Misrepresentation: the world’s great, burgeoning industry

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Paper Truths is a weekly newsletter that combs some of the darkest corners of the internet for disinformation and misinformation, analyzing the strategies and tactics, providing the tools needed to fight back against bad actors’ narratives. Every week it focuses on the issues that are at the center of American politics, outlining the facts that are being manipulated and warped: voting rights, abortion, education, the economy, and more. This is one contribution:

SOCIAL MEDIA
19 of Facebook’s Top 20 Pages for American Christians are Run by Eastern European Troll Farms Overseas

Millions of Americans have joined a variety of either Christian American or Black American Facebook groups in an attempt to create a community for themselves. These groups purport to be made by Christian/Black Americans, for Christian/Black Americans, with the largest reaching over 75 million users a month, an audience 20 or 30 times the size of the next largest Christian Facebook group.

What the facts say: The reality is these groups are managed by individuals largely based in Kosovo and Macedonia, in what is called “troll farms.” These groups were part of a larger network that collectively reached nearly half of all Americans, according to an internal Facebook company report, and achieved that reach not through user choice but primarily as a result of Facebook’s own platform design and engagement-hungry algorithm.

This is a continuation of the argument that social media’s algorithm can create group-think, adhere to confirmation bias, and prioritizes ad revenue versus positive social benefits.

My comment: Why do people waste their time on these social media sites? I can understand using (former) Facebook as a means of keeping in touch with one’s immediate family, but beyond that why would you waste your time reading the blatherings of strangers, particularly strangers peddling lies and disinformation?

Go for a walk. Read a good book

Is this a non-sequitur?

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Speculation has emerged that penguins may be aliens after scientists found traces of a chemical from Venus in their droppings.

Experts are struggling to explain how phosphine exists on Earth – 38 million miles away from Venus. Scientists in the UK who believe alien life forms may have already been detected say studying penguins could help them identify the types of organisms that exist on other worlds. (The Week, 22 Sept 2021)

My comment: Epicurus would have pointed out that we are bombarded with lumps of rock which originate who-knows-where in the universe. Just because phosphine has been identified on Venus doesn’t mean that it isn’t present in galaxies, and in asteroids, in even more distant reaches of the universe.
Epicurus might have pointed out that all this is is common sense. But this is just the view of an historian. Historians are renowned for proudly stating the obvious.

If you can’t win on policy and care for fellow humans…….

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The University of Florida has barred three professors from providing expert testimony in a lawsuit that restricts voting rights. The university said in a statement that testimony by professors Dan Smith, Michael McDonald, and Sharon Austin, as paid experts for the plaintiffs, would be “adverse to the university’s interests as a state of Florida institution.”

Lawyers for the coalition of civics groups challenging the law said in court papers that the university told the professors their testimony would create a conflict for the school because it would clash with the position of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration. Critics of the Florida law, which reduces drop-box and mail-in voting, say it discriminates against voters of color in violation of the Voting Rights Act. (Associated Press)

My comment: The professors are not only totally right, but restriction of the voting rights of Democrats is precisely the point of the new law, which is part and parcel of the slow-motion coup d’etat. If you cannot stand up for truth, freedom, and democracy at a university you have no business running a university. So much for liberty and freedom of speech!

Cop26

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Oil delegates dominate Cop26

There were more delegates at Cop26 associated with the fossil fuel industry than from any single country, the BBC reported. It said 503 people with links to fossil fuel interests had been accredited for the climate summit, compared with 479 from Brazil, which has the largest official team of negotiators. A campaigner said the fossil fuel industry “is one of the biggest reasons why 25 years of UN climate talks have not led to real cuts in global emissions”.

My comment: We either stand up to fossil fuel industry or effectively lose the planet. But who is brave enough to do the standing up? Were I a national leader I fear my courage would not last long, to be honest. We can tut-tut as much as we like, but these people are powerful and determined. They need a huge incentive to back off.

P.S: On second thoughts, cancel last bit of the comment. Yes, actually I would stand up to the fossil fuel industry! What worth is my career and life next to those of the millions who will suffer grievously if nothing is done? At least I would be jobless and would keep my self-respect.

