Tag: social media

EU Officials Pressure Meta and X to Enforce Censorship: Threats Linked to “Fact-Checkers” and Disinformation Investigations

This week’s statement by CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and the realization that Meta’s policy shift regarding free speech on the giant’s social platforms doesn’t necessarily end with the US – is clearly sending shivers down the spine of a particular political class in Europe.

The one that, at least currently, gets to do all the talking – and gets that talking reported as gospel by legacy media.

And so, officials in a number of EU countries as well as some members of the European Parliament (MEPs) are scrambling to respond to Meta’s announcement – in a way, it seems, simply as an emergency measure to protect their narrow political, rather than what may be their nations’ long term, greater interest.

The people’s interest, meanwhile, is always the same: being able to speak freely as the very first point of assurance, that we do indeed, live in a democratic way.

But – the bureaucracy obviously has a different agenda.

Meta, as the first of the true tech giants to “turn the free speech ship around” does appear to be following in the footsteps of what Twitter/X has already been doing for several years.

And Meta’s change in policy is, in the grand scheme of things, still minor – Meta is simply now dropping the notorious third-party “fact-checkers.”

But, a number of EU officials and representatives of various agencies are wasting no time making themselves and their priorities known. And free speech, by way of welcoming less online censorship, does not come across as any priority.

Instead, they are warning Meta against abandoning the services of the “Censorship Central” – aka, “fact-checkers” – while at the same time looking to “energetically” pursue the existing investigation against X.

German Federal Network Agency head Klaus Muller is one of those appearing to be trying to stem the free speech tide, all the way to threatening to impose “sanctions” against Meta – should the company decide to extend its new, freedom-respecting policies to Europeans, after Americans start enjoying this privilege first.

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Here’s Everything You Still Can’t Say on “Free Speech” Meta Platforms

Meta’s recent announcement of plans to “restore free expression” on its platforms is accompanied by an extensive list of content restrictions, raising questions about the breadth of speech allowed under the new rules. While CEO Mark Zuckerberg claimed the company is “getting back to its roots” with a focus on open discourse, the detailed policies suggest significant limitations remain.

The updated guidelines categorize prohibited content into two tiers. Tier 1 bans dehumanizing speech, such as comparisons to “animals” or “pathogens,” and stereotypes such as claiming that certain groups control financial, political, or media institutions. Allegations of serious immorality or criminality, such as calling someone a terrorist or pedophile, are also prohibited.

The policy also forbids mocking alleged hate crime victims, using targeted slurs, or expressing harmful wishes, such as hoping someone contracts a disease or experiences a disaster. Even expressions as simple as saying someone “makes me vomit” fall under the banned list when targeting individuals based on protected characteristics.

Tier 2 extends restrictions to statements that support exclusion or segregation, such as denying someone access to spaces, jobs, or social services. Insults based on character, mental capacity, or physical worth are similarly prohibited, though some exceptions are made for gender-based insults in specific contexts, like romantic break-ups.

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UK Government Investigating Elon Musk’s TWEETS About Muslim Pedophile Gangs

Elon Musk’s tweets about Muslim pedophile gangs are being assessed by the UK Government’s counter-extremism unit, as a potential threat to the security of the country, it has emerged.

The Daily Mirror reports that The Home Office unit has stepped up social media monitoring of accounts with large followings, including Musk’s, as pertains to the grooming gangs issue.

Musk has posted hundreds of tweets in the past week related to the scandal, including openly calling Prime Minister Kier Starmer “evil,” accusing him of facilitating a cover up, and labelling Starmer and safeguarding minister Jess Philips as complicit in the “rape” of Britain.

The Mirror report states that the UK government’s counterterrorism unit has “been involved in content analysis and wider risk assessment.”

A government source told the Mirror “We keep a close eye on how disinformation and hate can proliferate, including online.”

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Facebook Claims it Will Allow More Free Speech Now

Admitting it has gone too far, Meta’s platforms of Facebook and Instagram are ending their ‘fact checking’ programs and restrictions on speech to allegedly restore free expression, according to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg in a video posted Tuesday.

