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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">see rsbn tv big on trump rallies (rudy presser?)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-size: small;"><a href="https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/walk-away-speaker-celebrates-proud-boys-violence-talks-of-civil-war/" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/walk-away-speaker-celebrates-proud-boys-violence-talks-of-civil-war/</font></a></div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-size: small;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div style="font-size: small;"><div class="mce-content-body" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear;"><div class="layout-constrain--narrow" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 47.2222em; padding-left: 1em; padding-right: 1em; line-height: 1.5;"><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; line-height: 1.5;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">At a pro-Trump [<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>stop the steal] rally in Washington, D.C., on Sunday sponsored by the<b> Walk Away movement—which includes LGBTQ, Black, and Latino people who have “walked away” from the Democratic Party</b>—<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">several speakers said the movement is all about love. Speaker Drew Hernandez, however, did not seem to get the “love” memo, because he celebrated Proud Boys’ violence against anti-fascist and Black Lives Matter activists and said he was ready for civil war. The Proud Boys are a <a href="https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/proud-boys" data-auth="NotApplicable" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; outline-offset: 0.111111em;">hate group</a> with a record of provoking fights with leftist activists.</span></font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; line-height: 1.5;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Hernandez produces a web show called “Lives Matter” as well as videos for the right-wing Tatum Report website that often focus on <b>violence he claims is perpetrated by anti-fascist and Black Lives Matter activists</b></span><b>. In a recent appearance on Tucker Carlson’s show, he made the same charge about street violence that took place in Washington, D.C.,</b> on Saturday night after the “Stop the Steal” march, which also went by the names “Million MAGA March” and “March for Trump.” Hernandez also baselessly denounced the election as a “fraud.”</font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; line-height: 1.5;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">At Sunday’s rally, Hernandez started his comments by claiming that President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will not denounce violence by leftist activists—<a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-factcheck-biden-condemn-violence/fact-check-joe-biden-has-condemned-violent-protests-in-the-last-three-months-idUSKBN25V2O1" data-auth="NotApplicable" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; outline-offset: 0.111111em;">something Biden has in fact repeatedly done</a>—and that Biden wouldn’t do so because it would cause him to lose support from “the<b> deep state</b>.” Hernandez denounced Biden as a “communist agent,” saying, “Every single one of us know that Joe Biden is literally, literally in the back pockets of the <b>Chicoms. He is a communist agent and we all know that.”</b></font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; line-height: 1.5;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">At one point in his remarks at the Sunday rally, after he led chants of “U-S-A,” Hernandez declared, <b>“That will be the rally cry until every single one of us bleed for this country.</b>”</font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; line-height: 1.5;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">While a big part of the Walk Away “love” message is that the pro-Trump movement welcomes gay people, Hernandez used “pansies” as a derogatory term. Hernandez celebrated seeing anti-fascist activists “get absolutely mopped on the floor by the Proud Boys,” adding, “You want to know why?” He continued:</font></p><blockquote style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; hyphens: none; padding: 1.5em; margin: 0px 0.75em 2em;"><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; line-height: 1.5;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Because police officers have their hands tied by leftists. They’re not allowed to fight back—yet—but we do! We do! We punch back! We fight back! We’re not going to stand here and be little pansies and allow antifa and Black Lives Matter threaten us. We are Americans! We are not communists! We are not socialists! We are not deep state agents! We are Americans!</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; line-height: 1.5;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000" style="background-color: rgb(255, 204, 102);">And right now, it’s your time, America! It’s your time to rise! Whether Donald Trump wins or not, it’s your time to rise! Because we will not go down without a fight! We will not go down without bloodshed!</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; background-color: rgb(239, 243, 243); box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; line-height: 1.5;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><b>I don’t care. I don’t care. The media could take what I say and say that I’m violent. I don’t care. Antifa and Black Lives Matter brought us to this point. If they want a fight, then they got one because I’m not afraid of these communists. I’m not afraid of these socialists. You know where to find me. You know where I live. Come down. I’m ready for you—2A all day, baby!</b></font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; background-color: rgb(239, 243, 243); box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; line-height: 1.5;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">We will not go away! We will keep America great! We will make America great again and again and again and again!</font></p><p style="margin: 0px; background-color: rgb(239, 243, 243); box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; line-height: 1.5;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><b>Let me just say what’s on all of your minds: If they want a second civil war, then they got one! Because I will not let this country fall! I will not let this country burn! I will fight to the very last breath!