Ukraine Detains Socialist Writer, Bans World Socialist Web Site | Russia Formally Charges WSJ Journalist with Spying for the CIA

Ukraine Detains Socialist Writer, Bans World Socialist Web Site | Russia Formally Charges WSJ Journalist with Spying for the CIA

At least Ukraine doesn’t discriminate, when it comes to detaining writers.

It should be noted that similar jailings are taking place in Russia, with some hitting close to home. This past December, Russians arrested Boris Kagarlitsky, a longtime Moscow Times contributor who was the main writer on the “Russian Dissent” Substack sponsored by this site. Boris, a socialist himself but not connected in any way to the WSWS, was denounced as an “inoagent” (a foreign agent) and given a five year sentence, which Russian authorities called “excessively lenient.” The case is one of the more absurd in the history of speech offenses. Kagarlitsky was initially accused of making light of a 2022 explosion on the Krimsky Bridge linking Russia to Crimea, thanks to a video titled “Explosive Congratulations to the Cat Mostik,” sarcastically putting a cat in the frame for the blast. The Russian news agency TASS noted Kagarlitsky’s “negative attitude toward authorities,” and Boris remains in prison. We’re trying to get more information about his status.

Mostik isn’t just any cat! Mostik = Bridge. Mostik is the mascot of the Crimean Bridge. Petty criticism, maybe. Anyway, I’m not surprised that the West is ignoring anyone detained in Ukraine for speech issues while screeching about ‘freedom of the press’ and ‘human rights’ in Russia.

Related:

Мостик Кот – Mostik the Cat

US lawmakers pass Tibet policy bill that questions China’s claims over region

Bill that frames Beijing’s control over Tibet for centuries as ‘disinformation’ will head to President Joe Biden’s desk

US lawmakers pass Tibet policy bill that questions China’s claims over region

Related:

[2021] Designation of Under Secretary Uzra Zeya as the U.S. Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues

NED awards recognize contributions to democracy

History: Tibet

A ‘myriad’ of front organizations had “Media Unlocked” banned from TikTok

Original video.

China Daily’s ‘Media Unlocked’ TikTok account banned

Media Unlocked’s accounts on Facebook, YouTube, and X, which are not flagged as government media outfits, are still up, however. Felipe F. Salvosa II

Source

IN-DEPTH: AI bolsters China state media’s TikTok offensive to influence narrative on sea dispute

Seeking credibility, China Daily’s ‘Media Unlocked’ TikTok passes off opinion as news

CNN:

Erin Burnett OutFront May 23, 2024 1PM Transcript

“RIPLEY (voice-over): Chinese state media is using A.I.-enhanced videos on TikTok, altering the reporter’s voice and face. A disclosure on screen for just a few seconds, easy to miss.

[01:39:52]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Under China’s jurisdiction.

RIPLEY: The video is pushing Beijing’s narrative on the South China Sea.

Is this a threat to democracy?

FELIPE SALVOSA II, JOURNALISM PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS: Most definitely. I think China has found a more cost-effective way to get its message across.

RIPLEY: Turning today’s digital landscape into a battleground for truth, where seeing is no longer believing.

Every time I do a story about these deepfake videos, what strikes me is the quality keeps improving. Our researcher (INAUDIBLE) spent hours putting these through algorithms to determine with 99 percent accuracy whether these videos are real, whether they’re fake, whether the voice has been altered, the face has been altered. Who on social media has time for that and a lot of people don’t take the time which experts say is dangerous, particularly in democracies when people are watching these videos and then potentially using the information they hear to make decisions about how to vote.

Source
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“Time to stop singularizing Trump as uniquely evil”

As practically everyone on planet Earth must now know, Donald Trump has become the first former US president to be convicted of felonies after leaving office. The response to the outcome of the trial from Democrats and Republicans has been predictably binary. Democrats have been reveling in the outcome and seem to think that the trial’s conclusion has delivered a final blow to Trump’s credibility and, in turn, his chances of winning the upcoming election. Trump’s supporters, on the other hand, are largely condemning the trial as politically motivated “lawfare” waged by the “radical left” in order to derail Trump’s chances of winning the upcoming election, which might end up galvanizing his base.

Trump’s Conviction Papers Over Much Bigger Crimes that He (and Every Other Recent US President) Has Committed in While Office

I can’t stand Trump, but this is why I don’t post about the criminal charges against him. I’d rather see him, and the rest of them, charged for war crimes! Furthermore, I can understand why his supporters, and even foreigners, see it as lawfare.