The New McCarthyism

Mon, 2016-11-28 17:00

contrarianna

This is so far the best article on the subject.The whole article is considerably longer and deserves to be read.

Washington Post Disgracefully Promotes a McCarthyite Blacklist From a New, Hidden, and Very Shady Group

Ben Norton/Glenn GreenwaldNovember 26 2016, 10:17 a.m

Quote:
.THE WASHINGTON POST ON THURSDAY NIGHT promoted the claims of a new, shadowy organization that smears dozens of U.S. news sites that are critical of U.S. foreign policy as being “routine peddlers of Russian propaganda.” The article by reporter Craig Timberg – headlined “Russian propaganda effort helped spread ‘fake news’ during election, experts say” – cites a report by a new, anonymous website calling itself “PropOrNot,”which claims that millions of Americans have been deceived this year in a massive Russian “misinformation campaign.”

The group’s list of Russian disinformation outlets includes WikiLeaks and the Drudge Report, as well as Clinton-critical left-wing websites such as Truthout, Black Agenda Report, Truthdig and Naked Capitalism, as well as libertarian venues such as Antiwar.com and the Ron Paul Institute.....The Post itself – now posing as warriors against “fake news” – published an article in September that treated with great seriousness the claim that Hillary Clinton collapsed on 9/11 Day because she was poisoned by Putin. And that’s to say nothing of the paper’s disgraceful history of convincing Americans that Saddam was building non-existent nuclear weapons and had cultivated a vibrant alliance with Al Qaeda. As is so often the case, those who mostly loudly warn of “fake news” from others are themselves the most aggressive disseminators of it. [bolding mine]

Indeed, what happened here is the essence of fake news. The Post story served the agendas of many factions: those who want to believe Putin stole the election from Hillary Clinton; those who want to believe that the internet and social media are a grave menace that needs to be controlled, in contrast to the objective truth which reliable old media outlets once issued; those who want a resurrection of the Cold War. So those who saw tweets and Facebook posts promoting this Post story instantly clicked and shared and promoted the story without an iota of critical thought or examination of whether the claims were true, because they wanted the claims to be true. That behavior included countless journalistsSo the story spread in a flash, like wildfire.

Tens of thousands of people, perhaps hundreds of thousands or even millions, consumed it, believing that it was true because of how many journalists and experts told them it was. Virtually none of the people who told them this spent a minute of time or ounce of energy determining if it was true. It pleased them to believe it was, knowing it advanced their interests, and so they endorsed it. That is the essence of how fake news functions, and it is the ultimate irony that this Post story ended up illustrating and spreading far more fake news than it exposed.

https://theintercept.com/2016/11/26/washington-post-disgracefully-promot...

See also Max Blumenthal,

Washington Post Promotes Shadowy Website That Accuses 200 Publications of Being Russian Propaganda Plants

http://www.alternet.org/media/washington-post-promotes-shadowy-website-a...

Journalists Denounce WaPo Fake News Blacklist as Red Scare Redux

"Basically, everyone who isn't comfortably within the centrist Hillary Clinton/Jeb Bush spectrum is guilty." byLauren McCauley, staff writer

http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/11/28/journalists-denounce-wapo-fa...

The “fake news” theme has captivated The Washington Post and the mainstream U.S. media so much that it is stooping to McCarthyistic smears against news outlets that don’t toe the State Department’s propaganda line,s Robert Parry.

https://consortiumnews.com/2016/11/27/washington-posts-fake-news-guilt/

Confessions of an Alleged ‘Russian Propagandist’: A Pentagon Hit? by DAVE LINDORFF

http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/11/28/confessions-of-an-alleged-russian...

Mon, 2016-11-28 17:42

#53

ygtbk

A useful resource in this context is "Disinformation", by Ion Mihai Pacepa.

Mon, 2016-11-28 17:46

#54

6079_Smith_W

So we'll just ignore the fact they aren't being shut down, silenced, denied work , and thrown in jail as the victims of the real McCarthy era were, and pretend that this something far more outrageous than various sites being called out for spreading propaganda as news.

Tue, 2016-11-29 15:37

#55

contrarianna

6079_Smith_W wrote:

So we'll just ignore the fact they aren't being shut down, silenced, denied work , and thrown in jail as the victims of the real McCarthy era were, and pretend that this something far more outrageous than various sites being called out for spreading propaganda as news.

