Tag: Authoritarianism

Red Scared: Revising history at the Victims of Communism Museum

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

“THERE IS NO WAY he is a victim of communism,” my partner quips, pointing to a photo of the late Pope John Paul II. We are near the end of our visit to the new Victims of Communism Museum, standing in an elevator-size lobby with photographs of “victims” screen-printed all over the walls. Among the many victims and honorees: Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, the Dalai Lama, Romanian writer Herta Müller, Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong, and Hungarian neofascist Viktor Orbán.

Red Scared: Revising history at the Victims of Communism Museum (archived)

The World Economic Forum has outed itself as anti-Palestinian

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

The World Economic Forum has outed itself as anti-Palestinian

A few months later, I received a letter indefinitely suspending my membership. My request for the reasons for my suspension and an appeal has gone completely ignored. So much for the values of “stakeholder capitalism” and “cooperation in a fragmented world” that WEF publicly espouses. More like racism, abuse of power, and lack of transparency. I have learned firsthand that some YGLs are informants leaking private communications directly to the WEF’s leadership. Feels more like an authoritarian regime that spies on its constituency and loathes free speech than a global forum. As for my former YGLs, only a handful of true leaders actually protested my suspension. The silence of the remaining supposed “young global leaders” was deafening, but in retrospect, I realize that their silence is expressive of the exact type of Machiavellian leadership that the WEF seeks to foster.

Related:

WEF—Code of Conduct:

The World Economic Forum adheres to the principles of independence, impartiality, moral integrity and intellectual integrity.

[2021] Can we improve the world by remaining impartial?

What do you do when violent conflict erupts, innocent people get killed, and human rights are being violated? I believe any person with a heart and a moral compass would feel compelled to condemn the aggressors. Not doing so feels wrong on a moral level, and could raise the risk of further escalation. Are we misguided then, as an international institution, to not speak out unequivocally when conflicts emerge, and innocent people suffer? Are we “hiding” behind our impartiality?

[2022] Klaus Schwab and Børge Brende Statement on Ukraine

We therefore deeply condemn the aggression by Russia against Ukraine, the attacks and atrocities.

India: legal proceedings against British communications network unveils geopolitical positions

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

On February 14, Indian authorities carried out a procedure at the headquarters of the British broadcaster BBC in New Delhi. The operation is part of a tax audit, however it came after the publication of a documentary in which the BBC gave a biased treatment of the 2002 religious clashes in Gujarat, western India. On a geopolitical level this and other events reveal how different governments move their pieces in the global chess game, in what could be strange two-handed moves.

India: legal proceedings against British communications network unveils geopolitical positions

To Be Updated: USAID is sponsoring YouTube channels

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)1 Comment

How Democracy Can Win: The Right Way to Counter Autocracy

The most important step the United States can take to counter foreign influence campaigns and disinformation is to help our partners promote media and digital literacy, communicate credibly with their publics, and engage in “pre-bunking”—that is, seeking to inoculate their societies against disinformation before it can spread. In Indonesia, for example, USAID has worked with local partners to develop sophisticated online courses and games that help new social media users identify disinformation and reduce the likelihood that they will share misleading posts and articles.

The United States has also helped Ukraine in its fight against the Kremlin’s propaganda and disinformation. For decades, USAID has worked to enhance the media environment in the country, encouraging reforms that allow greater access to public information and supporting the emergence of strong local media organizations, including the public broadcaster Suspilne. After Russia’s initial invasion of Ukraine in 2014, our work expanded to help the country’s local journalists produce Russian-language programming that could reach into Kremlin-occupied territories, such as Dialogues With Donbas, a YouTube channel that featured honest conversations with Ukrainians about life behind Russian lines. We also helped support the production of the online comedy show Newspalm, which regularly racks up tens of thousands of views as it skewers Putin’s lies. And even before Moscow’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022, we worked with the government of Ukraine to stand up the Center for Strategic Communications, which uses memes [memetic warfare], well-produced digital videos, and social media and Telegram posts to poke holes in Kremlin propaganda.

I still need to look into Newspalm. I’ll update if I find anything. As I don’t know Ukrainian, or Russian, I’m using Google translate for the following information. Note, this is all speculation!

Speculation:

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Google to expand misinformation ‘prebunking’ in Europe

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Google to expand misinformation ‘prebunking’ in Europe

The tech giant plans to release a series of short videos highlighting the techniques common to many misleading claims. The videos will appear as advertisements on platforms like Facebook, YouTube or TikTok in Germany. A similar campaign in India is also in the works.

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Google will announce its new German campaign Monday ahead of next week’s Munich Security Conference. The timing of the announcement, coming before that annual gathering of international security officials, reflects heightened concerns about the impact of misinformation among both tech companies and government officials.

Perfect timing!