Monthly Archives: January 2022

Spotlight on Aitkin County Republicans group over Jan. 6 ‘candlelight vigil’ post – Bring Me The News

Posted: January 5, 2022 at 9:03 am

A Facebook post on the page of a Minnesota Republicans group promoted a candlelight vigil for individuals jailed in connection with the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol insurrection.

The now-deleted image appeared on the Facebook page of the Aitkin County Republicans, and was shared on Twitter Monday night by journalist Aaron Rupar.

The post advertised a candlelight vigil to be held Thursday the one-year anniversary of the violent incident to support "Jan 6 Patriot Prisoners."

The Minnesota DFL communications director replied to Rupar's post with screengrabs from comments the page left on its own post, detailing the time ("5:30 pm until whenever") and location (2nd Street NE in Aitkin).

"Even if they made mistakes, there is NO CONSTITUTIONAL JUSTIFICATION that they are STILL sitting in jail ONE YEAR later with no trial dates in sight!" one of the replies made under the Aitkin County Republicans group name reads.

"That post was unauthorized and not endorsed or even discussed by the Aitkin County Republican organization,"John Turonie, co-chair of Aitkin County Republicans, told Bring Me The News in an email.

He said the post was made by an individual who holds no official position with the organization, but who regularly attends their public meetings.

That individual is Jennifer Cummings.

"I'm absolutely astounded at the wide reach of this, it's just crazy," the 52-year-old told Cummings Bring Me The News.

Cummings said she is a member of the Aitkin County Republicans, not an officer, and recently was granted admin privileges on the group's Facebook page. She wanted to inform followers about her planned event, so on Monday evening shared it to the page.

Cummings believed it was a private group visible only to those interested not a public group.

After she hit publish, a rush of comments from non-members flooded the post and she quickly realized her mistake. Then, feeling sick she said, she deleted the post.

On Tuesday she took full responsibility for the post, saying it had not been discussed at a meeting, was not voted on by Aitkin County Republicans, and had nothing to do with Turonie or other officers.

"It's not the Aitkin County GOP trying to take a stance on this," she told Bring Me The News.

Cummings still plans to hold the event Thursday in Aitkin, saying she was inspired by a Facebook post she had recently seen, as well as a media story about Jan. 6 participants being held in jail as they await trial. She believes those individuals charged with a crime in connection to the actions at the Capitol building should go to trial, where they can be found innocent or guilty based on the evidence.

But she doesn't believe defendants should remain in custody as the criminal justice process plays out.

"We don't punish people before they're convicted of something," she said, adding she wants those defendants to know they have not been forgotten.

A total of 704 people, eight of them from Minnesota, have been charged in connection with Jan. 6, 2021. More than one in five suspects have pleaded guilty.

In September, the Washington Post said 78 defendants about 13%, at the time the story was published were still detained as they awaited trial on Jan. 6-related charges. Generally, about 75% of defendants facing federal charges are detained before trial, the paper said.

Some of the jailed Jan. 6 suspects have argued for pretrial release, Newsweek reported late last year, saying they are not a flight risk and not a threat to their communities

Prosecutors, however, have pushed back, saying the riot which occurred as U.S. lawmakers were attempting to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election represented an attack on the democratic process.

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GOP rep says there’s no other option right now to Republicans backing Trump – Business Insider

Posted: at 9:03 am

Rep. Peter Meijer of Michigan said on Sunday said the GOP has "no alternative" to supporting former president Donald Trump.

Meijer made the remarks on NBC's Meet the Press with Chuck Todd when asked about why and how Trump has maintained a grip on the party despite being openly condemned by many Republicans following the January 6 insurrection.

"There was no alternative. There was no other path. And given how President Biden, when he was elected into office, you know, said he would be moderate and look for bipartisan solutions. But then after, and frankly, I blame the former president for this, after we lost the two senate seats in Georgia and the Senate flipped, it became an exercise in trying to be an LBJ or FDR style presidency and enact transformational change in the absence of any compelling mandate from the American people to do so," Meijer said.

"So that gave the rallying signal. That created a very steep divide, and at the end of the day, there's no other option right now in the Republican Party, and that's a sad testament," Meijer added.

Todd pushed back when Meijer blamed the divide on Biden, asking why it isn't up to Meijer himself, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, or Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy to "kick their Trump habit."

