US Press Unite against Trump ‘Fake News’ Attacks

The 'fake news media' is the opposition party, President Trump declared today, but across the United States some 350 newspapers from the New York Times to the Kentucky Times Tribune have launched an unprecedented joint campaign to counter the President's attacks on the media.

What's the Reason behind Recent Media Attacks against Qatar? – Inside Story

It's been a week of tension in the Arabian gulf. Last week, Qatar's official news agency was hacked. Then, fake remarks critical of US foreign policy were posted on its website and wrongly attributed to Qatar's leader. Now, a series of e-mails belonging to the UAE's ambassador to the US have been leaked. They reveal a close co-ordination between the diplomat and a pro-Israeli Think tank in Washington DC. The e-mails also show how Ambassador Youssef al-Otaiba and the Foundation for Defense of Democracies or FDD lobbied in the US against Qatar and Kuwait. So, how will this impact US policy in the Gulf? | Presenter: Hashem Ahelbarra | Guests: Saad Djebbar - International lawyer; Ian Black - Visiting Senior Fellow at the Middle East Centre at London School of Economics and a former Middle East Editor for The Guardian newspaper; Mohammed Cherkaoui - Professor of Conflict Resolution at George Mason University.

What the Media Won't Tell You about Syria

Do you think the Syrian chemical attack was a false flag?

Robert Spencer: What If the Media Had Covered World War II the Way It Covers Jihad?

Jihad Watch director Robert Spencer sketches out how history might be very different if the establishment media had reported on attempts to counter Hitler and the Nazis the way it reports on the jihad threat.

Trump Bans Top Media Outlets

Donald Trump just banned some of the most respected news agencies from a White House press briefing. Cenk Uygur, John Iadarola, Ben Mankiewicz, and Michael Brooks, the hosts of The Young Turks, tell you who was banned.

President Trump: Media Are Part of Corrupt System

Feb. 18, 2017 - 2:16 - President speaks out at Florida rally

Milo: Media Legitimizes Violence On Conservatives

‘If There Was a Honeymoon, It Was Pretty Short’: VP Pence on Relations between Trump Administration & Media

Respectful relations between the new US administration and the media have ended almost before they began, says Vice President Mike Pence. Gayane Chichakyan looked into the negative and at times aggressive anti-Trump coverage that seems to be fueled by growing political divides.

European-style Media Censorship Looming in Canada

Ezra Levant predicts that the Trudeau government will punish TheRebel.media for allegedly posting "fake news" regarding the Québec mosque attack.

The Worst Form of Censorship
THE SPECTATOR: A week ago, the offices of the French satirical paper Charlie Hebdo were burned down. This attack came after it advertised the founder of Islam, Muhammad, as 'editor-in-chief' of the new issue. The move was a light-hearted response to the very serious matter of the election of an Islamist party (the Ennahda party) as the leading party in Tunisia (a result which, incidentally, appears not to have greatly bothered most European media).

As the staff of Charlie Hebdo contemplated the ruins of their magazine, a much grander and richer magazine, Time, ran one of those pieces which have become familiar whenever there is an Islamist assault against free speech. As Nick Cohen has also noted, the Paris correspondent of Time magazine –- the almost too-perfectly named Bruce Crumley –- used the burning of their offices to taunt Charlie Hebdo's journalists[.]

'Do you still think the price you paid for printing an offensive, shameful, and singularly humor-deficient parody on the logic of 'because we can' was so worthwhile?' he asked before going down a related track by denouncing French politicians who had criticised the firebombing. Mr Crumley is apparently not a fan of free-expression, or even slight jokes, when it comes to Islam. In this respect he is not unique. He follows in a long and ignoble line of useless idiots.

In 2004 when Theo van Gogh was murdered on a street in Amsterdam by a Islamic fundamentalist it was Index on Censorship's turn. You would have thought that with a title like 'Index on Censorship', the reader could expect such a magazine to do what it says on the masthead. Yet in what should have been a pretty straightforward test ('for or against the murder of people who express their opinions') Index on Censorship managed to land it wrong.

They published a piece which claimed that it was not van Gogh's murderer but van Gogh himself who had been a 'fundamentalist'; not Mohammed Bouyeri (the killer), but van Gogh (the killed) who had been on a 'martyrdom operation' by having the temerity to say mean things about Islam. Index on Censorship's author went on to imply that the whole murder was some type of performance art designed to promote van Gogh's new film on the assassination of another critic of Islam, Pim Fortuyn. Read on and comment » | DOUGLAS MURRAY | Tuesday, November 08, 2011

Bahrain Bans Main Opposition Newspaper
AL JAZEERA ENGLISH: Paper critical of government accused of publishing "fabricated" reports about last month's pro-democracy protests.

Bahraini authorities have banned Al-Wasat, the country's main opposition newspaper, which has been critical of the government in its coverage of Shia-led protests quashed last month.

The newspaper did not publish on Sunday after a message on state TV saying Bahrain's Information Ministry had ordered the paper to shut down.

