Category Archives: Fake News

Earlier this week, a false news report from an Indian news agency was widely published in the Indian media. It spoke of the chances of an upgrade for Indias first medal clincher at the Tokyo Olympics, weightlifter Mirabai Chanu, from silver to gold. The report, citing an unnamed source, said that the Chinese athlete Zhihui Hou who had lifted her way to gold in the 49 kg category was being put through another dope test two days after the event, and if she failed, Chanu would be the gold medalist in her place.

For a country hungry for Olympic gold the last one came in 2008, thank you Abhinav Bindra the report was lapped up by newsrooms without verification. Perhaps because it was connected to the hopes of millions of Indians.

But thats what disinformation does. It plays on our emotions or biases, even desires. The report would classify as a specific category of disinformation: Fake News.

Two days later, the news agency clarified that the news was not correct, there had been no more dope testing and Hou would remain the gold medal winner. The clarification stopped short of apologising but said there had been an inadvertent error while reporting the news.

It was letting people know that the first report was based on false information. By definition, it was fake news: misinformation coming from a news outlet.

But the news agency clarified it was based on an error. And carried a report declaring it. (Because it felt accountable for the confusion it had caused, unlike most of the social media users who had circulated the information in different forms). So, it was just misinformation, not disinformation or fake news, that the agency released. A matter of nuance some would say, but it is not.

In the last three years, I have held over 30 training sessions or workshops mostly on fact-checking and news information, and a handful on media literacy for journalists, journalism students and members of civil society. And one thing that bothers me is that even journalists use the phrase fake news to refer to misinformation or disinformation.

It is a catchy phrase no doubt, but it simply scapegoats journalism for all the disinformation floating around us.

Fake news is either false information spread by the media or pseudo journalistic content masquerading as news. Disinformation is false information that is spread or distributed with the intent to deceive. Misinformation is false too, but the person or entity circulating (or forwarding it) believes it to be true and is misled into doing so.

So a grandmas health tip circulating on closed messaging apps talking about how turmeric or garlic will save you from Covid-19 is not fake news, unless it came from a news outlet. Neither is a flood video from Japan passed off as devastating scenes from Himachal Pradesh. It is likely just misinformation passed on by possibly well-meaning and unsuspecting people with poor information consumption habits.

Fake news was a term first used around five years ago and then made popular by the likes of former American president Donald Trump to discredit the US newsrooms or journalists raising questions on behalf of their readers, viewers and consumers. It became popular in no time because vested interests like Trump who would gain from discrediting the media often have large followings and deep networks.

The scene is not very different in India. Several of our own politicians and by extension, their followers have imbibed Trumps a journalist is a public enemy ideology, if the journalism she is doing does not propagate their version of the truth (or lies). Thats because the daily oversight that the organised media offers over those in power on behalf of the people who put them there can limit their otherwise unbridled powers.

Without an accountable media, which social media is not, there would be no reliable and verifiable daily scrutiny of people in power. The legislature, executive and courts at every level would become even more powerful and not necessarily in the most democratic way.

So each time you refer to a piece of disinformation or propaganda, or falsehood as fake news, when it is not, you are becoming an unsuspecting agent of the vested interests that want that oversight mechanism, the fourth estate, discredited to the point of becoming useless.

Views expressed above are the author's own.

END OF ARTICLE

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All disinformation is not fake news - The Times of India Blog

China's foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian, during a press conference on the 29th of Julycalled the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) a "bad-mouthing broadcasting corporation" which has "attacked and vilified China, seriously deviating from journalistic standards" and deserves to be "unpopular with the Chinese public" as it produces fake news. This statement came just days after the youth division of the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) published online death threats against foreign journalists covering the floods in central China's Henan province, triggering a wave of physical, verbal and online harassment against them.

China, one of the world's worst abusers of press freedom, has no journalism lessons to give to the BBC, and is showing outrageous hypocrisy by accusing it of broadcasting fake news while it is itself the world's number one exporter of propaganda contents, says the head of RSF East Asia bureau, Cdric Alviani, who deplores the growing habit of authoritarian regimes who systematically brand factual information which don't match the official narrative as fake news.

