Monthly Archives: August 2018

2018-08-31: News Headlines

Justin Anderson, FAIR (2018-08-31). Is Democratic Socialism Dead Already? Mainstream Media Seems to Think So. alternet.org Mainstream publications keep announcing that the left-wing Democratic insurgency has been defeated. Not so fast | The insurgent left wing of the Democratic Party, sometimes self-identified as democratic socialists and exemplified by rising star Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and associated with groups like Bernie Sanders' Our Revolution, the Hezvo Mpunga (2018-08-30). Hogan Adopts Trump's 'Fake News' Attack on Media. therealnews.com Critics say the popular governor can't call himself a moderate if he supports policies backed by the Koch Brothers and Donald Trump

Ian Berman (2018-08-30). How the Mainstream Media Keeps Russiagate Alive. mintpressnews.com WASHINGTON — After Paul Manafort was convicted and Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to various charges not related to Russian interference in the 2016 elections, the mainstream media still keeps the issue alive with disingenuous assertions. | In a Reuters commentary, " The messy meaning of the Manafort and Cohen cases," Peter Apps reviews the two convictions of Trump's former campaign manager and lawyer/fixer, each a close advisor in Trump's 2016 presidential campaign. Despite any connection to Russia, two little words keep the idea alive. | The clear and the unjustly connected: | At the heart of the article, Apps writes: Neither case may provide Mueller with direct proof that there was deliberate collusion between Russia and the Trump presidential campaign, but [there] were clear signs of just how vulnerable those around the president are to financial charges around fraud and tax evasion in…

Shared by britney (2018-08-30). Centrist Think Tanks Ponder Populism's Rise, but Hesitate to Change. truthout.org The two most powerful think tanks in Washington, representing center-left and center-right political elites, have responded to the populist shocks of the 2016 presidential election by trying to reposition themselves and the Democratic and Republican Parties as more sympathetic to populist concerns even while maintaining their attachments to the interests of big business and war-making complex. | The Center for American Progress (CAP), linked to the Democratic Party establishment, and the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), which is close to the Republican Party, have issued two long papers in recent months reflecting their high anxiety over the rapid growth of populism on both sides of the Atlantic — especially in light of the shocking success of both Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump against Hillary Clinton and mainstream Republicans during the 2016 presidential election cycle. | But the papers suggest that neither organization is ready…

Matthew Chapman, AlterNet (2018-08-30). Trump Aide Physically Blocks Photographer From Taking Picture of Demonstrator at Rally. alternet.org The president's team is trying to censor images from his campaign rally in Indiana. | On Thursday night, at a campaign rally in Evansville, Indiana, one of President Donald Trump's aides physically blocked the camera lens of a photographer trying to capture a demonstrator. The image of the aide blocking the camera was itself capture by Associated Press photojournalist Evan Vucci, who posted it to his Instagram account: Al-Shabaka (2018-08-30). Satellite Imagery and the Palestine-Israel Exception. imemc.org This article was originally published by Al Shakaba Palestinian Policy Network. by Zena Agha Introduction In the United States and beyond, the rules that apply to the rest of the world have long applied differently to Palestine-Israel. In the US, this exceptionalism often manifests as censorship of Palestinian perspectives and operates […]…

RT (2018-08-30). Censored documentary a testament to 'incredible' power of Israel lobby, Max Blumenthal says (VIDEO). rt.com The suppression of a documentary produced by Qatar-funded Al Jazeera about Israeli influence in Washington demonstrates the incredible power and influence wielded by the Israel lobby, journalist Max Blumenthal told RT.

Max Blumenthal (2018-08-29). Leaked Scenes from Censored Documentary Reveal Israel Lobbyist Noah Pollak Astroturfing an Anti-Palestinian Protest. grayzoneproject.com Exclusive leaked scenes from Al Jazeera's "The Lobby — USA" documentary show how Emergency Committee for Israel Executive Director Noah…

Hezvo Mpunga (2018-08-29). Leak From Censored Israel Lobby Film Exposes Anti-Palestinian Operatives. therealnews.com The first leaked excerpt of Al Jazeera's censored film on the Israel Lobby in the U.S. claims to identify the funder behind the Canary Mission, an anonymous website devoted to smearing and silencing vocal supporters of Palestinian rights. We play a clip from the film and speak to Asa Winstanley of the Electronic Intifada, which…

RT (2018-08-29). CNN's own source says Michael Cohen story is fake news, but network stands by it. rt.com A bombshell story that was supposed to be the end of President Donald Trump — until the celebrity source recanted. It sounds like a typical media screw-up, with one key difference: for whatever reason, CNN is standing by it.

