diamond & silk
seem to fade after being outed, but of course baaaa---ccckk, and yet again wagons circle for impeach
rolled out last wk midterms?
---
RWW
01/29/2026
by
- Eric Metaxas says that anti-ICE protests in Minneapolis are part of a "communist insurgency": "These are Marxists. These are people at war with America."
- Todd Coconato wonders if there was some sort of "underhanded nefarious" weather modification at work behind the recent winter storm that coated Nashville with a sheet of ice.
- Jan. 6 insurrectionist John Stand has secured the endorsement of "Silk" of Diamond & Silk in his bid for Congress.
- Joel Webbon agrees with Jews who assert that "the New Testament is antisemitic."
- Finally, Nick Fuentes doesn't care what it takes to deport millions of immigrants: "Get 'em out. And horrible things are gonna have to happen."
---
mma 11 22
Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate, suffered a stroke earlier this year. While doctors say that Fetterman is recovering well and has “no work restrictions and can work full duty in public office,” the Senate hopeful still struggles with auditory processing, especially when it comes to interpreting spoken words, and has therefore been using a closed captioning device in interviews and during a recent debate.
But to Steve Bannon, the use of closed captioning is a sign that Fetterman has become something else. When Bannon appeared on the “Diamond & Silk Chit Chat Live” program last Friday, the former Trump adviser accused Fetterman of being a “cyborg” because of his use of closed captioning.
“You have a convergence now of advanced chip design, robotics, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and biotechnology,” Bannon
. “You have the merger of all these technologies at one time onto a point; that point is called the singularity. On this side of that point is Homo sapiens, is God’s creation as defined in the Bible, and as we’ve known for many millions of years.”
“So, you have Homo sapiens made in the image and likeness of God, inspired by the breath of the Holy Spirit, and on the other side of that you have Homo sapien-plus or you have enhanced man, you have something that’s not the original creation,” Bannon continued. “That is the merger of man and actually machine, the computer.”
“What you see in Fetterman and why Fetterman is so dangerous and why Fetterman as a concept is dangerous is here, he had a stroke,” Bannon declared. “What you saw the other night … is that he has a machine in front of him. It’s not a closed caption like you would watch TV and want it to be quiet while you were working on something else and have the closed caption on. No, this is a machine that actually helps his brain think through. Without the machine, he can’t understand human conversations, he can’t engage with people. So, we actually had—we call it a cyborg—you actually had a man-machine merger on that stage the other night." [pix vid]
bannon has long been fearmongering about so-called “transhumanism” and has been attacking Fetterman for months. In August, heaccused Fetterman of having a “satanic” vibe and of exuding “pure evil."
fetterman is in a tightening race against TV celebrity Dr. Oz, who won the Republican nomination thanks to Trump’s endorsement. While Fetterman leads by 5 percentage points according to the latest polling, Oz was able to shrink Fetterman’s lead by attacking his health ad nauseum, a strategy that has been aided by far-right media personalities like Bannon
why not deplat youtube?
no lnx
How Mike Lindell and 'a mysterious dark money organization' pushed a bogus 'snake-oil treatment' for COVID-19
MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell speaking at the 2020 Student Action Summit, hosted by Turning Point USA at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Florida, Gage Skidmore
Alex Henderson February 07, 2022
A variety of bogus “treatments” or “cures” for COVID-19 have been promoted in MAGA World, from hydroxychloroquine to oleandrin (an extract from the poisonous oleander plant). According to Daily Beast reporters Roger Sollenberger and William Bredderman, one of the companies that haspromoted oleandrin as a COVID-19 miracle cure is Propter Strategies— which has ties to two major allies of former President Donald Trump: MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell and former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon.
“It’s an all-too-familiar story at this point: A person pushing an unproven COVID-19 cure — and pushing back against the vaccines — pays the ultimate price for their skepticism,” Sollenberger and Bredderman report. “But this time, there’s a new wrinkle. It’s not just one person dabbling in COVID quackery with tragic results; it’s actually a mysterious dark money organization, with ties to influential MAGA figures like Steve Bannon and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell.”
The organization, according Sollenberger and Bredderman, was Propter Strategies — and the person who became a “victim” of its “secretive work” was partner Kenneth Happel.
“To this day, Propter Strategies is a black hole, despite its high-profile connections and multi-million-dollar budget,” the Beast reporters explain. “Aside from Happel’s account, there is no evidence of Propter’s activities anywhere in the public record. And that might be with good reason: Those activities included hawking the snake-oil COVID treatment oleandrin at the highest levels of the government, as the pandemic’s lethal second wave peaked across the country.”
Happel, according to Sollenberger and Bredderman, is presently hospitalized with his second COVID-19 infection — and his wife died from COVID-19 in January.
“In a phone interview from his hospital bed, Happel, 72, remained unrepentant and defiant about the numerous baseless theories that quite likely landed him back in the hospital, and killed the wife he loved dearly,” Sollenberger and Bredderman write. “Happel still places hope in the pseudo-science that he, Propter Strategies, and Lindell had pushed so hard — a proprietary compound derived from oleander extract, which the pillow tycoon and at least one Propter official had invested in.”
Registration data, according to Sollenberger and Bredderman, shows that Happel is the owner of Proper’s website, needsp.us, and Happel has “confirmed” to the Beast “that the Propter Strategies cited on his page was, in fact, the same group linked to those leading MAGA figures.”
“Happel, a former Tea Party activist with an entrepreneurial history that intersects with biotechnology, recounted working on oleandrin in 2020 with Propter board member Andrew Whitney,” Sollenberger and Bredderman note. “A serial entrepreneur and former Bain Capital investor, Whitney was actually pulling oleandrin double-duty — he was on the board at the nonprofit Propter, as well as at Texas-based Phoenix Biotechnologies, whose research centered on the product. Happel also acknowledged the connection toLindell, who, it turns out, also holds a financial stake in Phoenix Biotechnologies.”
Whitney and Lindell, according to the Beast reporters, “paired up for a MAGA media parade” and promoted oleandrin “as a neglected medical miracle” on right-wing outlets such as Newsmax andDiamond & Silk’s YouTube show. And Lindell “confirmed he still has a financial stake in Phoenix.”
https://www.mediamatters.org/kamala-harris/diamond-silk-kamala-harris-not-even-black
==
https://www.alternet.org/2020/05/aiming-to-take-down-fox-donald-trump-jr-reportedly-investing-in-far-right-oann/
Investors aligned with Donald Trump Jr. and Republican National Committee (RNC) co-chair Tommy Hicks Jr. have acquired a major stake in One America News Network (OANN), sources familiar with the deal told Vanity Fair.
“Tommy Hicks and Don Jr. have been looking to buy a station for Trump TV,” a person briefed on the negotiations told Vanity Fair.
“This is all about building a Fox competitor. Trump is really aiming to take down Fox,” the person said.
The report is the first to connect the Trump family to the acquisition, discussions of which were first _{reported}_ in January by the Wall Street Journal.
The Journal reported that Hicks Equity Partners, a firm belonging to the family of Tommy Hicks Jr., the RNC co-chair, was negotiating a $250 million deal with Herring Networks, the parent company of OANN, a _{low-impact}_ far-right network that offers a home to the likes of Pizzagate conspiracy theorist Jack Posobiec and has _{defended Roy Moore}_ and _{endorsed Russian propaganda}_.
Sources told Vanity Fair the deal has stumbled along for months and still hasn’t closed, but that the Trump-affiliated group had reportedly talked Herring down to $200 million. VF said it was also unclear whether Donald Trump Jr. invested Trump money in the deal, or was given equity.
As the buyout talks progressed, President Trump has repeatedly expressed his growing distaste with Fox News — long perceived as the only network he likes, and certainly the only network that consciously slants coverage and analysis in his favor.
