^CategoryCensorship

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post

Author
News
Date
December 13, 2022

Categorized
Censorship, Media, Social Media

Tagged
Bill Maher, Elon Musk and Twitter takeover, Freddy DeBoer, Matt Novak, Media decline, Michael Shellenberger, Miranda Devine, Newsbusters, Twitter files}

As the Twitter Files Drop, Ponder the Future of Mainstream Media

_{Mainstream media are largely ignoring the story for reasons that go to the heart of their own growing weakness and unstoppable decline} _{News

December 13, 2022

8

Censorship, Media, Social Media}

The Twitter files, as Elon Musk’s publication of Twitter’s internal censorship records — via dissident journalists — has come to be known, continue to drop. To recap, the drop started with the suppression of the story, on the eve of an election, about Hunter Biden’s seemingly incriminating laptop (Matt Taibbi). It continued with information about widespread shadowbanning (Bari Weiss), a practice the company denied it engaged in. Twitter files slice 3 and slice 4 (given by Musk to journalist Michael Shellenberger) address Twitter’s ban on former U.S. president Donald Trump. Slice 5 (Bari Weiss) detail doubts among Twitter employees about censoring on that scale: 7. There were dissenters inside Twitter. “Maybe because I am from China,” said one employee on Read More ›

Coronavirus Pandemic. A disinfector in a protective suit and mask sprays disinfectants in office. Protection agsinst COVID-19 disease. Prevention of spreding pneumonia virus with surfaces.

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post

Author
Heather Zeiger
Date
December 12, 2022

Categorized
Censorship, China

Tagged
Carl von Clausewitz, China COVID lockdown protests, Featured, Jiayang Fan, Omicron vs. delta COVID variant, Wu’er Kaixi, Xi Jinping and COVID, Zero-Covid policy in China}

When the Chinese Had Had Enough, Their Government Had To Listen

_{Embarrassingly, Xi had already declared victory over the virus in 2020, touting authoritarian governments as better able to respond} _{Heather Zeiger

December 12, 2022

5

Censorship, China}

“The political object is the goal, war is the means of reaching it, and means can never be considered in isolation from their purpose.” (von Clausewitz, On War) Beijing’s zero-Covid policy was not sustainable. The highly publicized events in October and November in Urumqi, Xinjiang and at the Zhengzhou Foxconn factory served as the inciting events for what became a nationwide call for ending zero-Covid, giving people their freedoms — and there were even calls for Xi Jinping to step down. In the course of a week, Beijing went from touting zero-Covid to easing restrictions to censoring mentions of zero-Covid policy online. In November in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang, several residents, including four children, died in an apartment fire Read More ›

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post

Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
December 9, 2022

Categorized
Censorship, Social Media

Tagged
Bari Weiss and Twitter, Elon Musk and Twitter takeover, Harriet Alexander, Jack Dorsey, Jay Bhattacharya, Joseph A. Wulfsohn, New York Post and Twitter files, Shadowbanning at Twitter, Twitter and child porn}

Update: Musk’s Second Salvo: Twitter Did Secretly Censor Users

_{Despite execs claiming that it didn’t. Elon Musk gave journalist Bari Weiss the story} _{Denyse O'Leary

December 9, 2022

5

Censorship, Social Media}

Readers may recall that Elon Musk, having bought Twitter, started opening some windows. It came out that the Hunter Biden laptop story was suppressed for reasons that would never have passed muster with a story about any other political figure. There is good reason to believe that Twitter had a cozy relationship with the FBI in the matter. Now, it turns out that, contrary to denials by top execs, there were indeed secret blacklists at Twitter: Twitter kept a ‘secret blacklist’ of topics and accounts to prevent them from trending, according to data obtained by journalist Bari Weiss – with conservative commentators deliberately downplayed in what one called ‘Soviet-style bulls***’,’ while another said he was treated ‘with more censorship than Read More ›

press and media camera ,video photographer on duty in public new

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post

Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
December 5, 2022

Categorized
Business and Finance, Censorship, Media, Politics

Tagged
Declining accuracy in media, Douglas Murray, Douglas Murray at Munk Debate, Malcolm Gladwell, Matt Taibbi, Matt Taibbi at Munk Debate, Matt Taibbi on media, Michelle Goldberg, Munk Debate 2022, Victor Davis Hanson}

Veteran News Hound: Why Not To Trust Mainstream Media Anymore

_{Matt Taibbi and Douglas Murray’s resounding triumph in the Munk debates sheds light on why mainstream media are dying} _{Denyse O'Leary

