Thread: Brave New World

Shut Up, the Disinformation Governance Board Explained


The only way to overcome lies is with truth, and the government can’t be the arbiter of what that is.



It’s always exciting for progressives when they create a new government office of something or other. They live for this: another excuse to spend piles of taxpayer dollars; another polysyllabic title and flashy logo; another opportunity to extend the long, comforting arm of the bureaucracy into the business of ordinary citizens who never knew how impoverished their lives were without it.

So there was a tangible buzz of excitement around Washington last week when the Department of Homeland Security proudly inaugurated the Disinformation Governance Board.

Other than its title and the identity of its executive director, there’s not much we know about this exciting-sounding new body. Its job, Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told a congressional committee last week, is to tackle falsehoods that threaten the national security of the U.S. He made it sound over the weekend as though it is all about preventing human traffickers and smugglers from misrepresenting themselves—all harmless enough.

But we also learned last week that it will be headed by Nina Jankowicz. Her Twitter feed makes her look like a cross between Madame Mao and Bette Midler—a mix of impeccably conformist left-wing views about politics and media misinformation—the Hunter Biden story was Russian disinformation, the Steele Dossier was all true, etc.—with excruciating political parodies of musical-theater numbers. Watching her videos is a little like being an audience member at a Christmas concert in a prisoner-of-war camp.

The institution she heads—let’s call it the DGB, which has a nice ring to it and is close enough alphabetically and in spirit to another three-initialed organization from another country that was tasked with enforcing the official version of the truth—is potentially a vehicle for all kinds of new rules to stop the left’s version of untruths emanating from media and tech firms.

But how might it work? Will it have investigative powers? Will it be given its own enforcement resources? Is it going to solicit referrals from the public? Will operators be available around the clock to answer calls from concerned neighbors about violations of information protocols?

“Hello? Is that the DGB? I think the people next door are watching Fox News again.”

Ms. Jankowicz and her little corner of the proliferating bureaucracy sound so preposterous that they’re easy targets to mock. Mr. Mayorkas tried to clean up some of the mess, insisting free speech was safe.

But our progressive overlords are on the warpath against what they define as misinformation and disinformation, and it’s no laughing matter. You can see it in their hysterical reaction to Elon Musk’s planned acquisition of Twitter. When the site banned various accounts and people on the right it was, we were told, simply a private company, with no special public obligations. Now the prospect of a wider range of voices on the platform is a dagger aimed at the heart of democracy and must be regulated.

“People are dying because of misinformation,” Barack Obama told a Silicon Valley audience last month. You may remember Mr. Obama. He’s been a tireless warrior for years in the twilight struggle for truth in politics. If you have a long enough memory you’ll recall that he was the president who gave a speech in 2009 to promote his signature healthcare measure, in which he attacked critics of the plan for their “scare tactics and fear-mongering.”

Summoning his famous oratorical skills at a crucial moment, he was as determined then as he is now to lay to rest all the misinformation his opponents were peddling: “No matter how we reform health care, we will keep this promise: If you like your doctor, you will be able to keep your doctor. Period.”

We don’t know how many people died because of that piece of misinformation—a whopper of such proportions that even PolitiFact, the self-appointed arbiter of truth and lies, awarded it its coveted “Lie of the Year” title in 2013—five years after rating it “true”—by which time it had become clear that what critics had been saying about ObamaCare was in fact neither scare tactics nor fear-mongering but the truth.

It was certainly a consequential falsehood—one that in 2009-10 helped shore up what little popular support there was for ObamaCare and perhaps persuaded some doubtful Democrats to vote for it.

Yet, even as it was exposed, no one, as far as I recall, was saying the president should be prohibited from contributing to national discussions on a major tech platform.

You don’t promote truth by banning error. You don’t have a monopoly on truth in the first place, and you may discover your “truths” are errors or lies. Even if you’re right, and epistemically 100% certain, it doesn’t give you the authority to ban someone from saying something different.

The only proven effective way to counter bad information is with good information. The only way to overcome lies is with truth.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/jankowi...=hp_opin_pos_4


Seems to me, Lib'rul America and the trainwreck, moribund Biden administration have totally lost the plot.
[Thanks for the article OhOh ]

No one is fukking banned you twat.

^
And what stations has Russia banned?

Do some research and tell us pickle! I recall reading they expelled some Euro channels in retaliation for the EU banning RT.

RT is banned because it is a monetary source for the Russian government. Non state owned pro Russian channels are still available.

Originally Posted by pickel

Russia banned

Branston pickle still available in Russia, for now. The recipe doesn't change much. Apparently delivered in 1943, a welcome British enhancement to Lend Lease.

Originally Posted by sabang

Thanks for the article OhOh

Originally Posted by pickel

RT is banned because it is a monetary source for the Russian government. Non state owned pro Russian channels are still available.

It's also banned because it's just a medium for Puffy Putin to push his lies.

Plus it's shit.

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

I don't understand. Why is sabang so keen to defend a convicted paedophile?

Originally Posted by sabang

He is a very good military analyst

Umm . . . ok.

Originally Posted by pickel

And what stations has Russia banned?

First published Mar 2, 2022. Last updated to include latest blocked sites Russia relating to Ukraine invasion, including Google News, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, BBC News, NPR and Bild, and Amnesty International.