Last month _{Trump accused Fox News of “being on a bad path,”}_ and has _{asked twice now}_ “what the hell is happening” at the network. He _{attacked Fox reporters}_ twice last month _{during White House coronavirus briefings}_, and has taken several potshots at several of the channel’s shows and personalities, _{tweeting}_ in January that Fox News was “really pathetic” and “so politically correct,” _{singling out Chris Wallace’s impeachment coverage}_.
After it was reported that Fox had fired MAGA-world luminaries Diamond and Silk for hawking ludicrous coronavirus conspiracy theories, Trump _{tweeted}_ his support for the duo: “But I love Diamond and Silk, and so do millions of people!”
In late April, _{Trump took to Twitter once again to call for an alt-Fox, pro-himself network}_:
“The people who are watching @FoxNews, in record numbers (thank you President Trump), are angry,” he wrote. “They want an alternative now. So do I!”
During this same period, Trump often promoted OANN, providing the nascent network — which is viewed with disdain by many reputable journalists — with cover against the White House Correspondents’ Association. Trump even plugged OANN by name in _{a tweet last month}_ as the alternative he has been asking for.
But _{this isn’t the first time}_ Trump has appeared to be switching media mistresses. When Fox soothes him, he reciprocates. When they rankle him, he pumps OANN.
OANN, which has roughly one-third of Fox’s reach, with ratings _{reportedly}_ lower than the Tennis Channel, appears to have no problem _{serving as the president’s megaphone}_.
For instance, OANN hired former Trump campaign aide Michael Caputo— the newly-hired spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services who recently disgraced himself with a barrage of racist, pandemic-related tweets — who hosted a special program dedicated to “the Ukraine Hoax.” Late last year a network crew accompanied Rudy Giuliani and _{personal assistant Christianné Allen}_ on a trip to Ukraine, which resulted in a _{three-part series}_ that mainlined viewers with apparent Russian disinformation.
Spokespeople for Trump Jr. and Hicks denied involvement in the deal to Vanity Fair.
President Trump, who is in no financial position to acquire Fox News, views OANN as a fallback business opportunity should former Vice President Joe Biden defeat him in November, according to Vanity Fair, which reported the president might look to OANN as a “post-presidential television platform.”
The cash from the buyout will reportedly help OANN increase its production values and campaign to expand its viewership, two elements Trump would demand of any home for a post-White House TV home.
Trump Jr. and Hicks have been wrapped in scandal before. The president’s eldest son and his younger brother Eric were — along with Hicks and Dallas-based investment manager Gentry Beach — co-registrants for a nonprofit called Opening Day, which insinuated itself in Trump’s inauguration. Trump’s sons had to abandon the organization weeks after its inauguration event was announced, amid _{:{allegations that they were s:(style="background-color:#ffff66;"):}::{elling access:(style="background-color:#ffcc66;"):}:}_ to their father.
An associate ofGentry Beachdeclined to comment when Salon inquired about his possible involvement in the OANN deal.
==
==
Sinclair Broadcast Group has a history of putting right-wing lies into local broadcasts. That's exactly what's happened with the novel coronavirus. Sinclair aired at least four segments in five days that pushed disinformation about the American COVID-19 response and failed to include important information. The lapses included reports leaving out warnings from health experts about states reopening too early, misrepresenting a discredited conservative author's organization as a “government watchdog,” and dishonestly defending President Donald Trump’s boasts about successful testing and America’s death toll, which has already surpassed the worst estimate Trump mentioned less than two weeks ago. These segments aired on dozens of stations in dozens of states. Also: On his Sinclair show, former Fox host Eric Bolling has repeatedly pushed conspiracy theoriesabout the pandemic. During his Sinclair show on March 11, Bolling also repeatedly suggested that media outlets were exaggerating the potential dangers of coronavirus. During that show, Bolling scoffed at the possibility that 50,000 Americans could die from COVID-19. Bolling has also floated other conspiracy theories -- like that the virus could be a biological weapon meant to hurt the United States. Bolling has also floated conspiracy theories about the death count. |
Diamond and Silk take the fall for Fox’s irresponsible coronavirus coverage _{ }_ week, Fox parted ways Diamond and Silk (stage names of Lynnette Hardaway and Rochelle Richardson) over their promotion of dangerous conspiracy theories related to the spread of the coronavirus. The Trump supporters and Fox commentators have promoted a variety of conspiracy theories, including claims that people are increasing the number of coronavirus deaths to make Trump look bad, as well as speculating that virus is being spread deliberately. Twitter even deleted their tweet opposing quarantines and calling for people to expose themselves to the virus. Fox’s actions removing low-level commentators are simply a public relations strategy. The network lets their big stars to amplify the same messages to larger audiences, while punishing low-level people who get too much bad press. For example, Fox host Tucker Carlson and Brit Hume, Fox’s senior political analyst, argued earlier this month that the COVID-19 death toll had been inflated due to what Carlson termed journalists’ “agenda.” Further, just hours after news broke that Diamond and Silk were shown the door, Carlson argued on his show that there is no scientific justification for quarantines and baselessly claimed that the spread of the virus has been slowed not by social distancing measures. The language and content of these conspiracy theories are nearly identical, though Fox’s most notable figures are rarely held accountable. As Media Matters' Matt Gertz explained, “Fox’s executives have made the calculation that its big stars are too big to fail. Unless further pressure from advertisers and cable providers changes the financial equation, they will have no reason to hold them accountable.” |
==
https://www.mediamatters.org/coronavirus-covid-19/trump-surrogates-and-fox-hosts-diamond-and-silk-pushed-unhinged-5g-coronavirus
https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/trump-surrogates-and-fox-hosts-diamond-and-silk-are-pushing-dangerous-coronavirus
==
https://www.alternet.org/2020/04/trump-defenders-diamond-and-silk-were-locked-out-of-twitter-for-spreading-misinformation-about-covid-19/
earth rotation speed?!
fox News has been the epicenter of climate change denial in the United States for over a decade now.
mma 3/20 4 min montage of fox bs
several fear alarm eg
==
Fox Nation's Diamond & Silk: Bernie Sanders wants to keep ...
https://www.mediamatters.org › fox-nation › fox-nations-diamond-silk-berni...
3 days ago
Fox Nation's Diamond & Silk: Bernie Sanders wants to keep Black people ... Download File: https ...
https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-nation/fox-nations-diamond-silk-bernie-sanders-wants-keep-black-people-enslaved-government
no lnx
Fox Nation's Diamond & Silk: Bernie Sanders wants to keep Black people “enslaved to the government”
WRITTEN BY MEDIA MATTERS STAFF
PUBLISHED 12/20/19 8:40 AM EST
Video file
CitationFrom the December 20, 2019, edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends
KATIE PAVLICH (GUEST CO-HOST): What is your reaction to this allegation that there's not enough diversity on the stage last night?
LYNETTE HARDAWAY (DIAMOND): Well first of all, let's just get this straight, Bernie is not advocating for Black people. What is he advocating for is to keep Black people in poverty and keep them enslaved to the government.
ROCHELLE RICHARDSON (SILK): That's right.
HARDAWAY: And when we talk about exploitation. Why is he trying to exploit Black people with free stuff?
RICHARDSON: Yeah.
HARDAWAY: Uh-huh. Because free stuff is not freedom. It's a way to be controlled by white old men like Bernie Sanders.
RICHARDSON: That's right.
HARDAWAY: When I look at all of them up there on that stage, especially Bernie Sanders, I just shake my head. They don't even realize that we have a president that have this economy booming, that cut regulations where people can thrive. If you want to be a business owner, you can. [# of entr // smokers?!]
RICHARDSON: That's right.
HARDAWAY: And that goes for Black people, too.
RICHARDSON: That's right.
HARDAWAY: They don't even realize that our president have people leaving poverty and going into prosperity, so they trying to pander. They calling each other out using the race card, and I sit there and shake my head. They are not going to be able to beat President Donald J. Trump with their policies.
RICHARDSON: That's right.
