Tag: social media

Biden team may partner with private firms to surveil suspected domestic terrorists online

The Biden administration is considering using outside firms to track extremist chatter by Americans online, an effort that would expand the government’s ability to gather intelligence but could draw criticism over surveillance of US citizens.The Department of Homeland Security is limited in how it can monitor citizens online without justification and is banned from activities like assuming false identities to gain access to private messaging apps used by extremist groups such as the Proud Boys or Oath Keepers.Instead, federal authorities can only browse through unprotected information on social media sites like Twitter and Facebook and other open online platforms.

The plan being discussed inside DHS, according to multiple sources, would, in effect, allow the department to circumvent those limits. A source familiar with the effort said it is not about decrypting data but rather using outside entities who can legally access these private groups to gather large amounts of information that could help DHS identify key narratives as they emerge.

By partnering with research firms who have more visibility in this space, the DHS could produce information that would likely be beneficial to both it and the FBI, which can’t monitor US citizens in this way without first getting a warrant or having the pretext of an ongoing investigation. The CIA and NSA are also limited on collecting intelligence domestically.

It would, however, involve empowering a unit at DHS that is already under fierce scrutiny for its bungled handling of the Portland riots last summer, an episode that included collecting intelligence reports on journalists and unmasking private citizens, according to a source familiar with a recent internal report on the matter.

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Facebook’s ‘independent’ fact checker on vaccines is funded by … you guessed it

Accurate information about the vaccines and other vital COVID-related topics hinges upon the ability to disseminate the facts on major social media platforms like Facebook. In turn, Facebook relies on FactCheck.org, among other shady organizations, to rule on what information is admissible. FactCheck.org is funded by a grant from an organization run by Obama’s former CDC director, whose assets contain Johnson & Johnson stock. In other words, the vaccine companies control the flow of information about vaccines. Welcome to the world of “independent fact checkers.”POLL: What scares you the most?

Over the past year, Facebook has censored nearly every one of my articles and commentaries questioning the science behind lockdowns or mask mandates. More recently, it has placed a blockade on any information raising questions about the vaccines. Facebook has also blocked people from sharing my articles promoting cheap, lifesaving drugs, such as ivermectin, or even studies showing how sufficient doses of vitamin D and zinc can prevent critical illness from SARS-CoV-2.

In each instance of censorship, Facebook has posted a notice misleading anyone who wishes to share the article into thinking that the particular points raised in the article were independently fact-checked and found to be false. First, it’s critical to note that almost no article Facebook employees censor is fact-checked by anyone; they merely rely on an initial fact-check of one person’s article critical of masks — just to give an example — and then trot out that same fact-check as an excuse for zapping any article questioning the wisdom of mask-wearing, even if the points raised in said article are completely different from the issues addressed in the first fact-check.

However, there is something much more insidious going on with the fact-checking industry. The inmates are running the asylum and the foxes are guarding the henhouse. When the vaccines began to be dispensed to the public in December, FactCheck.org started “SciCheck’s COVID-19/Vaccination Project” to specifically focus on the flow of information pertaining to the vaccines. The site has a disclaimer on the top of the website stating: “SciCheck’s COVID-19/Vaccination Project is made possible by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.”

Comically, the next sentence reads, “The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the foundation.”

In fact, the views expressed almost assuredly do reflect the views of the foundation. FactCheck.org claims, “The goal is to increase exposure to accurate information about COVID-19 and vaccines, while decreasing the impact of misinformation.” Yet have you ever seen the organization offer balanced coverage or flag a single post on the other side of this debate as false, no matter how outlandish the claim might be, including articles advocating experimental emergency use authorization vaccines for little children?

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Big Tech Colluded With California Democrats To Censor Americans

Big Tech colluded with California Democrats to censor Americans posting about the 2020 election on social media, a new report from Judicial Watch states.

According to documents obtained by Judicial Watch, the California Secretary of State reportedly leveraged the state’s relationship with communications firm SKDK, which Judicial Watch noted “lists Biden for President as their top client of 2020,” to get videos and other social media posts the state deemed “misinformation” removed or flagged. Most of the time, the Big Tech companies lent ear to the “misinformation” concerns brought to them by the state and either removed the posts or applied contextual labels to them.

Not only did the Secretary of State receive “briefings” from SKDK cautioning the state about certain social media posts and YouTube videos that they deemed unacceptable, but the Office of Election Cybersecurity, which is housed under the Secretary of State, also kept a database of posts “coded by threat level” that the state eventually requested be forcibly removed by Big Tech companies. Of the 31 requests for removal, Silicon Valley giants such as Twitter, Facebook, and Google-owned YouTube either nixed or flagged 24. 

Judicial Watch was allegedly targeted in some of these purges by YouTube and Twitter which prompted the organization to inquire with the state.

“These new documents suggest a conspiracy against the First Amendment rights of Americans by the California Secretary of State, the Biden campaign operation, and Big Tech,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “These documents blow up the big lie that Big Tech censorship is ‘private’ – as the documents show collusion between a whole group of government officials in multiple states to suppress speech about election controversies.”

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ACLU Again Cowardly Abstains From an Online Censorship Controversy: This Time Over BLM

Whatever one’s views are on this particular censorship controversy, there is no doubt that it is part of the highly consequential debate over online free speech and the ability of monopolies like Facebook to control the dissemination of news and the boundaries of political discourse and debate. That is why Smith devoted his weekly column to it. And yet, when Smith approached the standard free speech advocacy groups for comment on this story, virtually none was willing to speak up. “Facebook’s usual critics have been strikingly silent as the company has extended its purview over speech into day-to-day editorial calls,” he wrote.

