2018-09-21: News Headlines

Justin Anderson (2018-09-21). Don't Count the Left Out Just Yet. counterpunch.org Repeatedly throughout this election cycle, mainstream corporate media outlets have declared the insurgent left wing of the Democratic Party dead. These insurgent candidates, often self-identified as democratic socialists, are exemplified by Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, rising star Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and groups like the Justice Democrats and the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). All of these More

John Pilger (2018-09-21). Hold the Front Page: The Reporters are Missing. mintpressnews.com So much of mainstream journalism has descended to the level of a cult-like formula of bias, hearsay and omission. Subjectivism is all; slogans and outrage are proof enough. What matters is "perception."

Ralph Nader (2018-09-21). Questions, Questions Where are the Answers? counterpunch.org In an oft-reported exchange between Gertrude Stein, an American widely known for her wisdom and glittering 1920s Parisian literary salon, and one of her earnest admirers, the admirer asked her — "What are the answers, Madame Stein?" She replied "What are the questions?" Within our media/political/corporate culture of self-censorship and taboo topics, we should restate More

Staff (2018-09-21). Our Tendency to Believe Comfortable Lies. truthdig.com It's easy — and not wrong — to think that truth is in dire danger in the era of Donald Trump. | His own record of issuing breathtaking falsehoods from the exalted platform of the White House is unprecedented in American history. So is his consistent refusal to back down when a statement is proven false. In Trump's world, those who expose his lies are the liars and facts that show he was wrong are " fake news." | In this war on truth, Trump has several important allies. One is the shameful silence of Republican politicians who don't challenge his misstatements for fear of giving offense to his true-believing base. Another is a media environment far more cluttered and chaotic than in past decades, making it easier for people to find stories that fit their…

Staff (2018-09-21). Donald Trump Is Lying to You About China. truthdig.com Trump uses the fake news of "intellectual property theft" to justify his tariff war on China. He boasts that he is going to stop the Chinese stealing that victimizes Americans. In yet another way, he will be the savior of Americans' economic future, a savior who needs/deserves their votes and donations. He takes his cues from the televangelists. | The claim that the Chinese are stealing our intellectual property — chiefly production technologies — is largely bogus. Yet many are duped. All economic development across the millennia has included the dissemination of new technologies from those who have them to those who want them. The dissemination works via buying and selling products, copying production processes and products, sharing production facilities, exchanging access to resources and markets for access to technology, and yes, no doubt, some downright stealing too. Disseminators include workers and bosses,…

Jim Naureckas, FAIR (2018-09-21). Climate Change Turned Florence Into a Monster Storm — But Corporate Media Avoided That Story. alternet.org Scientists believe climate change dramatically increases rainfall, but most Florence coverage ignored the issue | That Hurricane Florence broke rainfall records for tropical storms in both North and South Carolina shouldn't be surprising, as global climate change has increased extreme precipitation in all areas of the continental United States. One analysis released before the massive storm hit, by researchers at Stony Brook, Berkeley National Lab and the National Center for Atmospheric Research, projected that warming would cause Florence to bring twice as much rain compared to a similar storm with normal temperatures. But news audiences were rarely informed about the contribution of human-caused climate disruption to the devastating storm, according to a study of hurricane coverage by Public Citizen. Less than 8 percent of Florence stories in the 50 top-circulation U. S. newspapers from Sept. 9 through Sept. 16 mentioned climate. . .

wsws (2018-09-21). New York Times' fraudulent "election plot" dossier escalates anti-Russia hysteria. wsws.org The Times regurgitates unsubstantiated claims that Russia "hijacked" the 2016 election and carried out a "stealth cyberage Pearl Harbor" to further an agenda of criminalizing domestic dissent and censoring the internet.

Consortiumnews (2018-09-20). Hold the Front Page: The Reporters are Missing. consortiumnews.com So much of mainstream journalism has descended to the level of a cult-like formula of bias, hearsay and omission. Subjectivism is all; slogans and outrage are proof enough. What matters is "perception," says John Pilger. By John Pilger Special to Consortium… Read more →

wsws (2018-09-20). European Union announces draconian internet censorship measures. wsws.org The new EU law will formalise even closer relationships between state security services and tech companies.

wsws (2018-09-20). UK: Corbyn's media policies leave corporate domination unchanged, silent on censorship. wsws.org There was not a single proposal by the Labour Party leader challenging the corporate oligarchy's domination of the media.

wsws (2018-09-19). Facebook expands censorship to photos and videos. wsws.org Facebook's "fact-checkers" will now censor not just web articles, but image macros and political videos.

RT (2018-09-19). US orders Chinese media to register as foreign agents — reports. rt.com China's Xinhua News Agency and Global Television Network have reportedly been ordered to register as foreign agents by the Justice Department as the US continues to clamp down on foreign agencies questioning mainstream narratives.

RT (2018-09-18). Top 5 Russia-conspiracy fails of Rachel 'highest-ratings-ever' Maddow. rt.com MSNBC host Rachel Maddow has just enjoyed her most-watched week of all-time for her self-titled Rachel Maddow Show — proving once and for all that fake news and conspiracy are no hindrance to soaring ratings.

Democracy Now! (2018-09-17). Facebook Censors a ThinkProgress Story on Kavanaugh After a Conservative Site Calls It "Fake News" democracynow.org Last week, ThinkProgress published a report by senior fellow Ian Millhiser headlined "Brett Kavanaugh said he would kill Roe v. Wade last week and almost no one noticed." But then a Facebook fact checker with the conservative outlet The Weekly Standard declared it "fake news," leading the piece to be targeted and demoted by the social media site. The Intercept then republished Millhiser's piece, with editor-in-chief Betsy Reed writing, "The story was effectively nuked from Facebook, with other outlets threatened with traffic and monetary consequences if they shared it." We speak with Ian Millhiser, a senior fello…

Reed Richardson (2018-09-14). As Trump Commits to Endless War, Corporate Media Obsess Over Anonymous Op-Ed. fair.org Corporate media obsessed over the whodunit of an anonymous op-ed published by the New York Times ( 9/5/18). | The anonymous New York Times op-ed ( 9/5/18), purportedly written by a senior Trump administration official, coupled with the release of Bob Woodward's new book, Fear—itself full of White House back-stabbing and anonymous quotes—unleashed a veritable tsunami of breathless press speculation last week. But lost amidst the deluge was a Trump administration story that will have deadly, far-reaching consequences long after the Times op-ed is forgotten and Woodward's book hits the discount pile. That's because Trump effectively endorsed endless US war in Syria last week, and almost no one in the press noticed. | There were a few lonely exceptions. The Washington Post ( 9/6/18) spelled out the new Trump administration policy quite clearly, though the banality with which US foreign…

RT (2018-09-14). Careful what you wish for: ThinkProgress gets censored by Facebook fact-checkers. rt.com Left-wing opinion site ThinkProgress has found itself censored by Facebook's 'fact checkers,' just weeks after calling on the social network to censor right-wing polemicist Alex Jones.

RT (2018-09-14). Fake hurricane Florence image depicts Sharknado scenario. rt.com Ever wonder what happens to the thousands of evacuees who flee the state to wait out an impending natural disaster, while fretting about what will be waiting for them when they return? Why they create fake news, of course. |

Max Blumenthal (2018-09-05). Censored Documentary Exposes the Israeli Government's Attack on Black Lives Matter. grayzoneproject.com Exclusive footage from the censored Al Jazeera documentary, "The Lobby — USA," shows Israeli government officials taking credit for attacks…

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…

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."…