In May 2021, L. Gordon Crovitz, a media executive turned start-up investor, pitched Twitter executives on a powerful censorship tool. A self-described “vaccine against misinformation.” NewsGuard Technologies In an exchange that came to light in the “Twitter Files” revelations about media censorship, Crovitz, former publisher of the Wall Street Journal, touted his product, NewsGuard, as… Continue reading NewsGuard: Surrogate the Feds Pay to Keep Watch on the Internet and Be a Judge of the Truth
Category: misinformation
Documents Shed New Light on Feds’ Collusion with Private Actors to Police Speech on Social Media
Above left, from the cover of the Election Integrity Partnership’s 2020 election report. It’s not the full story: Previously undisclosed Stanford documents now show in detail how the federal-private alliance flagged social media posts for censorship. By Ben Weingarten, RealClearInvestigationsNovember 6, 2023 In the runup to the 2020 election, cybersecurity experts at the Department of… Continue reading Documents Shed New Light on Feds’ Collusion with Private Actors to Police Speech on Social Media
Truth Decay and National Security
The line between fact and opinion in public discourse has been eroding, and with it the public’s ability to have arguments and find common ground based in fact. We at RAND call this diminishing role of facts and analysis in American public life “Truth Decay.” Everyone can feel how it affects their day-to-day lives—the family… Continue reading Truth Decay and National Security
The National Education Association Is an Enemy of Teachers and Families
Since a majority of students in most American school districts can’t read or perform math equations at grade level, you might think the nation’s largest teachers’ union would spend at least part of its annual national convention pushing solutions to this sad state of affairs. Nope. The National Education Association did push a proposal… Continue reading The National Education Association Is an Enemy of Teachers and Families
Why Is PBS’s Frontline Circulating Election 2016 Conspiracy Theories?
Michael Bloomberg spent something north of $500 million on his 2020 presidential candidacy, only for the multi-billionaire to quickly drop out $500 million poorer. Bloomberg was hardly unique. He joined a long list of well-funded candidates whose war chests got them nowhere. Names like Phil Gramm, Jeb Bush, John Connally, and Tom Steyer similarly come… Continue reading Why Is PBS’s Frontline Circulating Election 2016 Conspiracy Theories?
Combating The Censorship Industrial Complex
It’s been nearly six months since the first installment of the Twitter Files—the journalistic effort by Matt Taibbi, Michael Shellenberger, Bari Weiss, Lee Fang, and many others to expose the myriad channels by which the U.S government cooperated with Twitter on content moderation and censorship—was first published. Twitter Files One, perhaps the mildest of more… Continue reading Combating The Censorship Industrial Complex
President of POVA Duties Means the Blog is Going on HIatus
As of 1 January 1, 2023 I became the President of the PSYOP Veterans Association (POVA). POVA is the oldest continuous serving veterans’ Association providing membership support, reconnection, reunion and philanthropic support to America’s military PSYOP soldiers and veterans. Founded in 1988, POVA continually seeks to support and assist our fellow PSYOP veterans. I joined… Continue reading President of POVA Duties Means the Blog is Going on HIatus
American Psychological Association: The role of psychological warfare in the battle for Ukraine
Something a bit different today. Rather than analysis I am providing some highlights from a well respected academic and professional source – the American Psychological Association. As an online instructor for American Military University and the Monterey College of Law I am often asked about ‘peer reviewed scholarly journals’ for students’ use in… Continue reading American Psychological Association: The role of psychological warfare in the battle for Ukraine
Joe Rogan: “I Am Interested In Having Interesting Conversations With People That Have Differing Opinions”
Joe Rogan posted this video on Instagram responding to calls for Spotify to censor his podcast: JOE ROGAN: I wanted to make a video to address some of the controversy that has been going on over the past few days. First off, I wanted to say thank you to everyone that has sent love and… Continue reading Joe Rogan: “I Am Interested In Having Interesting Conversations With People That Have Differing Opinions”
Reining in COVID-19 Disinformation from China, Russia, and Elsewhere
During the pandemic, the rapid spread of information has been a powerful force for good: Doctors and researchers have shared their findings on the best ways to prevent and treat COVID-19, and governments have quickly issued critical public health recommendations. But this has also allowed misinformation and conspiracy theories to spread more virulently than ever… Continue reading Reining in COVID-19 Disinformation from China, Russia, and Elsewhere