Tag: propaganda

Greta Thunberg sparks criminal conspiracy probe in India with accidental tweet

Greta Thunberg accidentally shared a message showing she was getting told what to write on Twitter about the ongoing violent farmers’ revolt in India — sparking a police investigation and a political firestorm, according to reports.

The 18-year-old left-wing eco-activist shared — and then quickly deleted — a message that detailed a list of “suggested posts” about the ongoing protests, according to the posts that were saved by Breaking 911.

The list gave a series of tips on what to post, asking her to also repost and tag other celebrities tweeting about it, including pop star Rihanna.

As well as the Twitter storm, the “toolkit” she shared also suggested highlighting planned demonstrations at Indian embassies.

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The White House Has Reportedly Been Trying To Get Reporters’ Questions Ahead Of Press Briefings

President Joe Biden’s communications staff have made efforts to find out what reporters will ask White House press secretary Jen Psaki ahead of press briefings, according to a report from the Daily Beast.

This has raised concerns from some members of the press and the issue was reportedly recently discussed during a recent informal White House Correspondents Association (WHCA) call, according to the publication.

WHCA leaders reportedly told reporters present at the virtual meeting to either push back on or ignore inquires from the administration regarding this matter. The White House’s alleged efforts, though, “pissed off enough reporters for people to flag it for the [WHCA] for them to deal with it,” one source told the Daily Beast.

“While it’s a relief to see briefings return, particularly with a commitment to factual information, the press can’t really do its job in the briefing room if the White House is picking and choosing the questions they want,” a White House correspondent said according to the report.

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Navalny Scam Sells Empty Concrete Shell As ‘Putin’s Luxurious Palace’

In 2010 some minor Russian businessman, Sergei Kolesnikov, who had pissed off people above his pay grade, resettled from Russia to Estonia. To make himself interesting, and likely to get financial support, he made up a story. David Ignatius, the CIA’s resident writer at the Washington Post, picked it up:

You can see the sprawling, Italian-style palace on the Black Sea in satellite photos. There’s a fitness spa, a hideaway “tea house,” a concert amphitheater and a pad for three helicopters. It’s still under construction, but already the cost is said to total more than $1 billion.

And most amazing of all, according to a Russian whistleblower named Sergey Kolesnikov, it was predominantly paid for with money donated by Russian businessmen for the use of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. The funds have come “mainly through a combination of corruption, bribery and theft,” charges Kolesnikov, a businessman who until November 2009 worked for one of the companies he alleges was investing money for Putin.

In 2012 BBC Newsnight again picked up the story and made it into a nine minutes long anti-Putin segment.

Putin’s palace? A mystery Black Sea mansion fit for a tsar

On a thickly wooded mountainside overlooking Russia’s Black Sea coast, an extraordinary building has gradually taken shape. It is alleged to be a palace built for the personal use of Vladimir Putin, with massive and illegal use of state funds.

Originally conceived, it is said, as a modest holiday house with a swimming pool, it now boasts a magnificent columned facade reminiscent of the country palaces Russian tsars built in the 18th Century.

The massive wrought-iron gates into the courtyard are topped with a golden imperial eagle. Outside are formal gardens, a private theatre, a landing pad with bays for three helicopters, and accommodation for security guards.

At the end of 2020 the ‘Putin’s palace’ story was recycled to promote the rightwing Russian nationalist and anti-corruption campaigner Alexey Navalny. Navalny was at that time in Germany’s Black Forrest area where he recovered from an alleged poisoning. A studio was needed to produce a video about the ‘palace’.

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