HARDAWAY: They have no solutions, and they can keep their socialistic ideas.
RICHARDSON: So the best thing for Bernie Sanders is to stop pushing socialism, and start putting in for his Social Security, because he's not going to be president.
HARDAWAY: That's right.
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---
Diamond and Silk on Mueller report - Media Matters for America
https://www.mediamatters.org › fox-friends › diamond-and-silk-mueller-rep...
Apr 19, 2019
Diamond and Silk on Mueller report: “It's time to investigate the investigators”. Lynette Hardaway: “The ...
==
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https://www.nytimes.com › 2018/04/14 › politics › diamond-silk-facebook
Apr 14, 2018 - Diamond and Silk are African-American sisters, Lynnette Hardaway and Rochelle ... on his critics, like calling the Democratic Party “a plantation” and Hillary Clinton “a slave master. ... They appear often on conservative news shows. ... Bolton Knows About 'Many Relevant Meetings' on Ukraine, Lawyer Says.
How Trump Is Trying to 'Crooked Hillary' Joe Biden with Ukraine
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==
https://www.thedailybeast.com/diamond-and-silk-to-testify-before-house-judiciary-committee
4/18
Popular pro-Trump YouTube duo Diamond & Silk will testify next week before the House Judiciary Committee as part of a hearing examining “social media filtering and policing practices.” The flamboyant vloggers became a Republican cause célèbre at last week’s Facebook hearings (receiving more attention than more serious issues) after they claimed they were censored by the social-networking site for their right-wing politics. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg apologized for “an enforcement error” and said the website had reached out to the duo to resolve the situation—a claim Diamond & Silk disputed, despite email evidence proving them wrong. One of the lawmakers who took up the pro-Trump duo’s cause,Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), will testify before the panel. And along with Diamond & Silk, experts from the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the News Media Alliance will testify. The committee also extended invitations for representatives from Facebook, Twitter, and Google to appear.
==
wonkette
https://www.wonkette.com/diamond-silk-cease-and-desist
no lnx
In The Matter Of Diamond And Silk's Very Real Lawyer v. Wonkette: Bring It, Sh*thead
Jamie Lynn CroftsAugust 29, 2019 05:13 PM
You guys. YOU GUYS.
Yr Wonkette received a cease and desist letter two nights ago. And it's from none other than our favorite black white nationalists (ALLEGEDLY), Gravel and Polyester. I mean Diamond and Silk. And I, A LAWYER, am just MANY EXCITE to tell you all about it.
Giphy
The letter is honestly so fantastic that at first I thought it was a truly great troll written by one of our dear readers. But then I remembered that this is Diamond and Silk's legal team* we're talking about, which means it was probably written by their own personal in-basement counsel, as he feasted on leftover pizza crusts.
The letter, which is totally legally binding and was definitely written by a real lawyer, included a threat not to make it public. So naturally, we're going to tell you ALL about it.
That's right. THE Diamond and Silk sent us a cease and desist. And it's just as beautiful as we imagined.
People who don't understand how the law works love to try to threaten people into not being mean to them, and we have apparently been pushing all the right buttons lately. Between this incredible letter and being sued, along with Donald Trump Jr., in Don Blankenship v. The World, Wonkette is on a roll!
Everything about this letter is incredible and SUPER LEGALLY BINDING. The fact that it was sent to us via email by "robert," with a lowercase "r" and no last name. The subject line, "Cease and Desist Letter for Defamation of Character and Libeling," is just the tip of the iceberg.
WE ARE VERY SCARED OVER HERE RIGHT NOW ABOUT ALL OF THIS VRY SRS LAWYERING.
Giphy
The first paragraph sets the tone:
THE "BESMIRCH STATEMENT(S)" IS VERY MEAN AND SLANDERY!
Apparently Zirconia and Wool found this piece by Wonderbitch and it made them has a sad. Specifically, they didn't like a few particular excerpts, so we'll just go ahead and reproduce those for you, here.
I"'m getting super tired of Diamond and Silk, especially since at this point they've been running this con long enough for me to accidentally remember BOTH of their real Government names, Lynette Hardaway (Fucking Diamond), and Rochelle Richardson (Goddamn Silk). I have long despised both trolls; I've hated their hair, their animal print, their dumb facial expressions, their jiggin' and jivin', but most of all? I have hated the way they prop up the most vile white supremacy in our government, and it's time to start calling that shit out."
"They are the black faces of White Nationalism."
"... hate them for looking so dumb ... "
I guess "robert" isn't very good at "Google," or he would have seen that this was far from the first time we've made fun of his boss ladies.
According to Trump's two black friends and their definitely real lawyer:
Said article deliberately and maliciously slandered and defamed Diamond and Silk and the Diamond and Silk brand by deliberately and maliciously attaching their name to racist context.
They gave us 24 hours to STOP THE BESMIRCHES, lest we FACE THE WRATH of the consummate professional who wrote this letter.
Libelizing and Slanderification!
Let's talk about how the law actually works, here. Here in the US of A, we have this little thing called the First Amendment. And because of it, you don't get to sue people for being mean to you. In fact, making fun of assholes is a proud American tradition, much like obesity and electing white supremacists.
Even private citizens can only sue for false statements of fact that harm their reputation. And for public figures, which Diamond and Silk unfortunately and undeniably are, it's a lot harder. Public figures have to show that any actual false statements were made "with actual malice."
It's a pretty basic thing in American law that you don't get to sue media organizations -- or mommybloggers -- just because you don't like what they have to say. The US Supreme Court has been pretty clear throughout the years that political speech, in particular, receives the most protection. That's because "speech concerning public affairs is more than self-expression; it is the essence of self-government." Garrison v. Louisiana, 379 U.S. 64 74-75 (1964).
What's really fun about the truth requirement is that it means you get to request documents from the other side and argue in court about whether or not the particular statements are, in fact, true. So if Calcite and Burlap actually sued us for this, one of the actual issues would be whether Wonderbitch really does hate them for being so dumb. And they'd have to show that their "reputation," such as it is, was harmed by what she wrote.
Discovery would be LIT.
Not only would we get to explore exactly how Quartz and Cotton-Poly Blend prop up white nationalism, we'd get to ask them why they think our articles are false and what kind of sketchy sources they get their money from.
ALLEGEDLY. Not that in any way we'd suggest that Diamond and Silk might have any sources of income they wouldn't want us to know about. Perish THAT thought.
In case you were wondering, writing besmirches and "maliciously attaching their name to racist context" are not causes of action in any of the 50 states. Just FYI.
Here is the letter in full, for your reading pleasure.
[doc]
LAWYERED.
Giphy
Oh, and it looks like our 24 hour deadline to start being nice to Diamond, Silk, and "robert" has already flown by.
Oops?
UPDATE: Also, this is your Open Thread, res ipsa fuckaducks. -- Dok
*Exit 13 off I-95 in Fayetteville! Next to the Pilot Wendy's! Brought to you by deregulation of for-profit schools. Suck it, NoBama!
==
https://www.alternet.org/2019/11/foxs-diamond-silk-decry-alleged-liberal-war-on-thanksgiving-dont-tell-us-what-we-can-and-cannot-eat
no lnx
Fox’s Diamond & Silk decry alleged liberal war on Thanksgiving: ‘Don’t tell us what we can and cannot eat’
Fox News
Written by Matthew Rozsa / Salon November 9, 2019
Diamond & Silk decried the so-called war on Thanksgiving with Ainsely Earhardt on President Donald Trump’s favorite morning show “Fox & Friends,” a continued battleground for the conservative culture wars.
Social media personalities and political activists Lynnette Hardaway and Rochelle Richardson, who go by the names Diamond & Silk, told “Fox and Friends” they were upset by a recent HuffPost editorial, which called on Americans who celebrate Thanksgiving to do so in a way that reduces their carbon footprint in order to account for climate change.