RT (2018-08-29). Manufacturing dissent: Leaked footage reveals US Israel lobby astroturfing student event (VIDEO). rt.com A fake pro-Israel protest manufactured by US-based lobbying groups has been exposed in an exclusive clip from a censored Al Jazeera documentary on Israel's influence in the US.

RT (2018-08-29). WaPo column praises McCain as human rights champion with photo of him next to 'literal neo-Nazi'. rt.com Mainstream US media have been singing eulogies to the late Senator John McCain after he succumbed to brain cancer last weekend. Among them is a column in the Washington Post titled 'The human rights community lost a champion.'

RT (2018-08-29). Honest mistakes or fake news? CNN's top Trump-related reporting gaffes. rt.com US President Donald Trump and CNN have been at loggerheads for years, with the president branding CNN part of the "fake news" media and even calling the network the "enemy of the people" on Twitter.

Justin Anderson (2018-08-28). Media Continues Writing Premature Obituaries for the Democratic Left. fair.org US News ( 8/8/18): "A band of far-left candidates have suffered a string of defeats in Democratic primaries this year." | The insurgent left wing of the Democratic Party, sometimes self-identified as democratic socialists and exemplified by rising star Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and associated with groups like Bernie Sanders' Our Revolution, the Justice Democrats and the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), took some losses in primaries on August 7. These included high-profile candidates like Abdul El-Sayed, a candidate for Michigan governor and Brent Welder in Kansas's 2nd district, along with losses by Cori Bush in Missouri's 1st district. Following the losses, corporate media outlets were quick to declare the Democratic left wing dead in the water: | "Bernie and His Army Are Losing 2018" (Politico, 8/8/18) | "Down Goes Socialism" (Politico, 8/8/18) | "Democratic Party's Liberal Insurgency Hits…

Hezvo Mpunga (2018-08-28). Facebook & Google Play the Censor: Are our Civil Liberties Endangered? therealnews.com Rolling Stone's Matt Taibbi joins us to examine the dangerous juncture our freedom finds itself in when Facebook, Twitter, and Google work with the government and its intelligence services to control what we see and hear

RT (2018-08-28). Trump calls out Google for 'rigged' search results, 'illegal' censorship, vows to take action. rt.com President Donald Trump has accused search giant Google of deliberately highlighting negative news about his administration, and "controlling what we can and cannot see." Trump vowed that the situation "will be addressed." |

Ryan Gallagher (2018-08-28). World's Leading Human Rights Groups Tell Google to Cancel Its China Censorship Plan. theintercept.com A blistering letter from Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch calls a forthcoming search engine with blacklists "an alarming capitulation by Google on human rights."

splcenter.org (2018-08-24). Weekend Read: From cable to the White House, the mainstreaming of white nationalism. splcenter.org It doesn't take the infiltration of a hate group meeting or a deep dive into extremist chat rooms to be exposed to white nationalist ideas.

Ben Norton (2018-08-24). Big Tech Corporations Are Now Banning Iranian Social Media Accounts — A Censored Student Journalist Speaks out. grayzoneproject.com Google, Facebook, and Twitter are removing social media accounts of real life Iranians who are falsely dubbed as "government trolls."…

RT (2018-08-24). Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey to testify before House committee over 'shadow banning' & bias claims. rt.com Twitter's chief executive Jack Dorsey will appear before the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Sept. 5 to testify about the company's algorithms that have repeatedly raised suspicions of judgment bias and stealth censorship.

RT (2018-08-24). 'Information ops': Secret meeting of social media & tech giants to tackle midterm elections. rt.com Representatives from America's tech giants are meeting in private to discuss strategies for countering "information operations" ahead of the midterm elections. The meeting comes amid growing concern over social media censorship.

RT (2018-08-24). 'It looks like spam': Facebook hit with more claims that it unfairly censors conservatives. rt.com As Facebook continues to be hit with claims of censorship from Donald Trump and other conservative voices, two more alleged cases have been added to the pile, with the social network claiming the posts "look like spam."