"If you have one party plummeting into the depths and the other just uses that as an excuse to go further, to go more to an extreme, to go more away from any sort of governing consensus, and towards trying to enact whatever the will of the most extreme constituency they have is, that is a recipe for both parties to drive further away from anything that resembles serving the American people as a whole," Meijer responded.

In the immediate aftermath of the attack on the Capitol, Republicans like McConnell and Sen. Lindsay Graham distanced themselves from Trump. On the Senate floor following the attack, Graham said, "Enough is enough."

Since then, Graham has changed his tune, saying that GOP leaders must have a relationship with the former president to be effective.

Trump has teased at a 2024 presidential run but has not committed yet. He plans on giving a speech on the anniversary of January 6 of this year from Mar-A-Lago.

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Republican voters don’t actually "believe" the Big Lie about January 6 they’re in on the con – Salon

Posted: at 9:03 am

Of the 725 people arrested so far for the January 6 insurrection incited by Donald Trump, perhaps one of the most telling stories is that of the very first person sentenced, Anna Morgan-Lloyd. On Facebook, Morgan-Lloyd's attitude about participating in a violent attempt to overthrow democracy was jubilant, declaring it the "best day ever." But, when faced with the possibility of prison time, she masterfully escaped punishment by pretending to be reformed. After talking up all of the studying shedid in jail about the importance of democracy and evils of fascism she even claimed to have watched "Schindler's List" Morgan-Lloyd turned on the waterworks.

The act worked. Morgan-Lloyd was let off with a slap on the wrist, getting probation with no prison time. The judge seemed to sincerely believe her tale of being fooled into fascism and finding redemption through the magic of learning. This is why he was furious later to learn that Morgan-Lloyd's gut-wrenching show of remorse was all nonsense. Indeed, it was only a day after she was handedher light sentence that Morgan-Lloyd was telling lies on Fox News, saying "we see nobody damage anything" and the rioters were "actually very polite."

RELATED:It's time for Democrats to remind Republicans: The GOP is very much in the minority

In reality, the rioters did $1.5 million in damages, injured nearly 140 officers,and were so out of control that five people died on the scene. Many of the officers who defended the Capitol from the violent mob are still paying the priceone year later. Six months after the insurrection, 17 were still on leave due to injuries. Four have committed suicidein the past year. As officer Michael Fanone testified about that day, "I'm sure I was screaming, but I don't think I could even hear my own voice."

So was Morgan-Lloyd justdelusional? Did she not have eyes in her head? Was she unable to see the violence plainly visible in the overwhelming amount of video and photographic evidence of the day? No, of course not. As the judge who sentenced her later noted when issuing a harsher sentence to another rioter, hopes that her contrition was real were quickly "dashed."

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The lesson here is clear and should remain clear: Fascists lie. That is the nature of the authoritarian ideology, which doesn't valuegood faith discourse in a democracy. Indeed, they spit on democracy, or, as rioters in the Capitol reportedly did, they shit on it. All that the fascist respects is power and domination.Lying, if anything, is valorized in the authoritarian ideology because lying is an expression of power. To lie to someone else a judge, a journalist, randos on social media is a display of dominance over them and contempt for their petty attachment to Enlightenment values.

That bad faith is the lingua franca of fascism is not a new observation.Jean-Paul Sartre famously noted that fascists see lying as a delicious troll"for it is their adversary who is obliged to use words responsibly, since he believes in words." All of which is why it's important not to take it at face value when Republicans claim to "believe" various lies around Trump's attempted coup, from the claim that the election was "stolen" to thejustifications rolled out for the rioters' behavior that day. None of it.

RELATED:Do GOP voters actually believe Trump's Big Lie about "rigged" elections? They don't act like they do

Unfortunately, the word "believe" still gets attached to the various nonsense Republican voters spout about the attempted coup. "Republicans who watch Fox News are more likely to believe false theories about Jan. 6," blareda Washington Post headline on a Monday morning analysis of new pollingabout what Americans say about the insurrection. "What makes someone think that the 2020 election was stolen?" writes Philip Bump in the opening paragraph.

It's important to note, however, that there's good reason to believe that Republicans do not actually believethe election was stolen. Nor should one assume they are legitimately deluded when they tell pollsterslies like "Trump didn't incite it" or "it was antifa" or "the protesters were peaceful" or "the attack was justified". As Heather "Digby" Parton noted Monday, "78% of Republicans now believe that Trump bears only a little or no responsibility for the attack, which is contradictory since they also profess to believe that the mob was protecting democracy."

