Tag: social media

The GARMs Race: The House Moves Forward With its Investigation of Blacklisting Company

We have been discussing media rating systems being used to target advertisers and revenue sources for certain cites and companies. NewsGuard and the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM) have been criticized as the most sophisticated components of a modern blacklisting system targeting conservative or dissenting voices. I recently had a series of exchanges with NewsGuard after a critical column.  Now, the House Judiciary Committee under Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) is moving forward in demanding documents and records from leading companies utilizing the GARM system, a company that I have previously criticized. It is a welcomed effort for anyone who is concerned over the use of these blacklisting systems to curtail free speech. However, time is of the essence.

The demand to preserve evidence went to various companies, including Adidas, American Express, Bayer, BP, Carhartt, Chanel, CVS and General Motors.

In my new book, I discuss the rating systems as a new and insidious form of blacklisting. Notably, Elon Musk has now filed a lawsuit against GARM and may be able to get more evidence out in discovery on the operations of this outfit.

It is an effort to strangle the financial life out of sites by targeting their donors and advertisers.  This is where the left has excelled beyond anything that has come before in speech crackdowns.

Years ago, I wrote about the Biden administration supporting efforts like the Global Disinformation Index (GDI) to discourage advertisers from supporting certain sites. All of the 10 riskiest sites targeted by the index were popular with conservatives, libertarians and independents. That included Reason.org and a group of libertarian and conservative law professors who simply write about cases and legal controversies. GDI warned advertisers against “financially supporting disinformation online.” At the same time, HuffPost, a far-left media outlet, was included among the 10 sites at lowest risk of spreading disinformation.

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Are we being watched?

Ashadowy state agency with no statutory footing, previously used to monitor perfectly lawful yet dissenting speech during the Covid lockdowns, has been deployed by the Labour Government to monitor social media amid ongoing civil unrest across the UK.

The Counter Disinformation Unit (CDU), now rebranded as the National Security Online Information Team (NSOIT), has been given the task just months after the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee questioned “the lack of transparency and accountability of [NSOIT] and the appropriateness of its reach”, and recommended that the Government commission an independent review of “the activities and strategy” of the unit to report back within 12 months.

Peter Kyle, Labour’s Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology has tasked NSOIT with monitoring online activity following the outbreak of widespread public disorder in the wake of the murder of three schoolgirls in Southport on 29th July.

David Davis, the Conservative MP who previously called for the CDU to be shut down, told the Telegraph he had no real objection to the unit being used to monitor social media during the riots because “it’s perfectly legitimate for the state to monitor things that might incite violence”. 

That’s true, of course – but the question is whether in doing so NSOIT will also be monitoring and flagging for removal online posts that fall well within the law.

Last year, a report by Big Brother Watch unmasked the scale of the digital surveillance system established during the Covid lockdowns, with the government now able to call upon at least three domestic surveillance units, all of which have previously been tasked with monitoring social media posts in the UK, flagging “misleading” content to their Whitehall paymasters who then urge tech platforms to remove them.

These units are the NSOIT in DCMS, the Intelligence and Communications Unit in the Home Office, the Cabinet Office’s Rapid Response Unit (since disbanded, according to the government) and the 77th Brigade, a combined Regular and Army reserve unit within the Ministry of Defence.

NSOIT was originally established to fight what the government calls “disinformation”. 

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World Federation of Advertisers shuts down GARM project after Elon Musk, Rumble sue over ad boycott

The Global Alliance for Responsible Media has decided to “discontinue activities” after a lawsuit filed against them by Elon Musk’s X and the Rumble platform. The group was under fire for antitrust violations after they had orchestrated ad boycotts of both platforms using their monopoly. 

The House Judiciary said this was a “Big win for the First Amendment” and a “Big win for oversight.” The House Committee brought questions about GARM, their monopoly on advertisers, and their use of that monopoly to influence online speech to a hearing. 

