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Facebook didn't stop 10 billion impressions from 'repeat misinformers' during 2020 election cycle: report
April 13, 2021
Facebook does not need any more bad publicity. The company is currently being publicly scorned after more than 500 million users had their personal information leaked. It has also been faced with an antitrust suit endorsed by more than 40 states since last year, with reports alleging that CEO Mark Zuckerberg would intimidate potential competitors.
Now the big blue social media titan has some more bad press — namely, a new report which claims that it failed miserably in its promise to stop misinformation during the 2020 presidential election. Indeed, the report accuses Facebook of being so lax that the top 100 "repeat misinformers" on the site received millions more interactions than the combined total netted by the top 100 traditional U.S. media pages.
<p>Released by the online advocacy group Avaaz, the report argues that if Facebook had not waited until October (roughly one month before Election Day) before altering its algorithm to reduce the visibility of inaccurate and hateful content, it could have stopped roughly 10.1 billion views from accumulating on 100 pages that frequently disseminated misinformation in the eight months prior to the 2020 election. You read that right: 10.1 billion impressions of misinformation.</p><p>"Failure to downgrade the reach of these pages and to limit their ability to advertise in the year before the election meant Facebook allowed them to almost triple their monthly interactions, from 97 million interactions in October 2019 to 277.9 million interactions in October 2020 — catching up with the top 100 US media pages 2 (ex. CNN, MSNBC, Fox News) on Facebook," Avaaz reported.</p><p>The report noted that an October 2020 poll found that 44% of registered voters (or roughly 91 million people) saw false claims about mail-in voter fraud on Facebook, with 35% of registered voters (or roughly 72 million people) believing them.</p><p>The organization also noted that Facebook has rolled back many of the changes it made before the election, which is allowing right-wing conspiracy theories like <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvQO4YqT2Oc&t=2007s" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">QAnon and Stop the Steal</a> to thrive on the site. Avaaz says that they have identified 267 pages and groups, as well as many "Stop the Steal" groups, that have a combined 32 million followers and which spread "violence-glorifying content" based around the 2020 presidential election. More than two-thirds of these groups are in some way connected to QAnon, Boogaloo, militia-aligned or other violent far right groups. Despite violating Facebook's policies, Avaaz says that 118 of those pages and groups are still active.</p><p>Facebook denied the report's conclusions. As Facebook spokesperson Andy Stone told <a href="https://time.com/5949210/facebook-misinformation-2020-election-report/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Time Magazine</a>, "This report distorts the serious work we've been doing to fight violent extremism and misinformation on our platform. Avaaz uses a flawed methodology to make people think that just because a Page shares a piece of fact-checked content, all the content on that Page is problematic."</p>
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Florida GOP congressman and Trump loyalist Matt Gaetz may or may not have committed a crime connected with what we've learned from media reports: That he's being investigated by the Justice Department for sex-trafficking, which also might involve a 17-year-old girl, and, according to the the Daily Beast late last week, that he paid money to an accused sex trafficker, who then venmo'd money to a teen.