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These contradictions between professed beliefs reflect the contradictory lies that are flowing from Fox News. Tucker Carlson, the most adamant rewriter of the coup's history, switches seamlessly between denying that the riot was an insurrection, claiming that the insurrection was a "false flag" orchestrated by the FBI and antifa, and claiming that the insurrectionists were justified. That each of these claims contradicts the other is of no matterbecause Carlson believes none of it, and neither do his viewers. They are engaged in a collective act of dissembling and gaslighting, deliberately filling the discourse with noise so they never have to actually defend what their true beliefs about the insurrection actually are.

So what isthattrue belief? Hard to say exactly under all that noise, but the likeliest one is that democracy is a threat to white supremacy, therefore democracy must be ended.This deeper, more unspeakable belief peeks out occasionally. We see it when Carlson claims that opposition to Trump's attempted coup and the insurrection is an attack on "legacy Americans," his latest clunky euphemism for the conservative white people he believes should be treated as the only legitimate Americans.

As Media Matters documented at the end of December, Fox News, and Carlson especially, spent the bulk of 2021 hyping the neo-Nazi "great replacement" theory. The theory starts from the assumption that white conservatives are entitled to be the dominant class in the U.S. From there, demographic changes are recast as a giant conspiracy against white people. The neo-Nazis explicitly say Jews are conspiring to "replace" white Christians with people of color that they supposedly can control. The Fox News creweuphemizes that by saying it's the "elites" or the "globalists." Either way, the same conspiracy theory bounces around the right-wing media ecosphere and creates a permission structure for conservative whites to treat racial diversity as an act of deliberate aggression. It's used tojustifytheir embrace of fascism and violence as an act of self-defense. It's the same game Nazis played by accusing Jews of secret conspiracies and it's for the same general purpose.

That's why it's so critical toabandonthe hope that Republicans are merely delusional when they parrot the Big Lie. As the judge who sentenced Anna Morgan-Lloyd learned to his regret, authoritarians will say whatever they feel they need to in order to evade accountability, whether consequences come inthe form of a prison sentence or merely having someone point out that they are racist. Fascists lie, especially to pollsters, who are viewed as part of the "elite" class of pro-democracy forcesthey are trying to destroy. Seeing them for who they are is the first step of fighting back effectively.

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Why is free speech important? – Index on Censorship Index …

Posted: at 9:01 am

Professor Chris Frost, the former head of journalism at Liverpool John Moores University, told Index of the importance of allowing every individual view to be heard, and that those who fear taking onopposing ideas and seek to silence or no-platform should consider that it is their ideas that may be wrong. He said: If someones views or policies are that appalling then they need to be challenged in public for fear they will, as a prejudice, capture support for lack of challenge. If we are unable to defeat our opponents arguments then perhaps it is us that is wrong.

I would also be concerned at the fascism of a majority (or often a minority) preventing views from being spoken in public merely because they dont like them and find them difficult to counter. Whether it is through violence or the abuse of power such as no-platform we should always fear those who seek to close down debate and impose their view, right or wrong. They are the tyrants. We need to hear many truths and live many experiences in order to gain the wisdom to make the right and justified decisions.

Free speech has been the topic of many debates in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo attacks. The terrorist attack on the satirical magazines Paris office, in January 2015, has led to many questioning whether free speech is used as an excuse to be offensive.

Many world leaders spoke out in support of Charlie Hebdo and the hashtag #Jesuischarlie was used worldwide as an act of solidarity. However, the hashtag also faced some criticism as those who denounced the attacks but also found the magazines use of a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed offensive instead spoke out on Twitter with the hashtag#Jenesuispascharlie.

After the city was the victim of another terrorist attack at the hands of ISIS at the Bataclan Theatre in November 2015, President Franois Hollande released a statement in which he said: Freedom will always be stronger than barbarity. This statement showed solidarity across the country and gave a message that no amount of violence or attacks could take away a persons freedom.

French cartoonist t0ad told Index about the importance of free speech in allowing him to do his job as a cartoonist, and the effect the attacks have had on free speech in France: Mundanely and along the same tracks, it means I can draw and post (social media has changed a hell of a lot of notions there) a drawing without expecting the police or secret services knocking at my door and sending me to jail, or risking being lynched. Cartoonists in some other countries do not have that chance, as we are brutally reminded. Free speech makes cartooning a relatively risk-free activity; however

Well, you know the howevers: Charlie Hebdo attacks, country law while globalisation of images and ideas, rise of intolerances, complex realities and ever shorter time and thought, etc.