Rumble CEO Chris Pavlovski simply wanted to know “what are they hiding?” He has been forthcoming in discussing the ad boycott of his platform.

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Brits Warned Merely ‘Retweeting’ Information About Riots Could Be A Criminal Offense

UK authorities have warned people that merely retweeting information about the riots could lead to criminal charges.

Yes, really.

Stephen Parkinson, the Director of Public Prosecutions, told Sky News that people do not even need to personally post the content themselves to be deemed to be committing an offence.

Parkinson said social media users could be guilty of “incitement to racial hatred” if they post “insulting or abusive” content that is “likely to stir up racial hatred.”

Sky News clarified that “sharing online material of riots could be an offence.”

The public official also asserted separately that individuals who publish protest/riot locations, such as those outside immigration law firms, could be hit with terrorism charges.

“The fact that it’s organised groups that might be motivated by ideological reasons, the fact that they’re promoting potentially very serious offences – that’s the sort of instance where we might want to consider terrorism charges,” said Parkinson.

He even previously suggested that social media influencers who are currently located abroad like Tommy Robinson could be extradited and hit with terrorism charges in the UK on nebulous charges of inciting the riots.

As we highlighted earlier, numerous prominent people in the UK are now calling on the government to mimic Communist China by banning Twitter (X) altogether in the country to stop civil unrest.

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UK’s Met Police Chief Threatens “Keyboard Warriors” With Terrorism Charges

Head of the Met Police Sir Mark Rowley has warned that “keyboard warriors” could be hit with terrorism charges for inciting riots online, even if they are living abroad.

Rowley made the comments in response to waves of rioting that unfolded across the UK following the murder of three young girls at a Taylor Swift dance class in Southport by a 17-year-old of Rwandan migrant origin via his parents.

Asserting that the “full force of the law” would be used against offenders, Rowley made it clear that this included not just people physically involved in the riots, but those who make inflammatory comments about them on social media.

“And whether you’re in this country committing crimes on the streets or committing crimes from further afield online, we will come after you,” Rowley threatened.

A Sky News reporter than mentioned Elon Musk as a ‘high profile figure’ who was “whipping up hatred,” when in fact Musk merely asked Prime Minister Keir Starmer, “Why aren’t all communities protected in Britain?”.

“What are you considering when it comes to dealing with people who are whipping up from behind a keyboard and maybe is in a different country,” the reporter asked Rowley.

“Being a keyboard warrior does not make you safe from the law, you can be guilty of offences of incitement, of stirring up racial hatred, there are numerous terrorist offences regarding the publishing of material, all of those offences are in play if people are provoking hatred and violence on the streets and we will come after those individuals just as we will physically confront on the streets the thugs and the yobs who are causing the problems for communities,” said Rowley.

As we highlighted yesterday, authorities have warned Brits that merely retweeting information about the riots could lead to criminal charges.

Stephen Parkinson, the Director of Public Prosecutions, told Sky News that people do not even need to personally post the content themselves to be deemed to be committing an offence.

Parkinson said social media users could be guilty of “incitement to racial hatred” if they post “insulting or abusive” content that is “likely to stir up racial hatred.”

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Dunkin’ Donuts and Diageo Booze Company Threaten to Remove Ads from Rumble if the Platform Does Not Remove Videos by Conservative Personalities

On Tuesday, Elon Musk’s X filed an antitrust lawsuit, which was filed in Texas federal court, seeking trebled compensatory damages and injunctive relief, against a left-leaning advertising cartel and several member companies.

The suit alleges X was targeted with an illegal ad boycott.

The lawsuit was filed against the Global Alliance for Responsible Media, its parent firm, World Federation of Advertisers (WFA), and GARM members CVS Health, Mars, Orsted, and Unilever, who reportedly controls a staggering 90% of marketing efforts worldwide.

Soon after Elon Musk’s announcement, Rumble CEO Chris Pavlovski announced he was joining the lawsuit with Elon Musk against the GARM cartel.