The state-run Bahrain News Agency (BNA) says officials accuse Al-Wasat of "unethical" coverage of the Shia-led uprising against the country's Sunni rulers.

The Kingdom's Information Affairs Commission also referred the newspaper for investigation, BNA said.

Al-Wasat has been accused of publishing "fabricated" reports last week about the "security developments in Bahrain". » | Source: Agencies | Sunday, April 03, 2011

Listening Post - Military Intervention, Warmongering and the Media
On this week's show: Military intervention, warmongering and the media - the latest chapter in the Libya story. Plus, we look at the challenges female journalists face in the field

Losing the Information War
Is the US really losing the information war, as Hillary Clinton claims, and how can it fight back?

My comment:

In my opinion, the problem with US broadcast networks is this: They are more concerned about pushing an agenda rather than disseminating news. Take FoxNews. It’s supposed to be “fair and balanced.” Truth to tell, it is neither fair nor balanced!

In the US, you have the left-wing channels and the right-wing channels. So if you have a left-wing bias, you watch one channel, and of you have a right-wing bias, you watch another. So people are often badly informed of the opinions of the other side. Their coverage of foreign affairs leaves much to be desired.

Then there are all those dreadful ads! Oh God, those ads!

Al Jazeera is exciting. US news networks need to learn some lessons from Al Jazeera! – © Mark

Fighting Back in Libya's Media War
With state television in Libya reporting that the situation in the country is normal, anti-government activists have taken to creating their own media outlets to get their message out. Several activists in the opposition stronghold of Benghazi have set up a radio station, getting updates from protesters on the ground and disseminating them to the wider public. Al Jazeera's Hoda Abdel-Hamid reports from Benghazi, eastern Libya

US TV: Fired for Using the ‘N-word’
MAIL ONLINE: The question of whether it is acceptable for an African-American person to use the 'n' word in a workplace but not a white person is to be decided by a federal jury.

U.S. District Judge Barclay Surrick has ruled that former Fox29 reporter-anchor Tom Burlington's claims against the station of double standards and racial discrimination will go to trial on January 18.

But the judge ruled out Burlington's claim of a hostile work environment.

Burlington, who is white, was dismissed after using the 'n' word during a staff meeting in June 2007.

He made the comment while discussing a story about about the symbolic burial of the word by the Philadelphia Youth Council of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

Burlington, who is now working as a real estate agent, was suspended within days and then fired after the incident was published in the Philadelphia Daily News. White TV reporter fired for using the ‘n-word’ accuses station of racial discrimination >>> Daily Mail | Wednesday, January 05, 2011

Related >>>

Ungarns Präsident unterzeichnet umstrittenes Mediengesetz
ZEIT ONLINE: Das ungarische Mediengesetz tritt pünktlich zur EU-Ratspräsidentschaft des Landes in Kraft. Berlin hofft auf Änderungen, doch Ungarn gibt sich unbeeindruckt.

Wenn die konservative Regierung in Ungarn am kommenden Samstag die protokollarische Führungsrolle in Europa übernimmt, dürften die Staats- und Regierungschefs in so mancher europäischer Hauptstadt zutiefst beunruhigt sein. Grund sind die reichlich unorthodoxen Maßnahmen, die das Kabinett unter Führung von Ministerpräsident Viktor Orbán jüngst erlassen hatte. Dazu gehören neben einer Sondersteuer für Unternehmen auch ein neues Presserecht, das europaweit für Empörung gesorgt hat. >>> dpa, Reuters, AFP | Donnerstag, 30. Dezember 2010

The ‘Sarkosizing’ of France’s Media
Nicolas Sarkozy. Photograph: The Globe and Mail
THE GLOBE AND MAIL: The dismissal of a pair of political satirists is seen as one more move in the President’s campaign to control the fourth estate

Most of the two million listeners who tuned in to hear French political satirists Stéphane Guillon and Didier Porte thought their routines were hilarious. Not so President Nicolas Sarkozy, who found their sendups of politicians, including himself, “insulting, vulgar and nasty.”

As it often goes when France’s media and government clash, Mr. Sarkozy’s view prevailed. And so Mr. Guillon and Mr. Porte signed on one recent morning to announce they had been fired from public broadcaster France Inter radio.

“Step right up, ladies and gentlemen. Total clear-out sale of satirists,” Mr. Guillon railed in his farewell sketch. “My chances of being on the air again next year are about as good as the chance the French team will make the second round of the World Cup.”

Although the two comics maintained their humour until the end, their firing has raised serious new concerns about political interference in the French media. Continue reading and comment >>> Anita Elash | Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Related:

THE TELEGRAPH: French Radio Station Fires Political Satirist: France's fiercest and most popular satirist, who has become the scourge of President Nicolas Sarkozy and top politicians, has been fired from the country's leading current affairs radio programme, sparking cries of political censorship. >>> Henry Samuel in Paris | Wednesday, June 23, 2010

The British Political Élite and Media Quake in Their Shoes as BNP Show Signs of Making Significant Breakthrough in Upcoming European Election
After years and years of unbridled greed, uncontrolled immigration, Islamization of the United Kingdom, and generally ignoring the wishes of the electorate, are we about to witness a spectacular first: The rise of the far-right in British politics?