Alan MacLeod (2018-08-22). That Facebook Will Turn to Censoring the Left Isn't a Worry—It's a Reality. fair.org On August 6, a number of giant online media companies, including Facebook, YouTube, Apple, Spotify and Pinterest, took the seemingly coordinated decision to remove all content from Alex Jones and his media outlet Infowars from their platforms. | Jones, perhaps the internet's most notorious far-right conspiracy theorist, has claimed that the Sandy Hook shooting was a hoax, the Democratic Party is running a child sex ring inside a DC pizzeria and that the Las Vegas shooting was perpetrated by Antifa. Despite or perhaps because of such claims, his website Infowars has built up an enormous following: 3 million Americans, almost 1 percent of the population, visited the site in July 2018, according to Alexa. Alex Jones: First they came for the conspiracy theorists…. | The reaction from the media to the decision to ban Jones and Infowars was largely celebratory. On…

2018-08-31: Social Media Postees

How the Mainstream Media Keeps Russiagate Alive
Ian Berman | mintpressnews.com | 2018-08-30
WASHINGTON — After Paul Manafort was convicted and Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to various charges not related to Russian interference in the 2016 elections, the mainstream media still keeps the issue alive with disingenuous assertions. | In a Reuters commentary, " The messy meaning of the Manafort and Cohen cases," Peter Apps reviews the two convictions of Trump's former campaign manager and lawyer/fixer, each a close advisor in Trump's 2016 presidential campaign. Despite any connection to Russia, two little words keep the idea alive. | The clear and the unjustly connected: | At the heart of the article, Apps writes: Neither case may provide Mueller with direct proof that there was deliberate collusion between Russia and the Trump presidential campaign, but [there] were clear signs of just how vulnerable those around the president are to financial charges around fraud and tax evasion in…
mintpressnews.com/mainstream-media-keeps…

Centrist Think Tanks Ponder Populism's Rise, but Hesitate to Change
Shared by britney | truthout.org | 2018-08-30
The two most powerful think tanks in Washington, representing center-left and center-right political elites, have responded to the populist shocks of the 2016 presidential election by trying to reposition themselves and the Democratic and Republican Parties as more sympathetic to populist concerns even while maintaining their attachments to the interests of big business and war-making complex. | The Center for American Progress (CAP), linked to the Democratic Party establishment, and the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), which is close to the Republican Party, have issued two long papers in recent months reflecting their high anxiety over the rapid growth of populism on both sides of the Atlantic — especially in light of the shocking success of both Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump against Hillary Clinton and mainstream Republicans during the 2016 presidential election cycle. | But the papers suggest that neither organization is ready…
truthout.org/articles/centrist-think-tan…

Hogan Adopts Trump's 'Fake News' Attack on Media
Hezvo Mpunga | therealnews.com | 2018-08-30
Critics say the popular governor can't call himself a moderate if he supports policies backed by the Koch Brothers and Donald Trump | The post Hogan Adopts Trump's 'Fake News' Attack on Media appeared first on The Real News Network.
therealnews.com/stories/hogan-adopts-tru…

Satellite Imagery and the Palestine-Israel Exception
Al-Shabaka | imemc.org | 2018-08-30
This article was originally published by Al Shakaba Palestinian Policy Network. by Zena Agha Introduction In the United States and beyond, the rules that apply to the rest of the world have long applied differently to Palestine-Israel. In the US, this exceptionalism often manifests as censorship of Palestinian perspectives and operates …

Satellite Imagery and the Palestine-Israel Exception

Censored documentary a testament to 'incredible' power of Israel lobby, Max Blumenthal says (VIDEO)
RT | rt.com | 2018-08-30
The suppression of a documentary produced by Qatar-funded Al Jazeera about Israeli influence in Washington demonstrates the incredible power and influence wielded by the Israel lobby, journalist Max Blumenthal told RT.
rt.com/usa/437266-blumenthal-documentary…

Leak From Censored Israel Lobby Film Exposes Anti-Palestinian Operatives
Hezvo Mpunga | therealnews.com | 2018-08-29
The first leaked excerpt of Al Jazeera's censored film on the Israel Lobby in the U.S. claims to identify the funder behind the Canary Mission, an anonymous website devoted to smearing and silencing vocal supporters of Palestinian rights. We play a clip from the film and speak to Asa Winstanley of the Electronic Intifada, which… | The post Leak From C…
therealnews.com/stories/leak-from-censor…

Leaked Scenes from Censored Documentary Reveal Israel Lobbyist Noah Pollak Astroturfing an Anti-Palestinian Protest
Max Blumenthal | grayzoneproject.com | 2018-08-29
Exclusive leaked scenes from Al Jazeera's "The Lobby — USA" documentary show how Emergency Committee for Israel Executive Director Noah… | The post Leaked Scenes from Censored Documentary Reveal Israel Lobbyist Noah Pollak Astroturfing an Anti-Palestinian Protest appeared first on Grayzone Project.
grayzoneproject.com/2018/08/28/leaked-sc…

Manufacturing dissent: Leaked footage reveals US Israel lobby astroturfing student event (VIDEO)
RT | rt.com | 2018-08-29
A fake pro-Israel protest manufactured by US-based lobbying groups has been exposed in an exclusive clip from a censored Al Jazeera documentary on Israel's influence in the US.
rt.com/usa/437197-lobby-israel-astroturf…