The Chinese state media, such as Xinhua News Agency, CGTN and Radio China International, are statutorily compelled to relay the Chinese communist party's propaganda contents. On the contrary, the UK's public broadcaster BBC practices fact-based journalism and its editorial freedom is protected by an independent board.

In recent years, the Chinese regime has increased intimidation, harassment and surveillance on foreign correspondents, their local assistants and their sources. In 2020, at least 18 correspondents were forced to leave the country and several foreign journalists' visa requests were denied without explanation. Earlier this year, China banned BBC World News and senior BBC correspondent John Sudworth was forced to flee the country.

In a report titled "China's Pursuit of a New World Media Order" published in 2019, RSF revealed Beijing's strategy to control information beyond its borders, a project that poses a threat to press freedom throughout the world.

China ranked 177th out of 180 in the 2021 RSF World Press Freedom Index and is the world's largest captor of journalists with at least 119 detained, often in life-threatening conditions.

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How dare China, the worlds' number one propagandist, accuse the BBC of broadcasting fake news"? | Reporters without borders - Reporters sans...

08/04/2021 Turkey(International Christian Concern) Turkey claims that the closure of 12 minority primary schools in Thrace, a region geographically located across Turkey, Greece, and Bulgaria, violated the Lausanne Treaty of 1923 regarding Greeces Muslim minority. Athens responded that Ankara was spreading fake news and distorting reality with their recent allegations.

Greece clarified the closures saying that an additional 24 public schools were closed along with the 12 minority schools. All 36 schools were closed due to low enrollment, less than the minimum of nine students, and all students were transferred to schools around 1 kilometer away.

In response, Greece further highlighted the size disparity between the Muslim minority in Thrace and the Greek minority in Turkey. Though both groups were around the same size at the time of the agreement in 1923, only 3,000 Greeks remain in Turkey while more than 120,000 Muslims live in Thrace.

Similarly, access to education for each minority group varies widely based on the country. Turkey has enforced the closure of Halki Seminary since 1971 after the seminary operated for 127 years serving the Greek Orthodox community and training clergy. The seminary shut its doors after Turkey issued a new law that required higher education institutions to nationalize or close.

In 2010 Erdoan gave an interview during which he made reopening conditional on improvements which benefit the ethnic Turkish community in Greeces Thrace. Both goals are laudable, but by connecting them, Erdoan pursued a policy of reciprocity with foreign entities and failed to uphold the religious liberty of Turkish citizens. This policy exploits Christians in Turkey, and promotes the view that Christians are indigenous foreigners, as stated in ICCs joint report on Turkey.

For interviews, please contact Addison Parker: press@persecution.org.

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Turkey Spreading "Fake News" Over Thrace Schools - International Christian Concern

HOUSTON The start of training camp. It is a time of year when NFL teams leave the offseason behind. It is a time when the proverbial rubber meets the road. All the new hires, the new players, the draft picksthey finally get a chance to integrate with the current team. It is a time of new beginnings and for optimism, for in training camp, every NFL team can hope and dream that the combination of players (old and new), coaches (old and new) and schemes (old and new) will fuse together to create a team that can find a way to make it to the mountaintop that is the NFL Championship.

For 31 teams, that is the case. Start with the Champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers, with their veteran team, led by veteran starting quarterback and candidate to host the next White House Correspondence Dinner (should that ever happen again) Tom Brady. Look to last years runner-up, the Kansas City Chiefs, looking to bounce back from the Super Bowl pratfall with their literal Big Daddy QB, Patrick Mahomes. The preseason is even a time for perennial also-rans to think that there is hope for the future, as is the case with Jacksonville, armed with one of the most hyped pairs of college prospects in recent memory: Trevor Lawrence and his well-travelled mane of glorious hair and Urban Meyer, who wasted no time in making Jacksonville feel just like his other collegiate coaching stops. Yes, for 31 of the NFLs franchises, this is a time of optimism, when all hopes and dreams are fair game.