“I get tired of people that have lived their life and have eaten meat telling us not to eat meat,” Hardaway said. “Don’t tell us what we can and cannot eat. If you have a problem with climate change, stop driving cars ?— ride on your horse to work.You do everything you can to fix the climate, but don’t infringe upon my right to have Thanksgiving with my family.”
The Fox News personalities were criticizing a HuffPost article titled “The Environmental Impact Of Your Thanksgiving Dinner,” which was written by Alexandra Emanuelli. In the op-ed, Emanuelli gave various advice for reducing one’s climate footprint on the annual holiday, including replacing meat and meat byproducts with plant-based alternatives, purchasing ingredients from vendors who provide local materials, not wasting food and traveling shorter distances for Thanksgiving dinner.
Despite characterizing the article as an attempt to“cancel”Thanksgiving, Emanuelli writes that “no one should be discouraged from enjoying the holiday or celebrating with family and friends, but we’re here to provide insight into the ingredients and dishes that have the largest ecological impact. The researchers we interviewed shared suggestions and alternative ingredients that cause less environmental damage.”
A separate reason why some Americans have criticized Thanksgiving through the years is because of the holiday’s problematic roots. Thanksgiving celebrates a feast between the Puritan colonists of Massachusetts and the Wampanoag people whose land they colonized. However, the Fox News talent altogether ignored the issues of race and imperialism.
Salon spoke with David J. Silverman, the author of the new book “This Land Is Their Land: The Wampanoag Indians, Plymouth Colony, and the Troubled History of Thanksgiving” last month about the true story of the first American Thanksgiving.
“I’m placing Wampanoag people at the very center of the story,” Silverman explained. “Typically in the Thanksgiving myth, the identity of the native people goes unremarked. They’re just ‘the Indians,’ and they’re torn out of their long historical context. They seem like people without history until the English arrive. What’s more is, after the famous feast between the Pilgrims and the Indians, the Indians then somehow disappear, and the entire point of the myth is to make it seem as if native people voluntarily ceded their country to colonists.”
In terms of what they ate, Silverman said that it included “mostly wild foods: venison, which the Wampanoags contributed, eel, various fish. It’s quite possible that they were eating turkey, but we’re not sure about that. What we do know is that they were eating fowl.” He said that his guess “would be that they were eating turkey, duck, goose and the like. And then there would have been some basic crops that the English raised: corn, beans, fundamentally Indian crops rather than English crops. There was no sugar so there were no desserts.”
You can watch the segment below via Twitter:
Diamond & Silk get Mad at The Left for attacking Thanksgiving. pic.twitter.com/qTsgGl4neB
— Bobby Lewis (@revrrlewis) November 7, 2019
==
1119 grab
House Dems argue Mueller grand jury secrets would help ...
https://www.cnn.com › trump-house-democrats-ukraine-mueller-grand-jury
Oct 1, 2019 - ... to help in its current impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump. ... grand jury secrets would help impeachment probe over Ukraine.
Missing: diamond silk
Who Are Diamond and Silk? A Look at 2 Pro-Trump Social ...
https://www.nytimes.com › 2018/04/14 › politics › diamond-silk-facebook
Apr 14, 2018 - Diamond and Silk are African-American sisters, Lynnette Hardaway and Rochelle ... as a liberal plot “to erase history,” and encouraged Mr. Trump to fire Robert S. Mueller III, the ... They appear often on conservative news shows. ... Bolton Knows About 'Many Relevant Meetings' on Ukraine, Lawyer Says.
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https://www.youtube.com › watch
1.
Diamond and Silk Tell Congress: 'Facebook Censored Our ...
https://www.rollcall.com › video › diamond_and_silk_tell_congress_faceb...
1.
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YouTube's Diamond & Silk Celebrate Trump Victory in Indiana ...
https://www.realclearpolitics.com › video › 2016/05/03 › youtubes_diamo...
1.
Inside the Trump-Pence 2020 Witch Hunt Halloween Party
nymag.com › intelligencer › 2019/10 › inside-the-trump-pence-2020-witch-...
Oct 31, 2019 - A veteran of Fox News and Trump's White House communications ... and Diamond and Silk, the virally famous Trump defenders who've ... They had a phony vote to start the phony impeachment. ... and the president's impeachable request of the Ukrainian president to start ... Mueller, investigations, scandal.
==
https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/trump-campaign-video-features-fox-hosts-diamond-and-silk-interviewing-fox-contributor
no lnx
Trump campaign video with Diamond and Silk claims that Democrats “are going to drive us back to the days of slavery”
WRITTEN BY ERIC HANANOKI
PUBLISHED 09/03/19 3:48 PM EDT
Diamond and Silk for the Trump campaign
Fox Nation hosts Diamond and Silk have been guest-hosting a show for President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign. Their work includes a video featuring an interview with Fox News contributor Alveda King and another video where they claim that Democrats “are going to drive us back to the days of slavery.” Despite Fox News claiming that it “does not condone any talent participating in campaign events,” the two have also been appearing in other Trump campaign videos and have been headlining Republican fundraisers.
Diamond and Silk are North Carolina-based sisters whose official biography describes them as “Video Vloggers, Internet Sensations,” and “Influencers” who are known for “their out spoken and loyal support for President Donald J Trump.” Fox Nation began airing a weekly Diamond and Silk program late last year.
The two have repeatedly appeared in campaign videos and events for the Trump reelection campaign while also hosting their Fox program. After Diamond and Silk appeared at an April 27 Trump rally in Green Bay, WI, Fox News celebrated their remarks by airing several minutes of “highlights” from their speech on Watters’ World (on-screen text read: “Diamond & Silk rock Trump rally!”).
Fox News promotes Diamond and Silk in Green Bay]
They have also been fundraising for Republican groups -- the two appeared at a March 30 fundraising dinner for the Bush Legacy Republican Women of Weatherford in Texas, and an August 10 event for the Watauga and Ashe County Republican Parties in North Carolina. They're scheduled to do a September 23 event for Republican Women Federation clubs in San Diego County, CA.
The Fox News personalities can now add Trump campaign hosting duties to their resume. On August 27, the Trump campaign posted two campaign videos starring Diamond and Silk and featuring interviews with right-wing commentators Alveda King (who is also a Fox News contributor) and Stephen Moore. In the videos, the duo stated that they were broadcasting from Trump Tower in New York City, NY, and sitting in for regular host Lara Trump while she’s on maternity leave.
The videos, part of the campaign’s Real News Insightsshow, are meant to organize support for Trump’s reelection campaign and push back against the purported “fake news” in the media.
The Diamond and Silk-hosted videos unsurprisingly include over-the-top praise for Trump. In the King interview, Diamond said Trump has “managed to do more than all of these [Democratic presidential candidates] have done within the past three-hundred and some years -- and I say that because I combined all of their records together.”
In her interview with Moore, Silk said that Trump is “looking out for the best interests of America but we have Democrats that’s looking out for the failure of America. That right there should tell you who you need to vote for.” Diamond later said: “When we listen to these Democrat candidates and the things that they are pushing for, it is going to drive us back to the days of slavery with nothing. These people want to control our very existence. I don’t want the government controlling me.”
In March, after Diamond and Silk appeared in a Trump campaign video, Fox News attempted to distance itself from the two.The network told The Hollywood Reporter’s Jeremy Barr that “the duo are not employees of the network: ‘Diamond & Silk license short weekly videos to Fox Nation – they are not Fox News contributors or employees. When they appear on FNC and FBN, they do so as guests.’” That statement might have been news to Fox News’ own employees, who have described them as “Fox News Channel contributors,” “Fox Nation contributors,” and “Fox Nation hosts.”
Related
Fox News described Diamond and Silk as “hosts” and “contributors” until they appeared in a Trump campaign video
03/20/19 2:10 PM EDT
Fox News gives Diamond and Silk a Fox Nation show
11/26/18 5:09 PM EST
Fox Nation hosts have been campaigning for Republicans in violation of the network's supposed standards
==
DAILY BEAST
BULLY OF THE WEEK
‘Stump for Trump’ Surrogates Promote The Donald on Neo-Nazi Show
The “Stump for Trump” women have spread plenty of bile on their own. This week, however, they used a Hitler-loving anti-Semite’s show to get their message out.