Neither imprisoned (yet) nor is it 1953, and McCarthy is DEAD! So thus you prove, IT CAN'T BE McCarthyism--pathetic

The use of blacklists (which is certainly the case in point) does not automatically mean imprisonment. Targeting involving blacklists and smearing to discredit--and recommending the FBI investigate them as "Russian agents" is pure neo-McCarthyism.

The first two sentences of the Wikipedia article on McCarthism gives its essence:

Quote:
McCarthyism is the practice of making accusations of subversion or treason without proper regard for evidence.[1] It also means "the practice of making unfair allegations or using unfair investigative techniques, especially in order to restrict dissent or political criticism."[2]

No it is not 1953, The net is much wider now than when "Communists and sympatizers" were targeted. How could it not be with a primarily capitalist Russia. Now in McCarthy 2.0 sights are right, left, and libertarians, rational, or loopy, are all targeted.

As Lauren McCauley said, "Basically, everyone who isn't comfortably within the centrist Hillary Clinton/Jeb Bush spectrum is guilty."

According to you the 200 sites are not smeared and targeted for FBI investigation, merely "Called out for spreading propaganda as news", says the phoney free-speecher.

Somehow I doubt you want the Washington Post, the NYT, the Guardian etc persecuted by some antagonistic police force for "spreading propaganda as news" even though it is the norm: "Any dictator would admire the uniformity and obedience of the U.S. media--Noam Chomsky (co-author of the Chomsky-Herman propaganda media model).

Oh, you can safely ignore the last quote, I believe Chomsky appeared on RT, at least once, and is thus by definition is either "a Russian agent" or "useful idiot".

Tue, 2016-11-29 15:49

#56

swallow

If McCarthyism is merely"the practice of making unfair allegations or using unfair investigative techniques, especially in order to restrict dissent or political criticism," then "some babblers" are guilty of doing this when they call "some babblers" pro-US, or dupes, or puppets of imperialism, or all tjhe other smears that the pro-Putin group on babble throws at other participants on this board.

That would be an absurd use of the concept "McCarthyism." It minimizes the real suffering inflicted on McCarthy's victims.

So does this entire thread.

Tue, 2016-11-29 17:35

#57

6079_Smith_W

So a newspaper article that uses a rather broad brush in calling out fake news is the same as the Senate house unamerican activities committee?

I think the over the top nature of that comparison is seen in the fact a mainstream paper like rolling stone was able to critize the post article, and hasn't found themselves accused of being Russian agents.

Tue, 2016-11-29 21:27

#58

ikosmos

To paraphrase Gandhi - First they don't know what you're talking about, then they ridicule you and trivialize your claims, then they want to silence you, then they fight you, and then you win.

Great swaths of left and independent media are now being targeted by this nonexistent, [but harmless if true] McCarthyism. Let's see now ...

Live at Truthdig: Why Is The Washington Post Embracing the New McCarthyism?

What McCarthyism?!!

Other journalists have also weighed in to critique the Post’s piece, as Anderson notes. In a piece published Monday, Rolling Stone’s Matt Taibbi published a response titled “The ‘Washington Post’ ‘Blacklist’ Story Is Shameful and Disgusting.”

Oh, that McCarthyism! No biggie! Nothing to see here! Move along!

Chris Hedges wrote:
Hedges says the Post piece was an “updated form of Red-Baiting.”

“This attack signals an open war on the independent press,” he says. “Those who do not spew the official line will be increasingly demonized in corporate echo chambers such as the Post or CNN as useful idiots or fifth columnists.”

Nonsense! Excessive claims!

Glen Greenwald et al wrote:
The Intercept’s Glenn Greenwald and Ben Norton also zeroed in on the “obviously reckless and unproven allegations” made by Timberg.

“In other words, the individuals behind this newly created group are publicly branding journalists and news outlets as tools of Russian propaganda—even calling on the FBI to investigate them for espionage—while cowardly hiding their own identities,” Greenwald and Norton write. “The group promoted by the Post thus embodies the toxic essence of Joseph McCarthy, but without the courage to attach individual names to the blacklist. Echoing the Wisconsin senator, the group refers to its lengthy collection of sites spouting Russian propaganda as ‘The List.’ ”

Round up the usual Russian suspects! And anyone that looks Russian! Because freedom!