Then there is the 32nd franchise. The Houston Texans have their own goals and hopes as well. However, the end-game might be a little different from the other teams:

For 1st time General Manager Nick Caserio: I hope that the 79wait, just made ANOTHER tradeok, EIGHTY, EIGHTY [Easterby] moves before training camp bear some fruit or can at least put together something resembling a competent team.

Wait a minuteoh, I can make training camp moves!!! I can do that, before cutting players with force lightening? Who knew? Ok, what can I do? What can I dooooo.oh, yeah, that Cobb dude. $10M cap hit, and I just traded for a cheaper receiver? DONE!!! GT[E]OH!!!! Say hi to Shailene for me. Really hope I get to work with her in the next Jurassic World!

[We later received reporting from our colleagues at TMZ that Shailene Woodley threatened to ask for a restraining order, given that quite a few players were flooding her social media accounts, begging her to put in a good word with her fiance in order to facilitate a trade, all while keeping their good money from Houston. There was also reporting that she was revolted by a particular head shot from someone wanting to work with her in future endeavors]

For 1st time Head Coach David Culley, the hope would seem to boil down to a simple prayer: Dear [Easterby](actually, you know what, given the nature of his contract, that is exactly who is at the center of that prayerso, TAKE TWO). Dear Easterby, please let me at least make it through one regular season game.

For top draft pick David Mills: I hope that Mommy was right, that I will have a good time at camp, that I will make new friends, and that the scary bald man wont be so bad.

For LT Laremy Tunsil: I hope that that new gas mask works A LOT better than the last time. I think I am going to need this yearREALLY need it.

For OLB/DE Whitney Mercilus: I hope I can actually make a play on the field this yearwait, I am still on the Texans, right? Wait a minuteI still exist, right? I mean, I think, therefore, I am...but if I dont think I do...I just dont know!!!

With many of the players, there was quite a lot of hope for the season. All this will play out on and off the practice field. There will be some instances where some dudes go on some injury list. Some players get waived, seeing the last shreds of their live-long ambitions for NFL glory and athletic prowess, spending the entirety of their lives working towards the dream of dreams, only to see it buried beneath the gigabytes of data on sports writing and hot takesbut anyway, enough about that.

The bigger story was the return of someone in the quarterback room. Apparently, the starter from last years team decided to check in, just to see what the place looked like. I am just checking in to see what the team is doing, and it has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that I could lose $50,000 a day if I dont. Nope, definitely not about the money. Nothing to do with the fact that I am down a ton of money from all those lost endorsement deals. Absolutely not related to the rather large legal bills I am racking up with that big shot lawyernopeit is all about the team and the guysyep, glad to be with teamwhich is thethe[Easterby] it, I used to rememberlet me check my social media feeds. Uhguess they arent there anymore. Can you give me a hint?

Meanwhile, as last years starting quarterback continues to work through some selective memory issues, we will continue to watch the on and off-field action. Will all the hopes and prayers survive the pre-season? Who will survive? Who will thrive? Will we figure out what is going on with last years starting quarterback? Will last years starting quarterback figure out who he was playing for? Will Caserio finally get the dramatic role his is looking for, preferably without any law enforcement issues? Will Sal find out that it is not his wife Linda who has been thwarting his massive corporate takeover ambitions, but her doppelganger Bertha, who has been secretly in a romantic relationship with Sals receptionist, who just so happens to be his long-lost twin sister Connie, who is double-crossing all of them in a long-distance relationship with a Fortnite gamer named Kyle? Stay tuned for next weeks installment of Totally Not Fake News.

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Totally Not Fake News: Training Camp: The Road to the 2022 Super Bowl BeginsFor Most Teams - Battle Red Blog

Was Sen. Richard Gordon admitted to a hospital after receiving his second dose of AstraZeneca vaccine against COVID-19?

False anti-vaccine claims have been circulating across messaging platforms that the chairperson of the Philippine Red Cross was hospitalized.The message reads:

Breaking News:Senator Richard Gordon admitted to hospital last night and is now in ICU after 2nd dose of AstraZeneca COVID vaccine. Lets include him in our prayers. Thank you!

Gordon on July 29 was admitted to the Makati Medical Center due to COVID-19. Initial findings revealed that he was suffering from COVID-related pneumonia.