</b></font></p></blockquote><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; line-height: 1.5;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 204, 102);"><b>Sunday’s rally was covered by the Right Side Broadcasting Network</b>, which streams many pro-Trump rallies live.</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> This video excerpt of Hernandez’s remarks is drawn from RSBN’s coverage[vis]</span></font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; line-height: 1.5;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; font-weight: 700;">tags:</span> <a href="https://www.rightwingwatch.org/people/drew-hernandez/" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; outline-offset: 0.111111em;">Drew Hernandez</a> <a href="https://www.rightwingwatch.org/topics/anti-fascism/" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; outline-offset: 0.111111em;">anti-fascism</a> <a href="https://www.rightwingwatch.org/topics/black-lives-matter/" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; outline-offset: 0.111111em;">Black Lives Matter</a> <a href="https://www.rightwingwatch.org/topics/civil-war/" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; outline-offset: 0.111111em;">Civil War</a> <a href="https://www.rightwingwatch.org/topics/deep-state/" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; outline-offset: 0.111111em;">Deep State</a> <a href="https://www.rightwingwatch.org/topics/disinformation/" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; outline-offset: 0.111111em;">Disinformation</a> <a href="https://www.rightwingwatch.org/topics/election-2020/" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; outline-offset: 0.111111em;">Election 2020</a><a href="https://www.rightwingwatch.org/topics/stop-the-steal/" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; outline-offset: 0.111111em;">Stop the Steal</a> <a href="https://www.rightwingwatch.org/organizations/lives-matter/" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; outline-offset: 0.111111em;">Lives Matter</a> <a href="https://www.rightwingwatch.org/organizations/tatum-report/" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; outline-offset: 0.111111em;">Tatum Report</a> <a href="https://www.rightwingwatch.org/organizations/walk-away/" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; outline-offset: 0.111111em;">Walk Away</a></font></p></div></div></div></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/blog/2018/02/09/right-wing-trolls-held-panel-complain-about-their-declining-traffic-rates-trump-was-elected/219328">https://www.mediamatters.org/blog/2018/02/09/right-wing-trolls-held-panel-complain-about-their-declining-traffic-rates-trump-was-elected/219328</a></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><div class="item-body" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 10px; -webkit-margin-before: 1em; -webkit-margin-after: 1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Following declining traffic rates on their websites, an assortment of conspiracy theorists, hoax peddlers, anti-Muslim bigots, partisan activists, and pro-Trump media figures -- who depend on social media to broadcast their messages and profit from their audiences -- convened a panel in Washington, D.C., to claim tech giants like Google, Twitter, and Facebook are “shadow-banning” and censoring them for being conservative and supporting President Donald Trump.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 10px; -webkit-margin-before: 1em; -webkit-margin-after: 1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">The panel on Social Media Neutrality, <a href="http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2018/02/livestream-video-social-media-neutrality-panel-washington-dc-fighting-diversity-voice-online/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; font-weight: 700; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">put together</a> on February 6 by The Gateway Pundit’s Jim Hoft, featured </font><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 204, 102);">Right Side Broadcasting Network's (RSBN) Margaret Howel</font><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">l, <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/video/2017/10/31/hannity-islamophobe-pamela-geller-says-muslim-immigration-means-more-islamic-terrorism-its-just/218408" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; font-weight: 700; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">anti-Muslim bigot</a> Pamela Geller, software developer Marlene Jaeckel, and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IirlDsUSOlo" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; font-weight: 700; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">The People's Cube's Oleg Atbashian</a> -- whose site’s content <a href="http://thepeoplescube.com/peoples-blog/the-people-s-cube-blocked-by-the-department-of-defense-t19928.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; font-weight: 700; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">has triggered</a> the Defense Department’s flags for hate and racism. <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/video/2017/06/05/fox-regular-michelle-malkin-western-societies-allowing-muslims-suicide/216779" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; font-weight: 700; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">Fox News regular</a> Michelle Malkin and self-proclaimed “guerrilla journalist” (but actual <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/research/2016/10/12/james-okeefes-anti-clinton-october-surprise-shows-hes-still-hack-not-journalist/213783" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; font-weight: 700; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">partisan hack</a>) James O'Keefe also made video appearances.</font></p><div class="media_embed" height="315px" width="560px" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">[vid]</font></div><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 10px; -webkit-margin-before: 1em; -webkit-margin-after: 1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The participants were united in their claim that, based on their declining traffic rates since after the election, Facebook, Twitter, and Google must be silencing or "shadow-banning" them. A "shadow-ban" refers to when users are blocked from sharing content to an online community, but can’t tell they have been banned. Hoft took issue with digital platforms <a href="https://www.poynter.org/news/google-suspends-fact-checking-feature-over-quality-concerns" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; font-weight: 700; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">warning users</a> that his website contains “disputed articles,” even though his site has <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/research/2017/01/25/22-times-jim-hoft-and-gateway-pundit-were-absurdly-wrong/215106" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; font-weight: 700; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">a lengthy record</a> of publishing false information.