So much for ‘fake news’

Those who most loudly denounce Fake News are typically those most aggressively disseminating it.

Glenn Greenwald

I had to add a new catagory for fake news.  This is about more than the election.  More than the left trying to shut down the “alt-right”. No mention of the “alt-left” either.

Now that the internet is in the hands of the UN, Europe is pressuring companies to shut down sites and posts, China is censoring websites and content, it appears that the move is to shut down anything not ‘officially’ sanctioned.

Zero Hedge

In the 2016 infowars, if we aren’t vigilant, the result of fake news is likely to be yet another layer of filtering. And this time around, the filters won’t be to segment audiences for advertising purposes or to target voting electorates; it won’t be to display the news articles, “likes” and intra-thread @replies that algorithms think we want to see first.

The filters in the future won’t be programmed to ban pornographic content, or prevent user harassment and abuse. The next era of the infowars is likely to result in the most pervasive filter yet: it’s likely to normalise the weeding out of viewpoints that are in conflict with established interests.

This isn’t a just problem limited to the centre, the left, or the right. Rather, this is a new reality. So, as everyone barricades themselves further into algorithmic information silos, encrypted messaging services, and invite-only social network sites, it’s at least worth a thought. In the coming decade, Al-powered smart filters developed by technology companies will weigh the legitimacy of information before audiences ever get a chance to determine it for themselves.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/dec/09/fake-news-technology-filters?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

The phrase “Fake News” has exploded in usage since the election, but the term is similar to other malleable political labels such as “terrorism” and “hate speech”; because the phrase lacks any clear definition, it is essentially useless except as an instrument of propaganda and censorship. The most important fact to realize about this new term: those who most loudly denounce Fake News are typically those most aggressively disseminating it.

Clinton camp chief strategist @benensonj: "I've seen things" in Wikileaks emails "that aren't authentic" #ThisWeek https://t.co/LPQJBfACqz

— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) October 23, 2016

Official Warning: #PodestaEmails are already proving to be riddled with obvious forgeries & #blackpropaganda not even professionally done. https://t.co/UuJZrurHAA

— Malcolm Nance (@MalcolmNance) October 7, 2016

from theintercept.com

STEPHANOPOULOS: But these are legit, aren't they?

BRAZILE: When you see what -- I don't know. I -- I refuse to open these documents. I refuse to allow a foreign government, a foreign -- or fg communities -- to interfere and meddle and manipulate information. So I don't know if it's true or not true.

But I could tell you what she's been saying in public about trade, what she's been saying in public about Wall Street, what she has been saying in public about immigration reform.
I have no idea if these documents -- they have been, as you know, selectively leaking and manipulating documents.

Postmark, the United States government finally acknowledged that these -- that the Democratic Party, Democratic institutions have been hacked and I don't trust any -- anything that (INAUDIBLE).

STEPHANOPOULOS: So I mean you don't -- you don't believe these are actually the excerpts of the speeches?

BRAZILE: Let me just say something, George. As you -- as you well know, the reason why Secretary Clinton's speeches became a topic in the primary is because she released her taxes, where, I mean Donald Trump has not released his taxes.

So I -- I believe that that information may -- I don't know, George. I refuse to open them. And I've -- I've asked the staff at the DNC and all of our democratic allies, don't open up that crap, because it's postmarked from Russia.

Real Clear Politics

Thirteen minutes of lies