Tue, 2016-11-29 21:57

#59

6079_Smith_W

Well perhaps Hedges' and Greenwald's rhetoric and Timberg's "List" were made for one another.

Sorry, but one article doesn't change the fact there has been extensive coverage and research into Russia's disinformation campaigns in Europe, North America and elsewhere.

Are they going to go after this NYT piece which involved a bit more investigative work, not just one website?

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/25/world/europe/fake-news-donald-trump-hi...

Or the far more in-depth investigations detailed here?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fake_news_website

http://www.dw.com/en/divide-europe-european-lawmakers-warn-of-russian-pr...

I doubt it, considering that they are getting so much mileage over having targetted one not-too-well researched piece by a tech reporter.

In case anyone doesn't remember the differences between that time and our current situation:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQQaX2h1plo

Calling the problem what it is is not McCarthyism, much as you might want to play the victim here.

Thu, 2016-12-01 04:16

#60

NDPP

Fascism With A Democratic Party Face

http://blackagendareport.com/fascism_with_democratic_face

"Fascists of the Democratic kind are responsible..."

Thu, 2016-12-01 05:13

#61

NDPP

Bait & Switch - Fake News, Propornot, The Real Inform & Influence Operations

http://thesaker.is/bait-switch-fake-news-propornot-the-real-inform-influ...

"Let's look behind the Fake news of Propornot that is the internet rage today...The base model is the Ukrainian website 'Peace Maker'. The people that wrote the Ukrainian information policy and developed the methods for the 'Myotvorets' or PeaceMaker website did so with the sole goal of creating a clearinghouse for killing dissent and dissenters.

Within one month of writing that the Weisburd/Harding inspired 'PeaceMaker' was a kill list, the first journalist targeted using Aaron Weisburd's method was Olez Buzina..."

Thu, 2016-12-01 08:32

#62

6079_Smith_W

Well at least you can count on the saker for one thing:

Quote:

A few days before the 2016 election I contacted several publishers and told them they were on a list to be dealt with/ taken down after what was supposed to be a Clinton victory.

Nah, that's not fake news. Not at all.

And evidently there's a market for it:

https://www.amazon.com/The-Essential-Saker-trenches-multipolar/dp/160888...

It is kind of funny seeing activists and alternative media (and yes, trolls) reacting to the same rhetoric many of them use against regular media all the time. Except in their case it isn't just unfair and unsubstantiated (in some cases. In others it is bang on). When they get criticized it is McCarthyism and fascism.

Here's a slightly more measured and professional response to the Post article from Fortune Magazine. Kind of weird that they aren't parroting the McCarthyist directives of their Imperical overlords, don't you think?

Quote:

Accounts run by or associated with Russia Today, Sputnik and other state-controlled entities are a fairly obvious source of this kind of thing. But it’s the attempt to broaden this into a nefarious global scheme that weakens the group’s argument.

The problem with this description is that it could theoretically include anyone on any social-media platform who shares news based on a click-bait headline.

...

Has the rise of fake news played into the hands of those who want to spread disinformation? Sure it has. But connecting hundreds of Twitter accounts into a dark web of Russian-controlled agents, along with any website that sits on some poorly thought-out blacklist, seems like the beginnings of a conspiracy theory, rather than a scientific analysis of the problem.

http://fortune.com/2016/11/25/russian-fake-news/

Thu, 2016-12-01 10:12

#63

lagatta

George Monbiot speaks of something far more frightening than this supposed "McCarthyism". https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/nov/30/donald-trump-georg... Deliberate misinformation about climate change from the same corporate liars who said smoking's dangers were unproven...

Yes, of course we have to challenge corporate news, even from supposedly "leftish" media such as the Guardian. But the Russian news sites have nothing to do with the left.

Thu, 2016-12-01 10:52

#64

6079_Smith_W

They also just published this, about what is in the other hand:

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/dec/01/gamergate-alt-right-h...

Not bad for supposedly leftish.

Thu, 2016-12-01 11:50

#65

ygtbk

6079_Smith_W wrote:

...