As we all see, and it concerns the other attacks, the other countries. From where I stand (behind a screen, as many of us), speech seems to have gone freer where it consists of hate though this should not be defined as freedom.

In the spring 2015 issue of Index on Censorship, following the Charlie Hebdo attacks, Richard Sambrook, professor of Journalism and director of the Centre for Journalism at Cardiff University, took the opportunity to highlight the number journalists that a murdered around the world every day for doing their job, yet go unnoticed.

Sambrook told Index why everyone should have the right to free speech: Firstly, its a basic liberty. Intellectual restriction is as serious as physical incarceration. Freedom to think and to speak is a basic human right. Anyone seeking to restrict it only does so in the name of seeking further power over individuals against their will. So free speech is an indicator of other freedoms.

Secondly, it is important for a healthy society. Free speech and the free exchange of ideas is essential to a healthy democracy and as the UN and the World Bank have researched and indicated it is crucial for social and economic development. So free speech is not just nice to have, it is essential to the well-being, prosperity and development of societies.

Ian Morse, a member of the Index on Censorship youth advisory board told Index how he believes free speech is important for a society to have access to informationand know what options are available to them.

He said: One thing I am beginning to realise is immensely important for a society is for individuals to know what other ideas are out there. Turkey is a baffling case study that I have been looking at for a while, but still evades my understanding. The vast majority of educated and young populations (indeed some older generations as well) realise how detrimental the AKP government has been to the country, internationally and socially. Yet the party still won a large portion of the vote in recent elections.

I think whats critical in each of these elections is that right before, the government has blocked Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook so theyve simultaneously controlled which information is released and produced a damaging image of the news media. The media crackdown perpetuates the idea that the news and social media, except the ones controlled by the AKP, are bad for the country.

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Remembering why free speech is important | Pacific Legal …

Posted: at 9:01 am

At a time when freedom of speech seems to be under assault, its worth stepping back to reconsider why it matters.

In a free society, all citizens must be able to pursue their own paths, set their own goals, and think for themselves. Of course, in America and elsewhere, there are norms, orthodoxies, and taboos. And dissident personalities frequently challenge these norms by eschewing orthodoxy and venturing into the taboo.

How a society treats these dissidents can tell you a lot about how truly free that society is. In some places, government silences or punishes those with unpopular viewpoints for refusing to sacrifice their independence and their ideas (the recent protests in Hong Kong are an instructive example).

America offers a richer tradition. People are free to express their ideas, even if those ideas are unpopular, unconventional, or wrong (though, in many cases, they may eventually be proven right). Americans are thus free to participate in peaceful protests, wear black armbands to school, and even burn the nations flag. A speaker may say things that are unpopular, uncomfortable, or downright grotesque. But in a free society, we engage dissent through discussion and debate rather than through censorship and punishment.

Free speech is inextricably linked to prosperity. After all, prosperity comes from ideas, and new ideas can thrive only in a society in which they are free from suppression. Its easy to think of widely embraced ideas that were once controversialfor example, the idea that all children, regardless of race, should have the same educational opportunities. Thanks to our tradition of free speech, such forward-looking ideas reshaped our society for the better.

Today it is more important than ever to protect our freedom of speech. Too many people have come to believe that discussion and debate are inadequate; they seek a society that squelches dissent with force. In law, government regulations are censoring speech that is disparaging, immoral, and offensive.

In culture, people attack the speaker rather than engaging their ideas. Opponents vilify speakers as misogynists, or racists, and then attempt to drive them from the public square, or deprive them of their livelihood. In worst-case scenarios, disagreeable speech is met with violence. These attacks on the tradition of free speech are damaging to a free society and suppress uninhibited, robust, and wide open debate.

Freedom of speech is an invaluable cornerstone of a free societyand its worth fighting to protect.

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Glad officers have the right to free speech, by Karl Hecker – The Keene Sentinel

Posted: at 9:01 am

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EFF Condemns the Unjust Conviction and Sentencing of Activist and Friend Alaa Fatttah – EFF

Posted: at 9:01 am

EFF is deeply saddened and angered by the news that our friend, Egyptian blogger, coder, and free speech activist Alaa Abd El Fattah, long a target of oppression by Egypt's successive authoritarian regimes,was sentenced to five years in prison by an emergency state security court just before the holidays.

