Scientific American – Our willingness to share content without thinking is exploited to spread disinformation – By Claire Wardle = “As someone who studies the impact of misinformation on society, I often wish the young entrepreneurs of Silicon Valley who enabled communication at speed had been forced to run a 9/11 scenario with their technologies… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Censorship
Proposed White House Executive Order would have FCC and FTC police alleged social media censorship
CNN Business: “A draft executive order from the White House could put the Federal Communications Commission in charge of shaping how Facebook, Twitter and other large tech companies curate what appears on their websites, according to multiple people familiar with the matter. The draft order, a summary of which was obtained by CNN, calls for… Continue Reading
A Closer Look at How Religious Restrictions Have Risen Around the World
Tenth annual report dives deeper into the ways government restrictions on religion and social hostilities involving religion have changed, from 2007 to 2017: “Over the decade from 2007 to 2017, government restrictions on religion – laws, policies and actions by state officials that restrict religious beliefs and practices – increased markedly around the world. And… Continue Reading
Donald Trump and the Plot to Take Over the Courts
The Nation – How the 45th president has packed the courts with ultraconservatives—and reshaped the judiciary for a generation. “…Trump’s Court—the collection of judges and justices now swarming our judicial system, nominated and confirmed to lifetime appointments on his recommendation—will linger, like an infected wound poisoning the body politic even after the initial injury has… Continue Reading
Information Mischief Under the Trump Administration
Cortez, Nathan, Information Mischief Under the Trump Administration (May 21, 2019). Chicago-Kent Law Review, Vol. 94, No. 2, 2019; SMU Dedman School of Law Legal Studies Research Paper No. 418. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3391965 “The Trump administration has used government information in more cynical ways than its predecessors. For example, it has removed certain information… Continue Reading
When a book disappears, it turns up here
Fully searchable banned book database catalogues 125,000 titles – When Argentinian artist Marta Minujin wanted to build a replica of the Parthenon out of banned books, UBC professor Florian Gassner was one of the first people she turned to for help. Gassner, a senior instructor in UBC’s department of Central, Eastern, and Northern European studies, was… Continue Reading
Many Americans Say Made-Up News Is a Critical Problem That Needs To Be Fixed
Pew – Politicians viewed as major creators made-up news, but journalists seen as the ones who should fix it – “Many Americans say the creation and spread of made-up news and information is causing significant harm to the nation and needs to be stopped, according to a new Pew Research Center survey of 6,127 U.S.… Continue Reading
Justice Department Clarifies Redactions To Mueller Report
The US government pushed back on a lawsuit by BuzzFeed News that seeks the Mueller report in its entirety: “The Department of Justice told a federal court judge that it cannot disclose any redacted parts of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report without harming ongoing national security investigations and other sensitive matters. BuzzFeed News and the… Continue Reading
What happened to the MSPB?
U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board Congressional Budget Justification FY 2020: “Over the last year, the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB or Board) has worked to improve the effectiveness and long-term impact of its missions function in response to the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) memorandum M-17-22, “Comprehensive Plan for Reforming the Federal Government… Continue Reading
Terrorism, Violent Extremism, and the Internet: Free Speech Considerations
EveryCRSReport.com – Terrorism, Violent Extremism, and the Internet: Free Speech Considerations, May 6, 2019 R45713: “Recent acts of terrorism and hate crimes have prompted a renewed focus on the possible links between internet content and offline violence. While some have focused on the role that social media companies play in moderating user-generated content, others have called… Continue Reading
New Version Of The Mueller Report Has Been Released In Response To A BuzzFeed News Lawsuit
BuzzFeedNews – Jason Leopold – The new version released Monday further explains why certain details were redacted from the public report. “The Department of Justice on Monday released a new version of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on Russian meddling in the 2016 election and President Donald Trump’s campaign, shedding light on why significant portions… Continue Reading
Justice Department censored CNN headline, New York Post quotation, and more
National Security Archive – “Black blotches mar the surface of the Mueller Report like measles cases tracked on a map of Brooklyn. Some 176 of the 448 pages feature at least one redaction, according to the Washington Post count, and 10 pages are blacked out in full. The Justice Department redactions are on their face overdone. The… Continue Reading