Phasing out coal-fired power plants

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More than 40 countries at the United Nations’ COP26 climate summit have pledged to phase out the use of power plants fueled by coal, the single biggest contributor to climate change. The countries signing onto the deal included major coal users, including Poland, Vietnam, and Chile. Some of the world’s biggest consumers of coal, including China and the United States, did not join in. “The end of coal is in sight,” said Kwasi Kwarteng, the U.K.’s business and energy secretary. A critic said the coal pledge was “not a game-changer.” The U.S. signed a separate deal backed by 20 countries committing to end public financing of “unabated” fossil-fuel projects, which don’t capture CO2 emissions, abroad by the end of 2022. Several major banks agreed to stop funding new coal plants. [Reuters, The Guardian]

My comment: “Some of the world’s biggest consumers of coal, including China and the United States, did not join in.” Were Epicurus alive today I am sure that, knowing what we all know now (even the climate change deniers), he would be a strong advocate of stopping the emission of foul coal smoke etc into the air we breathe. It‘s a no-brainer.

Graduate jobs

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Graduates face stiff jobs competition.

Competition for graduate jobs has reached a record high with more than 90 applications for every position, according to the Institute of Student Employers. Last year’s graduates left university in the toughest jobs market since the last recession, as a backlog of unemployed graduates intensified the scramble for jobs. A spokesperson said: “This highlights the genuine struggle for young people to find work during the pandemic.”(The Week, 11 Nov 2021).

My comment:I deeply sympathize. When I finished full-time education the job market was very competitive indeed. I sent off dozens of job applications and heard back from only three companies, one of whom declared that I was over-qualified! Fast forward, running my own company, I interviewed as many people as I could, and, if I didn’t take an applicant on, I would write a gentle, encouraging letter, suggesting other options and giving them possible contacts. They were young and their self-images probably fragile. It is horrible feeling unwanted!

Duck recorded speaking to human

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Scientists have recorded the first known instance of a duck that has learned to mimic human speech. The duck in in Australia – called Ripper – said: “You bloody fool.”

Parrots, songbirds and hummingbirds were thought to be the only birds thought to be able to mimic human speech, though several mammals such as whales, dolphins, seals, bats and elephants can also imitate sounds. (Washington Post 22 September 2021)

My comment: Who was it that claimed that animals were dumber than humans? I bet, given encouragement, that most animals think we are all “fools”. It’s just that they haven’t yet invented their version of the gun. Give them time and they will get revenge on us, I’m sure of it.

“Feminism has driven men to ‘pornography and video games”?

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At a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee Hearing on Competition Policy, Antitrust, and Consumer Rights, competition and consumers on September 21, Josh Hawley (Rep.Missouri) is quoted as opining that “The effort to combat toxic masculinity in the US has led men to consume more pornography and play more video games”.

Later, speaking at the National Conservatism Conference in Orlando, Florida, Hawley addressed the issue of “manhood”, which he said was under attack, and called for men to return to traditional masculine roles.

The Donald Trump supporter, who notoriously raised a fist in support of a mob outside the US Capitol on 6 January, appeared to echo talking points made by the likes of the Proud Boys, a far-right group that opposes feminism and believes men are under attack from liberal elites.

“Can we be surprised that after years of being told that they are the problem, that their manhood is the problem, more and more men are withdrawing into the enclave of idleness and pornography and video games?” Hawley said.

Hawley did not cite sources for his belief that men were watching pornography more frequently. Nonetheless, on Monday his speech was republished by the Federalist, a rightwing outlet.

Hawley is the son of a banker and attended private school before studying at Stanford and Yale(!) Given his background, he has repeatedly raised eyebrows for railing against elites and claiming to speak for all men. (Reuters)

My comment: In the spirit of Epicurus let me tell Mr. Hawley what is really happening. Those of us with humane feelings believe that gender is irrelevant when it comes to how you treat others. The same goes for race and nationality of birth. Everyone should get an education that brings forth and hones their capabilities, without fear or favour. Everyone should be treated with consideration and given a chance to prove themselves and to earn equal incomes, if they are capable.

To some of the toxic males I fear that a woman has but one role, and that people of color are just there to serve their rightful masters. To these people I say, grow up. It’s 2021. We are not going backwards!

