tag: politics

FTC Settlement: Ad Agencies Agree to Stop “Brand Safety” Collusion to Defund Media Outlets

Three of the world’s biggest advertising conglomerates have agreed to stop colluding to defund media outlets whose politics they didn’t like.

The Federal Trade Commission and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, joined by seven other states, filed a complaint and simultaneous settlement against Dentsu US, GroupM Worldwide (WPP’s media-buying arm), and Publicis on April 15, accusing them of running what amounts to a coordinated censorship operation through the advertising supply chain.

Starting in 2018, these agencies, which collectively control over $81 billion in ad-buying power, agreed to adopt identical “brand safety” standards that treated so-called “misinformation” as a category of content too dangerous for any advertiser to touch.

They did this through two industry groups: the American Association of Advertising Agencies’ Advertiser Protection Bureau, and the World Federation of Advertisers’ Global Alliance for Responsible Media, better known as GARM. The result was a shared “Brand Safety Floor” that could starve publishers of revenue without any single company having to take public responsibility for the decision.

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Big Advertisers Settle Case with FTC over Leftist Censorship in Advertising and Suspected Collusion Against Breitbart, Other Conservatives

Three of the world’s largest advertising companies settled Wednesday with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over claims that they colluded on policies to combat alleged misinformation that denied advertising revenue to conservative publishers such as Breitbart News.

The FTC said in a complaint filed on Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas that WPP, Dentsu, and Publicis coordinated on policies that limited the number of ads that ran on sites with content that the industry had identified as misinformation. The policy resulted in fewer ads running on media outlets such as Breitbart News, punishing outlets that ran content that was “lawful but disfavored.” The filing explained that these advertisers sought to impose common “brand safety” standards across the digital advertising industry. The FTC stated that the ad agencies, with their primary competitors, Omnicom and IPG, operated through their trade associations to establish a “Brand Safety Floor” to combat “misinformation.”

“The ad agencies’ brand-safety conspiracy turned competition in the market for ad-buying services on its head,” FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson said in a written statement. “The antitrust laws guarantee participation in a market free from conduct, such as economic boycotts, that distort the fundamental competitive pressures that promote lower prices, higher quality products and increased innovation.”

“As we explain in our complaint, the brand-safety agreement limited competition in the market for ad-buying services and deprived advertisers of the benefits of differentiated brand-safety standards that could be tailored to their unique advertising inventory,” the FTC chairman said.

Ferguson continued:

This unlawful collusion not only damaged our marketplace, but also distorted the marketplace of ideas by discriminating against speech and ideas that fell below the unlawfully agreed-upon floor. The proposed order remedies the dangers inherent to collusive practices and restores competition to the digital news ecosystem.

A spokesman for WPP said in a statement that the agreement “reflects our existing and ongoing commitment to provide our clients with unbiased advice as they decide where to place their media.” A spokesman for Dentsu said the company was “fully committed to operating transparently, with integrity, and in strict compliance with all applicable laws.” Publicis had not responded to a request for comment from the New York Times.

The FTC said in its filing that the ad agencies “coordinated” through the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM), an entity created by the World Federation of Advertisers, of which the three advertisers are members.

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“Mamdani Mart” Exposes The Inefficiency Of Socialism In One Chart

Andreessen Horowitz’s a16z New Media published the most popular charts of the week on financial markets, but the most revealing one came at the end of the note: a comparison suggesting that New York City’s first grocery store, which will soon be run by unhinged socialists, will be structurally less efficient than private-sector supermarkets.

But who cares when it’s not taxpayer monies?

According to the New York Post, Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s proposed city-owned grocery store in East Harlem would require roughly $30 million in taxpayer funding.

At just 9,000 square feet, the project implies a construction cost of about $3,000 per square foot – an exceptionally and alarmingly high number by grocery industry standards. 

From an economic standpoint, the “Mamdani Mart” underscores a familiar pattern: state-directed supermarkets often fail to achieve the cost discipline, operational efficiency, and scale seen in private-sector chains.

This story has played out time and again in the U.S., as unhinged left-wingers have experimented with socialism:

The end result is Cuba.

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Zohran Mamdani to Introduce New York City to Exciting New Innovation of… Trash Cans – By 2031

New York City’s new democratic socialist (communist) Mayor Zohran Mamdani took a moment this week to tell people of the city about an exciting new invention called rat-proof trash bins, which he will be implementing by the year 2031.

You absolutely could not make this up.

Couldn’t he put these bins all over the city by say… this coming week if he wanted to? Who needs a five-year plan to put out trash cans?

WABC News in New York reports:

Containerized trash is expanding to six more New York City districts by the end of 2027, as the Mamdani administration targets citywide containerization by 2031.

Businesses and low-density residential buildings are already required to put their trash bags in containers for pickup.

Over the next year, the Sanitation Department will distribute large Empire Bins to all residential buildings with 30 units or more in the six districts.

Officials say 6,500 large Empire garbage bins will be rolled out for more than 3,500 buildings in this expansion.