The senator had shared that he was already fully vaccinated with AstraZenecas.

He said in his statement that he was already feeling much better. despite still having pneumonia.

I am on the fourth day of treatment with Remdesivir, and have been told by my doctors that I will remain confined until I am no longer contagious, Gordon said.

He also encouraged the public to get vaccinated by whichever brand is available to them.

Had I not been vaccinated, this bout with COVID could be much worse.

I encourage everyone for whom a vaccine has been made available to go and get yourselves vaxxed (vaccinated). It is effective in minimizing the transmission of the virus and in preventing serious illness, the senator said.

In line with this, I encourage government, the private sector, and humanitarian and civic organizations to work together to procure more vaccines and efficiently get our people vaccinated, Gordon added.

The COVID-19 vaccines available in the country have been granted emergency use authorization by the Philippine Food and Drug Administration.

As such, these are all considered safe and effective.

Those that have been distributed among the public so far are Sinovac, Moderna, Pfizer, Sputnik V, Johnson&Johnson and AstraZeneca.

The Department of Health says that these vaccines cannot make one sick with COVID-19.

Vaccines mimic the virus or bacteria that causes disease and triggers the bodys creation of antibodies. These antibodies will provide protection once a person is infected with the actual disease-causing virus or bacteria, it said on its website.

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Fake news alert: That Gordons COVID-19 infection is due to AstraZeneca vacine - Interaksyon

Heilbrunn: President Vladimir Putin has recently published a new essay on Ukraine stating that Ukrainians and Russians are the same people. He also indicated that there are red lines that neither Ukraine nor NATO would be allowed to cross. Some say Putin is laying the groundwork for tougher action on Ukraine. Have you communicated anything like that to the Biden administration?

Antonov: The article of the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin had a huge resonance in Washington. For many here, it was a new look into relations between Russians and Ukrainians, an opportunity to learn the roots of the people. Unfortunately, there are ill-wishers who deny the good, especially when it comes to Russia. They try to pervert the pictureto present the article as if it were an ultimatum against the independent nation. We have to acknowledge that there are many representatives of the administration who share this view. They ignore the main thesis of the Russian leader that a true, real and strong sovereignty of Ukraine is possible only in partnership and good relations with Russia.

We have to fight lies and fake news virtually on a daily basis. Before the article was published, we had faced a smear campaign from politicians and experts with regard to the talks between President Putin and President Biden in Geneva. As you know, the heads of our countries constructively discussed the intra-Ukrainian conflict. They agreed that the Minsk agreements serve as the sole framework for political settlement of the conflict in Donbass. Instead of working on ways to implement the Minsk arrangements, certain State Department officials blame Russia for all the troubles in Ukraine and label my country an aggressor.

We have repeatedly warned the administration that such counterproductive statements have nothing to do with reality. Solutions can be found only through diplomatic means without propaganda. Right now the United Statescan influence the government of Ukraine by encouraging it to engage in a substantive dialogue with representatives of Donetsk and Lugansk, withdraw heavy weapons from the line of contact, and undertake concrete and tangible measures with regards to the autonomous status of Ukraines southeast.

Heilbrunn:The United Statesand Russia have agreed to start a new dialogue on cyber issues. What is the progress in this area and do you see any grounds for optimism after years of sharp disagreements?

Antonov: The agreement to launch a dialogue on cybersecurity is one of the key outcomes of the Russia-U.S. summit in Geneva. Experts from both countries have already started to communicate. Russian and U.S. Security Councils provide overall coordination.

For now, there have been several rounds of consultations, and it is definitely an important and promising sign. American colleagues, however, prefer to focus discussions mainly on ransomware activities, while cybersecurity is much broader. I hope that this dialogue will acquire a comprehensive character in the near future. As an option, we can debate on cyber threats to arms control systems, etc.

It is obvious that our countries equally suffer from cybercriminals. The cases of recent attacks against the healthcare system of the Voronezh region in Russia and the Kaseya company here in the U.S. just confirm that.