“We’re going to get back to our roots and focus on reducing mistakes, simplifying our policies and restoring free expression on our platforms,” Zuckerberg said. “More specifically, we’re going to get rid of fact-checkers and replace them with Community Notes similar to X, starting in the U.S.” 

The shift to an X-style model with community notes replacing the heavy hand of internet censorship will be rolled out over the next few months, according to Zuckerberg.

“This is a great opportunity for us to reset the balance in favor of free expression. As Mark says in that video, what we’re doing is we’re getting back to our roots and free expression,” Meta’s chief global affairs officer, Joel Kaplan said in an interview with Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends” Tuesday.

The fact checking program was put in place following the Democrats loss of the 2016 election. Its purpose was to manage user’s content and censor what it deemed as ‘misinformation’. The move was initiated by political pressure, explained Zuckerberg.

“After Trump first got elected in 2016, the legacy media wrote nonstop about how misinformation was a threat to democracy. We tried in good faith to address those concerns without becoming the arbiters of truth,” Zuckerberg said. “But fact checkers have just been too politically biased and have destroyed more trust than they created, especially in the U.S.”

Meta’s man went on to discuss specific topics that will no longer be taboo on his website.

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How AI Is Fueling UFO Misinformation Online

Social media platforms have seen a surge in the sharing of alleged videos of UFOs (unidentified flying objects), particularly following a November 2024 U.S. congressional hearing.

In November 2024, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Accountability held a hearing titled “Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP): Exposing the Truth.”

During the hearing, a former Department of Defense official testified to Congress that government employees had been injured by UFOs and accused the U.S. government of conducting a secret UFO retrieval program. However, he did not provide direct evidence to support his claims.

Although this hearing was similar to previous congressional UFO hearings, the pedigrees of some whistleblowers who testified set it apart. Witnesses included a former U.S. counterintelligence officer, a retired U.S. Navy rear admiral, and a former NASA associate administrator.

All of them stressed the need for more government transparency, less stigma around the UFO topic, and new policies to bring UAP data out of classified programs and into the public domain.

This congressional hearing energized already enthusiastic UFO communities, prompting many to create AI-generated videos about UFOs and encouraging thousands of people to share them. Misbar investigated some of the most viral claims, analyzing them and explaining how AI-generated content can be identified.

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Leaked emails expose ‘collaborative efforts’ between Israeli govt and Center for Countering Digital Hate

Emails obtained by The Grayzone reveal how leading “anti-hate” campaigner Imran Ahmed collaborated with Israeli embassy officials to censor pro-Palestine social media accounts — and courted them for donations to his censorship-obsessed Center for Countering Digital Hate.

Since emerging in America from seemingly out of the blue in 2020, the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) has become one of the trans-Atlantic establishment’s most effective tools for censoring online speech. Its founder, Imran Ahmed, has nurtured close ties with the Biden White House since moving to Washington DC, targeting its political enemies with calls for their removal from social media. Back in his hometown of London, Ahmed was an influential advisor to the neoliberal wing of UK Labour, helping sabotage the leftist insurgency of Jeremy Corbyn and place his ally, Keir Starmer, in charge of the party. 

Ahmed has been embroiled in controversy since journalists Paul D. Thacker and Matt Taibbi published internal CCDH documents showing he held private meetings with influential Democratic lawmakers throughout 2024 to advance a plan to “kill Elon Musk’s Twitter.” The billionaire Twitter/X owner and his allies in president-elect Donald Trump’s inner circle retaliated by accusing the British operative of violating laws against foreign interference in American politics.

Ahmed, for his part, has dismissed the charge that he colludes with foreign governments as a kooky conspiracy. “The Center for Countering Digital Hate researches conspiracy theories. We don’t engage with them,” he said.

However, internal CCDH emails obtained by The Grayzone reveal that while Ahmed nurtures ties to the Labour government in Britain, the self-styled “anti-hate” campaigner also enjoys a secret, “collaborative” relationship with a rogue foreign government whose leadership currently stands accused of genocide by the International Court of Justice, and is wanted for crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court.