Asawin Suebsaeng
White House Reporter
Updated 07.12.17
Rick Wilking/Reuters]
The fact that you will often now see the words “Donald Trump” in the same headline as “Nazi,” “fascist,” “neo-Nazi,” “white supremacist,” “white nationalist,” or “racist” says a lot about this election. Here’s another one of those stories.
Lynette “Diamond” Hardaway and Rochelle “Silk” Richardson (aka the “‘Stump for Trump’ girls”) gained national media attention as two YouTube stars who vivaciously expressed their love for Trump and his 2016 presidential campaign. They have subsequently been booked to appear on TV news programs to talk about the election and The Donald, in segments that sometimes fly completely off the rails. One such example is an interview on CNN during which they promoted the fringe conspiracy theory that Marco Rubio is a covert homosexualist.
The two female, African-American, full-time Trump supporters have also become part-time surrogates, firing up crowds at some Trump campaign events, and continuing to make the media rounds to push the case for the Republican frontrunner.
One of their most recent media appearance was on a platform hosted by a Holocaust-denying, Hitler-praising, conspiracy-theory-mongering neo-Nazi.
In an 18-minute “exclusive” audio interview with John Friend of American Free Pressposted on Wednesday (flagged by liberal media-watchdog Media Matters), Hardaway and Richardson talked Trump, jobs, and immigration, among other topics.
“These people been in office for years and haven’t done anything,” Hardaway told Friend. “They are OK with illegal people running in our country, and we don’t even know these people.”
“Exactly,” Richardson weighed in.
The problem here isn’t as much what the Diamond and Silk duo said. It’s pretty standard, anti-undocumented-immigrant, anti-GOP-elite stuff (perhaps more extreme) that you expect to hear coming from the people who go on TV, or radio, or podcasts to talk up how Trump will surely Make America Great Again.
The problem is the interviewer, whose views would prove toxic—at the very least for surrogates of a campaign that wasn’t so admired or enthusiastically supported by white nationalists.
You can easily Google for the far-right journalistic output of John Friend, who the Anti-Defamation League has repeatedly called out as a “virulent anti-Semite and Holocaust denier.” Friend’s bit on how the “Jews did 9/11” speaks fascistic volumes for itself.
But the clearest understanding of his worldview comes from the fact that he is an unabashed Hitler fanboy.
“If you take an objective look at what [Adolf Hitler] did, what he was all about, the policies that he implemented and championed…you will recognize that this man and his movement were the greatest thing that’s happened to Western civilization,” he said on The Brian Ruhe Show in December.
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“He was the greatest leader in Western civilization, at least in a modern context,” he continued. “I don’t think there’s any doubt about that. I mean, he clearly identified the Jewish problem. Explained it to the German people, he clearly identified many other problems, and told the truth in a big time way and really was educating people and, you know, gathered a dedicated group of guys to really change things and revitalize Germany. And, I mean, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. I think he has been entirely slandered by the organized Jewish community, by the Allies, by the institutionalization of this—really—it’s a fake story, you know, this alleged Holocaust that we’re…told that happened all the time. It’s in the movies, it’s in our schools, it’s in our textbooks, I mean it’s a story that is endlessly emphasized and reinstilled, and reinforced, and perpetuated, and it’s just not true.”
Hm. Makes you think.
Featured on the AFP website next to the interview with Hardaway and Richardson are stories on how the “Media Covers Up Black Hate Crimes Against Whites,” and “Obama’s African Legacy.”
“Diamond and Silk” did not respond to The Daily Beast’s request for comment regarding their friendly appearance on the neo-Nazi program.
DAILY BEAST
i wanted to track this up escalator
Thursday, deceptively edited videos of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) meant to cast doubt on her competency made the rounds on social media and right-wing websites. Later, Fox put its weight behind the narrative, and the network’s most prominent viewer, President Donald Trump, tweeted out a Fox clip about it.
The smears seem like an obvious attempt to discredit Pelosi after she questioned Trump's fitness for office during a May 23 press conference, saying she wished “his family or his administration or his staff would have an intervention for the good of the country.” A day earlier, Pelosi had made the true statement that Trump was engaged in a cover-up. As CNN’s Brian Stelter pointed out in the May 24 edition of his Reliable Sourcesnewsletter, “What's going on here is pretty obvious. Pelosi is questioning President Trump's competency -- saying she's concerned about the president's well-being, suggesting an ‘intervention’ is needed -- so Trump's allies are saying the exact same things about her.” MIRROR
There are actually two videos circulating in the pro-Trump media sphere. One spliced together clips of Pelosi’s comments on Thursday to make it seem like she stammered throughout the press conference. The other significantly slowed remarks Pelosi made during an appearance at the Center for American Progress (CAP) on May 22 to make her look inebriated. (Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani tweeted and later deleted that manipulated video.)
Conspiracy theory website Infowars pushed the narrative with the headline “Watch Nancy Pelosi Stutter Slur And Suffer Memory Lapses in Press Conference.” Then Fox Business’ Lou Dobbs Tonight adopted a similar frame in an on-screen chyron and aired the deceptively spliced clip of the May 23 press conference. Trump then tweeted the Fox segment out to his 60.5 million followers.
[vid?]OnFox’s Fox & Friends this morning, guests Diamond and Silk falsely accused Pelosi of inebriation, possibly referring to the doctored footage of her appearance at CAP. Co-host Steve Doocy claimed in a later segment that he was unfamiliar with the doctored video but issued a correction for Diamond and Silk’s accusation by citing the Post. However, the two Fox Nation hosts refused to back down:
[twts]
Copies of the videos continue to spread on social media platforms like Facebook, Reddit, and Twitter, garnering thousands of interactions. Though these videos are deceptive, the tech giants seem unable to halt their spread -- and in some cases, they may even be making money from views,as at least one video pushing the smear on YouTube featured an ad.
==
==
Trump’s re-election campaign has been producing news-style videos featuring numerous media figures, including commentators for CNN and Fox News.
The president’s daughter-in-law Lara Trump has been hosting the video series “Real News,” which includes guest interviews and campaign propaganda. The videos, which are posted on the president's Facebook page and carry “paid for by Donald J. Trump for president” disclaimers, ask viewers to sign up for mobile alerts from the campaign, a list-building activity that the 2020 campaign can use to raise money and organize get-out-the vote activities.
The Hollywood Reporter’s Jeremy Barr reported on March 19 that conservative commentators and sisters Diamond and Silk appeared in a recent video with Lara Trump. Fox News attempted to distance itself from the campaign video by stating that Diamond and Silk “license short weekly videos to Fox Nation – they are not Fox News contributors or employees. When they appear on FNC and FBN, they do so as guests." That explanation contradictsFox News’ own identifications of the two as “Fox News Channel contributors,” “Fox Nation contributors,” and “Fox Nation hosts.”
Regardless of Diamond and Silk’s employment classification, several Fox News contributors have appeared in Trump campaign videos with Lara Trump. They include Deneen Borelli, Alveda King, David Bossie, and Mike Huckabee.
CNN analysts have also appeared in Trump campaign videos despite the president’s frequent trashing of the network as “fake news.”
[pix]CNN's David Urban and Stephen Moore with Lara Trump.
David Urban is a CNN commentator who previously worked as a paid consultant for Trump’s 2016 campaign. During a March Trump video appearance, the campaign identified him as the president of American Continental Group, a major lobbying firm that lobbies the Trump administration and Congress on a variety of issues. (Urban has used his CNN gig to specifically push a lobbying client and its interests without disclosing the connection to viewers.)