Here's a slightly more measured and professional response to the Post article from Fortune Magazine. Kind of weird that they aren't parroting the McCarthyist directives of their Imperical overlords, don't you think?

...

Smith, that was an absolutely inspired typo. My immediate reaction was "I will believe in the power of the Dark Side, but only when I can bite it or put salt on its tail".

Thu, 2016-12-01 11:54

#66

ikosmos

NDPP wrote:

"Let's look behind the Fake news of Propornot that is the internet rage today...The base model is the Ukrainian website 'Peace Maker'. The people that wrote the Ukrainian information policy and developed the methods for the 'Myotvorets' or PeaceMaker website did so with the sole goal of creating a clearinghouse for killing dissent and dissenters.

Within one month of writing that the Weisburd/Harding inspired 'PeaceMaker' was a kill list, the first journalist targeted using Aaron Weisburd's method was Olez Buzina..."

Well sure, just as Israeli atrocities against Palestinians provides a "helpful" police manual - and a source of steady revenue for the Apartheid Tel Aviv regime as the global police "expert" - on how to "manage" an occupied civilian population, so too the extremist Ukrainian regime provides a kind of blueprint on ethnic cleansing in different circumstances than straight occupation.

If it's one thing the NATO and related client regimes do well, it's share "learning", intelligence, and methods of .... pacification.

Thu, 2016-12-01 11:57

#67

6079_Smith_W

@ ygtbk

You are right! Good catch, and I claim no responsibility.

Thu, 2016-12-01 14:19

#68

ikosmos

Perhaps the most over-the-top aspect of the current McCarthyism is the claim that simply watching alternative, or Russian, or "un-American" media ... may be treated as a violation of the Espionage Act in the USA.

You could be treated as a spy for watching "unapproved" media. The DDR Stasi never went to these lengths. Which just goes to show what an epic fail these current McCarthyite tactics are.

See M Sleboda on a recent "Crosstalk" for more details on this ... "Fake News"

Mark Sleboda wrote:
Sleboda: OK, So, first of all, I take a look at the websites that this "Prop or Not?" includes on their list. This is a completely anonymous group, they don't say who they are, they don't present any credentials ...

Lavelle: ... but the Washington Post and other MSM gave them credence and gave them legitimacy ...

Sleboda: ...they gave them a GLOBAL audience with this. Who they say are active agents of Kremlin propaganda ... or "useful idiots" of Kremlin propaganda ...

Lavelle: "...who may not even be aware of it ..."

Sleboda: "... they may not even be aware of it, are ... websites like Wikileaks, the Drudge Report - one of the most popular xyz websites - the Ron Paul Institute, Harry and Ron Paul Institute, Zero Hedge, Counterpunch, Truthout, Truthdig, antiwar.com ... basically, if you have ever expressed a position critical of US foreign policy that at any time aligned with Russia then you are on this list.

They also went a step further. They said that anyone who writes for [these sites], or shares this information online, could be violating the Espionage and the Foreign Agent Registration Act. So, all of you out there watching this ... you are probably traitors.

Lavelle: Xavier, this looks like a 21st century book burning exercise.

Thu, 2016-12-01 14:55

#69

6079_Smith_W

Quote:

They also went a step further. They said that anyone who writes for [these sites], or shares this information online, could be violating the Espionage and the Foreign Agent Registration Act. So, all of you out there watching this ... you are probably traitors.

Did anyone say that? Other than RT, that is?

On their FAQ page, proponot say this:

Quote:

We strongly suspect that some of the individuals involved have violated the Espionage Act, the Foreign Agent Registration Act, and other related laws, but determining that is up to the FBI and the DOJ.

http://www.propornot.com/p/frequently-asked-questions.html

A bizarre claim to make, especially with nothing to back it up. But it is not the same as the lie RT spun it into. Because that is their bread and butter, of course.

Bloomberg sums it up nicely:

Quote:

As the Russian journalist Alexey Kovalev, who started this own project to debunk Russian government propaganda, puts it: "The fight against fake news has itself turned into fake news. It's a kind of meta-propaganda."

https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2016-11-28/how-russian-propagand...

