2020-03-18: News Headlines

RT (2020-03-17). DOJ drops charges against 'Russian trolls' after they dared demand evidence in US court. rt.com The US is dropping the much-hyped indictment for 'election meddling' against a company supposedly behind the so-called Russian troll farm, closing the opening chapter of special counsel Robert Mueller's Russiagate investigation. | Further pursuing the case against Concord Management & Consulting LLC "promotes neither the interests of justice nor the nation's security," the Department of Justice wrote to the federal judge overseeing the case on Monday in a

Staff (2020-03-17). Insurance Industry Ramps Up Propaganda Against Medicare for All Amid Pandemic. truthout.org As the coronavirus pandemic spreads across the United States, laying bare the myriad dysfunctions and inefficiencies of America's for-profit healthcare system, a powerful insurance industry front group is openly ramping up its campaign against systemic healthcare reforms that

Ed Sykes (2020-03-17). People slam MSM bootlicking as Johnson changes coronavirus tactics. thecanary.co People have criticised the mainstream media in recent days for largely failing to hold Boris Johnson to account over his controversial response to the coronavirus crisis. And with his government now changing tactics following

Adam Hochschild (2020-03-17). When "Fake News" Was Banned: An America Trump Might Have Loved. commondreams.org Though few remember it today, exactly 100 years ago, this country's media was laboring under the kind of official censorship that would undoubtedly thrill both Donald Trump and Mike Pompeo. (Photo: Tuan Mark/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

Stansfield Smith (2020-03-16). A case study of corporate media disinformation. mronline.org Corporate America's disinformation relies on politicians, media and NGOs to implant their messaging. An essential part of combatting that messaging requires us to question our own views, as none of us are entirely immune to disinformation techniques, which have in effect become an advanced science. |

RT (2020-03-16). US Health and Human Services faces cyber attack during coronavirus response — reports. rt.com The US Health and Human Services Department's computer system was reportedly hacked on Sunday night, with the National Security Council needing to step in and warn that news of a mass quarantine was fake news. | Three people "familiar with the matter" briefed Bloomberg on the hack and said the breach was meant to slow the department's system down in the middle of the coronavirus response. Though no major damage was done, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and President Donald Trump have been informed of the attack, which is said to have included several incidents. The National Security Council tweeted in response…

T.P. Wilkinson (2020-03-16). Piety, Propriety, and Propaganda. dissidentvoice.org One of the slogans I learned in an earlier, albeit brief, phase of my life was called the 5 Ps: "Prior planning prevents poor performance." While it is true that planning, which by definition is somehow prior, can improve performance of any task, like all such slogans there is much tautology. Planning can define performance …

Lucas Koerner (2020-03-15). Corporate Media Condone Destruction of Venezuela's Voting Machines. fair.org The vast majority of Venezuela's voting machines were incinerated on March 7 in a fire that engulfed the main warehouse of the National Electoral Council. Corporate outlets followed the familiar script of blaming the victim, repeating the US State Department talking point that the Venezuelan electoral system is "rigged" and floating outlandish conspiracy theories.

news.un (2020-03-12). Coronavirus update: Countries urged to fight 'controllable' pandemic. news.un.org With the COVID-19 outbreak now a pandemic, countries should not let up on efforts to fight its spread, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said in Geneva on Thursday.

CounterSpin (2020-02-21). Paul Paz y Miño, Saqib Bhatti & Beverly Bell on Environmental Justice & Cross-National Solidarity. fair.org There will only be an increasing number of frontline struggles between extractive, climate-disrupting industry and those willing to stand up to it. Corporate media's inadequate attention, and unwillingness to truly call out the moneyed interests causing present and future harms, make them more often part of the problem than the solution.