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☆ South Korea Unveils Truman Statue on Armistice Anniversary
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( Choe Sang-Hun | More About Choe Sang-Hun | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

On the 70th anniversary of the armistice that halted the Korean War, one American received a special honor in South Korea: former President Harry S. Truman, in whose memory a new, nearly 14-foot-tall statue was unveiled on Thursday. Although not all South Koreans were happy to see another monument for the war or a new edifice to an American leader built on their soil, conservatives wanted to celebrate Truman, who perhaps affected the fate of South Korea more than any other U.S. president. When North Korea invaded the South in 1950, Truman sent American troops and engineered a United Nations resolution to support the South with Allied forces. South Korea celebrates the armistice anniversary as a victory for the free world that helped the nation become one of Asia’s richest economies, while North Korea remains a hunger-stricken, nuclear-armed international pariah. “The Americans’ choice to have such a decisive leader as President Truman in the White House when North Korea invaded saved South Korea and the free world,” said Cho Gab-je, a prominent conservative journalist and publisher who led the campaign to build a Truman statue.

Persons: Harry S, Truman, ”, Cho Organizations: Allied, Truman Locations: South Korea, North Korea, Nations

☆ Come on, Elon Musk's X logo isn't that bad
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( Cheryl Teh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The X logo is pretty nice. Mourn the blue bird for now, but get used to the new X. I know we miss the blue bird, but come on, the new X logo isn't that bad. Lots of people were nervous that the demise of the bird logo and its renaming to "X" would come with another ugly or incomprehensible logo. Goodbye, Twitter bird.

Persons: Elon Musk, Gabby, Mike Lindell's Frank Social, Linda Yaccarino, they'd, could've Organizations: San, Service, PayPal, Twitter Locations: San Francisco, Wall, Silicon, Grimes

☆ Opinion | Twitter Shows, Again, the Failure of the New Right’s Theory of Power
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( David French | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

To understand what Musk did to Twitter, we shouldn’t exaggerate the virtue of Twitter before Musk any more than we should exaggerate the health of our body politic before Trump. Even before Musk, Twitter had become a toxic force in American culture, so toxic that I wrote last year it might be beyond repair. It was also the best app for seeing the thoughts of journalists, politicians and scholars in real time, sometimes to our detriment. He restored several banned accounts while stripping thousands of journalists, politicians and others of the blue verification badges that confirmed their identities. Instead, he allowed anyone to buy a blue check mark by subscribing to a premium service, Twitter Blue, that also boosted the visibility of some subscribers’ posts.

Persons: Musk, “ Catturd Organizations: Twitter, Trump

☆ Exclusive: Video-sharing website BitChute seeks to raise $10 million in new funding round
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( Helen Coster | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"I’m not really raising the money just because we need the money," Wernick said in an interview. Wernick said BitChute was pursuing a combination of high net-worth individuals and venture capital funds. He has an equity stake in BitChute and is also an investor in Parler, Gab, Airbnb (ABNB.O) and Uber (UBER.N). Its investor presentation said BitChute had 218 million unique visitors in 2022, down 15.8% from 2021, with a projection of 247 million unique visitors this year. Their longer-term goal is to “decentralize” BitChute, so that it is blockchain-based and users can decide whether to have content moderation.

Persons: Jeffrey Wernick, I’m, Wernick, BitChute, Patrick Dai, Matthew Branton, cofounders Ray Vahey, Rich Jones, ’, Helen Coster, Krystal Hu, Jane Merriman Organizations: YORK, Reuters, Inc, YouTube, Thomson Locations: BitChute, Parler, New York

CNN —Robert Bowers, the gunman who killed 11 worshippers at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue in 2018, was convicted by a federal jury Friday on all 63 charges against him. Bowers was also convicted of 11 counts of hate crimes resulting in death. The shooting unfolded on a day when the synagogue was hosting three congregations, Tree of Life, Dor Hadash and New Light, for weekly Shabbat services. In addition to the 11 killed, two worshippers and four responding police officers were wounded. Before the shooting, Bowers spent years posting about attacks on immigrants and Jewish people on Gab, a small social media platform used by far-right extremists.