The article also points out that while propornot is extreme and over the top, they aren't that far off the mark from more legitimate concerns about propaganda, fake news, and interference from Russia in particular:

Quote:

The PropOrNot view of what constitutes Russian propaganda is extreme, but the mainstream characterization of Russian propaganda is surprisingly close to it.

Essentially, both PropOrNot and the European legislators are suspicious of the same thing: Narratives that contradict a certain official, accepted, centrist, politically correct line. Those narratives, however, have existed for decades, sometimes generations -- since the days when Russian propaganda had totally different goals than today, focusing on the support of left-wing movements.

Thu, 2016-12-01 16:06

#70

lagatta

Who the hell is "The Saker" anyway?

Thu, 2016-12-01 16:30

#71

6079_Smith_W

Some dude named Andrei Raevsky

https://www.quora.com/Who-is-behind-the-blog-The-Vineyard-of-the-Saker

Thu, 2016-12-01 17:23

#72

Mr. Magoo

So he's basically nothing more than an opinonated individual like any of us, except he has his own blog?

Damn. I wish I could afford my own blog.

Thu, 2016-12-01 17:38

#73

lagatta

It gets stranger and stranger.

Fri, 2016-12-02 01:50

#74

ikosmos

What's strange is the contributions here in which

(a) the obvious McCarthyism continues to be trivialized;

(b) agreement with the McCarthyite claims are expressed, with perhaps cosmetic differences, without any evidence to back them up, i.e. the nonsense is regurgitated as fact.

Meanwhile, as the McCarthyite net widens, and we see "lists" for University professors that teach in an "unapproved" way, etc., all that I can read here is like some inane whistling, exchanging recipies, and such ...

Fri, 2016-12-02 08:44

#75

lagatta

I don't think anyone here is downplaying various forms of repression against activists. I was involved in organising a union when I was young and we were targets of very heavy repression, from firings to trumped-up charges. And I remember the wall of hatred and repression friends and comrades involved in the fight for abortion rights faced.

But some of us do not think "McCarthyism" is an accurate term. One of the main differences is that there is no Cold War - there are a lot of other endless conflicts, including those targeting Iraq and Afghanistan, but there is no longer a workers' state (however degenerated) like the former Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact, and China and Vietnam have also taken the "capitalist road". Yes, historical parallels can always be drawn, but it is important to keep them in perspective - history does not really "repeat itself" and we have to look at the current situation.

And there is a lot of weird "news" from Putinist sites and weirdos like The Saker, and people actualy listening to them. False news and "post-truthiness" are unfortunate realities, whether from Trump, web brigades or the mainstream media. This has always been the case - false news is great for war fever - but social media have it running on speed.

Fri, 2016-12-02 08:48

#76

6079_Smith_W

Now hold on a sec ikosmos.

Here you go again confusing the targetting of groups and people for their political values and pretending it is the same as questioning lies and propaganda.

We did this upthread already.

No. Union busters were not all Russian-haters, and the fact there is real targetting of professors doesn't make concern for fake news and propaganda is the same as McCarthyism. For that matter, one biased website doesn't invalidate that concern either.

Of course RT taking a grain of truth from some that site and turning it into an outright lie - your example at #67 - plays into that manipulation, and is yet another example of fake news.

For all your complaint, I suspect you, like RT editors, love sites like propornot because they give you something to point at and claim conspiracy.

And something to distract from talking about the real lies, like the one I just pointed out.

Sat, 2016-12-03 22:45

#77

NDPP

Fake News Created As Part of Russian Propaganda - Media

https://youtu.be/yO-JOen9YOo

"The Western media has been going big on so-called 'fake news' as a Russian tool to influence political affairs..."

Sun, 2016-12-04 19:35

#78

NDPP

Anti-War Movement: Time They Stepped Aside - by Christopher Black

http://m.journal-neo.org/2016/12/02/time-they-stepped-aside/

"This is the warning, the finger pointed at you. We know they have a list, practically the entire alternative media. We on the list have been warned..."

Mon, 2016-12-05 12:54

#79

ikosmos

We Demand That The Washington Post Retract Its Propaganda Story Defaming Naked Capitalism and Other Sites and Issue an Apology

Sue their assess off! Excellent strategic approach!

Mon, 2016-12-05 13:27

#80

6079_Smith_W

Good luck there. Sloppy as the article is, it makes no accusations against nakedcapitalism. It doesn't even mention the site.