In that video, which did not mention his CNN role, Urban spoke like a Trump surrogate. The Republicancommentator, who directed Trump's 2016 operation in Pennyslvania, said that “Pennsylvania is always a tough state to win. I predict, I'll say it here again, I think we’re going to win in 2020. It’s going to be close, but we’re going to win, the president’s going to put the time in; you know, we’re going to work hard and we’re going to win. I have no doubt that he will win in 2020 in Pennsylvania." He also lied about the Green New Deal, claiming that “you’re not going to have a car; forget, you know, no cows ever again.” (Urban’s firm does lobbying work on behalf of oil and gas interests.)
At the conclusion of the video, Lara Trump thanked Urban for “the job you do every single day out there fighting for the president. You really do an incredible job, and we are so lucky to have you.” Urban responded by saying that he loves President Trump and relayed that people tell him, “You may not hear it on the mainstream media, but we really like” the president. Urban also appeared in a June 2018 video and touted Trump ahead of the then-upcoming midterm elections.
Stephen Moore is a senior economics analyst for CNN who advises Trump (during a recent appearance, CNN described Moore as “an informal White House adviser”). He has made several appearances on Trump’s video program and promoted Trump’s economic message.
Other media commentators who have appeared in the Trump campaign’s videos include Fox 5 DC host, Daily Caller video columnist, and Pizzagate conspiracy theorist Stephanie Hamill; Talking Point USA’s Candace Owens; conservative troll Dinesh D’Souza; and Trump sycophant Bill Mitchell.
==
rww 1018
**‘Diamond and Silk’ Premiere a Feature Flop**
update: interesting, lib media myth recycled/applied to social media:
Trump has faced derision for his rant on Tuesday about Google search results being "rigged" against conservatives — likely motivated by a Fox Business interview between Lou Dobbs and the right-wing YouTube celebrities Diamond and Silk.
But Trump is eager to prove he is right about a grand Google conspiracy to silence right-wing content. As proof, he shared a video on Wednesday noting a key example of anti-GOP censorship: his own State of the Union address.
"For years, Google promoted president Obama’s State of the Union on its homepage," says the video. "When President Trump took office, Google stopped."
[twit] There's just one problem: it isn't true.
As Buzzfeed News reports, screenshots of Google's search page taken on January 30, 2018 clearly show a link labeled "Live! Watch President Trump's State Of The Union Address On YouTube." One of the screenshots was even posted by a Trump supporter to the pro-Trump Reddit board /r/The_Donald, captioned "Google homepage linking to the GEOTUS [God-Emperor Of The United States] address."
It is true that Google did not provide a link to Trump's first address to Congress in 2017. However, as a Google spokesperson told BuzzFeed, “We have historically not promoted the first address to Congress by a new President, which is technically not a State of the Union address. As a result, we didn’t include a promotion on google.com for this address in either 2009 or 2017."
The fact that the video was easily debunked as a hoax did not stop it spreading in right-wing circles. It was swiftly picked up by Gateway Pundit, InfoWars, the Russian propaganda network RT, and was also shared by Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel.
Trump has frequently complained that the size of his audience for major events is being suppressed or even just covered up. Immediately upon taking office, he accused mainstream news outlets of lying about the size of his inauguration crowds.
More broadly, Republicans have been waging a crusade for years against what they claim is "liberal bias" in mainstream media, which has increasingly spread to accusations against big tech platforms as well. There is little basis for these claims, but persecution narratives have staying power — regardless of evidence especially when the President of the United States lends them legitimacy.
==
https://www.alternet.org/trump-calls-google-search-rigged-after-watching-diamond-and-silk
Tuesday morning, President Donald Trump tweeted a bizarre attack on Google, calling their search results "RIGGED" and possibly "illegal" because "Google search results for 'Trump News' shows only the viewing/reporting of Fake New [sic] Media."
Google search results for “Trump News” shows only the viewing/reporting of Fake New Media. In other words, they have it RIGGED, for me & others, so that almost all stories & news is BAD. Fake CNN is prominent. Republican/Conservative & Fair Media is shut out. Illegal? 96% of...
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 28, 2018
....results on “Trump News” are from National Left-Wing Media, very dangerous. Google & others are suppressing voices of Conservatives and hiding information and news that is good. They are controlling what we can & cannot see. This is a very serious situation-will be addressed!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 28, 2018
It didn't take long for Media Matters For America's Matt Gertz to uncover what Trump was talking about: he had been watching a Fox Business interview between Lou Dobbs and right-wing YouTubers Lynette Hardaway and Rochelle Richardson, known by the stage names "Diamond and Silk."
During the interview, the two accused Google of "tyranny" and "political lynching" for not showing a larger number of articles favorable to Trump. Hardaway warned that "somebody's going to have to step in and take a look at this here."
..During the segment, Diamond and Silk, identified as "President Trump's most loyal supporters," described this as "tyranny" and "a form of political lynching." pic.twitter.com/vHa9SJPKZp
Diamond adds that "somebody's going to have to step in and take a look at this here." Watching the program this morning, Trump tweets, "This is a very serious situation-will be addressed!" pic.twitter.com/YvydCbLvQG
Diamond and Silk, who previously were caught lying under oath about a payment they received from the Trump campaign, become a GOP cause celebré after Facebook sent them an erroneous message deeming their content "unsafe." They have leveraged this into a sweeping conspiracy theory that big tech sites are silencing conservative content — which is debunked by hard data showing their Facebook engagements actually increased in the past year.
Likewise, there is no evidence whatsoever that Google is deliberately suppressing pro-Trump content. Nor, as Trump suggestions, is any algorithm a private tech platform uses to determine search results "illegal," as Google is a private company and there is no constitutional right to appear at the top of its search results.
Moreover, it is curious thatif the GOP is genuinely concerned that tech companies have too much power over what people see and hear, they do not push for tougher antitrust laws against the business practices that allow tech platforms to hold near-total monopolies — the few laws we have on the matter are swiftly being dismantled by the Supreme Court, and with the vote of Trump's own judicial picks.
None of this, however, has stopped the right-wing kangaroo courts against social media "censorship." And Trump's rant is just the latest example of how ubiquitous the false narrative has become.
==
==
Lastly: Fox & Friends guests Diamond and Silk said that their debunked claims of censorship are "the new Jim Crow." Jim Crow laws violently enforced American apartheid via mandated segregation while also tolerating lynching; meanwhile, conservative claims of tech censorship have repeatedly been debunked.
:{
}:
==
Lynnette Hardaway, a.k.a., “Diamond” of the Trump-loving social media duo Diamond and Silk, told a blatant falsehood during a congressional hearing on Thursday when she said she and her partner were never once paid by President Donald Trump’s campaign.
When asked by Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) if she had received payments from Trump’s campaign, Hardaway said, “No, we have never been paid by the Trump campaign.”
“You have never been paid by the Trump campaign?” the congresswoman asked again.
“We have never been paid by the Trump campaign!” Hardaway shot back, growing increasingly agitated. Not $5, not $100?” Lee pressed. “Not $1,274.94?”
“We have never been paid!” she yelled back.
However, a quick search of the Federal Elections Commission’s data base of Trump campaign expenditures shows that this is absolutely not true, as the Trump campaign paid Diamond and Silk exactly $1,274.94 for “field consulting” work.
Later in the hearing, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) cornered Hardaway by pointing out that FEC records clearly show that she was paid by the Trump campaign. He also asked her if she was aware that she could now be open to perjury charges by lying to Congress. Richardson then claimed that the Trump campaign had made a “mistake” in listing them as field consultants, while claiming that the campaign had simply been reimbursed for travel expenses incurred while campaigning for Trump.Rochelle Richardson, a.k.a., “Silk,” accused Jeffries of buying into “fake news,” despite the fact that he was reading directly from the Trump campaign’s own FEC filing.
Jeffries then asked the women about the ways they’ve used their support for Trump to make money for themselves — and Hardaway absolutely blew up at him.