According to media reports and social media posts of family members, Fattah, human rights lawyer Mohamed el-Baqer, and blogger Mohamed 'Oxygen' Ibrahim were convicted on December 20 of spreading false news undermining national security" by the court, which has extraordinary powers under Egypt's state of emergency. El-Baqer and Ibrahim received four-year sentences.

A trial on the charges held in November was a travesty, with defense lawyers denied access to case files or a chance to present arguments. At least 48 human rights defenders, activists, and opposition politicians in pre-trial detention for months and years were referred to the emergency courts for trial just before Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi lifted the state of emergency in October, Human Rights Watch reported.

The profoundly unjust conviction and years-long targeting of Fattah and other civil and human rights activists is a testament to the lengths the Egyptian government will go to attack and shut down, through harassment, physical violence, arrest, and imprisonment, those speaking out for free speech and expression and sharing information. In the years since the revolution, journalists, bloggers, activists and peaceful protestors have been arrested and charged under draconian press regulations and anti-cybercrime laws being used to suppress dissent and silence those criticizing the government.

A free speech advocate and software developer, Fattah, who turned 40 on November 18, has repeatedly been targeted and jailed for working to ensure Egyptians and others in the Middle East and North Africa have a voice, and privacy, online. He has been detained under every Egyptian head of state in his lifetime, and has spent the last two years at a maximum-security prison in Tora, 12 miles south of Cairo, since his arrest in 2019.

Its clear that Egypt has used the emergency courts as another tool of oppression to punish Fattah and other activists and government critics. We condemn the governments actions and call for Fattahs conviction to be set aside and his immediate release. We stand in solidarity with #SaveAlaa, and Fattahs family and network of supporters. Fattah has never stopped fighting for free speech, and the idea that through struggle and debate, change is possible. In his own words (from a collection of Fattahs prison writings, interviews, and articles, entitled You Have Not Yet Been Defeated, order here or here):

Im in prison because the regime wants to make an example of us. So let us be an example, but of our own choosing. The war on meaning is not yet over in the rest of the world. Let us be an example, not a warning. Lets communicate with the world again, not to send distress signals nor to cry over ruins or spilled milk, but to draw lessons, summarize experiences, and deepen observations, may it help those struggling in the post-truth era.

every step of debate and struggle in society is a chance. A chance to understand, a chance to network, a chance to dream, a chance to plan. Even if things appear simple and indisputable, and we aligned early on with one side of a struggle, or abstained early from it altogether, seizing such opportunities to pursue and produce meaning re- mains a necessity. Without it we will never get past defeat.

Fattahs lawyer said in September that Fattah was contemplating suicide because of the conditions under which he is being held. He has been denied due process, with the court refusing to give his lawyers access to case files or evidence against him, and jailed without access to books or newspapers, exercise time or time out of the cell andsince COVID-19 restrictions came in to playwith only one visit, for twenty minutes, once a month.

Laila Soueif, a mathematics professor and Fattahs mother,wrote in a New York Times op-ed just days before his sentencing that her sons crime is that, like millions of young people in Egypt and far beyond, he believed another world was possible. And he dared to try to make it happen. He is charged with spreading false news, she said, for retweeting a tweet about a prisoner who died after being tortured, in the same prison where Alaa is now held.

Fattah himself addressed the court at trial: The truth is, in order for me to understand this, I must understand why I am standing here, he said, according to an English translation of a Facebook post of his statement. My mind does not accept that I am standing here for the sake of sharing.

We urge everyone to order Fattahs book and send a message to the Egyptian government and all authoritarian regimes that his fight for human rights, and our support for this courageous activist, will never be defeated.

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Rumble Mixes Cat Videos With Covid Misinformation and the Right Is Loving It – Rolling Stone

Posted: at 9:01 am

One day after Georgia representative Marjorie Taylor Greenes Twitter account was suspended over Covid-19 misinformation, Rand Paul announced that hes fed up with Big Tech. To emphasize his fist-shaking, he declared hed be joining a Donald Trump-backed video-streaming platform called Rumble.

Why Rumble? Adored by the far-right, Rumble is a Canadian video-sharing platform that launched in 2013 but saw serious growth during the Covid-19 pandemic: The companys monthly viewership soared from 1.6 million users in fall 2020 to 31.9 million by the end of 2021s first quarter. Its a bit of a mishmash of viral clips of cute animals doing funny things, political commentary, and conspiracy theories about where society is headed.