This article was originally published at The Signorile Report
<p><a href="https://signorile.substack.com/people/557771-michelangelo-signorile" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"></a>But it does appear as if he's anticipated, perhaps for years, that he one day might be the target of sexual allegations. With even Donald Trump now reportedly refusing a meeting with Gaetz, every day seems to bring new evidence of that.</p><p><br/></p>
<div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="99cc758680dee76f62d434c4b8e91d14" id="1653f"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-partner="rebelmouse" data-twitter-tweet-id="1381409120817909768"><div style="margin:1em 0">Matt Gaetz is denied a meeting with Donald Trump - CNNPolitics https://t.co/3JRykTHN64</div> — Daniel Uhlfelder (@Daniel Uhlfelder)<a href="https://twitter.com/DWUhlfelderLaw/statuses/1381409120817909768">1618188574.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p><br/></p><p>Former House member Katie Hill last week said <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/katie-hill-matt-gaetz-defended-her-to-possibly-cover-up-for-himself-2021-4" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">she now questions Gaetz's motives</a> in defending her back in 2019, <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/reflecting-2019-photo-scandal-rep-katie-hill-fully/story?id=69105515" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">when she resigned</a> from Congress amid a media-driven sex scandal.</p><p>Private nude photos from the past of the openly bisexual California Democrat with her then-husband — from whom she'd become estranged by 2019 — and another woman were published without her permission in a British tabloid while reports surfaced about Hill's involvement in a then recent inappropriate relationship with a female staffer.</p><p>"Who among us would look perfect if every ex leaked every photo/text?" Gaetz tweeted in response at the time.</p><p><br/></p>
<div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="096c4a38d656a5e026255ef452b067b0" id="74ef6"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-partner="rebelmouse" data-twitter-tweet-id="1187338202266460165"><div style="margin:1em 0">This is just absurd. The only person who seems to have a gripe is @RepKatieHill’s soon-to-be ex.
Who among us wou… https://t.co/augRT71bCT</div> — Matt Gaetz (@Matt Gaetz)<a href="https://twitter.com/mattgaetz/statuses/1187338202266460165">1571918461.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>So, a right-wing Republican was defending a progressive Democrat targeted by people trying to hurt her career via sexual allegations? And this was Matt Gaetz, the original MAGA attack dog.</p><p>It smelled back then, and it stinks to high heaven now.</p><p>Gaetz conveniently is using that defense of Hill in his own current defense. He vehemently denied the sex-trafficking allegations and illegal interactions with a minor <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/op-eds/rep-matt-gaetz-oped-the-swamp-is-out-to-drown-me-with-false-charges-but-im-not-giving-up" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">in an op-ed</a>, claiming the "swamp" is trying to take him down:</p><blockquote>I defended Rep. Katie Hill's "throuple" when her own Democratic colleagues wouldn't. I just didn't think it was anyone's business.<br/></blockquote><p>Of course, that defense is absurd, and insulting to Hill — comparing apples to oranges — but it is curious. And the curiosities don't end there. Gaetz, who, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/01/politics/matt-gaetz-photos-women/index.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">according to a recent CNN report</a>, shared sexually explicit photos and videos of women (with whom he had allegedly had sex) with colleagues on the House floor — among several issues the <a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/04/09/985851957/house-ethics-committee-investigating-florida-gop-rep-matt-gaetz" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">House Ethics Committee is now investigating</a> — killed a revenge porn bill when he was in the Florida House of the Representatives in 2014.</p><p>That is, he killed a bill that makes it a crime to share sexually explicit photos of others without their consent. The bill had passed the State Senate, but, <a href="https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-ne-matt-gaetz-revenge-porn-20210405-5qbme6ilzna3rhry6gzqeevwpq-story.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">according to the Orlando Sentinel</a>, a House committee chaired by Gaetz wouldn't take it up. When the bill did get a vote in both chambers a year later, only Gaetz and his roommate, Republican state Rep. John Tobia, voted against it.</p><p><a href="https://signorile.substack.com/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Share The Signorile Report</a></p><p>The former lawmaker who sponsored the bill, Republican Tom Goodson, <a href="https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-ne-matt-gaetz-revenge-porn-20210405-5qbme6ilzna3rhry6gzqeevwpq-story.