• We analyzed over 14,500 entries to Russia’s central registry of blocked websites and found 1,330 domains relating to the Ukraine invasion have been banned since Feb 24.
• Notable bans: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Google News, BBC News, NPR, Bild, Ukrayinska Pravda, Meduza.io, Interfax-Ukraine, Radio Free Liberty sites, Voice of America, Bellingcat, Amnesty International and Chess.com
• News sites: 849 domains now blocked, mainly Ukrainian news services but growing numbers of independent Russian and foreign services with local language sites.
• Anti-war sites: Russia has blocked 239 domains that feature prominent anti-war and pro-Ukraine propaganda.
• Financial sites: 148 foreign exchange and cryptocurrency platforms blocked since the devaluation of the rouble.

List of Websites Blocked in Russia Since Ukraine Invasion

Originally Posted by sabang

Defunded
Deplatformed
Cancelled
Filtered
And yes, Banned too

COMPANIES THAT HAVE RESTRICTED ACCESS TO RT

• Microsoft has removed RT from its Windows app store globally. The company is also de-ranking RT and Sputnik in Bing and will not show ads from Russian state-sponsored media, Reuters reports.
• Roku initially barred RT on its streaming devices in Europe, but is now removing the app in all markets including the United States.
• Google has blocked RT’s Android app in Ukrainian territory at the request of the government there, Reuters reports, though the app remains available elsewhere. It has also blocked the YouTube channels for RT and Sputnik in Europe, and has barred RT from earning ad revenue on YouTube.
• Meta (Facebook’s parent company) has blocked users from accessing RT and Sputnik content in Europe and barred the outlets from earning ad revenue on its platforms.
• TikTok has also blocked users from accessing RT and Sputnik content in Europe.
• After this story was published, DirecTV confirmed to Axios that it is immediately dropping RT America from its channel lineup.
• Apple pulled the RT and Sputnik apps from the App Store on Tuesday afternoon, while also pausing sales of its products in Russia.
• Amazon confirmed on Thursday that it had joined its peers, removing the RT app on Fire TV streaming devices and smart TVs.

COMPANIES THAT HAVE NOT

• RT does not have a large presence on cable and streaming services, but remains available on Dish Network and Dish’s Sling TV streaming service. A Dish spokesperson told CNN that it is “closely monitoring the situation.”

https://www.fastcompany.com/90726527...crosoft-google

Can still get RT on the internet though. It has some interesting stuff. Some dross too, of course-.

https://www.rt.com/

Are you suggesting that these filters apply only to western media?

Should they not equally apply to RT, OhOh’s Chinese regurgitations, and your own choice of (oft discredited) links?

I read RT and Tass every day. You don’t need an app. WTF?

The one I can’t get in is Meduza.

Putin apologist and supporter of war crimes.

Shame they let him out already.

So he was 'right' when he criticised Yanukovich, but he is 'wrong' now to criticise the magnificent Zelensky, and deserves to be incarcerated indefinitely. Or worse.
In this complex world, what would you do with a person who is sometimes right, and sometimes wrong in your (very humble) opinion 'arry? Ban Opinions, perhaps?
[Except for Yours of course, as fed to you]. "Brave New World, that has such people in it..."

Originally Posted by sabang

So he was 'right' when he criticised Yanukovich, but he is 'wrong' now to criticise the magnificent Zelensky, and deserves to be incarcerated indefinitely. Or worse.
In this complex world, what would you do with a person who is sometimes right, and sometimes wrong in your (very humble) opinion 'arry? Ban Opinions, perhaps?
[Except for Yours of course, as fed to you]. "Brave New World, that has such people in it..."

He published information that was useful to the Russian military.

Personally I think they should chuck him in the slammer for life, he is an accomplice to war crimes.

Originally Posted by sabang

So he was 'right' when he criticised Yanukovich, but he is 'wrong' now to criticise the magnificent Zelensky, and deserves to be incarcerated indefinitely. Or worse.
In this complex world, what would you do with a person who is sometimes right, and sometimes wrong in your (very humble) opinion 'arry? Ban Opinions, perhaps?
[Except for Yours of course, as fed to you]. "Brave New World, that has such people in it..."

What exactly is this guys beef?

BTW your world is not brave, and certainly not new.

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

He published information that was useful to the Russian military.

That is a high crime for sure and charges of treason are justified, especially in wartime.

^^ Shakespeare's The Tempest is absolutely not new swish. Did you say you were a teacher, sigh?
^ Of course you do snubs. A big fan of extrajudicial rendition, aren't you?

Originally Posted by sabang

Of course you do snubs. A big fan of extrajudicial rendition, aren't you?

Nice try with the false assumption, but this guy is bad news. Not surprising, you are trying to spin it into something else. Just more shilling on your part.

That is a high crime for sure and charges of treason are justified, especially in wartime.

In Spain? Spain isn't at war you know.

Originally Posted by sabang

In Spain? Spain isn't at war you know.

He will be deported to Ukraine to face the charges.

I guess Julian Assange knows all about that.

Originally Posted by sabang

I guess Julian Assange knows all about that.

Oh here we go, sabang cheerleads another Putin stooge.