CNN's own source says Michael Cohen story is fake news, but network stands by it
RT | rt.com | 2018-08-29
A bombshell story that was supposed to be the end of President Donald Trump — until the celebrity source recanted. It sounds like a typical media screw-up, with one key difference: for whatever reason, CNN is standing by it.
rt.com/usa/437101-cnn-michael-cohen-fake…

WaPo column praises McCain as human rights champion with photo of him next to 'literal neo-Nazi'
RT | rt.com | 2018-08-29
Mainstream US media have been singing eulogies to the late Senator John McCain after he succumbed to brain cancer last weekend. Among them is a column in the Washington Post titled 'The human rights community lost a champion.'
rt.com/usa/437104-mccain-ukraine-nazis-w…

Honest mistakes or fake news? CNN's top Trump-related reporting gaffes
RT | rt.com | 2018-08-29
US President Donald Trump and CNN have been at loggerheads for years, with the president branding CNN part of the "fake news" media and even calling the network the "enemy of the people" on Twitter.
rt.com/usa/437181-cnn-top-fake-news/

Media Continues Writing Premature Obituaries for the Democratic Left
Justin Anderson | fair.org | 2018-08-28
US News ( 8/8/18): "A band of far-left candidates have suffered a string of defeats in Democratic primaries this year." | The insurgent left wing of the Democratic Party, sometimes self-identified as democratic socialists and exemplified by rising star Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and associated with groups like Bernie Sanders' Our Revolution, the Justice Democrats and the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), took some losses in primaries on August 7. These included high-profile candidates like Abdul El-Sayed, a candidate for Michigan governor and Brent Welder in Kansas's 2nd district, along with losses by Cori Bush in Missouri's 1st district. Following the losses, corporate media outlets were quick to declare the Democratic left wing dead in the water: | "Bernie and His Army Are Losing 2018" (Politico, 8/8/18) | "Down Goes Socialism" (Politico, 8/8/18) | "Democratic Party's Liberal Insurgency Hits…
fair.org/home/media-writing-premature-ob…

Trump calls out Google for 'rigged' search results, 'illegal' censorship, vows to take action
RT | rt.com | 2018-08-28
President Donald Trump has accused search giant Google of deliberately highlighting negative news about his administration, and "controlling what we can and cannot see." Trump vowed that the situation "will be addressed."
rt.com/usa/437054-trump-google-censorshi…

World's Leading Human Rights Groups Tell Google to Cancel Its China Censorship Plan
Ryan Gallagher | theintercept.com | 2018-08-28
A blistering letter from Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch calls a forthcoming search engine with blacklists "an alarming capitulation by Google on human rights." | The post World's Leading Human Rights Groups Tell Google to Cancel Its China Censorship Plan appeared first on The Intercept.
theintercept.com/2018/08/28/google-china…

Weekend Read: From cable to the White House, the mainstreaming of white nationalism
splcenter.org | splcenter.org | 2018-08-24
It doesn't take the infiltration of a hate group meeting or a deep dive into extremist chat rooms to be exposed to white nationalist ideas.
splcenter.org/news/2018/08/24/weekend-re…

Big Tech Corporations Are Now Banning Iranian Social Media Accounts — A Censored Student Journalist Speaks out
Ben Norton | grayzoneproject.com | 2018-08-24
Google, Facebook, and Twitter are removing social media accounts of real life Iranians who are falsely dubbed as "government trolls."… | The post Big Tech Corporations Are Now Banning Iranian Social Media Accounts — A Censored Student Journalist Speaks out appeared first on Grayzone Project.
grayzoneproject.com/2018/08/24/big-tech-…

'It looks like spam': Facebook hit with more claims that it unfairly censors conservatives
RT | rt.com | 2018-08-24
As Facebook continues to be hit with claims of censorship from Donald Trump and other conservative voices, two more alleged cases have been added to the pile, with the social network claiming the posts "look like spam."
rt.com/usa/436787-facebook-censorship-co…

'Information ops': Secret meeting of social media & tech giants to tackle midterm elections
RT | rt.com | 2018-08-24
Representatives from America's tech giants are meeting in private to discuss strategies for countering "information operations" ahead of the midterm elections. The meeting comes amid growing concern over social media censorship.
rt.com/usa/436756-tech-giants-secret-mee…

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey to testify before House committee over 'shadow banning' & bias claims
RT | rt.com | 2018-08-24
Twitter's chief executive Jack Dorsey will appear before the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Sept. 5 to testify about the company's algorithms that have repeatedly raised suspicions of judgment bias and stealth censorship.
rt.com/usa/436798-twitter-dorsey-testify…