Although anti-vaccine propaganda runs rampant on Rumble, as does liberal disdain, it labels itself as a neutral platform, and it just keeps getting bigger. In May, Narya Capital invested in Rumble; Narya was co-founded by German-American billionaire Peter Thiel the Republican venture capitalist who co-founded PayPal, invested early in Facebook, and spent millions to fund Hulk Hogans bankrupting lawsuits against Gawker and author J.D. Vance, who followed up his memoir Hillbilly Elegy with a run for the Ohio Senate seat on a far-right ticket. Colt Ventures, the family office of former Trump adviser Darren Blanton, also invested at that time, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Former Trump administration lawyer Michael Ellis joined Rumble as its general counsel and corporate secretary in November. Around the same time, Russell Brand gave the platform a celebrity boost, coming aboard as a creator and agreeing to give the platform first access to all of his videos, as well as exclusive content.

On Dec. 1, Rumble announced plans to go public and claimed to be valued at $2.1 billion. Rumble is designed to be the rails and independent infrastructure that is immune to cancel culture, CEO Chris Pavlovski said in a press release about joining with NASDAQ. We are a movement that does not stifle, censor, or punish creativity and believe everyone benefits from access to a neutral network with diverse ideas and opinions. On Dec. 14, Donald Trump announced that his work-in-progress social media app, Truth Social, had partnered with Rumble.

Though Rumble is all about a free and open Internet, as Pavlovski would go on to say in his statement, it didthreaten to sue another YouTube competitor, Odysee, over a tweet that alleged Rumble misled its investors. While Odysee withdrew the statement in question as requested, it then posted what appears to be a screenshot of the cease-and-desist andtweeting again: We are very sorry for suggesting that Rumble would ever fake traffic to mislead their investors. There is nothing suspicious about their average user leaving after only 1 minute despite it being a website for long-form video content. We retract our prior tweet.

Now, Rumble is not the first social media platform to say they prioritize free speech over everything else, as Yotam Ophir an assistant professor in University at Buffalos communication department points out. Even Reddit kind of started as a company that tries to break the rules and get censorship off the map you know, until Charlottesville, which pushed reality back in their faces, he says. Weve seen it before and it usually ends badly. He brings up the likes of Parler and Gab, which lean heavily to the right. Im getting tired of hearing about all those freedom of speech heroes that are going to open the new platform that changes the rules only to learn a month from now that they cant actually do it because the lawsuits will start coming in, the public pressure will start coming in, and advertisers wont want to stay on a platform thats full of hate speech and misinformation.

Rumbles terms and conditions do state that the platform doesnt allow for videos that incite violence and utilize hate speech, but its unclear how loose their definitions may be and how strict they are about such moderation.

When asked how Rumble polices the spread of misinformation, particularly misinformation regarding vaccines and Qanon theories, a Rumble representative responded to Rolling Stone with an email that sort of skirts around the question. Unlike other platforms, Rumble doesnt amplify content by sharing it with groups outside of your followers, they write. Instead, we use a chronological feed that treats all uploads equally. This design removes the incentive to produce and amplify extreme content to gain views. In addition to our terms, we believe this approach creates a healthier society without resorting to editorial restrictions on content we disagree with. When a video posted on Rumble gets significant views (more than the follower count), in nearly all cases, it is not because of our platform but because people share the content on other websites and platforms. These platforms have algorithms incentivizing engagement and amplify content to a wider audience.

The chronological approach may be valid. However, Rumble does have a trending section, which must operate via some sort of algorithm. Moreover, as Ophir mentions, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook all started with chronological feeds. When you had 10 friends, you pretty much saw everything they did, he recalls. But when you follow 45,000 people, you cant see everything thats happening. He predicts that Rumble will be forced to adapt as it grows. Thats when matters may snowball even more or the whole thing falls apart.

If and when conservatives move from YouTube to Rumble or from Twitter and Facebook to other free-speech platforms like Parler and Gab this could create hyper echo chambers, according to Yini Zhang, a colleague of Ophir who studies social media and the spread of misinformation. Such chambers can radicalize people and make them more extreme in their attitudes and beliefs, and the idea of there being corners for liberals and conservatives to huddle in, she thinks, just deepens the divide.