We have consistently sought to establish professional cooperation on cybersecurity issues in Washington. In particular, since 2015, we have taken six attempts to launch such interaction. Moreover, on September25, 2020, the president of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, proposed a comprehensive program of measures to restore Russia-U.S. cooperation in the field of International Information Security (IIS). Unfortunately, there has been no official reaction from the United States so far.

By the way, requests of the Russian competent authorities regarding cyber-attacks also remain without reaction from the U.S. side. There were forty-fiveof them in 2020, and thirty-fivein the first six months of 2021. For our part, we fully satisfied ten requests from the United States last year and two appeals in the first half of the current year. This indicates that we have a lot to work on.

We would like to reiterate that Russia is ready for honest and mutually beneficial cooperation, without politicization and hidden agendas. We take a responsible approach to cybersecurity issues. In this context, we are proud to announce that our country has become the first state to develop and submit to the UN a draft Convention on Countering the Use of Information and Communication Technologies for Criminal Purposes. The official presentation of the document took place on July 27 in Vienna.

One more thing to mention. Almost every day we deal with media materials about hacker attacks, which are allegedly carried out from the Russian territory. Evidence is never provided. Such issues should be raised not by reporters, but professionals. American colleagues if they ask for it can count on rapid and high-levelassistance from the Russian side. Our National Computer Incident Response and Coordination Center is ready to cooperate closely.

Heilbrunn: How do you assess the perspectives of the Russia-U.S. strategic dialogue?

Antonov: A myriad of problems has accumulated in arms control and strategic stability over the past ten years. Irrespective of the political conjuncture, complex bilateral negotiations are needed to resolve them.

The issue of overcoming the crisis in this area was one of the key topics at the kick-off Russian-U.S. meeting on July 28 in Geneva. Representatives of the two countries exchanged their perceptions of the direction it is necessary to move in to reduce strategic risks. Despite the considerable differences in approaches to many matters, both sides demonstrated their willingness to engage in a regular and constructive dialogue and seek common ground. It is definitely a positive sign. Nevertheless, we are at the very beginning of a long road. The difficult work before us is to restore trust in this sphere.

I would like to emphasize that the Russian side is open to discussing any arms control issues. There are no taboo topics for our country. We are ready to consider the concerns of the United States with regard to Russias newest strategic systems.

However, such conversation should not be a one-way street. It is necessary for U.S. counterparts to heed our claimstoo, and take into account Russias national security interests. Dialogue cannot be fruitful without an equitable exchange of views.

Heilbrunn: You have returned to Washington after the Geneva summit a month ago and your U.S. counterpart John Sullivan has returned to Moscow. Do you have anything positive to report, particularly on the contentious issue of the work of the embassies in the two capitals? Are there any new developments on the status of the U.S. and Russian consulates which were closed in recent years?

Antonov: Unfortunately, the situation does not change for the better. Russian diplomatic missions in the United States are still forced to work under unprecedented restrictions that not only remain in effect, but are stepped up. Regardless of the Biden administrations declarations concerning the important role of diplomacy and willingness to develop stable and predictable relations with our country, the Russian diplomatic presence experiences continuous strikes.

U.S. colleagues get persistent and creative in this business. The expulsions of diplomats are implemented under far-fetched pretexts now and then. Last December the State Department unilaterally established a three-year limit on the assignment period for Russian personnel in the United Statesthat, as far as we know, is not applied to any other country. Moreover, we received a list of twenty-fourdiplomats who are expected to leave the country before September 3, 2021. Almost all of them will leave without replacements because Washington has abruptly tightened visa issuing procedures.

It has gottento the point where the U.S. authorities cancel valid visas of spouses and children of our staff with no reasons provided. The widespread delays in renewing expired visas are also aimed at squeezing Russian diplomatic workers out of the country. As a result, about sixtyof my colleagues (130 together with family members) cannot return to their motherland even under urgent humanitarian circumstances.

We have shown restraint for a long time but after another wave of aggressive sanctions by the United States in April we were obliged to take additional steps to equate conditions of work for U.S. missions in Russia, including a prohibition to hire local personnel. It is certain that nobody benefits from such a situation. There is a need for solutions based on the principle of parity. We are convinced that the easiest and fastest way to do it is to completely repeal all the measures and countermeasures which are constraining the activity of diplomats.

