by Oui
Mon Mar 30th, 2020 at 02:24:41 PM EST
Whether to go to war in Syria or Iraq or to manipulate public opinion for putting sanctions in place on "imaginary" adversaries, BIG government possess very powerful tools to weaponize information. Clearly with tech powerhouses like Google, Facebook, Alphabet, Appel and Amazon the global community faces an imbalance to preserve elections and democracy itself. A nice chat on Al Jazeera between whistle-blower Christopher Wylie and Filipino journalist Maria Ressa before an audience is a boost to morale to fight the fight.
In a world moving at a fast pace, the populist, conservative politicians will seize every opportunity of created chaos like today's COVID-10 Pandemic to move forward on their agenda of BIG BROTHER 21st Century style with no scruples.
What has already passed in Asia with China, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong will soon come to pass inside the European Union. The signs are there today!!
More below the fold ...
The attack on journalists by populist party leaders leads to subversion of truth and democracy. Today's social media and spread of hate leads to division, used by same politicians to their advantage and win elections. UK with the Tories, Brexiteers and Boris Johnson is a good example, with the same billionaires putting Donald Trump [Brazil's Bolsonaro] in power and guarantee that Bibi Netanyahu in Israel was handed a Stay-out-of-Jail card. Unfortunately, Dutch PM Mark Rutte is following suite as I have written quite often. The thrifty Dutchman supported by big multinationals and stimulating austerity for the less fortunate in society. Trickle down Mark? The Netherlands has a economy supported by flex workers, less workers rights and the new phenomena of self-employed with no safety net.
○ On-call work in the Netherlands: trends, impact and policy solutions | ILO Geneva |
Is Big Tech the New Empire? - Maria Ressa and Christopher Wylie | Al Jazeera Studio B Unscripted |
In this episode of Studio B: Unscripted award-winning Filipino journalist Maria Ressa and Cambridge Analytica whistle-blower Christopher Wylie discuss the weaponisation of information and how social media threatens democracy around the world.
In 2012, Ressa set up the digital news platform, Rappler, now particularly known for its tough scrutiny of the Duterte administration and his controversial "war on drugs". She is currently facing charges of fraud, tax evasion and cyber-liber, in what she says are politically motivated prosecutions.
Ressa was included in the Time's 2018 Person of the Year as one of a collection of journalists combating fake news.
Ressa talks disinformation at Jackson talk | Yale Daily News |
Faced with 11 charges imposed by Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte's government, Maria Ressa, the former CNN journalist, had to post bail eight times to be in New Haven on Tuesday. She spoke about her experience fighting against disinformation and defending journalism and democracy.
Despite the adversity she has faced, Ressa remains committed to defending free speech against "manufactured attempts" from Duterte's government to suppress it. Students, faculty and community members gathered in Horchow Hall to listen to her story and learn about Rappler, a company she founded to provide social justice-oriented media content in the Philippines.
"Why should you care about the Philippines? Why is our dystopian present your dystopian future? The problem is very simple," she said in the talk. "Authoritarian populist style leaders have used technology to make lies laced with anger and hate spread faster than facts. Without facts, you can't have the truth; without the truth, you can't have trust. Without any of these, democracy as we know it is dead."
The talk was hosted by the Jackson Institute for Global Affairs and moderated by U.S. Ambassador Harry Thomas Jr., a Kissinger Senior Fellow at Jackson. After Ressa discussed the global phenomenon of disinformation in both social media and Filipino state press, Thomas moderated a conversation that entertained questions from the audience surrounding Ressa's work and life mission.
FLAWS AND VULNERABILITY
I must compliment Dr. Fauci for convincing president Trump to pay attention to the numbers and outbreak modelling of COVID-19, which has hit the large metropolitan areas - BLUE - but will with a high degree of certainty spread in the coming weeks to the rural population of RED states where people will be infected, yet healthcare and hospitals are a Texas longhorn drive away.
○ The Weaponization of Information: The Need for Cognitive Security | Rand Corp. |