“You as an African American are not going to make us feel guilty for… monetizing our platform!” she shouted.... === The Diamond and Silk affair is much more than a distraction By Molly Roberts April 12 Email the author
Mark Zuckerberg appears for a hearing before the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Wednesday in Washington. (Matt McClain/The Washington Post)
The extended inquisition of Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg on Capitol Hill this week has revealed that many confused members of Congress had one overarching question: What exactly is this Internet thing, anyway? Viewers may have had another: Who the heck are Diamond and Silk?
These “two truly fantastic women!” (President Trump’s words) may have little to do with data privacy. But they have a lot to do with another conundrum for Facebook — one that we shouldn’t lose sight of as we start to talk regulation.
Diamond and Silk, according to sisters Lynette “Diamond” Hardaway and Rochelle “Silk” Richardson, are not only “Vloggers, Public Figures & Speakers” as well as “Internet, Radio & TV Personality,” but also “President Donald J Trump’s Most Outspoken & Loyal Supporters.” In other words, Diamond and Silk post videos proclaiming Trump’s virtues in bombastic style — sometimes in rap form. They went viral in 2016 as black women in support of the then-candidate, and they went viral again last week when they accused Zuckerberg and his company of censoring them.
To the 87 million Facebook users affected by the Cambridge Analytica breach (and the millions more who’ve had their data scraped by some other less-than-savory actor), the Diamond and Silk affair may seem beside the point. But one senator and a surprising number of representatives seemed to disagree.
“Facebook routinely suppressed conservative stories from the trending news … initially shut down the ‘Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day’ page … and most recently blocked Trump supporters Diamond and Silk’s page, with 1.2 million Facebook followers,” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) said to Zuckerberg on Tuesday. To “a great many Americans,” Cruz said, that appears to be “a pervasive pattern of political bias.”
2:02
Opinion | The techlash is real, but will Congress actually do anything to Facebook?
]
“I’d like to show you right now a little picture here,” saidRep. Billy Long (R-Mo.), as he displayed a very big picture of the duo at the House hearing Wednesday. “What is ‘unsafe’ about two black women supporting Donald J. Trump?”
“Let me tell you something right now,” Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) said later. “Diamond and Silk is not terrorism.”
These attempts to paint Facebook as a liberal juggernaut did appear out of place in hearings about data privacy. But they’re worth paying attention to anyway. That’s because they strike at the center of the problem that captured everyone’s attention before the breach to end all breaches diverted it: how Facebook’s fight to cut down on false information as well as hate speech will run up against its commitment to protect freedom of expression.
Facebook hasn’t explained how Diamond and Silk’s videos violated their terms of service, and the company said that it approached the pair to sort out what went wrong. Blackburn is right, after all. Diamond and Silk aren’t terrorism, and the sisters don’t advocate violence. But if the comediennes got caught up in a content-constricting algorithm, they got caught up in it for a reason: They’ve pushed conspiracy theories from Uranium One to Sen. Marco Rubio’s (R-Fla.) supposed secret “gay lifestyle,” and during the campaign they stumped for Trump in an interview with a neo-Nazi Holocaust denier who insists that “Jews Did 9/11.” Perhaps this messy history doesn’t mean Diamond and Silk deserve for Facebook to restrict their posts’ reach or prevent them from alerting their followers to new videos. Or perhaps it does. It’s a test case for a quandary that Facebook has been muddling through since last summer, when the world and Web exploded with revelations that Russia had harnessed the platform’s reach to sow discord with destructive propaganda — and when, about the same time, Charlottesville also exploded with white-nationalist vitriol. Before we were asking the company to keep our data safe from advertisers, we were asking it to keep our democracy safe from foreign interference, and our online communities safe from abuse. At the same time, we were asking it to stay neutral — an almost impossible task.
Now, the focus has shifted to security, and discussion of any regulation to come has centered on users’ ability to control the information they allow Facebook to access in exchange for its free services. But that means inviting government to involve itself more actively in Internet affairs, and the involvement could stretch beyond rules that protect consumers from privacy violations: While Republicans are usually wary of interfering in an industry’s affairs, many appear willing to break the rule to thwart what they see as an anti-right cabal in Silicon Valley. So although privacy may stay the word for now, speech could soon follow.
Facebook has struggled with the contradictory onus of remaining a “platform for all ideas” while filtering out ideas it deems too dangerous. But there’s little reason to think government would do better. And there’s a lot of reason to wonder whether it even ought to try. Opinion | Hey Zuckerberg, 'well shucks' isn't enough from a billionaire
Molly Roberts is an editor, writer and producer for The Post's Opinions section. Follow @mollylroberts
https://www.mediamatters.org/research/2016/03/24/trump-surrogates-promote-campaign-in-interview/209523
Diamond and Silk, two YouTube personalities who serve as surrogates for Donald Trump's presidential campaign, promoted his candidacy in an interview with neo-Nazi and Trump supporter John Friend. Friend believes the Holocaust is "one of the most egregious and outrageous falsehoods ever perpetrated," "Jews Did 9/11," and Adolf Hitler was "the greatest thing that's happened to Western civilization."
Diamond And Silk Are Trump Surrogates Who Frequently Appear At His Rallies
Diamond And Silk Are YouTube Personalities. According to their website, Lynette "Diamond" Hardaway and Rochelle "Silk" Richardson "are biological sisters from North Carolina standing with the silent majority. As African American women they are voicing their opinions about media bias, political babble, and repetitive political tactics that they feel the average American is tired of being subjected to." They have labeled their act "Stump for the Trump.":{ DiamondAndSilkInc.com, accessed :(style="background-color:#ffffff;"):}:[3/24/16:{]}:
Diamond And Silk Are Trump Surrogates. Time noted that "Trump's rallies often feature appearances by a pair of women who go by the names Diamond and Silk, whose spirited endorsement of Trump on YouTube has been watched by nearly 100,000 people -- as many as tune in to some cable news shows." During a January event, Trump said that Diamond and Silk are "two of my friends" who have "become very famous and very rich." He added that "these two are unbelievable." The following are several images of them at various Trump ralli
...
Diamond And Silk Have Appeared In The Media Promoting Trump. Diamond and Silk have appeared in media outlets like CNN, Fox News, and Fox Business to promote Trump's candidacy. [CNN.com, 8/11/15, 8/21/15, 2/23/16; FoxNews.com, 3/20/16; YouTube.com, 1/8/16]
Diamond And Silk Promoted Trump In Interview With Trump Supporter John Friend For American Free Press
Diamond And Silk Did Approximately 18-Minute Interview With John Friend For American Free Press. Diamond and Silk participated in a March 23 American Free Press (AFP) audio interview in which they promoted Trump's candidacy. They were described as "two of the more outspoken and enthusiastic supporters of Donald J. Trump." [American Free Press, 3/23/16, 3/23/16]
Diamond And Silk And Friend Repeatedly Praised Trump Campaign. Diamond and Silk used the AFP interview to tout Trump's candidacy. Friend wrote in his recap of the interview:
Trump "resonates with me, with us, 100%," Ms. Richardson told AFP. "The things that he talks about that need to happen to help get this country out of this economic crisis is something that I do not hear from the rest. He's talking common sense instead of politics, and he resonates with me 100%."
Ms. Hardaway echoed Ms. Richardson's thoughts.
"I'm supporting Donald Trump because he wants to secure the border, he wants to bring back our jobs so we can thrive again, and he wants to bring back spirit by uniting this country," she explained.
Ms. Richardson continued: "People are tired of being under- or unemployed. We need to bring back good jobs, opportunities for people to be gainfully employed. People are tired of his divide in our country. It's time to bring back spirit, it's time to unite. Remember, this is the United States, not the Divided States, so it's time for us to come together."
