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Another large retailer has quietly pulled MyPillow from their shelves over election fraud fall-out: report
April 10, 2021
On Saturday, Business Insider reported that bulk retailer Costco appears to be quietly taking MyPillow products out of stock — although they won't comment publicly on the matter.
"The brand's products seem to have disappeared from the retailer's website," reported Grace Dean. "Insider spoke to a customer service worker from Costco via the company's website, who said there seemed to be no MyPillow products in stock at any of its stores near Brooklyn. They confirmed that none were listed for sale for online orders."
<p>"Insider asked Costco whether it had cut ties with the brand. The retailer declined to comment," continued the report. "This is a change from January, when <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/costco-selling-mypillow-despite-ceo-false-claims-election-fraud-2021-1?utm_source=markets&utm_medium=ingest" target="_blank">Costco said</a> that it had 'contractual commitments to MyPillow that we intend to honor' when asked for comment."</p><p>This comes after MyPillow was pulled from a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/where-to-buy-mypillow-and-what-companies-cut-ties-2021-1" target="_blank">number of other retailers</a> including Bed, Bath & Beyond and Kohls.</p><p>MyPillow, which in previous years drew criticism for <a href="https://www.consumerreports.org/my-pillow/my-pillow-health-claims-lawsuit-settlement/" target="_blank">unsupported health claims</a> and <a href="https://www.truthinadvertising.org/mypillows-bogo-50-off-claims/#:~:text=lawsuit%2C%20Amiri%20v.-,MyPillow.,50%25%20off%20promotions%20are%20deceptive." target="_blank">deceptive marketing practices</a>, has become a lightning rod for controversy as pro-Trump CEO Mike Lindell has embraced election conspiracy theories, which has led to a <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/23/dominions-lagainst-mypillow-lindell-is-definitely-not-the-last-ceo-says.html" target="_blank">$1.3 billion-dollar lawsuit</a> by Dominion Voting Systems.</p><p>Undaunted by the legal action, Lindell has doubled down on his behavior, claiming he will file a lawsuit that puts <a href="https://www.rawstory.com/mike-lindell-steve-bannon/" target="_blank">Trump back in office by August</a>, suggesting <a href="https://www.rawstory.com/mike-lindell-tantrum-fox-news/" target="_blank">Fox News may be "in on"</a> the anti-Trump conspiracy, and promising he'll create a <a href="https://www.rawstory.com/mike-lindell-frank-social-media-platform/" target="_blank">billion-member social network</a> where anti-vaxx content is allowed.</p>
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REVEALED: Leaked white supremacist chatroom messages show they are obsessed with promoting 'our guy' Tucker Carlson
April 10, 2021
According to a report from Media Matters, Fox News personality Tucker Carlson has a large fan club in a chatroom dominated by far-right extremists who make up the Identity Evropa movement and they are doing all they can to promote segments from his show.
The report, compiled with leaked comments show Carlson's nightly commentaries have become "many watches" for the racist group.
<p>According to the report, "On March 6, the nonprofit media organization Unicorn Riot released chat logs from a <a href="https://unicornriot.ninja/2019/neo-nazi-hipsters-identity-evropa-exposed-in-discord-chat-leak/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Discord server reportedly used by members of Identity Evropa</a>, a group <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/video/2018/10/17/nbcs-today-provides-white-supremacist-group-identity-evropa-platform-free-publicity/221713" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">attempting to sanitize white supremacy</a> by rebranding its racist beliefs as pro-white 'identitarianism.' The chat server's name, '<a href="https://discordleaks.unicornriot.ninja/discord/server/34" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Nice Respectable People Group</a>,' reflects Identity Evropa's focus on '<a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/8/10/17670996/alt-right-unite-the-right-nazis-charlottesville" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">optics</a>,' a strategy of intentionally rebranding away from obvious extremism to avoid the negative press that supposedly keeps their ideas from appealing to the mainstream."</p><p>According to those chat logs, Carlson is the subject of hundreds of chat messages "who extremists refer to with familiarity as 'Tuck' or 'Tucker' -- and can confirm that the white supremacists routinely turn on Fox News to watch him deliver messages aligned with their extremist cause," reports Media Matters.