US military hijacks social media

The United States military is developing software that will let it secretly manipulate social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter by using fake online personas to influence Internet conversations and spread pro-American propaganda.

A Californian corporation has been awarded a contract with US Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees US armed operations in the Middle East and Central Asia, to develop what is described as an "online persona management service" that will allow one US serviceman or woman to control up to 10 separate identities based all over the world.

The project has been likened by Web experts to China's attempts to control and restrict free speech on the Internet. Critics are likely to complain that it will allow the US military to create a false consensus in online conversations, crowd out unwelcome opinions and smother commentaries or reports that do not correspond with its own objectives. (Source)

Original picture courtesy Evan Vucci/AP

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Google: Don't be evil...

Found this in my "to be published" folder.
Can't but still publish it.

Via MParent77772

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Wikileaks in the land of the not-so-free

No, I don't want to follow the populistic trend to write something about Wikileaks because it is the talk of the town. Neither am I sure if publishing classified political correspondence is really whistleblowing, contributing to reveal abuse, miss-use, corruption or misappropriation - what the original intent of Wikileaks was. Apart from most of what was revealed, does not really come as a surprise to those living with their eyes and mind open in This Brave New World, dominated by the Coca-Cola's, Monsanto's, Cargill's and McDonald's and all other Fine American Products.

However, I do regret the concerted efforts to gag Wikileaks by no matter what means. Be it Amazon Web Services, which hosted Wikileaks for a while, banning the site from its servers, under alleged pressure from the US government, ditto action by EveryDNS, its US-based DNS server (though said because they could not handle the DDOS hacking attempts) and today the blocking of their fundraising through Paypal, the US-(surprise!) based electronic payment service.

And if it would only stay at that level,... but it did not. US' finest, Sarah -OMG- Palin chipped in by saying Assange should be "hunted down like the al-Qaeda leadership". Include also the public call for Assange's assassination by Flanagan, an senior advisor to the Canadian PM, and it leaves me with many questions.

Where does that leave us with freedom of speech? Is that only valid if we say what "those in power" approve of? Are the main stream media that controlled, for independent whistle-blowing sites to become this popular, and -in my opinion- a public must-have? And if things are leaked, to what efforts will the governments go to stop the leaks. ...As if with the current social media, they could ever stop them...

Update Dec 6 2010: All of that was written before Wikileaks today's publication of worldwide installations the US considers critical to its security and the public health of US citizens. To me, this is no long whistle-blowing, but a cheap way of targeting a state by revealing classified information.
If anyone (within a government, company, organisation) would publish any document not meant for the general public, claiming to whistle-blow or hiding behind freedom of speech, then we're in for an interesting twist. The right to freedom of speech, also comes with the obligation of using common sense, respect and ethics.

Cartoon by Samir Alramahi/Toonpool discovered via The Rag Blog

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2008 Press Freedom, and freedom of expression today.

Reporters Without Borders wrapped up their 2008 press freedom report.

In short, this year:

- 60 journalists were killed
- 1 media assistant was killed
- 673 journalists were arrested
- 929 were physically attacked or threatened
- 353 media outlets were censored
- 29 journalists were kidnapped
- 1 blogger was killed
- 59 bloggers were arrested
- 45 bloggers were physically attacked
- 1,740 websites were blocked, shut down or suspended

Talking about freedom of expression. On Newsvine, I read an article about the war in Gaza today. The article starting with:

"As a young American living here in Israel the recent events in Israel have been terrible. Without getting into the discussion of ideology I want to talk about events."

I found the article quite polarized with a lack of relativation and I posted a comment:

"Mmmm... Stories told from either end are always coloured."

A few hours later, my comment was deleted by the article's author.

I could not but resubmit a comment:

For an article and a discussion that throws around the word 'truth', I see plenty of reason why my comment should be removed. I totally agree my comment was inflammatory, insulting, and discriminating... Sheez, says something about your opinion of "truth", guys... Which one? Yours? So, you are going to delete this comment now too?

So, for an interesting exchange of relativating views, engaging in an open discussion where clearly views from both sides are solicited, read the article and its comments and judge for yourself ;-)

Update:
Well, surprise. My second comment was deleted too :-)
I guess what stroke me the most of this (minor) incident, is not the issue of 'freedom of expression' itself, but the combination of the subject -the conflict in the Middle East-, and the unwillingness to even consider there is 'a view from the other side'..
Getting off my high horse now. It is the year's end. Time for more positive thoughts. Let's hope 2009 brings a solution for the suffering in both Palestine and Israel. An end to the suffering on both sides.

Update#2: Well it seems more people were thinking like I did, and similar comments came out on the post... Apparently more than the author could delete... There might still be hope for a freedom of expression. :-)

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Free press, the first step to freedom from poverty?