Among those groups which insisted that it would not comment on Facebook’s censorship of the Post‘s BLM story was the vaunted, brave and deeply principled free speech organization, the American Civil Liberties Union. “We don’t have anyone who is closely plugged into that situation right now so we don’t have anything to say at this point in time,” emailed Aaron Madrid Aksoz, an ACLU spokesman. Smith said “the only criticism he could obtain came from the News Media Alliance, the old newspaper lobby, whose chief executive, David Chavern, called blocking The Post’s link ‘completely arbitrary’ and noted that ‘Facebook and Google stand between publishers and their audiences and determine how and whether news content is seen.’”

How is it possible that the ACLU is all but invisible on one of the central free speech debates of our time: namely, how much censorship should Silicon Valley tech monopolists be imposing on our political speech? As someone who intensively reports on these controversies, I can barely remember any time when the ACLU spoke up loudly on any of these censorship debates, let alone assumed the central role that any civil liberties group with any integrity would, by definition, assume on this growing controversy.

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YouTube censors Dr. Ron Paul’s Liberty Report after video questioning Bill Gates

Former Congressman Dr. Ron Paul has been censored by YouTube again, this time for posting an episode of his political talk show titled “What’s in it for Bill Gates – Does He Want To Rule The World?” which YouTube deemed to be “medical misinformation.”

In the episode, Dr. Paul and his co-host Daniel McAdams, Executive Director of The Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity, discussed recent coronavirus statistics that had been released, the negative economic impacts of lockdowns, the way governors and police forces have used the coronavirus to exert power, the media’s coronavirus fear mongering, and speculated on Bill Gates’ motives amid the pandemic.

Specifically, they noted that Gates has “all the money he could possibly need,” stated that Gates has “a demonstrated history and track record of believing very strongly that the world is overpopulated and that we need population control,” and referenced news reports of Gates-backed vaccines causing polio outbreaks in Africa.

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The Postal Service is running a ‘covert operations program’ that monitors Americans’ social media posts

The law enforcement arm of the U.S. Postal Service has been quietly running a program that tracks and collects Americans’ social media posts, including those about planned protests, according to a document obtained by Yahoo News.

The details of the surveillance effort, known as iCOP, or Internet Covert Operations Program, have not previously been made public. The work involves having analysts trawl through social media sites to look for what the document describes as “inflammatory” postings and then sharing that information across government agencies.

“Analysts with the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) Internet Covert Operations Program (iCOP) monitored significant activity regarding planned protests occurring internationally and domestically on March 20, 2021,” says the March 16 government bulletin, marked as “law enforcement sensitive” and distributed through the Department of Homeland Security’s fusion centers. “Locations and times have been identified for these protests, which are being distributed online across multiple social media platforms, to include right-wing leaning Parler and Telegram accounts.”

A number of groups were expected to gather in cities around the globe on March 20 as part of a World Wide Rally for Freedom and Democracy, to protest everything from lockdown measures to 5G. “Parler users have commented about their intent to use the rallies to engage in violence. Image 3 on the right is a screenshot from Parler indicating two users discussing the event as an opportunity to engage in a ‘fight’ and to ‘do serious damage,’” says the bulletin.

“No intelligence is available to suggest the legitimacy of these threats,” it adds.

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Nextdoor Social Media App Warns Users About ‘Racism’ For Typing “All Lives Matter”

The newly released Nextdoor social media app warns users that they may be engaging in racism before allowing them to send certain words or phrases, including “all lives matter” and “blue lives matter.”

Yes, really.

Nextdoor, an app that connects neighbors with each other, has introduced a new “anti-racism” notification system that alerts users if they may be about to use offensive or bigoted language.

When the user is about to transmit the thought crime, the app asks them to consider revising their words.

“The new anti-racism notification detects certain phrases such as ‘All Lives Matter’ or ‘Blue Lives Matter,’ and prompts the author to consider editing their post or comment before it goes live,” a Nextdoor spokesperson said.

In a video demonstration for the feature, someone responds to a message about Black Lives Matter by asking, “Why just black lives? I believe all lives matter.”

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Facebook Co-Founder Gave Millions To BLM’s Patrisse Cullors Before Facebook Censored News Story About Her Mansions

A new report from the the Washington Free Beacon has uncovered that Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz has given millions of dollars to groups run by Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors, including one which paid Cullors $20,000 a month.

Last week, Facebook desperately moved to censor a  New York Post story about Cullors’ multi-million dollar mansion collection from the website.

The Washington Free Beacon reported Monday that Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz, who left the company in 2008 but still reportedly maintains a multi-billion dollar 2% stake in the platform, gave at least $5.6 million to groups founded and chaired by Black lives Matter co-founder Dustin Moskovitz over the course of four years.

Moskovitz contributed $2.8 million to Dignity and Power Now, over $2.3 million to Reform L.A. Jails, and $500,000 to the The Justice Teams Network, all of which were founded or co-founded by Cullors between 2017 and 2020.

Cullors was paid a staggering $20,000 a month by L.A. Reform jails in 2019.

On Friday, Facebook moved to scrub a New York Post story that documented Cullors’ $3.2 million mansion-buying spree from its platform.

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