Category: Journalism/Free-Press/Censorship

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STEPHEN E. ARNOLD: The Addiction Analogy: The Cancellation of Influencer Rand Fishkin

Cultural Intelligence, Journalism/Free-Press/Censorship

The Addiction Analogy: The Cancellation of Influencer Rand Fishkin

Another short item. I read a series of tweets which you may be able to view at this link. The main idea is that an influencer was to give a talk about marketing. The unnamed organizer did not like Influencer Fishkin’s content. And what was that content? Information and observations critical of the outstanding commercial enterprises Facebook and Google. The apparent points of irritation were Influencer Fishkin’s statements to the effect that the two estimable outfits (Facebook and Google) were not “friendly, in-your-corner partners.” Interesting, but for me that was only part of the story.

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Zero Hedge: Patreon, Censorship, & The Self-Inflicted Wound

Journalism/Free-Press/Censorship

  2021 is quickly shaping up to the be the Year of the Censor. 

Already this year we’ve seen the best of our journalists driven out of high-profile positions and going independent.

From Glenn Greenwald being forced out at the company he helped found, The Intercept, to Matt Taibbi leaving Rolling Stone, the days of the independent voice in media is being driven underground.

Even with them gone to newcomer Substack, that hasn’t satisfied the gatekeepers of political correctness, who want them unable to even make a living.

Read the full article HERE

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Stephen E. Arnold: Historical Revisionism: Twitter and Wikipedia

Journalism/Free-Press/Censorship
Stephen E. Arnold

I wish I could recall the name of the slow talking wild-eyed professor who lectured about Mr. Stalin’s desire to have the history of the Soviet Union modified. The tendency was evident early in his career. Ioseb Besarionis dz? Jughashvili became Stalin, so fiddling with received wisdom verified by Ivory Tower types should come as no surprise.

Now we have Google and the right to be forgotten. As awkward as deleting pointers to content may be, digital information invites “reeducation”.

I learned in “Twitter to Appoint Representative to Turkey” that the extremely positive social media outfit will interact with the country’s government. The idea is to make sure content is just A-Okay. Changing tweets for money is a pretty good idea. Even better is coordinating the filtering of information with a nation state is another. But Apple and China seem to be finding a path forward. Maybe Apple in Russia will be a similar success.

Continue reading HERE

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Video Interview with Chris Hedges at Occupy Wall Street

Journalism/Free-Press/Censorship, Videos/Movies/Documentaries

Author and former war correspondent for the New York Times, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist interviewed at Liberty Plaza/Occupy Wall Street (Sept 26)

Also see:

Video: Chris Hedges Public Lecture on his experiences in war zones

Video: “Death of the Liberal Class” at The Sanctuary for Independent Media

Review: Empire of Illusion: The End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle

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Penguin: State Department Implodes Over Book

02 Diplomacy, 07 Other Atrocities, 08 Wild Cards, 10 Security, Budgets & Funding, Cultural Intelligence, Government, Journalism/Free-Press/Censorship, Secrecy & Politics of Secrecy
Who, Me?

Sounds like somebody I know. Maybe he got to Hillary in the end?

How the State Department Came After Me

For telling the truth about what I saw in Iraq.

Peter Van Buren

Foreign Policy, 29 September 2011

I never intended to create this much trouble.

Two years ago I served 12 months in Iraq as a Foreign Service Officer, leading a Provincial Reconstruction Team. I had been with the State Department for some 21 years at that point, serving mostly in Asia, but after what I saw in the desert — the waste, the lack of guidance, the failure to really do anything positive for the country we had invaded in 2003 — I started writing a book. One year ago I followed the required procedures with State for preclearance (no classified documents, that sort of thing), received clearance, and found a publisher. Six months ago the publisher asked me to start a blog to support the book.

And then, toward the end of the summer, the wrath of Mesopotamia fell on me.

Continue reading “Penguin: State Department Implodes Over Book”

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Event: Sept 29 NYC, Open Society, Who Controls the Message? Producing and Distributing Media Content in the Digital Age

Journalism/Free-Press/Censorship, Media, Money, Banks & Concentrated Wealth
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Drawing on the Open Society Foundations' research into the worldwide impact of new and digital media, this forum will discuss the role that these evolving forms of media can play in the development and strengthening of democratic societies.

The discussion will consider questions such as:

  • Who owns today’s media? Is ownership concentration harmful to diversity—or essential for creativity in a globalized marketplace?
  • How can digital media help or harm public interest journalism?
  • Is editorial independence being strengthened or undermined?
  • Is the freedom of online media undermined by new gatekeepers?
  • How are citizens responding? Is digital media increasing activism and participation? Or is it overwhelming and numbing people with a cascade of ever-more information?
  • What is the overall impact of these changes and issues on democracy?

With panelists from Morocco, Spain, and the United States, this event promises international insights into a global issue.