Provided by a CCDH insider who requested to remain anonymous out of fear that Ahmed and his allies would retaliate against him, the emails reveal that top officials in the Israeli Embassy in Washington DC helped introduce Ahmed to potential funders, and were even invited to review a CCDH report before its publication. The report urged Meta to remove pro-Palestine Facebook groups on the grounds that they promoted “anti-Jewish hate.” 

Ahmed seemed agitated when The Grayzone reached him by phone and asked him to confirm his email exchanges with the Israeli officials. “I have no idea which emails you’re talking about,” he stated. “You’ll have to send them through to us and have a look at them and come back to you.”

When asked if he had collaborated with the Israeli government, Ahmed did not deny the relationship. “We work with all governments,” he claimed. 

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Here are a few of the new laws taking effect in the US in 2025

At the end of last year, The Epoch Times highlighted the more notable new laws that will take effect in US states in 2025.  The outlet noted several new laws are set to take effect in 2025, impacting various aspects of life in the United States, including digital content creation, kids’ social media use and more.

Most of these laws are not unique to the US and throughout the West people are familiar with the underlying agenda that has given rise to such laws.   Judging by these laws alone, it is hard not to feel that the West is experiencing or being forced into a crisis of moral decline, with some places more in crisis than others.

Abortion

In New York, a constitutional amendment enshrining abortion as a right will become enforceable on 1 January 2025, although its full implications are still unclear as state law already protects abortion through foetal viability and in cases involving a risk to the mother’s health or life.

The amendment to the New York constitution also bars discrimination based on characteristics such as national origin, gender identity and gender expression.  Opponents argue that the amendment could lead to the expansion of other constitutional rights such as transgender surgeries for minors, male participation on female sports teams and voting rights for non-citizens.

Seven other states have passed amendments to expand or protect abortion access, with most either already in effect or facing legal disputes.

REAL ID Enforcement

The REAL ID Act, passed by Congress in 2005, established minimum security standards for state-issued driver’s licenses and identification cards. The Department of Homeland Security has delayed the enforcement of REAL ID multiple times due to the covid-19 pandemic. The enforcement date for REAL ID compliance is 7 May 2025.

From that date, all US adults will be required to present REAL ID-compliant identification to fly domestically and access certain federal facilities.  All REAL ID-compliant cards will have a star symbol on the upper portion of the card, with US passports also being an acceptable form of ID.

Digital Replication and AI

California will enforce two laws protecting the voices and likenesses of actors and performers from digital replication through artificial intelligence, requiring professionally negotiated contracts and banning the commercial use of digital replicas of deceased performers without their estate’s consent.

Similar laws will also be enforced in Illinois, which has banned the distribution of AI-generated audio or visual replicas of a person without their consent and expanded the definition of “child pornography” to include digitally manipulated or created depictions.

Children’s Social Media Use

In Florida, a new law will prohibit children ages 13 and under from joining social media platforms starting on 1 January 2025, and require parental consent for those aged 14 and 15 to create social media accounts, with civil penalties and liabilities imposed on non-compliant platforms.

California has introduced a law requiring parents or guardians of children who perform in monetised online videos to set aside a percentage of the minor’s gross earnings in a trust for their benefit.

Another California law, expanding the Coogan Law, will require employers of child influencers to set aside 15 per cent of their gross earnings in a trust, providing additional protections for child actors and influencers.

Ten Commandments in Louisiana Classrooms

In Louisiana, a law requiring the display of the Ten Commandments in all public classrooms is set to take effect on 1 January 2025, despite a federal judge finding the law “facially unconstitutional” and temporarily blocking its enforcement.

Louisiana Attorney General Elizabeth Murrill is appealing the injunction, arguing that it only applies to the five school boards named in the lawsuit and plans to work with the remaining schools to ensure compliance.