Washington does not show a readiness to take such a decision while trying to secure unilateral advantages for the American side. The same is true about the prospects of resuming the work of the Consulates General of Russia in San Francisco and Seattle which were closed by coercion. Even temporary access of maintenance teams to the confiscated premises of the Russian diplomatic property is still denied, which leads to a further deterioration of conditions there.

We hope that common sense will prevail and we will be able to normalize the life of Russian and American diplomats in the United States and Russia on the principle of reciprocity. Our presidents agreed in Geneva to continue consultations between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia and the State Department with a view to resolve this problem.

Originally posted here:

Interview with Russian Ambassador Anatoly Antonov: We Have to Fight Lies and Fake News Virtually on a Daily Basis. - The National Interest

I regret to see that today Lewis Hamilton joined the camp of international fake news Lewis Hamilton receives criticism for supporting the LGBTQ+ people in Hungary.

Ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel openly supported the LGBTQ+ communitys protest against the new law, which experts claim holds power to stigmatize the LGBTQ+ people in the country.

While Vettel dawned a pride t-shirt mask before the start of the race and wore the same theme mask on the podium, Hamilton, on his Instagram, went onto criticize the Hungarian government.

In response, a state leader Judit Varga, who holds the position of Justice Minister of Hungary on Sunday attacked Hamilton for his words against the recent move by the Hungarian government.

I regret to see that today Lewis Hamilton joined the camp of international fake news producers by attacking our child protection law. The protection of Hungarian children remains the task of Hungarian parents and not of foreign racing drivers, said Varga, according to HungarianFreePress.com.

I myself learned the rule of the road from textbooks and not by following the media. Let me recommend Lewis Hamilton to read the Hungarian Child Protection Act before saying nonsense. Let the cobbler stick to his last and F1 driver to his race.

Good luck with the Hungaroring race!

On Monday, Hamilton posted an Instagram story praising Vettel, in which he vowed to join his rival next time to show support for the LGBTQ+ struggles in Hungary but later deleted the story.

He re-posted the story with a different caption; the reason behind this move is unknown, but it seems like Hamilton wants to join Vettel in this movement, and we might witness a similar set of pre-race events in Spa at the end of this month.

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"I regret to see that today Lewis Hamilton joined the camp of international fake news" Hungary's Justice... - The Sportsrush

The frustrated viral newsreader - as created by Tom Walker - will bring his world politics to the Grand Theatre stage as part of critically acclaimed sell out 2019 live show 'Fake News.'

After months stuck in lockdown, Pie returns to the road and comes to the resort on September 30 to discuss how coronavirus has changed the world and his career prospects.

The show has been updated and re-written by Tom to include Pie's unmissable takes on the government's handling of COVID.

A spokesperson for the tour said: "Fake News (The Corona Remix) Tour will see Jonathan Pie returning to the road in a post-coronavirus world to berate the people in power - and the journalists apparently holding them to account.

"Black Lives Matter, the climate crisis, the NHS, austerity, social media, cancel culture and of course, now, COVID-19, nationwide lockdowns and the ensuing fallout Jonathan Pie has thrown aside any red lines on subject matter covered in this explosive show; a lecture-come-apology-tour, where we hear how Pies career took a serious nose-dive, after an unfortunate on-air gaffe made by the irate news reporter."

Tom first introduced the irate, fictitious British news reporter Jonathan Pie in September 2015. Described by Rory Bremner as the most important satirical creation since Partridge his videos regularly achieve millions of views, going internationally viral.

One of Pies earliest videos - his response to the election of Donald Trump - was viewed more than 150 million times worldwide.

A more recent clip on the confusion surrounding wearing masks has been viewed over 10.4m times on Facebook.

Tickets are on general sale now, with all tickets for the originally scheduled dates remaining valid.

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Jonathan Pie to bring "Fake News (The Corona Remix) Tour to Blackpool Grand Theatre in September - Blackpool Gazette

Opinion: The recent looting in KwaZulu-Natal and Joburg has resurrected the latent mistrust and ethnic divisions that are prevalent in South Africa.