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 10px; -webkit-margin-before: 1em; -webkit-margin-after: 1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">After expressing her admiration for <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_iixejTugc" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; font-weight: 700; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">conspiracy theorist</a> Alex Jones’ programming at Infowars, RSBN’s Howell <a href="https://twitter.com/gatewaypundit/status/961286148646690817" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; font-weight: 700; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">accused</a> <em style="box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">Media Matters</em> of “orchestrat[ing] a hit” against RSBN’s YouTube channel and being “in cahoots” with tech giants, claiming a <em style="box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">Media Matters</em> <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/research/2017/01/02/media-outlets-poised-become-trump-s-personal-propaganda-machine/214773" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; font-weight: 700; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">piece</a> was the reason Facebook removed RSBN’s content for violating terms of service without clarifying which terms of service the platform had considered violated</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">. She also claimed YouTube started censoring RSBN’s videos in the search results and marking videos as “not suitable for most advertisers.” RSBN, according to Howell, was born in reaction to then-candidate Trump’s </span><a href="http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/352014-trump-says-fake-news-wont-show-rally-crowd-as-cnn-shows-shot-of-crowd" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; font-weight: 700; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">(false) narrative</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> that mainstream media never showed the crowds at his rallies and twisted his statements out of context. RSBN is also the same network that was once comfortable hiring former Infowars reporter Joe Biggs to host one of its shows, despite Biggs’ </span><a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/blog/2017/01/04/new-host-unofficial-version-trump-tv-encouraged-date-rape-and-punching-transgender-people/214920" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; font-weight: 700; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">awful history</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> of trivializing date rape or encouraging violence against transgender people.</span></font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 10px; -webkit-margin-before: 1em; -webkit-margin-after: 1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Both Michelle Malkin and Pamela Geller accused social media companies of censoring their platforms, which they’ve <a href="https://twitter.com/PamelaGeller/status/925757203088314368" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; font-weight: 700; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">used</a> to post <a href="https://twitter.com/michellemalkin/status/848706058356785152" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; font-weight: 700; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">anti-Muslim</a> content. Malkin and Geller frequently appear on Fox News to <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/video/2017/06/05/fox-regular-michelle-malkin-western-societies-allowing-muslims-suicide/216779" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; font-weight: 700; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">malign</a> entire Muslim <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/blog/2015/05/06/hannity-provides-platform-for-anti-muslim-pam-g/203565" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; font-weight: 700; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">communities</a> or <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/video/2017/09/07/michelle-malkin-theres-no-such-thing-deserving-dreamer/217878" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; font-weight: 700; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">demean</a> undocumented immigrants. Geller also accused media and tech companies of removing content critical of Islam because Sharia law, according to her, mandates that Islam not be criticized.</font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 10px; -webkit-margin-before: 1em; -webkit-margin-after: 1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Another panelist, Marlene Jaeckel, a software engineer and self-proclaimed “anti-feminist,” claimed to have been ostracized from Silicon Valley’s female tech groups because of her outspoken support for former Google software engineer James Damore. Damore <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/blog/2017/08/08/far-right-alternative-media-figures-think-google-manifesto-proves-them-right/217558" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; font-weight: 700; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">was fired for writing a 10-page internal memo</a> that Google’s CEO said “advanc[ed] harmful gender stereotypes.” She warned against the dangers of the biases Amazon’s Alexa and other home digital assistants could be giving to children, a theme that has <a href="https://www.unilad.co.uk/tv/alex-jones-asks-amazon-alexa-if-it-was-made-by-cia-couldnt-accept-the-answer/" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; font-weight: 700; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">occupied the minds</a> of <a href="https://www.theroot.com/white-people-are-upset-that-amazons-alexa-believes-blac-1821133078" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; font-weight: 700; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">others on the far-right</a>.