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25 Tech Laws Slated To Take Effect in 2025

When it comes to technology, free speech, and new laws, the big question going into 2025 is whether the U.S. Supreme Court will allow a TikTok ban to take effect on January 19. Along with that possible change, a bevy of lower-profile tech laws—some good, mostly bad—are slated to take effect across the U.S. in the upcoming year, with many going into effect on January 1.

For today’s newsletter, I’ve rounded up some of the most notable ones, which include bans on teens using social media (Florida and Tennessee), age verification requirements for porn websites (Florida and Tennessee), a law ordering online platforms to remove “deceptive” election-related content (California), and a law limiting law enforcement use of images collected by drones (Nevada).

This list is not comprehensive. But I looked through a lot of laws taking effect in various states, so it’s a decent overview of what’s coming.

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Michelle Obama Provokes Backlash With Social Media Post: ‘I Know it’s Been a Difficult Few Months for So Many of Us’

Former First Lady Michelle Obama is getting an earful over a video message she recently posted on the social media site Instagram.

In her message, Mrs. Obama uses the expression ‘Happy Holidays’ instead of Merry Christmas, then goes on to suggest that things have been ‘difficult’ for many people over the last few months, a clear reference to the election of Donald Trump.

She then goes on to push various programs offered by the Obama Foundation.

Many people were unimpressed.

FOX News reports:

Michelle Obama provoked a wave of online criticism Friday after she shared a New Year’s message with her followers on Instagram.

The former first lady posted a video wishing her followers “Happy Holidays” and highlighting the work of the Obama Presidential Center as 2024 comes to a close. But critics noted with disapproval that her video begins on a sour note.

“Happy holidays, everyone. I know it’s been a difficult few months for so many of us, and that folks are feeling a little bit anxious and uncertain,” Obama says in the video.

Hundreds of Instagram users commented on Obama’s video within hours after it went live.

Here are some examples of the pushback she received:

“A difficult few years from the damage the Biden administration has caused!” wrote another commenter. “Things have never looked better since Trum won the election! The people have the power! Not even all those celebrities could change that!”

“We are certain it won’t be worse than your husband’s administration or the Biden administration,” said a third. “That we are CERTAIN.”

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Freedom Is the Only Way to Beat Authoritarianism

Andy Kessler writes in his latest Wall Street Journal column that the U.S. “is strong precisely because we don’t all think the same way. New ideas come from new ways of thinking.” Kessler puts it so well. We individuals generally see the present and future very differently, and it’s this very division praised by Kessler that powers so much advance.

The entertainment industry explains the business meaning of Kessler’s thinking well. Chevy Chase was offered the role of Otter in Animal House, but chose Foul Play instead. Donald Sutherland was offered $20,000 plus gross points in Animal House, but instead held out for $35,000 minus the points given his deep belief that the small movie wouldn’t generate much box office.

Chase and Sutherland’s errant business choices remind us that the good and great decisions are rarely obvious at the time. The previous truth would in a better world awaken the political class to how wrongheaded its actions vis-à-vis TikTok are. Implicit in their attacks and their legislative role in a TikTok ban is that TikTok’s alleged CCP-generated popularity will be used to spy on Americans with an eye on bringing the CCP’s authoritarian ways to the United States.

More realistically, data on Americans is the most valuable in the world, and it’s already sold around the world for exactly that reason. Which is a reminder that data on the American people already existed (and will exist) in abundance with or without TikTok, and it will be sold around the world (including to producers, politicians, or both in China) with or without TikTok.

At the same time, the desire among the world’s producers to know about us Americans is something to celebrate, not legislate against: they want to know about us because we’re the most productive people on earth. The better they understand us, the better their ability to meet and lead our needs.

What’s important is that the prosperity of the American people is, per Kessler, borne of freedom; of Americans disagreeing about everything and getting to vivify their discordant viewpoints in the marketplace. Economic progress is the happy end result of disagreements expressed. We generally describe those who express disagreements via the profit motive as entrepreneurs.

Bringing the genius of disagreement back to TikTok, protectionist U.S. politicians shouldn’t seek a ban, rather they should allow commerce in the U.S. to freely run its course. And they should do so confidently based on what happens every day in the United States.

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