They can be only opened by building staff with a keycard, or by sanitation workers…

Mayor Zohran Mamdani said in a statement, “In the wealthiest city in the wealthiest nation in the history of the world, no New Yorker should have their sidewalks covered in garbage. By finishing the job on containerization, we will ensure New York City’s streets remain the envy of the world. We have the plan, we’re investing the money and we’re delivering on the promise of clean, healthy streets for every neighborhood.”

He actually did an announcement about this.

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DOJ says Mamdani would be sued if he tries requiring white neighborhoods to pay higher property tax

he U.S. Justice Department said it would sue New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani if he tries requiring white neighborhoods to pay higher property taxes.

Harmeet Dhillon, U.S. assistant attorney general for the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, was responding to a socal media post about a New York Post front page from the NYC mayoral campaign.

“This is illegal. If it happens, expect a lawsuit. Or many,” she wrote.

Earlier this month, Mamdani released details of his current tax plan, which includes requiring luxury second homes to pay higher property taxes.

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Doug Ford’s $29-million taxpayer funded gravy plane

Doug Ford did not rise to power as a champagne-sipping man of luxury. He rose to power off the back of a family brand built on resentment of the political class — the insiders, the freeloaders, the entitled crowd riding what Rob Ford memorably called the gravy train.

That was the whole point. The Fords were supposed to be the ones who hated the perks, hated the waste, hated the fancy nonsense that politicians always seem to justify for themselves and deny to everyone else.

And that is why this latest move lands with such force.

Ontario has now confirmed the purchase of a pre-owned 2016 Bombardier Challenger 650 for $28.9 million, a jet the government says is needed to provide the premier with more certain, flexible, secure and confidential travel.

And let’s be honest about what makes this so politically toxic: it is not merely the cost. It is the class signal.

No serious person denies that aircraft can be useful tools for executives or government leaders. A small working plane for getting around a massive province on a tight schedule is one thing. A luxury intercontinental jet is something else entirely.

The Ford government says this purchase is about travel. But a Challenger 650 does not look like fiscal restraint. It looks like a politician who has been in power too long, surrounded by too many people telling him he deserves the lifestyle of the rich and famous.

That is a far cry from the Doug Ford who once boasted, in 2019, that he refused to use the premier’s plane. As reported by CHCH News and highlighted again by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, Ford used to present himself as the rare politician who did not need that kind of pampered treatment.

What changed?

Not the average Ontarian’s finances. Those have only gotten worse. Housing is brutal. Debt is crushing. The cost of living has done real social damage, especially to younger people trying to start families and build anything resembling a middle-class life.

And Ontario is hardly swimming in prosperity. The province’s industrial base has been weakening for years. The auto sector is under pressure. Manufacturing has been hollowed out over decades. Yet somehow, amid all that economic anxiety, the province has found room in the budget for a premier’s luxury aircraft.

That is why the issue cuts deeper than an aviation procurement story. This is about transformation. Doug Ford was elected as a blunt instrument against elite entitlement. But after years in office, he increasingly looks like another politician who has learned to love the comforts of power.

There is also the simple common-sense test. If the purpose were purely practical — quick regional travel, security, efficiency — a smaller working aircraft would be easier to defend. Ontarians can understand the case for a tool. What they are being asked to accept here is a status symbol.

And once governments buy status symbols, taxpayers are expected to suspend all instincts and trust that the thing will never be abused, never become normalized, never be folded into the culture of insiders, handlers, entourages and political vanity. That requires more faith than this government has earned.

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Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson Calls for Reparations and Claims Restaurants Are Tied to Slavery in Bizarre Rant 

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is currently embroiled in some sort of feud with the city council over a raise for tipped workers and it’s not going the way he wants so he is lashing out.

This week, while he was remarking on the situation, he suddenly veered into the topic of reparations and then claimed that the restaurant industry has ties to slavery.

How was this man elected mayor of a major city? It really seems like there’s something wrong with him.

FOX News reports:

Chicago mayor links restaurant industry to ‘slavery’ as tipped wage fight intensifies

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson linked the restaurant industry to “slavery” Wednesday as he defended his push to eliminate the tipped wage, doubling down after surviving a City Council effort to block the policy.

Johnson’s remarks came after the Chicago City Council failed to override his veto of a measure that would have halted the city’s phaseout of the subminimum wage for tipped workers — a policy set to raise base pay to the full minimum wage by 2028 that is opposed by restaurant owners who warn it could drive up prices and cut jobs.

He called on Chicagoans to “challenge city council not to do stuff like take wages away from Black and Brown people,” saying that most workers in the service industry who rely on tips are minorities.

“You just watched the entire city council, in transparency, try to take wages away from the very people who are part of an industry that has its ties to slavery is hiding from that,” Johnson said. “I am boldly declaring that we need reparations in this city, and that’s why I’m funding it.”

What is he even talking about?