The migration reminds her of the late Eighties and early Nineties after the FCC fairness doctrine was repealed. Thats when we saw the rise of cable news with Fox News on the right and MSNBC on the left, she says, highlighting the creation of an increasingly partisan media environment. People with strong political opinions and convictions know which cable news channel they should watch, and they know which channel will offer them the correct or truthful information. A social-media parallel is what she fears most, adding that its not impossible to imagine a liberal equivalent launching in the future. Liberals and conservatives, she worries, will then completely insulate themselves in a very homogeneous information environment that just caters to their existing views.

So, whats the solution? Ophir hopes for regulation. I dont think that private companies should be responsible for moderating content and censoring misinformation. Thats not their job. Theyre not able to do that. Theyre not motivated to do that. And this isnt limited to Rumble. Its true for Facebook and Twitter too. Private companies only have one goal in mind: They want to make money. So, we cant ask them to be guardians of information and integrity. It doesnt make sense. Every time those motivations are in conflict, those companies keep choosing profit over public safety.

Ophir explains that these platforms sneak through the cracks of FCC involvement by identifying as tech companies instead of media and news sources, which he finds laughable at this point. The legal system is still like 30 years behind, he says. Were still treating the Internet like its 1995. Its not. Social media is now the biggest thing in the world.

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New Year, New Opportunities to Strengthen Nebraska | Office of Governor Pete Ricketts – Governor Pete Ricketts

Posted: at 9:01 am

New Year, New Opportunities to Strengthen Nebraska

January 4, 2022

Governors official photohere.

As we enter a new year, we face new opportunities to strengthen Nebraska. Our state will soon convene for the second session of the 107th Nebraska Legislature. I look forward to the robust debate that will fill the halls of the Capitol over the next few months as Nebraskas senators work to deliver results for the men and women who voted them into office. These senators come from districts with diverse perspectives, and the legislation they introduce will reflect those differences. However, there are key directives that most Nebraskans back.

Enable Nebraskans to keep more of their hard-earned money.

Our historically low unemployment rate of 1.8 percent is a testament to Nebraskans desire to work hard and earn. From teachers to truckers, mechanics to medical professionals, farmers to fast food workers, and every profession in between, our states women and men invest their time and effort to better their communities and support their families. Nebraskas tax code shouldnt get in their way.

Last session, we provided Nebraskans with a historic level of tax relief but there is more work to be done.

For example, we provided a tax exemption for 50% of Social Security income that will be phased in over five years. This year, we should increase that percentage and implement it sooner. We also began the process of aligning taxes on job creator income with those of taxes on individual income. I believe that needs to continue in order to fully unleash our economy.

Last legislative session, I supported LB 408 The Property Tax Request Act. This bill would have limited the annual growth of local government property taxes to 3% -- a reasonable limit that would have prevented property tax bills from increasing faster than Nebraskas families can afford. We nearly advanced the bill, falling just four votes short of moving it forward. Lets do better for Nebraska this year and get property taxes under control.

Spend, but spend responsibly.

As the state works to deliver even greater tax relief, it is critical that we also control government spending at all levels. Weve done it at the state level. Before I took office, state spending was growing at 6.5% a yearan unsustainable pace. During my time as Governor, the state has successfully limited the average annual rate of growth to 2.5%. For the sake of Nebraskas next generation, we should find ways to spend responsibly for years to come.

That includes this year, when we have the unique task of deciding how to spend funds Nebraska received as part of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) of 2021. Its imperative that these ARPA dollars go toward one-time projects. This is one-time money and must be spent as such. Otherwise, we risk growing government spending at an untenable rate. These funds can help our state better recover from COVIDs economic impact, strengthen public health and safety, and continue to invest in our skilled workforce. This is an excellent opportunity to fund infrastructure projects across our state that will benefit Nebraskans for generations to come.

Protect Nebraskans freedoms.

For liberty to flourish, Nebraskas elected officials must continue to protect public safety.

We have an obligation to update our aging state penitentiary. The existing building was constructed in 1869. Although its seen moderate updates over the years, the correctional facility is outdated. For the safety of our correctional officers and inmates alike, we must pursue a modern state penitentiary.

Preventing floods and ensuring access to water for future generations to come is also an important component of Nebraskas public safety. The Legislatures Statewide Tourism and Recreational Water Access and Resource Sustainability (STARWARS) Special Committee has been working to identify funding opportunities to enhance areas of Nebraska not only for tourism and economic development, but also for water sustainability and flood control. Investing proactively in our water security will mitigate the hardship, destruction, and loss of life that can accompany floods, as we know all too well.