</font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 10px; -webkit-margin-before: 1em; -webkit-margin-after: 1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">As evident by some speakers’ remarks at the panel, at least some of these right-wing figures are breaking their loyalty to free market capitalism to call for government regulations to stop the companies from removing their content when it violates the companies’ terms of service. However, what they see as the unbridled exercise of their opinions is also what has made it necessary for Twitter, Facebook, and Google to update and revise their terms of service in order to <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/kathleenchaykowski/2017/10/02/facebook-and-google-still-have-a-fake-news-problem-las-vegas-shooting-reveals/" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; font-weight: 700; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">combat fake news</a> and <a href="https://www.vox.com/videos/2017/11/8/16624628/strikethrough-harassment-abuse-twitter-free-speech-experiment" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; font-weight: 700; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">protect its users</a> against extremism, hate speech, and online harassment.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 10px; -webkit-margin-before: 1em; -webkit-margin-after: 1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><b>Political allies of these far-right personalities are also helping them advance their conservative victimhood narrative. For example, in January, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) seemingly used O’Keefe’s undercover videos against Twitter</b> (apparently ignoring his long history of <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/research/2016/10/12/james-okeefes-anti-clinton-october-surprise-shows-hes-still-hack-not-journalist/213783" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; font-weight: 700; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">deceptive editing</a> and pathetic <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/blog/2017/11/28/sinister-screw-ups-james-o-keefe/218656" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; font-weight: 700; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">self-own</a> episodes) to make serious <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlfV6ldIbjI" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; font-weight: 700; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">accusations</a> against the social media platform of banning conservatives (Cruz <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2017/10/congress_is_finally_asking_facebook_twitter_and_google_the_right_questions.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; font-weight: 700; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">spent most of his time</a>during a 2017 Senate hearing questioning social media companies about political bias).</font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 10px; -webkit-margin-before: 1em; -webkit-margin-after: 1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">But these social media companies aren’t censoring conservative voices; they are taking action to combat fake news, Russian propaganda, hate speech, and online harassment and not always succeeding. Twitter <a href="https://mashable.com/2017/12/18/twitter-purge-neo-nazi-reckoning-new-rules-hate-speech/#etpXf6kAESqA" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; font-weight: 700; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">has vowed</a> to become “more aggressive” in monitoring racism and hate speech in its platform, but has <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/12/18/571622652/twitter-says-it-will-ban-threatening-accounts-starting-today" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; font-weight: 700; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">admitted</a> to making mistakes that often continue to enable extremists to smear immigrants and Muslims. YouTube -- which is owned by Google -- is <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/report/white-supremacy-figured-out-how-to-become-youtube-famous/" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; font-weight: 700; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">struggling</a> in its campaign to <a href="https://www.vox.com/videos/2017/10/19/16504062/strikethrough-youtube-fight-extreme-right-wing-creators" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; font-weight: 700; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">stop allowing</a> content creators who spew hateful views from profiting from the platform, as it has allowed white supremacists to <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/report/white-supremacy-figured-out-how-to-become-youtube-famous/" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; font-weight: 700; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">spread their messaging</a>. And it was pressure from right-wing figures that <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2017/10/congress_is_finally_asking_facebook_twitter_and_google_the_right_questions.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; font-weight: 700; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">reportedly</a> pushed Facebook to “pull back from human oversight” of its Trending section and “delegate more power to shoddy algorithms,” which could have facilitated the <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2016/11/14/did_facebook_really_tolerate_fake_news_to_appease_conservatives.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; font-weight: 700; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">flourishing</a> of fake news and Russian propaganda. Similar right-wing pressure has also pushed Google to <a href="https://www.poynter.org/news/google-suspends-fact-checking-feature-over-quality-concerns" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; font-weight: 700; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">end a fact check display</a> in its searches.</font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; -webkit-margin-before: 1em; -webkit-margin-after: 1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">While social media companies need to do a <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/blog/2017/12/06/far-right-trolls-are-manipulating-twitter-silencing-journalists-and-trump-critics/218759" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; font-weight: 700; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">better job</a> in crafting and enforcing policies that adequately respond to the challenges that harassment and misinformation present, ceding to the pressure of known harassers and proven misinformers should not be a path they follow.</font></p></div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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