Rumble CEO Pavlovski explains how organizations like GARM and the World Federation of Advertisers have monopolized control over the major advertising budgets.

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Kamala and Tampon Tim Are Caught Astroturfing Support – Paying Social Media Users to Post Pro Kamala-Walz Content on Instagram

What a shock!

The Kamala-Walz campaign was caught today astroturfing their grassroots support. Everyone knows Kamala Harris, the worst vice president in US history, has no wide support from the American people – especially after the Biden coup!

But this won’t stop Democrats from buying the appearance of support! Just like they buy votes.

State Senator Jake Hoffman from Arizona posted evidence that Democrats are reaching out to social media users to pay them to say nice things about Kamala and Tampon Tim.

Senator Hoffman posted the proof. Kamala’s campaign worker, Alicia Howard, sent out letters to Instagram users to pay them for supporting her campaign.

The email reads in part:

Over a series of three posts, we’re inviting you to share what you admire about the Biden-Harris Administration, what initiatives you support, or simply why you believe Kamala Harris, with Biden’s endorsement, is the best candidate for the job.

At MJ Ventures, we specialize in organizing impactful projects – and I’d be happy to share with you some of our previous work if you’re interested.

This project is moving quickly, so if you’re interested in creating content on Instagram, please let me know as soon as possible. We can discuss the details and compensation for your involvement.

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Crazed Authoritarians Demand X Be Shut Down in UK

Mimicking a policy that the west once condemned Communist China for pursuing, authoritarians are now calling for X to be shut down completely in the UK to stop civil unrest.

After the country was rocked by a series of riots over the past week in response to a 17-year-old son of Rwandan immigrants killing three little girls in Southport, the media and the political class blamed the anger on “misinformation” shared on X.

In reality, the UK has been a boiling pot of resentment and rage over mass migration for years, with huge numbers continuing to arrive, putting massive strain on the country and making some parts of major towns and cities unrecognizable, despite nobody having ever voted for it.

However, the disorder is being exploited to grease the skids for mass censorship.

Cambridge professor Sander van der Linden said the government could “geo-restrict access to a platform if the situation got so bad” and Twitter could also be “banned from the app store for violating policies.”

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Court Slaps Down NIH for Unconstitutional Censorship

The D.C. Circuit Court has declared that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) violated the Constitution by using keyword filters to censor comments on its social media platforms. The court’s decision stems from a dispute involving People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), which argued that their comments were unfairly targeted by NIH’s filtering system on Facebook and Instagram. This case highlights ongoing tensions between government control and free speech on digital platforms.

We obtained a copy of the order for you here.

The crux of the court’s decision hinged on three critical findings regarding the nature of the forums in question. First, the NIH’s social media accounts were determined to be limited public forums, a classification that allows for certain restrictions but not indiscriminate censorship. Second, while the NIH has the authority to curtail off-topic discussions, the court found that the agency’s keyword filters overstepped this boundary by blocking on-topic and potentially valuable contributions, particularly those from PETA on posts related to animal testing.

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UK Police Arrest Man For ‘Offensive’ Facebook Posts

A British man filmed as a pair of police officers entered his home and arrested him for “improper use of the electronic communications network” under the Communications Act.

A female cop stood in the man’s living room and explained he was being hauled into the police station over “some comments” he made “on a Facebook page.”

“Oh, a Facebook crime is it?” the man asked.

“We have reports that you made some comments that are offensive, obscene and people have made complaints about that and they’ve come from a Facebook account with your names,” the female officer said.

When the man asked if he was going to be “locked up for the night,” the cops said, “Hopefully not,” with the policewoman adding, “unless you film us.”

The video ended with the “suspect” standing up for the officers to place him in handcuffs.

There are no details regarding what the man posted online, but it could be related to recent unrest in the nation with violent protests erupting across the country.

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