December 5, 2022

6

Business and Finance, Censorship, Media, Politics}

On November 30, at the prestigious Munk Debates in Toronto, 20-year news veteran Matt Taibbi and author and columnist Douglas Murray faced off against New Yorker writer Malcolm Gladwell and New York Times columnist Michelle Goldberg on the question: “Be it resolved, don’t trust mainstream media. The outcome was remarkable: As Taibbi tells it: A pre-event vote of attendees and listeners showed 48% support for our “side,” versus 52% for theirs. 82% of thousands of audience members claimed to be willing to change their minds. They were telling the truth, as it turned out. In a bitter slugfest that featured tense confrontations, impassioned oratory (especially from Douglas), and several almost unbelievably petty exchanges, Douglas and I swung the vote 39% Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
December 5, 2022

Categorized
Censorship, Media, Social Media

Tagged
Andrew C. McCarthy, Blake Montgomery, Elon Musk and Twitter files, FBI and social media, Howie Carr, Jonathan Turley, Matt Taibbi and Twitter files, New York Post and Twitter files, Twitter files on Hunter laptop story}

Elon Musk Throws a Bomb at Media No One Should Trust

_{Musk’s release of the “Twitter files” on the suppression of the Hunter Biden laptop story has provoked media outrage and attempts to deflect the issues} _{Denyse O'Leary

December 5, 2022

6

Censorship, Media, Social Media}

By now, you’ve probably heard that Elon Musk, Twitter’s new owner, gave journalist Matt Taibbi inside information about Twitter’s suppression of an explosive story about Hunter Biden weeks before the 2020 election. But here’s some background that may shed some light — especially on how legacy media have changed and how social media really work. First, a summary of the basic story from legal scholar Jonathan Turley: Weeks before the 2020 presidential election, the New York Post ran an explosive story about a laptop abandoned by Hunter Biden that contained emails and records detailing a multimillion dollar influence peddling operation by the Biden family. Not only was Joe Biden’s son Hunter and brother James involved in deals with an array Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Eric Holloway
Date
November 22, 2022

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Censorship, Data Privacy, Philosophy of Mind, Social Media

Tagged
CAPTCHA, Eliza effect, Featured, Terminator test, Turing Test}

CAPTCHA: How Fooling Machines Is Different From Fooling Humans

_{Automated censorship is intended to protect against a tidal wave of spam but it could certainly have other uses…} _{Eric Holloway

November 22, 2022

3

Artificial Intelligence, Censorship, Data Privacy, Philosophy of Mind, Social Media}

Readers of Mind Matters News have likely heard of the iconic Turing test. Computer pioneer Alan Turing famously invented a test to determine whether a program could pass as a human. The gist is, if a program can fool human testers into believing it is a human, then the program is intelligent. Not everyone is convinced. Thing is, it doesn’t take much to fool us humans! Take Eliza , a program of only a few hundred lines, written in the 60s, which fooled many people into believing it was a real human therapist. But what if we flip the Turing test on its head? Instead of a test where a program tries to pass as human, we use a test Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
November 20, 2022

Categorized
Censorship, Data Privacy, Social Media

Tagged
Babylon Bee on Twitter, Donald Trump, Elon Musk and Twitter takeover, Norton on TikTok, TikTok and data privacy}

Why Do Twitter Jobs Matter More Than Data Privacy?

_{The Musk ‘n Twitter show won’t leave town any time soon and it obscures a much bigger, deeper issue} _{Denyse O'Leary

November 20, 2022

3

Censorship, Data Privacy, Social Media}

Elon Musk sure knows how to create a drama. First, a brief update because you probably had better things to do this weekend: Doom I! “1,200 Twitter Employees Resign, Company Closes All Offices” (Rolling Stone, November 18, 2022) Get this: “Twitter offices have been closed down and employees are resigning in droves, leading to growing fears that the service could shut down at any time.” (ScreenRant, November 18, 2022) “While it’s unlikely that Twitter will shut down entirely, departing employees are warning of service outages, glitches and safety risks. (NPR November 18, 2022) Worth noting: Musk has reinstated satire site Babylon Bee and Project Veritas, and, after conducting a poll, has also reinstated former U.S. president Donald Trump (who currently Read More ›

Big ideas. Illuminated light bulb among the rest of the unlit bulbs.