Whilst this may be regrettable in many ways, the powers that be cannot say they weren’t warned. People of influence have ignored the wishes of the people for far, far too long. In short, they’ve treated the electorate with disdain and contempt. They have also had a ball. In many cases, on the back of the taxpayer. The ball, however, may soon be over. All good things come to an end. – ©Mark

THE TELEGRAPH: Nick Griffin, the leader of the British National Party, is poised to become a key figure in the creation of a new far-right group in the European Parliament.

Leader of the British National Party Nick Griffin. Photo courtesy of The Telegraph
Fears are growing he will be at the centre of a wave of victories in next month's elections that would give nationalist parties a firm foothold in Europe.

Searchlight, the international anti-fascist magazine, has suggested they could pass the threshold of 25 MEPs from seven countries necessary to form a European Parliament grouping entitled to public funding worth up to £1 million per year.

Over the last year, Mr Griffin has strengthened links to extremist European groups to prepare the way for a far-right surge at euro elections next month.

High-level Labour sources have told The Daily Telegraph that a high abstention rate, fuelled by popular disgust over the Westminster MP expenses scandal, could lead to the election of at least four BNP MEPs, including Mr Griffin.

Should Mr Griffin be elected in the North West region with at least three colleagues from the North East, East Midlands and London, he would be among those competing to become the leader of Europe's far right.

Other extremist groups in Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Italy and Slovakia are expected to make major gains during the elections after using the economic crisis to stir up resentment against Roma gipsy minorities.

The French National Front already has four MEPs led by Jean-Marie Le Pen, who was stripped of parliamentary privileges this year because he described Auschwitz as a "detail of history" during a debate in March.

A new political grouping would be eligible for £5 million of public funding over the next five year term of the European Union assembly enabling it to promote political links across Europe and publicise their cause with "information" and conferences.

Gordon Brown and other senior government members are afraid that public disenchantment with politicians and the economic crisis will lead to low turnout during the elections on June 4 and will open the door to the BNP and other far-right extremists across Europe.

"Their strategy is not just ideological but ruthlessly practical," said a spokesman for Searchlight. "If they are able to get group status with their colleagues then they will have access to millions of pounds in resources, paid by the taxpayer, to fund their campaigns." BNP Could Be at Heart of Far-right EU Group >>> By Bruno Waterfield in Brussels | Friday, May 15, 2009

EU Tells Turkey to Improve Media, Women's Rights
INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE: BRUSSELS, Belgium: In a new report card, the European Commission will tell Turkey on Wednesday that it must work harder to improve women's rights and press freedoms in order to join the European Union.

In a speech at an EU-Turkey conference at the European Parliament on Tuesday, EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said the report will list several areas that "need to be addressed urgently."

"I am thinking, for instance, of the negative atmosphere against the press, or bans of Web sites which are becoming a source of serious concern, (and) efforts are needed to protect women's rights and gender equality," said Rehn.

The report card is an eagerly awaited annual event for both proponents and opponents of Turkey's membership in the EU.

In Ankara, a Turkish Foreign Ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, declined to comment on the report until his government has seen it.

The report — which also praises Turkey, according to Rehn — is unlikely to significantly affect the negotiations regarding Turkey's EU membership, which began in 2005 and are expected to last about a decade.

For instance, Turkey's entry negotiations cover 35 negotiating areas, including issues from human rights to many economic issues. To date, only eight issues are under negotiation, and the EU has accused Turkey of being too slow on others.

The report's criticism also will not surprise Turkey's population. >>> AP | November 4, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback & Hardback) – Free delivery >>>

Pope Attacks Media for ‘Distorted Morals’
TIMESONLINE: Pope Benedict XVI today said the media were too often used irresponsibly to spread "violence and vulgarity" and impose "distorted models" of social and family life. He urged the world's communicators instead to adopt what he called "info-ethics".

In a message for the Roman Catholic Church's World Communications Day, Pope Benedict said the media often sought to create reality rather than report it, with agendas dictated by "the dominant interests" of the day. "This is what happens when communication is used for ideological purposes or for the aggressive advertising of consumer products. When communication loses its ethical underpinning and eludes society's control, it ends up no longer taking into account the centrality and inviolable dignity of the human person" he said.

He added "For this reason it is essential that social communications should assiduously defend the person and fully respect human dignity. Many people now think there is a need, in this sphere, for 'info-ethics', just as we have bioethics in the field of medicine and in scientific research linked to life." He said the media "in order to attract listeners and increase the size of audiences, do not hesitate at times to have recourse to vulgarity and violence and overstep the mark". Pope attacks media for ‘distorted morals’ >>> By Richard Owen in Rome

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