Some say the chronical cycle of poverty in Africa is partially caused by the corruption and un-accountability from governments or individual heads of state.

An independent and free press could be the significant step out of this vicious circle.

Tanzania recently took such a step, with the recent creation of the Tanzania Media Fund (TMF).

TMF's goal is to create an open society where all people can access information, express views and debate issues. They want to achieve this through "an independent, quality, diverse and vibrant media in Tanzania by enabling investigative and public journalism and facilitating critical reflection and learning".

TMF’s work in Tanzania is centered on three objectives:
1. To improve the skills and capacity of journalists and media institutions.
2. To increase both the quantity and quality of investigative and public interest journalism.
3. To encourage the media to play a more critical role in ensuring accountability among public and private sector actors.

Discovered via Pernille. Picture courtesy AFP and BBC.

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News: After blocking YouTube and WordPress, Turkey now bans Blogger

TalkTurkey reports:

You have Blogger? Turkey has Blocker!

First, it was Wordpress. Then YouTube. And now Blogger, world's largest 'free' blog service, is blocked or banned in Turkey.

Why? What difference does it make? What's next? The Internet?

BasBasBas reports:

Since today, whoever tries to access Blogger or any *.blogspot.com domain from Turkey will get the (above) message on (their) screen.

This is the same message we get if we try to visit YouTube, which is also banned in Turkey. In the past blogging platform Wordpress.com has been banned as well, to much dismay of many Turkish bloggers.

Turkey’s EU ambitions seem paradoxical to the infringement on the freedom of press and speech of its citizens, residents and visitors by banning sites like this. This is not China. This has to stopped. Good thing the EU’s making a blacklist of censoring countries and are creating software for people in censoring countries to use to overcome the censorship (Global Online Freedom Act).

[Ed: Turkey: a member of NATO, and pushing hard to become part of the EU... It looks like one of the basic conditions of democracy, freedom of expression, is not even met.]

More posts on The Road about press freedom and Turkey

Cartoon courtesy TalkTurkey and BasBasBas. Discovered via Global Voices Online and For Those Who Want To Know

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News: NSA illegal wiretapping targets journalists and aid workers

A top secret NSA wiretapping facility in Georgia accused of spying on Americans illegally was hastily staffed with inexperienced reservists in the months following September 11, where they worked under conflicting orders and with little supervision, according to three former workers at the spy complex.

Former Army Reserve linguist Adrienne Kinne, who worked at the facility at Fort Gordon, claimed she and her group intercepted and transcribed satellite phone calls of American civilians in the Middle East for the National Security Agency. The senate intelligence committee opened a probe into the alleged abuses after a ABC News report this week.

Aid workers and journalists were specifically targeted in the program, and their phone numbers were added to a "priority list", Kinne said (video). Among those under surveillance were workers from nongovernmental organizations such as Doctors Without Borders, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the United Nations, as well as journalists staying in Baghdad at the time of the Iraq invasion.

If the allegations are true, it would seem to indicate that warrantless spying of Americans approved by President Bush following 9/11 expanded rapidly beyond U.S. borders to citizens overseas, notwithstanding United States Signals Intelligence Directive 18, or USSID 18 -- an NSA rule that bars overseas surveillance of Americans without authorization and probable cause. (Full)

A spokesman for Doctors Without Borders, Michael Goldfarb, said: "The abuse of humanitarian action through intelligence gathering for military or political objectives, threatens the ability to assist populations and undermines the safety of humanitarian aid workers."


More posts on The Road about press freedom and privacy.

Picture courtesy the U.S. Army and Wired.

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News: RSF's 2007 Press Freedom Overview: 86 journalists killed

Reporters without Borders (RSF) published their 2007 Press Freedom Roundup.

It seems journalists had even a rougher time than aidworkers, in 2007:
86 journalists were killed around the world last year, a sad figure steadily rising since 2002 - from 25 to 86 (+ 244%). This is the highest casualty rate since 1994, when 103 journalists were killed, nearly half of them in the Rwanda genocide, about 20 in Algeria’s civil war and a dozen in the former Yugoslavia. More than half those killed in 2007 died in Iraq.

Some sad statistics:

• 86 journalists and 20 media assistants were killed
• 887 arrested
• 1,511 physically attacked or threatened
• 67 journalists kidnapped

And more on press freedom itself:

• 528 media outlets censored
• 37 bloggers were arrested
• 21 bloggers physically attacked
• 2,676 websites shut down or suspended

Check out also their 'Press Freedom Predators'

Link found via Jackfruity. Picture courtesy World Press Freedom Day

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