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">told the Sentinel last week </a>that he'd met with Gaetz at the time, who explained why he was voting no:</p><blockquote>Matt was absolutely against it. He thought the picture was his to do with what he wanted…He thought that any picture was his to use as he wanted to, as an expression of his rights.<br/></blockquote><p>Since Gaetz reportedly shared photos on the U.S. House floor of his sex partners, it's not out of the realm of possibility that he's been doing that for years, even before he was in the Florida Legislature.</p><p>It might seem stupid to block or vote against a revenge porn bill — especially since it will pass overwhelmingly anyway, and your vote will stand out — but it might insulate you from being exposed for hypocrisy if a reporter found out you did in fact share photos without consent. (Or at least, a guilty legislator might think that was a good strategy.)</p><p>And that brings us to Gaetz being <a href="https://www.pnj.com/story/news/politics/2017/12/29/matt-gaetz-defends-lone-no-vote-anti-human-trafficking-bill/990407001/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">the only U.S. House member to vote against a human-trafficking bill in 201</a>7. Why would you bring that kind of attention to yourself? Did Gaetz again possibly calculate that it was better to vote against the bill and have a high-minded reason in case any other information one day was alleged? At the time, he said he voted against the bill because it was an example of "mission creep," and an "expansion of the federal government," and that he wasn't sent to Congress "to create more federal government."</p><p>Those statements reflect the Trumpian suspicion of the federal government that fuels the paranoia of anti-government groups — like those that attacked the Capitol on January 6th — and conspiracies about a dangerous "deep state" cabal in the federal government trying to take down conservatives and, in particular, Trumpists like Gaetz. Is it any wonder then that Gaetz over the weekend <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/matt-gaetz-sex-trafficking-twitter-deep-state_n_60723266c5b6c795e1546849" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">suggested</a> that he is a victim — a "wanted man" — of the "deep state" that may be trying to destroy him?</p><p>It's as if the very skepticism he expressed about the human-trafficking bill in 2017 — the supposed danger of big government — now fits neatly with his defense in 2021. And that will help him keep his paranoid, anti-government Trumpian following loyal to him and refusing to believe contrary evidence, even if more damning facts are revealed in coming days and weeks.</p>
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Rooted in white racism: The unrelenting Trump personality cult has a political precedent
April 13, 2021
The term "Trumpism," alluding to a cult of personality surrounding the 45th president, has penetrated the American vernacular. So much about Donald Trump and his presidency has been unprecedented. But in this case, the phenomenon is not new. A cult of personality also engulfed Ronald Reagan. Although these men are very different from one another in character, their cults of personality share similar qualities. Both were not always truthful, both made serious mistakes, and both were tinged with racism.
A political cult of personality means a strong admiration and devotion to a leader. Frequently, the leader spreads his fame widely through mass media. Followers become enamored to the point of idolizing the leader while overlooking or ignoring shortcomings. This characterizes the public life of both Trump and Reagan.
<p>Familiar to millions of Americans by appearing in movies and hosting the weekly General Electric Theater on Sunday night television, Ronald Reagan began a political career on October 27, 1964 with a nationally televised speech on behalf of Republican presidential candidate Barry Goldwater. It was a week before the election. The speech was filled with false claims about the overbearing U.S. government and unverified anecdotes. This was all to support Reagan's view that government needed to get out of the way of the economic freedom of the American people. Reagan falsely claimed that farmers could be imprisoned who did not cooperate with federal government programs, and that the Federal Reserve Board planned inflation.</p><p>Reagan also said, "We were told four years ago that seventeen million people went to be hungry each night. Well, that was probably true. They were all on a diet." Due to his building a cult of personality, this particularly callous and inaccurate quote was overlooked. When Reagan spoke, more than 36 million Americans were living in poverty, nearly one-fifth of the country. Following the formula of that speech, Reagan won the California governorship two years later by a landslide and would go on to win the presidency twice by equally impressive margins. The Reagan cult of personality enabled him to remain popular with his followers even when violating his own conservative principles. Throughout his political career, Reagan railed against big government deficit spending. But when the national debt rose by 189 percent, he suffered no political consequences. When Reagan admitted to misleading Americans during the Iran-Contra scandal, his popularity went down temporarily, but bounced back by the end of his presidency.