Persons: Robert Bowers, Bowers, David Klug Diane Rosenthal, Cecil, David Rosenthal, ‘, ’, Rabbi Jeffrey Myers, ” Myers, ” “, ”, Jonathan Greenblatt, that’s, ” Greenblatt, Dan Frankel, “, Frankel, ” Bowers, Robert Bowers David Klug, Robert Colville, Elisa Long, ” Long, Eric Olshan, ” Olshan, Dor Hadash, Andrea Wedner, Rose Mallinger, ’ ”, Mary Hahn, – Organizations: CNN, U.S, Attorney, Defamation League, Pennsylvania, Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, Police, Immigrant Aid Society Locations: Maryland, New York

☆ Superstar Billy Graham, Model of the Buff, Blond Wrestler, Dies at 79
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Richard Sandomir | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Superstar Billy Graham, a professional wrestler whose extravagant presence — 22-inch biceps, dyed blond hair, feather boas, tie-dyed tights and an outrageous gift of gab — influenced the style of future stars like Hulk Hogan and Jesse Ventura, died on Wednesday in Phoenix. The cause was sepsis and multiple organ failure, said Keith Elliot Greenberg, who collaborated with Graham on his autobiography. Graham’s longtime use of steroids had weakened his bones, requiring at least six hip replacements, and made him sterile. He also received a liver transplant in 2002 after contracting hepatitis C.“If you look at those that came after him, more people have patterned themselves after Superstar Billy Graham and become a success in this business than probably anybody,” Triple H, the superstar wrestler whose birth name is Paul Levesque, said at Graham’s induction into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2004. “And when it comes to bodies, there was nobody, and I mean nobody, that could touch the Superstar.”Graham, who was born Eldridge Wayne Coleman, had been an evangelist, a bodybuilder who bench pressed as much as 605 pounds, a defensive end in the Canadian Football League, a debt collector and a bouncer before turning to wrestling in 1970.

☆ Conglomerate Starboard buys Parler, to shut down social media app temporarily
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 14 (Reuters) - Digital media conglomerate Starboard said on Friday it has bought Parler for an undisclosed sum and will temporarily shut down the social media app popular with U.S. conservatives to give itself time to roll out a revamped version of the platform. Starboard, formerly Olympic Media, founded in 2018 houses conservative-leaning platforms American Wire and BizPac Review. The Arlington, Virginia-based conglomerate did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for details on terms of the deal. Parler is one of several social media platforms, from among Gettr, Gab and Truth Social, that have positioned themselves as free-speech alternatives to Twitter Inc prior to its $44 billion acquisition by billionaire and Tesla CEO Elon Musk. "No reasonable person believes that a Twitter clone just for conservatives is a viable business any more," Starboard added.

☆ The CEO of far-right network Gab says AIs like ChatGPT are 'satanic' and floats creating a Christian one to fight back
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Cheryl Teh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The CEO of the far-right social network Gab wants to build an explicitly Christian AI. Insider asked ChatGPT whether it thinks it is satanic, to which it said no. Insider asked ChatGPT if it's satanic, and this was its response. Screenshot/ChatGPTIn his article, Torba asked: "If the enemy is going to use this technology for evil, shouldn't we be on the ground floor building one for good?" Insider asked ChatGPT what it thought of Torba's article, and was told it was "misguided."

☆ Fact Check-Amid reports of US gas stove ban, commission says any regulation would be a ‘lengthy process’
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Nationwide bans on gas stoves are not going to be introduced imminently, the U.S. government agency responsible for regulating consumer product safety said. “CPSC has not proposed any regulatory action on gas stoves at this time. Agency staff plans to start gathering data and perspectives from the public on potential hazards associated with gas stoves, and proposed solutions to those hazards later this year. CPSC is researching gas emissions in stoves and exploring new ways to address any health risks,” reads part of the statement. While a commissioner for the federal agency regulating consumer product safety said in an interview that a gas stove ban was a possibility, the agency told Reuters that no concrete regulation on gas stoves has been proposed.

☆ Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said 'like a lot of people' she had 'easily gotten sucked into some things I had seen on the internet' in regards to QAnon conspiracy theories
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Kelsey Vlamis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene was stripped from committee assignments after joining Congress in 2021. Greene said Sunday her QAnon support was in the past and that she got sucked into things online. Host Howard Kurtz said Democrats stripped Greene of her committees in 2021 due to statements she made about conspiracy theories and her past support of QAnon. "Well, like a lot of people today, I had easily gotten sucked into some things I had seen on the internet," Greene said. Shortly after joining Congress, Greene was removed from committees due to statements she made related to violence against lawmakers and conspiracy theories.

☆ It's hard to see what an avowed far-right militant 'would be doing much differently' than Elon Musk with his Twitter policies, extremism expert says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-02 | by ( Hannah Getahun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

Berger, a researcher on extremism and extremist movements on social media, explained what constitutes extremism and how Musk fits into the right-wing extremist ecosystem. Elon Musk wouldn't be considered a right-wing extremist, right? It's hard to say if he's an extremist, but he is most definitely implementing policies that favor extremism. Is Elon Musk just bad at his job and unintentionally letting these right-wing extremists through or is it more sinister than that? There's a mythology of the center that the far right advances and that is the mythological center that Elon Musk is interested in promoting.