Theres also opportunity to pass legislation that would strengthen protections of our God-given freedoms. Most fundamental is the right to life. Theres also the right to keep and bear arms, the right to religious freedom, and the right to free speech. Although these rights are already enshrined in the Constitution and in our State Constitution they are under attack in varying degrees. We should introduce and advance legislation that ensures Nebraskans retain all of their fundamental rights, both now and in the future.

We have a tremendous opportunity this session to enact meaningful change for our states communities, families, and children. I look forward to sharing more of my vision for Nebraska during my annual State of the State address on January 13.

As always, please email pete.ricketts@nebraska.gov or call 402-471-2244 with any questions you may have. Im confident that we can follow these directives by working together the Nebraska Way.

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New Year, New Opportunities to Strengthen Nebraska | Office of Governor Pete Ricketts - Governor Pete Ricketts

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Big Tech Launches Another New Year Purge Of Political Dissidents – The Federalist

Posted: at 9:01 am

It was this time last year Silicon Valley rolled out a long-anticipated purge of political dissidents from the 21st-century digital public square, starting all the way at the top with President Donald Trump. In the aftermath of a two-hour riot at the Capitol, the outgoing president became the most canceled man in America. The dynamic later flipped, making him uncancellable as a consequence of social media giants dramatic overreach.

Within 48 hours last year, Trump was stripped from Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter. Shopify pulled the presidents online stores from its platform and YouTube escalated its enforcement against claims of voter fraud.

Then came a crackdown on Republican supporters. TikTok blocked the hashtag patriotparty. Reddit banned the massive r/DonaldTrump subreddit page, and tech giants Apple, Google, and Amazon colluded to make Parler, the free speech alternative to Twitter, a relic of the past. Its only a matter of time before they make same example out of Gettr, another social media platform gaining traction.

On Sunday, Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene was permanently suspended from Twitter. Her crime? Sharing statistics from the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) maintained by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). According to the New York Times, Greene published a chart from the CDC claiming the data showed extremely high amounts of COVID vaccine deaths.

The post earned Greene a fifth and final strike under Twitters policy against misinformation, which provokes permanent suspension. Greene was given her third strike in July when she claimed the novel Wuhan coronavirus was not dangerous for individuals under 65 and at a healthy weight. Greenes official Twitter account remains online with nearly 400,000 followers.

Shortly after Greene was kicked from Twitter, the Georgia congresswoman was slapped with a 24-hour suspension on Facebook for a similar alleged violation of the platforms community standards, i.e., permitted viewpoints. Greene revealed the suspension in a Telegram post Monday morning.

A post violated our policies and we have removed it; but removing her account for this violation is beyond the scope of our policies, a spokesperson for Meta, formerly Facebook, told the Wall Street Journal.

Greene, a sitting member of Congress, is not the only one to suffer immediate de-platforming to start off the new year. Dr. Robert Malone, a pioneer in mRNA technology, was also kicked off Twitter for unclear reasons just before his appearance on the Joe Rogan Podcast.

A viral clip from the podcast outlining the presence of mass formation psychosis gripping the western world over coronavirus hysteria then became the subject of censorship on Google-owned YouTube.

Just as last year introduced a radical escalation of censorship, this year promises to be no different. Trump was at least an outgoing elected official when he was removed from nearly all major online platforms last year, with less than 20 days left in office. Greene is only halfway through her first term with no plans to retire.

The censorship wont stop. The ideological forces behind it have benefitted too much. It helped land their preferred presidential candidate in the White House. It kept millions of Americans trapped in their homes for months on end to record profits for big business. Its enabled bad actors to manipulate the public discussion and brand outcasts out of those who fail to follow the predetermined narrative, to detrimental consequences.

Theres another election just 10 months away, and therefore a lot more to censor.

Tristan Justice is the western correspondent for The Federalist. He has also written for The Washington Examiner and The Daily Signal. His work has also been featured in Real Clear Politics and Fox News. Tristan graduated from George Washington University where he majored in political science and minored in journalism. Follow him on Twitter at @JusticeTristan or contact him at Tristan@thefederalist.com.

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Big Tech Launches Another New Year Purge Of Political Dissidents - The Federalist

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