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Leaked Documents Show How China’s Army of Paid Internet Trolls Helped Censor the Coronavirus Leaked Documents Show How China’s Army of Paid Internet Trolls Helped Censor the Coronavirus

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Leaked Documents Show How China’s Army of Paid Internet Trolls Helped Censor the Coronavirus

As the coronavirus spread in China, the government stage-managed what appeared on the domestic internet to make the virus look less severe and the authorities more capable, according to thousands of leaked directives and other files.

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3 years ago

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In the early hours of Feb. 7, China’s powerful internet censors experienced an unfamiliar and deeply unsettling sensation. They felt they were losing control.

The news was spreading quickly that Li Wenliang, a doctor who had warned about a strange new viral outbreak only to be threatened by the police and accused of peddling rumors, had died of COVID-19. Grief and fury coursed through social media. To people at home and abroad, Li’s death showed the terrible cost of the Chinese government’s instinct to suppress inconvenient information.

Yet China’s censors decided to double down. Warning of the “unprecedented challenge” Li’s passing had posed and the “butterfly effect” it may have set off, officials got to work suppressing the inconvenient news and reclaiming the narrative, according to confidential directives sent to local propaganda workers and news outlets.

They ordered news websites not to issue push notifications alerting readers to his death. They told social platforms to gradually remove his name from trending topics pages. And they activated legions of fake online commenters to flood social sites with distracting chatter, stressing the need for discretion: “As commenters fight to guide public opinion, they must conceal their identity, avoid crude patriotism and sarcastic praise, and be sleek and silent in achieving results.”

Continue reading this article on Pro Publica…

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Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber, Has Been Diagnosed with Terminal Cancer

This follows his transfer to a medical facility in December

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2 years ago

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February 7, 2022

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The new comes from a letter he wrote:

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French President Emmanuel Macron Says Someone Who Refuses COVID Vaccine Is ‘Not a Citizen’

French president Macron’s desire to ‘piss off’ unvaccinated individuals triggers outrage

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2 years ago

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January 5, 2022

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French President Emmanuel Macron Says Someone Who Refuses COVID Vaccine Is ‘Not a Citizen’

French President Emmanuel Macron faced significant criticism for his comments claiming that he would like to “piss off” unvaccinated individuals. 

Macron spoke candidly during an interview with French newspaper Le Parisien, during which he said that he wanted to make life difficult for individuals who have not received a COVID-19 vaccine. The French “sanitary pass” has prompted a number of protests and stiff opposition while the country nears 75% full vaccination. 

“I really want to piss them off, and we’ll carry on doing this – to the end,” Macron said three months ahead of a presidential election. “I won’t send [unvaccinated people] to prison, so we need to tell them, from 15 January, you will no longer be able to go to the restaurant. You will no longer be able to go for a coffee, you will no longer be able to go to the theatre. You will no longer be able to go to the cinema.”

The French Parliament heard Macron’s comments during a debate over his proposed bill to tighten restrictions for unvaccinated individuals, leading to a swift and strong uproar in response. 

His opponents have labeled the comments “unworthy” of a president. 

“Even if one doesn’t share their choice, they have broken none of our country’s laws,” Marine Le Pen, Macron’s chief opponent in the upcoming election, told reporters late Tuesday. “He is continuing his policy of division, of pitting the French against one another.”

She later tweeted “A president shouldn’t say that…Emmanuel Macron is unworthy of his office.” 

Leftist politician Jean-Luc Melanchon described the remarks as an “astonishing confession,” according to the BBC. 

But Macron’s allies have defended the comments, with Stéphane Séjourné, a member of the European Parliament, arguing on Twitter that unvaccinated individuals have “bothered” the French by “forcing the rest of the population to endure restrictions.” 

Debate over Macron’s bill continue into Wednesday as opponents still seek to delay its passage. Some of his supporters claimed to have received death threats because they are backing the legislation, The New York Times reported. 

Read more on Fox News

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Boston Mayor Wu Relentlessly Heckled As New COVID-19 Restrictions Are Announced

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2 years ago

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December 21, 2021

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Boston Mayor Wu Relentlessly Heckled As New COVID-19 Restrictions Are Announced

Boston unveils the ‘Be Together’ initiative, requiring full vaccination for entry to restaurants, gyms, and sports arenas for anyone 12 and older. In March the mandate will phase-in for younger children.

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