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BUSTED: Gavin Newsom’s New Book is a Best Seller Because His Own Political Action Committee Spent $1.5 Million Buying Thousands of Copies

Everything about California Governor Gavin Newsom is fake. Even the numbers on his book sales.

His new book is being touted by his allies as a best seller, but the main reason it’s selling so well is because his own political action committee has spent upwards of $1.5 million buying thousands of copies of it.

That’s one way to get on the New York Times best seller list. It’s not honest, but it’ll probably work.

Not a single thing about this man is genuine.

FOX News reports:

Newsom PAC bought thousands of memoir copies about his hardships, juicing sales

Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s political action committee spent more than $1.5 million buying thousands of copies of his new memoir — accounting for about two-thirds of all copies sold nationwide — according to campaign finance filings.

The PAC spending helped propel Newsom’s memoir, “Young Man in a Hurry,” onto the New York Times bestseller list and is raising new scrutiny as his national profile builds ahead of a possible 2028 presidential run.

In November, the Campaign for Democracy Committee launched a book campaign asking donors to contribute any amount to the PAC to receive the memoir when it was released on Feb. 24. Newsom spokesperson Nathan Click told the New York Times that the PAC bought about 67,000 copies—representing a substantial portion of the 97,400 total sold.

“We were thrilled with the response,” Click told the New York Times. “Our goal was to deepen the relationship between him and the millions of folks who have already expressed support for Governor Newsom’s work.”

The PAC made two payments totaling over $1.5 million to Porchlight Book Company, according to a FEC filing posted on Wednesday and reviewed by Fox News Digital.

Newsom probably sees nothing wrong with this. He is a member of the same party that busses in paid supporters for rallies and [rotests, after all.

Will Democrats really nominate this faker in 2028?

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RFK Jr. Had No Idea What This Dem Rep Was Saying…and He’s Not Alone

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is facing a tough challenge on Capitol Hill. He hasn’t testified before Congress in months, so defending his positions, the MAHA agenda, and some of the HHS cuts turned into a fierce confrontation. While the media and Democrats hoped he would stray from his message, they even admitted he’s remained consistent (via WaPo):

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. defended his controversial record leading the nation’s health department, as Democrats argued his changes on vaccines threatened public health in America and pushed back against his proposed budget cuts.

On Thursday, Kennedy kicked off a marathon of seven congressional hearings where lawmakers grilled him for the first time in more than seven months. The hearings will continue through next week.

Kennedy’s health department has recently undergone a major leadership shake-up, and he’s leaned into his messaging around food and nutrition as GOP pollsters warn of the political risks of vaccine skepticism ahead of the midterms. But for hours on Thursday, lawmakers quizzed him on vaccines, fraud in federal government programs and the budget request for his department.

That doesn’t mean some fireworks went off, like when Rep. Terri Sewell (D-AL) asked this question, which left the HHS secretary aghast—he didn’t know what she was talking about:

REP. SEWELL: You’re NOT a doctor, you have no medical degree!

RFK: 24 of the 26 HHS Secretaries have not had medical degrees.

SEWELL: Have you ever re-parented a black child?

RFK: I don’t even know what that phrase MEANS. I’m not gonna answer something I didn’t say.

SEWELL: You said it.

RFK: I’d like to hear the recording! I don’t even know what it means!

The man is calm and collected; most Trump officials know how to play this game, even the ones who have been fired for other things. 

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Former Congressman Blows The Whistle On Blackmail And Honeypots In Congress

In a candid interview with Human Events editor Jack Posobiec, former Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) alleged that blackmail and sexual honeypot operations are far more prevalent than the American public is aware of.

Cawthorn, who was elected to represent North Carolina’s 11th congressional district at just 25 years old in 2020, described the typical path these lurrid situations take. It often begins at donor dinners or late-night votes, when members unwind with drinks or head back toward Capitol Hill. While many lawmakers prefer socializing with fellow congressmen to avoid complications with staffers or outside interests, invitations can quickly turn strangely personal.

“Normally, the way I found that these things start getting off the ground is that it starts out—you’re maybe at a donor dinner or getting dinner after a late night of votes,” Cawthorn said. “Then, you know, everyone has friends inside of Congress, so you start hanging out with friends. Maybe you’re grabbing drinks, or on the way back to Capitol Hill, heading back to your homes.”

“Then you start building these relationships, and most congressmen like to hang out with other congressmen, just because there are so many problems when you hang out with staffers or people with different angles in other parts of the Beltway, the former lawmaker continued. “I will tell you, normally, the way I came across this is that people start inviting me and saying, “Hey, why don’t you come back? My wife would love to hang out with you, and we can see what could be going on here. I think we’d have a really good time if we all got together in this way.”

“Then you start piecing it together and say, “Wait a minute, what kind of invitation is this? This sounds really weird. What do you mean leave my phone at the house?” That doesn’t make any sense—these random things they’re saying. It becomes very clear what they’re looking for. That’s the big one—“check your phone at the door,” that kind of thing,” he added.

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