☆ Anti-LGBTQ hate thrives online, spurs fears of more violence
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-18 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

On Twitter, YouTube and Facebook, researchers and LGBTQ advocates have tracked an increase in hate speech and threats of violence directed at LGBTQ people, groups and events, with much of it directed at transgender people. “A lot of that is happening online, and online threats are turning into threats of real violence offline.”Hospitals in Boston, Pittsburgh, Phoenix, Washington, D.C., and other cities have received bomb threats and other harassing messages after misleading claims spread online about transgender care programs. There’s no simple explanation for the increase in hate speech documented by researchers recent years. Online hate speech has been linked to offline violence in the past, and many of the perpetrators of recent mass shootings were later found to be immersed in online worlds of bigotry and conspiracy theories. Despite rules prohibiting hate speech or violent threats, platforms such as Facebook and YouTube have struggled to identify and remove such content.

On Thursday, Twitter accounts for at least nine journalists and one left-leaning political pundit were suspended. That is the real problem here.”According to Musk, Thursday’s suspensions were related to new rules around sharing real-time location information, which he tied to an alleged stalking incident. Musk said, “Any account doxxing real-time location info of anyone will be suspended, as it is a physical safety violation. On Wednesday, Musk tweeted that legal action would be taken against Sweeney. Andrew Torba, founder of the far-right social platform Gab, also criticized Musk and touted his company as an alternative to Twitter.

☆ Trump, Kanye West, and Nick Fuentes pushing antisemitism to the forefront of the GOP could pull the Christian nationalist movement apart
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Kelsey Vlamis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

But they also exposed a darker side of Christian nationalism that was always there, experts say. Americans who support Christian nationalist ideas may not identify as Christian nationalists. Andrew Whitehead, a sociologist at IUPUI and co-author of "Taking America Back for God: Christian Nationalism in the United States," has found similar connections between Christian nationalism and antisemitism. Additional research has also found close connections between Christian nationalism, antisemitism, QAnon followers, and supporters of Trump. Greene has said the GOP should be the party of Christian nationalism and even sells merch adorned with the term.

☆ Rapper Kanye West no longer plans to buy social media platform Parler
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Helen Coster | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] American rapper Kanye West's picture is seen on a smartphone in front of the logo of social media app Parler in this Illustration taken, October 17, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/IllustrationDec 1 (Reuters) - The parent company of social media platform Parler and American rapper Kanye West, who now goes by Ye, have agreed to terminate the intent of the sale of Parler, according to a statement from Parlement Technologies on Thursday. "Parler will continue to pursue future opportunities for growth and the evolution of the platform for our vibrant community." In September, Ye terminated his partnership with apparel retailer Gap Inc (GPS.N). Parler is one of several social media platforms, including Gettr, Gab and Truth Social, that have positioned themselves as free-speech alternatives to Twitter Inc prior to its new ownership under billionaire Elon Musk.

[1/2] Twitter logo and a photo of Elon Musk are displayed through magnifier in this illustration taken October 27, 2022. The billionaire CEO of Twitter and Tesla also said Apple was pressuring Twitter over content moderation demands. Parler was restored by Apple in 2021 after the app updated its content and moderation practices, the companies said at the time. "Apple has mostly stopped advertising on Twitter. Musk also said "yes" in response to a user question on whether Apple was threatening Twitter's presence in the App Store or making moderation demands.

☆ Fact Check-Canvass bags shown in live feed are used to legally transport ballots and results reports to the Election Department, Maricopa County says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Claims on social media that a photo of a pile of black bags at Arizona’s Maricopa County central tabulation location shows something fraudulent are missing key context. A spokesperson for the Elections Department of Maricopa County told Reuters the photo shows “canvass bags” used to transport voted ballots and results reports from polling locations. “This is from the live feed from Maricopa County a few minutes ago. The image circulating online captures a moment of the live video feed provided by Maricopa County Elections Department (here) (select Tabulation – View 1). In a press conference, Maricopa County District Supervisor Bill Gates said the county would have their “last big drop of votes” after 6 pm that day.

☆ Community still looking for answers in violent 2011 murder of David Grubbs on Ashland, Oregon bike path
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-13 | by ( Sarah Portney | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +10 min

It was more of an assisted medical call.”But the chief told Dateline that he thought something more might have been going on. It struck home with a lot of people that the bike path isn't safe,” Chief O’Meara said. I was afraid.”He added that he feels David’s case wasn’t given enough attention in public by police. “David did not have an enemy in this world.”Garrison’s mother, P.J., told Dateline that she remembers meeting David for the first time. He was so just naturally funny and had the gift of gab,” Garrison told Dateline.