</p><p>Donald Trump, like Reagan, gained fame with the American public through show business. Trump starred in a reality television show called <em>The Apprentice</em>. Many Americans assumed that Trump was the "boss" starring in his own program, but in reality Trump was an actor employed by a television production company, just as Reagan was an actor employed by the General Electric Company. <em>The Apprentice</em> gave Trump a favorable celebrity status leading toward a political cult of personality. While Reagan launched his political career with a televised speech, Trump began his with a nationally televised accusation that Barack Obama should not be president because he was not a natural-born U.S. citizen. With no proof other than his words, Trump claimed to have investigators in Hawaii uncovering evidence that Obama was not born there as his birth certificate indicated. "They couldn't believe what they're finding," Trump asserted. Several years later, shortly before winning the presidency, Trump admitted that he believed Obama is a U.S. citizen.</p><p>When Trump announced his presidential candidacy, he declared, "Sadly the American dream is dead." The campaign slogan became "Make America Great Again" That is not unlike Reagan's decrying big government for destroying our freedom. The Reagan 1980 campaign slogan "Morning in America" is not very different in meaning from the Trump 2016 slogan. Like Reagan, Trump deviated from facts to support political points. Examples of this are legion, from Trump's assertion that he saw thousands of Muslims on 9/11 cheering the collapse of the twin-towers to his claim of Obamacare imploding. One difference however is that Reagan's factual deviations usually served to buttress his political points, while Trump's were often to boost himself, from the false claim to have graduated from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania at the top of his class, and the boast of being a "very stable genius." That arrogance was not in Reagan's character.</p><p>Trump's personality cult protected him to some extent as it did Reagan. Trump's popularity was never high as Reagan's was. But his approval ratings always remained in the middle 40s, not dropping precipitously as in the case of Nixon and Carter for example. That is despite numerous scandals, including the Russia investigation, and a poorly-handled pandemic killing hundreds of thousands of Americans. In the end, 74 million Americans voted for Trump. The cult of personality remained intact.</p><p>Another and more sinister similarity in the Reagan and Trump cults of personality is white racism. Both men saw an opportunity to advance their political careers by appealing to white voters in a racially prejudicial way. In Reagan's 1966 campaign for governor he appealed to white voters disgusted with the "beatniks, radicals, and filthy speech advocates" as Reagan termed it. In his 1976 campaign for the Republican presidential nomination, Reagan frequently told the "welfare queen" story about a woman on welfare who allegedly defrauded the U.S. Government of $150,000. The story was significantly embellished, but was in keeping with Reagan's political views. He once called welfare recipients a "faceless mass waiting for a handout." He did not mention race, but the implication was abundantly clear that the welfare queen is black. In his 1980 presidential campaign, Reagan after winning the nomination, traveled to Mississippi to give a speech at the Neshoba County Fair to a white audience glorifying states' rights, which has long been the cry of white Southerners fighting civil rights. Neshoba County is the site where three civil rights workers were infamously killed in 1964.</p><p>Donald Trump's appeal to white racism has been more blatant. In August 2017, the Unite the Right rally occurred with one counter-protester killed. Trump said that "you also had people that were very fine people on both sides." One side had neo-Nazis, Ku Klux Klansmen, and Alt-Right people. In the last presidential campaign, Trump in numerous ways appealed to racism attempting to win re-election. For example, he condemned NASCAR for banning the Confederate flag. He condemned Black Lives Matter and predicted the "beautiful suburbs" will be destroyed by low-income housing if Biden wins. He blamed big city Democrats and their black voters for stealing the election, ignoring the fact that he lost battleground states because too many whites in the suburbs deserted him.</p><p>Two recent presidents have had cults of personality, although that is antithetical to democracy. That enabled both to win their party nominations and the general election. It gave both men the luxury of deviating from truthfulness and enabled Reagan to survive a severe scandal and Trump to be incompetent and scandalous while maintaining a significant base of popularity. This also indicates something ominous about America. If a candidate has a cult of personality, and develops a large number of devoted followers who believe he or she can do no wrong, it could potentially make white supremacy or other malignant elements of politics seem permissible, with unknown consequences for democracy.</p><p>Donne Levy is a retired community college history instructor. </p>
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