August 25, 2017

Breitbart, other 'alt-right' websites are the darlings of Russian propaganda effort

Source: USA Today

Amid an investigation into Russian meddling in the last U.S. presidential election, a Russian propaganda Twitter network aimed at American audiences consistently spreads links to Breitbart and other right-wing or conspiracy theory websites that boost President Trump and bash Democrats. 

The websites — which include True Pundit, the Gateway Pundit and Imperialist U — are regular features on the list of “Top Domains” pushed by a network of 600 Twitter accounts followed by the German Marshall Fund of the United States, which tracks a Russian disinformation and propaganda campaign focused on U.S. voters.

On Thursday, the most popular domains mentioned by the network in the previous 48 hours, according to the tracker, included True Pundit, the Russian government-controlled television network RT, the Gateway Pundit, Fox News, Russian government news agency Sputnik News and Breitbart.

The network’s main role is to amplify messages deemed to benefit the Kremlin, but that doesn’t mean the websites' authors share the same goals, said Laura Rosenberger, director of the Alliance for Securing Democracy, which created the monitoring project for the fund.

Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2017/08/24/breitbart-other-alt-right-websites-darlings-russian-propaganda-effort/598258001/

August 25, 2017

A black man went undercover online as a white supremacist. This is what he learned.

Source: Washington Post

As soon as Theo Wilson started making YouTube videos about culture and race, trolls using racial slurs started flocking to his page.

After engaging in endless sparring matches in the comments section, Wilson began to notice something curious: His trolls seemed to speak a language unto themselves, one replete with the same twisted facts and false history. It was as if they had all passed through some “dimensional doorway,” arriving from an alternative universe where history, politics and commonly accepted facts had been turned inside out.
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We spoke with the poet about his experience, whether white supremacists are redeemable and why he believes liberals should listen to the far-right. The interview has been edited for length.
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You mention that in their forums they're also seeking “answers” to questions. What are they trying to resolve?
In today's America, they're struggling to understand why they'll have less opportunity than their father's generation. They also want answers to basic questions about race in America, such as: What's the point of multiculturalism? Why can only black people say the “N” word? How is racism not over when LeBron James and Oprah have huge bank accounts? How is affirmative action anything other than reverse racism? Why shouldn't I be proud to be white if someone else is proud to be black?

Read more: http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/a-black-man-went-undercover-online-as-a-white-supremacist-this-is-what-he-learned/ar-AAqEnFo

August 18, 2017

Trump Makes Caligula Look Pretty Good-Krugman

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/trump-makes-caligula-look-pretty-good/ar-AAqgQ7j

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Even before the media obsession with Hillary Clinton’s email server put The Worst President Ever™ in the White House, historians were comparing Donald Trump to Caligula, the cruel, depraved Roman emperor who delighted in humiliating others, especially members of the empire’s elite. But seven months into the Trump administration, we can see that this comparison was unfair.
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So the odds are that we’re stuck with a malevolent, incompetent president whom nobody knowledgeable respects, and many consider illegitimate. If so, we have to hope that our country somehow stumbles through the next year and a half without catastrophe, and that the midterm elections transform the political calculus and make the Constitution great again.

If that doesn’t happen, all one can say is God save America. Because all indications are that the Republicans won’t.

August 15, 2017

DOJ warrants DreamHost

https://www.theguardian.com/us

DOJ issues warrants for information on vistors to anti-trump website.

The US government is seeking to unmask every person who visited an anti-Trump website in what privacy advocates say is an unconstitutional “fishing expedition” for political dissidents.

The warrant appears to be an escalation of the Department of Justice’s (DoJ) campaign against anti-Trump activities, including the harsh prosecution of inauguration day protesters.

On 17 July, the DoJ served a website-hosting company, DreamHost, with a search warrant for every piece of information it possessed
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