Mon, 2016-12-05 13:49

#81

ikosmos

lol. Good luck there. Sloppy as your claim is, it's pretty clear you haven't bothered to look at the list of websites slandered by the unsubstantiated dreck in the Washington Post. If you did, then you would have noticed nakedcapitalism listed there as "Russian propaganda" or "useful idiots" as the case may be.

Mon, 2016-12-05 14:37

#82

6079_Smith_W

I went over the site ikosmos; I saw what is there. Fact remains, the Washington Post made no accusation against nakedcapitalism, and I expect their lawyer knows that.

No slight to nakedcapitalism, but I think they'd have a tough time proving damages or disproving fair comment even against propornot. And again, I expect they know that, and that is not why they are doing this.

To be clear, I do think propornot are a bunch of cranks, and perhaps Timberg's editor spent too much time at the WaPo Christmas Party. That said, it is kind of amusing seeing some alternative media setting their hair on fire over being called on stuff they accuse the mainstream media of all the time.

To underscore that, it is probably the real reason why nakedcapitalism hired their lawyer to write that letter.. Did you notice the comments about contributions?

Sun, 2016-12-11 04:22

#83

NDPP

Obama's Musings on False Narratives and Fake Stories

http://off-guardian.org/2016/12/09/obamas-musings-on-false-narratives-an...

"...It was a magic kind of moment. The legendary cool and collected Obama had just let out the secret: the ruling class, which he so faithfully serves, has lost control of the social and political narrative, without which it cannot 'protect' its wealth, privilege and power."

Fake News: The Latest Effort To Destroy Alternative Media

https://youtu.be/88w_J_KsSv0

Sun, 2016-12-11 09:15

#84

6079_Smith_W

Not surprising, though kind of ironic, that an instrument of fake news, itself designed to go after one of the most successful independent news media - The Guardian - would say that.

But is that really what you take from this? You'll notice FOX News is riding high as ever.

Sun, 2016-12-11 09:47

#85

6079_Smith_W

x

Mon, 2016-12-12 12:50

#86

NDPP

CrossTalk Bullhorns: Coup Attempt?

https://youtu.be/7N2umk7k_2Y

Thu, 2016-12-15 10:29

#87

josh

"Clinton's campaign did have a fake news problem, but the problem was with the real news coverage — coverage that dwelled overwhelmingly on a bullshit email server scandal, devoted far fewer resources to investigating Trump's shady foundation than Clinton's life-saving one, largely ignored Trump's financial conflicts of interest, and almost entirely avoided discussion of the policy stakes in the campaign."

http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2016/12/15/13955108/fake-news-2016

Fri, 2016-12-16 17:27

#88

ikosmos

The New McCarthyism is exploding, far beyond simply foaming Russophobia and hostility to anyone who expressed the least disagreement with US foreign policy. Now we see campus thought-police, attacks on academics by right wing student fronts, greater state powers called for, etc. etc.,

But, hey. If you stick your fingers in your ears and yell, "Down with Russia!" then they might leave you alone. For now.

Sat, 2016-12-17 18:53

#89

NDPP

CIA Intelligence Vets Dispute Russia Hack Claims, Look At the Wider Picture

https://youtu.be/Yh0EAj9UUIY

"They were LEAKS NOT HACKS!"

Mon, 2016-12-19 20:26

#90

Edzell

ikosmos wrote:
simply foaming ... hostility to anyone who expressed the least disagreemen

Hello, hello; Pot calling Kettle.

Thu, 2016-12-22 16:02

#91

NDPP

Putin Allegation in US Election Distraction From Real Danger

https://youtu.be/cAySdDC9JFU

Thu, 2016-12-22 16:07

#92

josh

NDPP wrote:

Putin Allegation in US Election Distraction From Real Danger

https://youtu.be/cAySdDC9JFU

Fox News you link to? LOL.

Thu, 2016-12-22 18:30

#93

swallow

x

Fri, 2016-12-23 02:24

#94

NDPP

"Is the new tactic Dems now have to smear all their critics as Kremlin agents and Putin followers?"

https://twitter.com/ggreenwald/status/811616380156002305

As with most American trends, it seems some Canucklhead 'progressives' have also become enthusiastic copycats of this practice..