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
November 9, 2022

Categorized
Censorship, Philosophy

Tagged
Academic Freedom Conference (Stanford 2022), Colleen Flaherty}

Stanford Academic Freedom Event Angers Who You Might Expect

_{Whether any further such events will be encouraged is another question…} _{News

November 9, 2022

2

Censorship, Philosophy}

Remember that academic freedom conference at Stanford (November 4–5) where we were asked to consider that the purpose the conference was that “racism is given shelter and immunity”? So what really happened? The account at Inside Higher Education oozes hostility. But from one of its less hostile moments, we learn: During a panel on academic freedom in STEM, Mimi St Johns, a Stanford undergraduate student of computer science, said that students face pressure from peers not to study such fields as petroleum engineering or to pursue jobs in government, even though both of these paths could lead to work on some of the world’s most urgent problems. John Ioannidis, professor of medicine at Stanford, said that this elderly mother was Read More ›

intellectual property. light bulb with chain

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
November 8, 2022

Categorized
Censorship, Education, Philosophy

Tagged
Charles W. Calomiris, Pano Kanelos, Tom Bartlett, University of Austin 2022, University of Austin and intellectual freedom}

How’s the University of Austin Coming? It’s Actually Happening

_{The “intellectual freedom” university continues to take shape in a world of “death to free speech”} _{News

November 8, 2022

4

Censorship, Education, Philosophy}

A very cautious article at Chronicle of Higher Education about the University of Austin fills in the rest of us. U Austin has come a long way since it was mocked at The New Republic as allegedly seeking to be “higher education’s premier institution of monetizing moral panics.” A couple of observations from senior Chronicle writer Tom Bartlett: The pioneer faculty have the money to get started: Chatter aside, the University of Austin is starting to take shape in the year since its raucous rollout. Curriculum is being developed. The accreditation process is underway. A deal for land in the greater Austin area is being hammered out. The university has lured several professors away from other universities and plans to Read More ›

The electric chair apparatus in a Death row reenactment.

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
November 8, 2022

Categorized
Censorship, Politics

Tagged
Allen Harris Law, Death penalty for free speech, McLaughlin and Associates, Universities and free speech, University students endorse death for free speech}

Students: Free Speech Should Sometimes Result in Death Penalty

_{An open mind is apparently no longer valued at universities, the way it used to be} _{News

November 8, 2022

4

Censorship, Politics}

People who are used to thinking of college campuses as places where students go to learn about new ideas and the advantages of keeping an open mind might be interested in this recent survey conducted by McLaughlin and Associates: Calls for diversity on campuses and in Main Street businesses and banning hate speech, even that protected by the 1st Amendment, are no longer issues to fight over for American college kids. Now it’s a reason for the electric chair. And when it comes to speech, nearly half believe the death penalty is OK to shoot down hate speech. While the results might please left-leaning college professors, it is stirring concerns on the right who already feel that the left is Read More ›

Fearful young woman with aluminum hat browsing social media. Conspiracy theory about 5g network destroying brain. High quality photo

^{Type
post

Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
November 3, 2022

Categorized
Censorship, Medicine and Health, Politics, Science

Tagged
Anthony Fauci and virus research funding, COVID and plea for amnesty, COVID-19 as bioweapon, Emily Oster, Fact checking, Fact checking and experts, Fact checking and lab leak theory, Fact checking and science, Jeff Kao, Katherine Eban, Lab leak theory (COVID-19) as conspiracy theory, Nicholas Wade on COVID origin, Tedros Adhanom on lab leak theory, US Senate Report on COVID origin, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Wuhan Institute of Virology and COVID origin}

How Fact-Checking Can Hide Needed Information From the Public

_{What role did fact-checking play in the suppression of inconvenient but essential facts about the origin of COVID-19?} _{Denyse O'Leary

November 3, 2022

7

Censorship, Medicine and Health, Politics, Science}

Earlier this week, we looked at the recent news that Facebook has a special portal for government to look in and report “disinformation,” — as if government, in a highly charged political atmosphere, were some kind of neutral third party. The assignment of some sort of neutrality to power sources or experts who may not be neutral or have any reason to be is one of the characteristics of fact-checking, as it has developed over the last decade in mainstream and social media. Why was the Wuhan lab leak theory supposed to be a conspiracy? In that context, let’s look at the claim that COVID-19 originated in an accident at a high-level virus lab in the upcountry Chinese city of Read More ›

A businessman appoints a leader to the head of the team. Creation of an effective teams of specialists for the implementation of a new project. HR recruiting. Management appointment. nepotism