What began as a protest against the incarceration of ex-president Jacob Zuma, accompanied by his and the EFFs war cry against white monopoly capitalism, rapidly descended into modern historys largest orgy of looting against organised business.

In a manner akin to a religious pilgrimage, thousands descended upon major chain stores and their storehouses to take what they could in as a casual a manner as people on pilgrimage. They went on foot or drove in with motor vehicles of a class that were unlikely to belong to the indigent that are likely to invoke sympathy by justifying theirs as a response to unending hunger.

Media reports and social media postings abounded with claims of involvement by chief executives, teachers and school principals, and children of rich business families.

While the Free Zuma Campaign was engaging in a redistribution of wealth from white-owned stores and storerooms, that allegedly exclude Africans from gainful employment, the mayhem spread with equal fierceness to African-owned businesses in African townships too. Alexandra, Soweto and Mamelodi in Joburg, Osizweni and Madadeni in Newcastle, and Ntuzuma and KwaMashu in Durban, among numerous other places, were no less victims of this exceedingly well orchestrated campaign of economic sabotage.

The State has identified 12 instigators as potential culprits, five of whom have been arrested at the time of writing this article. Like the culprits who stole furniture, bicycles and televisions under the pathetic claim of we are hungry, all of these five possible culprits so far have stated that they are not guilty or that their social media sites on their phones were hacked.

The absurdity of such claims have already been dismissed by IT specialists when people try to use hacking as an excuse to be pardoned. It is also a widely suspected but unspoken allegation (in public) that many looters in these townships were shot and killed by African business owners and homeowners.

In Phoenix, however, media reporting by the SABCs programme: Unfiltered, posted on YouTube, has harkened back to the dark days of apartheid, when clip, lie and manipulate by the apartheid captured Cliff Saunders was our only source of visual news.

We have analysed three interviews by the SABC with residents of Phoenix and compared it with what appeared as SABCs Unfiltered YouTube posting. The inconsistency and deliberate manipulation was too obvious to ignore. For instance, a woman interviewee from Phoenix told the interviewee, that Bheki Celes visit there was appreciated. He promised to send police and troops to replace the community checkpoints, but this did not happen troops and police were nowhere to be seen.

After two days police did arrive, but only to dismantle the checkpoints, not to replace community members there. Cliff Saunders, Unfiltered however left out the latter bit of the interview and claimed that troops and police were sent to Phoenix and continued with the conversation about how 20 Africans were allegedly killed in Phoenix. While no outright claim was made about the killings being carried out by the Phoenix residents, the blame on Indian residents was implicit.

SABC is trying to change the narrative about the extent of looting by mainly African citizens. And Julius Malema is threatening to send in EFF troops to deal with the Indians in Phoenix if the state does not do anything about the guilty. All of a sudden, the extent and cost of the looting by mainly African looters, as the cameras have captured, is no longer as important.

There is a simple question that must be asked of the SABC and Malema: If 20 Africans were really killed by Indians in Phoenix, how should the State proceed with finding out about how the remaining 200 odd that were killed by stampeding in supermarkets and their storehouses, as well as in the townships? And if 500 corpses are really in the Phoenix mortuary, can the Goebel incarnates of contemporary South Africa really prove that they died in Phoenix? Much of this gerrymandering is carried out under the cloud of free speech.

In order to understand how free speech and the media functions to keep people informed, we need to backtrack a little to appreciate its modern day genesis. A prominent advocate of free speech in the modern world was John Stuart Mill (1807 1873), an English philosopher, political economist and civil servant. In his book On Liberty, Mill argued that a free exchange of ideas is necessary for social and intellectual progress of the society.

His argument was compelling and approved by the English parliament: the peculiar evil of silencing the expression of an opinion is that it is robbing the human race; posterity as well as the existing generations; those who dissent from the opinion, still more than those who hold it. If the opinion is right, they are deprived of exchanging error for truth; if wrong, they lose, what is almost as a great benefit, the clearer perception and livelier impression of truth produced by its collision with error.