☆ Musk's Twitter takeover sent thousands flocking to Mastodon. Here’s what I discovered using the app
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Sophie Kiderlin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

It has been reported that more than 200.000 new users flocked the social media app after the takeover of Twitter by Elon Musk. Hundreds of thousands of users have joined the platform since Elon Musk took over Twitter. On its website, it describes itself as "radically different social media, back in the hands of the people." To make a Mastodon account, you first have to pick a server — the source of my initial feeling of overwhelm. "Mastodon still looks too technical for the standard user, which will pose challenges to adoption," she told CNBC's Make It.

Democrat Josh Shapiro defeated far-right Republican Doug Mastriano in the Pennsylvania governor’s race on Tuesday, NBC News projected, providing Democrats with a significant victory in a contest where oversight of the 2024 election and abortion rights took center stage. ET, Shapiro held a lead of more than 13 points over Mastriano. Speaking to reporters on his campaign bus last week, Shapiro said Mastriano “is by far the most extreme and dangerous person to ever run for public office in Pennsylvania. Mastriano said his position on abortion was irrelevant because abortion laws are ultimately up to the state Legislature. Elected to the state Senate in 2019, Mastriano rose to prominence after the 2020 election when Trump sought allies in state Legislatures to help him reverse his loss.

Kathy O’Neil, 68, told NBC News at a campaign stop in Erie that she felt Shapiro has "done so much for us." His support from law enforcement, including the Pennsylvania State Troopers Association and Philadelphia Fraternal Order of Police — two groups that have endorsed Oz in the Senate race — stood out to her, too. (Mastriano, 58, has said Shapiro has a “grudge” against the church, while some Catholic organizations believe Shapiro went too far). To take on Shapiro, Mastriano has struggled greatly to raise money and draw financial support from outside Republican groups to boost his campaign. During a campaign stop in Clarion, Shapiro pledged to advocate for "forgotten" parts of the state.

☆ Prayers, the pledge of allegiance and culture wars: Inside a Doug Mastriano rally in the final days of his long-shot bid for governor of Pennsylvania
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Oma Seddiq | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

A Doug Mastriano rally in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, featured praying and wading into culture wars. National and state Republican donors and groups have offered little support to his candidacy. "He's just been there the whole time," a Mastriano voter in Bucks County who only identified himself as Jeremy, told Insider. "You can't get your message out one-on-one to voters," Josh Novotney, a Pennsylvania GOP strategist, told Insider. "It's a different tactic and I pray it works," Joe Vichot, chairman of Lehigh County's GOP, told Insider.

☆ Far-right figures appear to be testing Twitter's boundaries for anti-LGBTQ speech
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( Matt Lavietes | Matt Lavietes Is A Reporter For Nbc Out. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

Shields did not respond to NBC News' request for comment. The word “grooming” has long been associated with mischaracterizing LGBTQ people, particularly gay men and transgender women, as child sex abusers. The day before, within hours of Musk's Twitter acquisition, the far-right account Libs of TikTok — which has over 1.4 million Twitter followers and has largely built its following by mocking liberals — tweeted out a post with the word "groomer" written over a dozen times. The far-right celebration comes as homophobic and transphobic slurs and rhetoric have had a resurgence within Republican politics this year. Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment concerning several of the more high-profile tweets that included anti-LGBTQ slurs or sentiments.

U.S. law enforcement has circulated bulletins warning that conspiracy theorists could become violent around the midterm elections on Nov. 8. The bulletins, obtained by NBC News, are unclassified but intended only for law enforcement. One of the bulletins, issued Friday by the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI and the National Counterterrorism Center, and marked “for official use only,” warned about domestic violent extremism, or DVE in law enforcement circles. “The most plausible DVE threat is posed by lone offenders who leverage election-related issues to justify violence,” it said. Those include an Oct. 10 post on the fringe social media platform Gab in which a user wrote, “Death penalty for election fraud!

☆ Anxious Twitter users find few alternatives to platform after Musk deal closes
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( Jennifer Korn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

But with few obvious alternatives, Twitter users may be left with nowhere else to go. Other platforms, like Mastodon, have promised a more decentralized social media experience. “Excited to see what you accomplish here,” retired basketball star Shaquille O’Neill tweeted at Musk on Wednesday ahead of the deal closing. Musk has said he would restore Trump’s Twitter account, though Trump has previously said he would remain on Truth Social. By unbanning users and unwinding content moderation efforts, Musk could make Twitter less palatable for its most vulnerable users, typically women, members of the LGBTQ community, and people of color, according to safety experts.

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