Diamond and Silk also promoted their website DitchandSwitchNow.com, which tells people how to "SWITCH to Republican Party to vote for Mr. Donald J. Trump in the primaries." [American Free Press, 3/23/16; DiamondAndSilkInc.com, accessed 3/24/16]
Diamond And Silk Used Interview To Bash Undocumented Immigrants. During the interview, Diamond and Silk repeatedly bashed undocumented immigrants, with Friend agreeing with their remarks:
DIAMOND: These people been in office for years and haven't done anything. They are OK with illegal people running in our country, and we don't even know these people.
SILK: Exactly.
DIAMOND: If you're going to come into this country, come in this country legally.
[...]
SILK: But you have people coming across that border illegally and they're able to get housing, food, clothes, medical, you know, how fair is that to the American people that's here working day and night?
[...]
JOHN FRIEND: We not only have millions of illegal immigrants in our country, you know, draining our resources, they're also organizing and marching in the streets of Washington, D.C., demanding citizenship, demanding --
DIAMOND: You know what? Why don't they march in their own country for those rights? Don't come over here and march for those rights, because you don't even belong in this country. You're in here illegally. March for those rights in your own country, that's what they should be doing.
SILK: That's right.
DIAMOND: Don't march for them over here because it's time for the American people to be taken care of. It's time for somebody to look out for the American people and that's what we love about Donald Trump. [American Free Press, 3/23/16]
Friend Praised Diamond And Silk For Getting "The Truth Out About What's Going On In America Today." [American Free Press, 3/23/16]
Friend Regularly Expresses Support For Trump, Attended Trump Rally. Friend's Twitter account biography features the hashtags #MakeAmericaGreatAgain, #Trump2016, #AlwaysTrump. He recently attended a Trump rally in Las Vegas, Nevada, and "had to purchase a Make America Great Again hat." He wrote of Trump: "Trump has truly touched the hearts of millions of Americans across this nation. His public policy positions are rock solid, particularly when it comes to immigration, which is, in my opinion, the only issue that really matters in this upcoming election." [Twitter.com, accessed 3/24/16; The Realist Report, 12/17/15]
John Friend Believes Hitler Was "The Greatest Thing That's Happened To Western Civilization"
John Friend Works For The American Free Press, An Anti-Semitic Publication. John Friend produces content for The American Free Press. The Southern Poverty Law Center has written that the American Free Press is an "anti-Semitic weekly" that "was founded by Holocaust denier Willis Carto." The Anti-Defamation League wrote that the publication is "an anti-Semitic conspiracy-oriented newspaper" that attracts "the most vitriolic anti-Semites." [Southern Poverty Law Center, 7/15/11, Anti-Defamation League, 6/1/15, 10/30/15]
ADL: John Friend Is A "Virulent Anti-Semite And Holocaust Denier." The Anti-Defamation League wrote of Friend:
It is not clear if North knew about Friend's anti-Semitism but even a cursory look at Friend's work would have revealed his extreme views. Friend has written numerous anti-Semitic articles for AFP and on his personal website. His homepage contains quotes from Adolf Hitler and Joseph Goebbels. In a May 2013 article on his website, Friend wrote, "The arrogance, deceit, and treachery of the organized Jewish community knows no bounds. Adolf Hitler was quite correct when he described the Jews as having an 'unqualified capacity for falsehood.'" In a March 2013, article, Friend called the Holocaust a "fake narrative."
In March 2013, Friend also announced the creation of the American Nationalist Association (ANA), a group which "aims to develop and advance the interests of traditional White America." ANA's statement of principles also reveals Friend's anti-Semitism. The statement urges peoples of European ancestry to "Expose and reject all forms of Communism, Cultural Marxism, International Zionism, Globalism, Multi-Culturalism, and all Un-American rackets, frauds and organizations, including Usury and International Finance Capitalism." [Anti-Defamation League, 12/24/13]
Friend Was Forced Out Of Government Job After Officials "Learned He Operates An Anti-Semitic Website." The San Diego Union-Tribune wrote that Friend "was forced out of his job this week after city officials learned he operates an anti-Semitic website and is active in a movement that blames Jews for the 9/11 terror attacks":
A 29-year-old clerical employee in the Escondido City Manager's Office was forced out of his job this week after city officials learned he operates an anti-Semitic website and is active in a movement that blames Jews for the 9/11 terror attacks.
Poway resident John Friend was hired by Escondido about three months ago as a division coordinator, which is responsible for a variety of administrative duties in the City Manager's Office including supervising support staff and helping develop office policies and procedures, according to the city's website.
City officials said they were unaware at the time that Friend is an outspoken blogger and contributor to several white supremacist publications. [The San Diego Union-Tribune, 9/10/15]
Headline On Friend's Website: "Jews Did 9/11 - John Friend Booed For Telling The Truth." The post embeds a YouTube video of him holding a sign claiming Israel was behind the 9/11 attacks. [The Realist Report, 10/28/15]
Friend Has Praised "'White Christian Patriots' Such As Adolf Hitler And Joseph Goebbels." The San Diego Union-Tribune reported that "Friend told a reporter he finds 'inspiration and guidance from America's Founding Fathers' as well as 'white Christian patriots' such as Adolf Hitler and Joseph Goebbels":
Friend told a reporter he finds "inspiration and guidance from America's Founding Fathers" as well as "white Christian patriots" such as Adolf Hitler and Joseph Goebbels.
[...]
On his website, therealistreport.com, Friend posts stories that assert, among other things, that the Holocaust is a false and inaccurate interpretation of history made up by the Jewish-dominated media, and that the 9/11 attacks were orchestrated by the Israel government to create the international war on terrorism.
In a blog post five months ago, he said "The huge numbers of 'holocaust survivors' -- well into the hundreds of thousands still today -- are undeniable proof that the extermination claims are a hoax... The Nazis kept them alive as best they could under nearly impossible circumstances. The real mass murderers were the western Allies."
In his email to the Union-Tribune, Friend said he considers himself a white Christian American patriot who finds philosophical and intellectual inspiration from America's Founding Fathers.
"I have also researched and studied a number of important, yet completely marginalized and in many cases demonized, White Christian patriots including Adolf Hitler, Joseph Goebbels, George Lincoln Rockwell (the founder of the American Nazi Party... and many others." [The San Diego Union-Tribune, 9/10/15]
Friend: Hitler Was "The Greatest Thing That's Happened To Western Civilization." Friend made his views clear about Hitler during a December 2015 interview, claiming that "an objective look" at Hitler's deeds proved that "this man and his movement were the greatest thing that's happened to western civilization":
Facebook CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg went before both houses of Congress this week, and generally the takeaway was that lawmakers were, for the most part, incredibly unprepared for the opportunity. Few questions were asked about Facebook having a monopoly, its issues with civil rights, or its role in the ongoing genocide in Myanmar. No questions whatsoever were asked about Facebook's role as a recruitment tool for white supremacists. In fact, it was not until after the hearing that Richard Spencer's Facebook account was removed.
Instead, thanks to Republican lawmakers running with the outrage of the day in right-wing media, the hearing focused on a hoax: allegations of censorship against far-right video bloggers Diamond & Silk. During the 2016 election, the pro-Trump duo pushed wild conspiracy theories and smears, even participating in an interview with a neo-Nazi Holocaust denier to promote Trump’s candidacy. In recent days, the pair took to Fox News to repeatedly claim that they were being suppressed by Facebook. It was only after multiple Republicans confronted Zuckerberg about it that the story totally collapsed. One, Facebook data shows that that the pair had constant reach over the period they were supposedly being suppressed. Two, emails showed that Facebook reached out to the pair on multiple occasions before they went on Fox News to accuse Facebook of never reaching out.
And the lies didn't stop even when the truth was exposed. They continued going on Fox News to complain about Facebook. While the pair got plenty of attention, almost no notice has gone to the liberal pages that have been suppressed by Facebook.
Also: Pro-Trump media were furious that Mark Zuckerberg was asked about diversity at Facebook in the hearings. The fact of the matter is that diversity in tech companies is crucial to understand how platforms will be used, particularly when it comes to online harassment.
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