Sun, 2016-12-25 12:40

#95

NDPP

Fake News Crusade: Facebook 'Fact Checkers' Have Financial Ties To Clinton Donors

https://youtu.be/WgBei7T704o

"Social media giant Facebook has announced that its fight against 'fake news' has begun in cooperation with third-party fact checking organizations. There are genuine concerns about those groups."

Sun, 2016-12-25 16:43

#96

bekayne

RT finally acknowledges that some of that "fake news" can be a bit of problem sometimes:

https://www.rt.com/news/371728-fake-news-nukes-pakistan-israel/

The Pakistani defense minister threatened Israel with nuclear war on Twitter, apparently responding to information from a site known for peddling out-of-this-world conspiracy theories.

Pakistani Minister of Defense Khawaja Muhammad Asif tweeted a thinly-veiled threat towards Israel on Friday, “reminding” it that Pakistan is a nuclear power that will strike back if attacked.

Asif appeared to be reacting to an article from the website AWD, which claimed that Moshe Ya'alon, the Israeli defense minister, threatened to use nuclear weapons on Pakistan if the country sent troops into Syria.

...

AWD News has been described as “extremely dubious” by fact-checking site Snopes, which analyzed one of its articles claiming King Abdullah of Jordan murdered his wife, Queen Rania (who is alive and well).

A quick glance around the site also reveals that Vladimir Putin is dead and Russia is planning an attack on Saudi Arabia, among other things.

Sun, 2016-12-25 18:53

#97

Mr. Magoo

Quote:
Fake News Crusade: Facebook 'Fact Checkers' Have Financial Ties To Clinton Donors

So they're not even, themselves, Clinton donors? They just do business of some sort with actual Clinton donors?

I guess that's worse than if some of them had financial ties to neighbours of Clinton donors. Or if some of them were neighbours of people who had financial ties to neighbours of Clinton donors.

Sun, 2016-12-25 19:29

#98

josh

NDPP wrote:

Fake News Crusade: Facebook 'Fact Checkers' Have Financial Ties To Clinton Donors

https://youtu.be/WgBei7T704o

"Social media giant Facebook has announced that its fight against 'fake news' has begun in cooperation with third-party fact checking organizations. There are genuine concerns about those groups."

Russia under Putin is clearly trying to catch up to Netanyahu's Israel as the Republican party's biggest foreign friend.

Tue, 2016-12-27 03:06

#99

ikosmos

A New McCarthyism with Ellen Schrecker

An attack on the American mind .... the product of 40 years of dumbing down the American intellect.

Chris Hedges: The corporate state was never challenged by the liberal class's myopic preoccupation with multi-culturalism and diversity. This was anti-politics masquerading as politics. The culture wars did not challenge imperialism, neo-liberalism, and globalization. the dictates of the market, the primacy of corporate profit, and the military-industrial complex remain sacrosanct and unchallenged. Liberals - especially academics - engaged in the culture wars in a neo-liberal framework. Feminism became about placing individual women in positions of power, not about empowering poor, marginalized and oppressed women. Post-racial America became about a black President who, as Cornel West says, serves as a black mascot for Wall Street.

The new McCarthyism ... includes Professor Watchlist, as well as Media watch lists. They target alternative media as well as left intellectuals in social life.

An information war is underway, and it's clear who the targets are.

Ellen Schrecker speaks on ...

a replay of the McCarthy era

Left McCarthyism (former socialists who became pathological enemies of socialism and all those who stand for it)

better to be called Hooverism

came out of a reaction to the activism of the 1960's

Powell Memorandum to move US intellectual life to the right ...including a McCarthyism of that era

subseq right wing "think tanks" established outside of academia

Culture wars of late 80's and early 90's

etc

Tue, 2016-12-27 04:33

#100

NDPP

CrossTalk Fake News (and vid)

http://rt.com/shows/crosstalk/368122-mainstream-media-fake-news

"It is government and mainstream media that have peddled fake news for decades."

Wed, 2016-12-28 00:05

#101

ikosmos

"Ghost" banning on Social Media.

Quote:
There is mounting evidence alternative news providers are the targets of censorship on Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, and elsewhere.

The New McCarthyism

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