Sign of the times

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Benito Mussolini’s granddaughter has won the highest number of votes in elections for Rome’s city council. Rachele Mussolini, who won over 8,200 votes, belongs to the far-right party Brothers of Italy. (The Guardian 7 Oct 2o21).

My comment: In several countries we can see a resurgence of extremism and a disillusionment with democracy. Yes, democracy is messy, but it’s a hugely preferable alternative to authoritarianism, intolerance of opposite opinions – and downright thuggery.

Epicurus advised us to avoid politics, but, for what it’s worth, he did have good reasons to steer clear of political involvement. We today have been lucky with systems of government that have been fairly responsive to electorates. Looks like a movement is gaining strength to undo what is imperfect, but better than cowering before autocrats and their thugs who threaten us if we raise our voices. Once we lose democracy it’s hard to get it back. I have a leather-thonged whip that my father took off a death camp guard in Northern Germany in 1945. “ Never forget”, he said as he handed it to me.

Three brave profs

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The University of Florida is barring three professors from providing expert testimony in a lawsuit concerning a new state law that restricts voting rights, The Associated Press reports. The university said in a statement that testimony by professors Dan Smith, Michael McDonald, and Sharon Austin as paid experts for the plaintiffs would be “adverse to the university’s interests as a state of Florida institution.”

Lawyers for the coalition of civics groups challenging the law said in court papers that the university told the professors their testimony would create a conflict for the school because it would clash with the position of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration. Critics of the Florida law, which reduces drop-box and mail-in voting, say it discriminates against voters of color in violation of the Voting Rights Act. (Washington Post, 5th Nov 2021)

My comment: “… it would clash with the position of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration“.

This is a disgraceful statement. It is part of the remit of an academic to speak freely and stand in opposition to the government of the day when necessary, and this is very necessary! What sort of message does that give to the students of the said professors?: “Don’t rock the boat?”, “Whatever you do, conform?”. “Don’t think for yourself?”. “Your parents are not forking out huge sums to keep you at a university, only to find that you have the audacity to think for yourself”.

I will forebear to comment on De Santis myself. Epicurus wouldn’t have done so either. He would have advised his followers to have nothing to do with politics and politicians. (Associated Press)

Quotation

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“If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear”. George Orwell, quoted in the Washington Examiner

My comment: Maybe he meant telling people to get vaccinated when a plague of some sort comes along?

Still fixated on banning abortion

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In their first abortion case since Justice Amy Coney Barrett joined the Supreme Court, the justices reinstated a requirement that women seeking medication abortions pick up a pill in person.”

On its way out the door, the Trump administration made its anti-abortion agenda a priority, and Trump’s loyalist 6-3 majority in the Supreme Court will continue to remind us all of its rejection of science and compassion.

In fierce dissent of the court’s decision, Justice Sonia Sotomayor reminded her conservative colleagues that “maintaining the F.D.A.’s in-person requirements” for picking up the drug “during the pandemic … imposes an unnecessary, irrational and unjustifiable undue burden on women seeking to exercise their right to choose.”

Republicans have made it clear that their war against reproductive rights is ongoing, and as the liberal justices push for the Biden administration to revisit the issue. (The Guardian Nov 2, 2021)

My comment: No woman in her right mind terminates a pregnancy casually and without agonized thought and concern. The decision is hers, and no male stranger, priest or politician has a right to pontificate on the matter or ban her from making it, fraught with guilt as it no doubt is. I can easily imagine how hard the decision must be. We should sympathize and console; anything else is deliberate cruelty. A religion. that perpetrates such bullying is a male cult, not a religion of love and care.

Unsolved murders, Part 2

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In 2001, America’s homicide rate jumped 20% from the previous year, the highest increase in modern history, elevated by the body count of the 9/11 terror attacks.

This week that sombre record was broken. Provisional data from the National Center for Health Statistics showed that the homicide rate in the US rose 30% between 2019 and 2020 (The Week, 8 October 2021)

My comment: When will Americans put two and two together and regulate guns?
( Answer: never. It’s too late. The death rate can only continue to grow. This is not the fault of the guns; it is the result of decades of stubborn misreading of the Constitution. Admittedly, the relevant sentence of the Constitution is badly drafted, but the intent was, I believe, humane and intelligent if you can draw conclusions from the rest of the document).