Mills argument was that free speech elicits truth, fundamental for the well-being of all societies. At least four international bodies have adopted this an article of faith: UN Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights declares freedom of speech and expression as a human right; Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights; Article 13 of the American Convention of Human Rights; and Article 9 of African Charter on Human Rights and Peoples Rights.

However protective these may be, the truth in this historical juncture is being appropriated by media houses such as SABC in South Africa, and YouTube, WhatsApp, Twitter and Face Book at an international level.

Many journalists of the so-called left wing are encouraged by financial incentives to disseminate news in ways that resonate with narrative creations. Twitter in India, for instance, fell foul of recently introduced Indian laws when they refused to accept responsibility for carrying an article based on an outright lie. They defended it as free speech.

It was a fake story about an elderly Muslim man from Ghaziabad allegedly being beaten up Hindu males. The narrative added that he was forced into saying Jai Shree Ram. When counter checked, it was fake news because the assaulters were Muslim.

It is for such reasons that countries such as Nigeria, Singapore, Malaysia and India have placed foreign media sites under constant surveillance. Nigeria however has banned Twitter. It is in ownership of these kind of media channels that the new capitalistic entrepreneurs of the West are emanating.

They are playing an immensely supportive role in upholding the pillars of US hegemony in the global economy. Their actions have dispensed with Mills idea of bringing together people with divergent opinions to convergent consensus. This is nothing but censorship. Mills grand idea of what should serve as a guardian of democracy in open societies is thrown out of the window like the proverbial baby with the bath water.

SABCs Unfiltered programme is therefore nothing but filtered censorship that is taking us back to the apartheid past: clip, lie and manipulate.

The Post

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The media, freedom of expression and fake news - Independent Online

JJ Lin. (PHOTO: JPJ Productions)

Singaporean pop star JJ Lin has taken swift legal actions against netizens who claimed that he and Taiwanese singer Wilber Pan are involved in Kris Wus sex scandal allegedly involving rape and underage girls.

JJ Lin is represented by Shanghai Jiuze Law Firm, who posted a legal statement on Weibo on Sunday (1 August) refuting the defamatory claims. A total of 27 netizens from various platforms, including Weibo, Douban, Baidu Tieba and WeChat, have been named, along with their unique identifier, for falsely accusing JJ Lin and spreading rumours.

The lawyer's statement said these allegations had gravely impacted JJ Lins reputation, and in order to protect his legal rights, the law firm engaged by JJ Lins company JFJ Productions has requested netizens who are suspected of breaking JJ Lins reputation to immediately delete and stop spreading false information about JJ Lin, and stop all infringement acts. They will also monitor public opinions on the internet, continuously collect evidence of infringements, and hold these netizens fully accountable.

JFJ Productions also wrote on their Weibo, The internet is not without laws, and you have to be responsible for all your words and actions. We hope to create a civilised and healthy internet environment with everyone.

Singer Kris Wu at a Seeyoung promotional event on May 28, 2021 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by VCG/VCG via Getty Images)

Wilber Pans studio has engaged Beijing Zhongchan Law Firm, who posted a similar legal statement on Weibo on Monday (2 August), with 11 users across Weibo, Douban and other Internet platforms identified.

Among all the accusers, the one that stood out is 23-year-old Chinese actor-singer Xie Minghao. Through his studios Weibo account, which has now been banned from posting by Weibo, Xie had come out to name JJ Lin and Wilber Pan, saying that they had done drugs and raped young women with Kris Wu. He even urged the Chinese police to take actions against them.

However, Xie has been known for cooking up fake news, including faking invitations to a new year countdown event and a variety show, just to increase his popularity in China. His claims about JJ Lin and Wilber Pan were met with backlash from netizens:

Story continues

Theres nothing else to boost discussions about you, so youre tapping on this?

This person has been trying to generate topics about him for a long time.

Only you are able to put your life on the line (such a false claim is likely to put him behind bars) to stimulate discussions.

This is too funny. What kind of topic-boosting is this?

Let this be a reminder to verify facts as part of the Internet community so as to curb the creation and dissemination of fake news.

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JJ Lin threatens legal action over online rumours linking him to Kris Wus sex scandal - Yahoo News