^{Type
post

Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
November 2, 2022

Categorized
Censorship, Media, Social Media

Tagged
Blogging software, Brendan O'Neill, Elon Musk and Twitter takeover, Lauren Leffer, Leighton Woodhouse, Mainstream media decline, Rich Cromwell, Stacy Lennox, Twitter moderation, Twitter moderation post-Musk}

Musk’s Twitter Takeover Sparks Crazy Talk From Mainstream Media

_{Has entrepreneur Musk sensed a transition in the offing? Ramped-up social media may soon replace the former mainstream media altogether} _{Denyse O'Leary

November 2, 2022

7

Censorship, Media, Social Media}

Now that Elon Musk has taken over Twitter, he isn’t short of verbal assailants, concern trolls, and volunteer freelance advisors. Brendan O’Neill offers an interesting collection at Spiked Online, including: From EuroNews Next, “Will Elon Musk’s Twitter become a beacon of free speech or a soap box for hate speech?” A Washington Post columnist: “I am frightened by the impact on society and politics if Elon Musk acquires Twitter” and, inimitably, from back in April: Today on Twitter feels like the last evening in a Berlin nightclub at the twilight of Weimar Germany. — Jeff Jarvis (@jeffjarvis) April 14, 2022 Wow. O’Neill comments: The most striking thing about Musk and Twitter is the demented reaction to it. Musk himself is Read More ›

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post

Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
October 31, 2022

Categorized
Censorship, Social Media

Tagged
Babylon Bee on Twitter, Blue Checkmark (Twitter), Censorship on Twitter and Musk, Chris Stokel-Walker, Christopher Bouzy, Elon Musk as Chief Twit, Elon Musk as despised by tech press, Parag Agrawal, Paul du Quenoy, Sean Edgett, Twitter (and Elon Musk), Vijaya Gadde}

With Elon Musk as “Chief Twit,” a flurry of changes is expected

_{Musk hopes for a “common digital town square, where a wide range of beliefs can be debated in a healthy manner, without resorting to violence”} _{Denyse O'Leary

October 31, 2022

4

Censorship, Social Media}

Well, Musk, carrying a kitchen sink, has assumed control of Twitter (it became official Thursday night): Entering Twitter HQ – let that sink in! pic.twitter.com/D68z4K2wq7 — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 26, 2022 According to some, the world is tumbling over a cliff… Paul du Quenoy, president of the Palm Beach Freedom Institute was in a position to be at Twitter HQ at the time: Sullen employees entering the building during our visit had nothing to share. None made eye contact as they plodded by. Those who presented as female performed determined “take back the night” walks, delicately balancing cold avoidance with an unconvincing pretense of fearlessness. Musk seems to be following a methodical course as he reshapes social media, but Read More ›

Portrait of happy black woman working in bookstore and looking at camera.

^{Type
post

Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
October 28, 2022

Categorized
Censorship, Media

Tagged
Amy Coney Barrett, Amy Coney Barrett and depublishing, Depublishing, Jordan Peterson, Roe v. Wade and Dobbs}

Publishing: The Cancel Mob Targets Amy Coney Barrett’s New Book

_{Does the future of publishing — as an intellectual enterprise — now belong to smaller, less well-known publishers?} _{Denyse O'Leary

October 28, 2022

6

Censorship, Media}

Last year, Mind Matters News covered the new phenomenon of publishing house staff going to war against the publisher’s own books. It’s a far cry from the days when publishers might have to defend their books in a courtroom. Last year the target was, among other authors, best-selling psychologist Jordan Peterson. We were informed by Maclean’s Magazine that “Employees at Penguin Random House Canada speak out on how they’re rethinking their workplaces and why publishing, writ large, should weigh its moral responsibilities” in connection with Peterson’s latest, Beyond Order: 12 More Rules for Life (Penguin 2021). The book did get published, despite them, to five star reviews. But Cancel Culture staff continue to lead the charge for “depublishing” and have Read More ›

Excalibur in graduation hat on stone at sunset day. Congratulate the graduates or education congratulation or academic freedom concept. 3D illustration

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post

Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
October 27, 2022

Categorized
Censorship, Peer Review, Politics, Science

Tagged
Academic freedom, Academic freedom cnference banning media, Academic Freedom Conference (Stanford 2022), Cancel Culture at universities, Colleen Flaherty, Eric Hedin, Jerry Coyne and academic freedom, Peter Thiel and academic freedom, Science and Cancel Culture}