</p><p>The report adds, "The leaked chats clearly show the admiration that some of the Discord server users have for Carlson. They include users <a href="https://cloudfront.mediamatters.org/static/uploader/image/2019/03/07/Screen_Shot_2019-03-07_at_1.06.31_PM.png" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">praising the Fox host</a>, claiming that he's the <a href="https://cloudfront.mediamatters.org/static/uploader/image/2019/03/07/Screen_Shot_2019-03-07_at_12.56.26_PM.png" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">sole reason they tune in to cable</a>, and calling him 'a lone voice of reason in the media.' <a href="http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/is-he-our-guy" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Borrowing language</a> from anonymous message board 4chan, <a href="https://cloudfront.mediamatters.org/static/uploader/image/2019/03/07/Screen_Shot_2019-03-07_at_11.58.43_AM.png" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">white supremacists call Carlson 'our guy</a>' (users of 4chan have <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/blog/2018/11/01/rep-steve-king-takes-heat-ties-neo-nazis-white-supremacist-media-urge-racists-support-him/221963" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">anointed</a> white supremacist Rep. Steve King (R-IA) with the same title -- and they call <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/blog/2018/05/29/roseanne-has-been-channeling-4chans-racism-anti-semitism-and-conspiracy-theories-twitter/220322" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">far-right actress Roseanne Barr</a> 'our girl').</p><p>"Members of Identity Evropa praise the Fox host for '<a href="https://cloudfront.mediamatters.org/static/uploader/image/2019/03/07/Screen_Shot_2019-03-07_at_1.26.26_PM.png" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">doing divine work</a>' that has '<a href="https://cloudfront.mediamatters.org/static/uploader/image/2019/03/07/Screen_Shot_2019-03-07_at_11.35.01_AM.png" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">done more for</a>' white supremacists than they 'could ever hope to' do, while crediting <a href="https://cloudfront.mediamatters.org/static/uploader/image/2019/03/07/Screen_Shot_2019-03-07_at_1.02.13_PM.png" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Carlson's rhetoric with moving the Overton Window</a>, a measure of what's considered acceptable public discourse, closer to extremism," T the report adds. "In fact, they suggest staying within the limits of Carlson's rhetoric to be effective with mainstream conservatives, calling it 'the edge of the acceptable' and claiming that 'acceptable … moves toward us daily'."</p><p>You can <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/tucker-carlson/leaked-chat-messages-show-members-white-supremacist-group-identity-evropa-are" target="_blank">read more here.</a></p>
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Trump faces uphill battle over return to Facebook due to fears he'll incite more violence: report
April 10, 2021
On Saturday, Politico walked through why former President Donald Trump faces major obstacles to winning back his Facebook account.
"Facebook's oversight board is expected to rule in the coming weeks on whether to uphold or overturn Trump's indefinite suspension from the platforms, which the company imposed after the Jan. 6 Capitol riots over fears he might incite further violence," reported Christiano Lima. "The board, often likened to Facebook's Supreme Court, has the power to overrule decisions even by top executives like CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Its ruling on Trump will be the group's highest-profile yet, with momentous implications for U.S. politics and potentially the company's treatment of other world leaders."
<p>According to the report, Trump — who reportedly <a href="https://www.rawstory.com/trump-facebook-2650514795/" target="_blank">whined directly to Zuckerberg</a> that the board won't give him a fair shake — does have some points in his favor: the board has historically ruled against Facebook, and furthermore, Facebook for years stuck to an "overly narrow interpretation" of its own rules and the board could find their application to Trump was selective. Some experts think the board has <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-03-23/trump-s-facebook-ban-will-likely-be-overturned-by-new-oversight-board" target="_blank">clear incentives</a> to restore him.</p><p>The report adds, "Facebook took down more Trump posts immediately after the Capitol riots on Jan. 6, <a href="https://twitter.com/guyro/status/1346950532372393985" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">declaring it an "emergency situation"</a> and warning that his online rhetoric 'contributes to rather than diminishes the risk of ongoing violence.' It suspended him the following day."</p><p>But, Lima noted, there are more points in favor of Facebook's decision to ban Trump from the site.</p><p>First of all, Trump received plenty of warnings: "Trump spent years butting heads with Facebook over its standards, including posts before and after the election that the company either adorned with warning labels or took down entirely for making unfounded claims about the election or the coronavirus pandemic." Second, "None of the previous cases directly involved a government leader — let alone the leader of the free world, or one accused of inciting a deadly attack in the seat of his own democracy."</p><p>Another problem for Trump, noted the report, is that "researchers said they expect the oversight board to look at Trump's suspension through a wider human rights lens, which would put a greater emphasis on how Trump's speech could harm others."</p><p>You can read more <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2021/04/09/trump-facebook-suspension-oversight-board-480671" target="_blank">here</a>.</p>
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