Stanford’s Academic Freedom Conference Slammed by Academics

_{Opponents are angered by the fact that, although the conference will be live-streamed, it is by invitation only and no media are allowed} _{Denyse O'Leary

October 27, 2022

6

Censorship, Peer Review, Politics, Science}

Stanford Business School’s academic freedom conference, starting next week and headlined by tech entrepreneur Peter Thiel, is coming under fire. The organizers argue, Faculty organizers of the conference, from Stanford and several other institutions, promote it as follows: “Academic freedom, open inquiry, and freedom of speech are under threat as they have not been for decades. Visibly, academics are ‘canceled,’ fired, or subject to lengthy disciplinary proceedings in response to academic writing or public engagement. Less visibly, funding agencies, university bureaucracies, hiring procedures, promotion committees, professional organizations, and journals censor some kinds of research or demand adherence to political causes. Many parts of universities have become politicized or have turned into ideological monocultures, excluding people, ideas, or kinds of work Read More ›

Giant surveillance camera spies a man. No secrets, no privacy concept. 3D rendering

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
October 26, 2022

Categorized
Censorship, China, Creativity

Tagged
Bridge Man protests, China protest methods, Free Asia Radio, Hu Jintao, Xi Jinping}

Protest in China: “Don’t Want” and “Old Hen” Take On New Meaning

_{When former President Hu Jintao was escorted out of the Party Congress a couple of days ago, all reference to the matter disappeared from the official web} _{News

October 26, 2022

4

Censorship, China, Creativity}

Recently, we have been following the creative protest methods used in China, in the wake of the Chinese Communist party’s five-year meeting that confirmed Xi Jinping for an unusual third term, while the former president Hu Jintao was escorted out by security. A much harder line on many things, including foreign affairs, is expected to follow. Because China is a very high-tech surveillance state, it is difficult for citizens to use usual online communication methods to discuss, register dissatisfaction with, or express worry over government decisions. The unconventional methods adopted are worth noting. Free Asia Radio reports that two young women were walking down a street in Shanghai, holding a white banner that read “Don’t want, want — Don’t want, Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
October 26, 2022

Categorized
Business and Finance, Censorship, Social Media

Tagged
Alternative news media (Pew study), Billy Perigo, Carlos Slim and New York Times, Elon Musk (and Twitter), J. D. Vance and Rumble, Jeff Bezos and Washington Post, Peter Thiel and Rumble, Rumble stats, Social media (new owners 2022), Twitter employees oppose Musk, Ye West buying Parler}

Control of Social Media: Changes in the Lineup

_{Not just Elon Musk but Ye West, Peter Thiel, and J.D. Vance have their hats in the ring} _{News

October 26, 2022

5

Business and Finance, Censorship, Social Media}

The social media field is seeing a wave of insurgents — not because it is profitable (it largely isn’t, just now) but perhaps because control is important for other purposes. Of course, whether we want to or not, we must begin with Musk and Twitter. Tech entrepreneur Elon Musk must now acquire Twitter by October 28 or the whole thing goes back to trial in a Delaware court, where the judiciary will likely be peeved with him over antics that waste court time. The only people who are really unhappy now are Twitter employees. Musk announced an intention to lay off 75% of them and they have responded with an open letter: The letter demands that Musk commits to preserving Read More ›

pacifist Asian woman angry and outraged protesting on street demonstration against China abuse standing for freedom and human rights holding Stop Killing Us billboard

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
October 21, 2022

Categorized
Censorship, China

Tagged
Apple Airdrop, Bridge Man protests, China protests 2022, Graffiti in China protests}

“Bridge Man” Crackdown in China Inspires New Types of Protest

_{Some use Apple Airdrop, some use flash graffiti in public washrooms, with the basic message that Xi JinPing should retire} _{News

October 21, 2022

5

Censorship, China}

“Bridge Man,” the lone Chinese guy (Peng Lifa) who hung a protest sign on the Sitong Bridge some days ago — days before the CCP’s scheduled fifth-year meeting — triggered intense efforts to ban all words from China’s internet and other media that referred to the incident. But political censorship is a tricky business, especially where human beings are concerned. Even the Proper Authorities can’t think of everything… we are informed at VICE that posters denouncing China’s top leader Xi JinPing have been distributed via Apple’s Airdrop A Shanghai resident was riding the metro on Tuesday when an AirDrop notification popped up on his iPhone: “‘Xi Jinping’s iPhone’ would like to share a photo.” Curious, the man accepted the request Read More ›