Tag: Censorship

What Constitutes a Pro-Russian?

The idea to ponder what constitutes a pro-Russian political activist occurred to me while reading a recent article on Karlin’s blog about the rampant censorship of opposition media in Ukraine…

Anatoly Karlin made this statement:

Since the start of this year, the Ukraine has mounted an accelerating campaign to shut down all “pro-Russia” (apostrophes because more often than not they’re not so much explicitly pro-Russian, as merely less anti-Russian and more oppositionist than the mainstream) media.

Well, the climate in many East European countries is such that any conciliatory tone towards Russia is considered pro-Russian. That is, only hysterical Russophobia will do. You must believe any accusation towards Russia no matter how ridiculous that is. You must believe that not doing business with Russia is great thing. Otherwise, you will be branded pro-Russian, and will be cast out of polite society.

However, are any of these people branded pro-Russian any good for Russia? I have already questioned the pro-Russianness of Ukrainian political parties earlier on this blog. I am someone, who reads the Peremogi blog daily, and there is a central thesis there, no pro-Russian parties in Ukraine, and nobody Russia should trust. Well, I think the Russian official circles have already taken the memo to heart judging by attitude they take towards the various individuals branded as pro-Russian in Ukraine.

Here is something I found recently on the Peremogi. Recently there was a vote in the Ukrainian parliament on “addressing the UN to ask the countries of the World not to recognise the upcoming Russian parliamentary elections”. It was a classic ritualistic spitting in direction of Russia but let’s see how the pro-Russians voted?

None of the members of the Opposition Platform for Life voted against this motion. You would think that friends of Russia would vote against? So, whenever hysterical Russophobes accuse someone of being pro-Russian, the Russians should not take that at face value. Instead, before you call anyone “pro-Russian” ask these questions.

If he is Ukrainian or Belarusian, does he believe that his respective nations are a part of one Russian nation that was divided by the enemies of Russia? Or does he believe notions such as Ukrainians are more European than Russians, or more Slavic? Does he ever express those ideas in public?

The above is a fundamental of any pro-Russian sentiment among Eastern Slavs. You may further ask if they desire any integration with Russia. You might surprised how many of the pro-Russian start blathering something about sovereignty or neutrality. The latter is no pro-Russian sentiment.

If he is from the former eastern block, does he believe in normalizing trade relations with Russia? But a grade further would be, does he want any further economic integration with the Russian Federation?

Many of the Russophiles in Eastern Europe are nationalists and very much about self reliance, many support exiting the EU, and would not trade it for a Russian led union. And I am one of these.

Also, opposition to the glorification of Nazi collaborationists and defence of the Russian language in Ukraine are rather domestic issues than they are pro-Russian positions. Most Ukrainians use the Russian language daily, and most have ancestors that have fought the Nazis. Naturally, there is a part of the population that is receptive to such slogans. But anyone taking up these issues should not be automatically viewed as pro-Russian. Alexei Honcharenko once supported rights for the Russian language, but he switched sides after the Maidan.

It is without mentioning that any pro-Russian movement in Ukraine in the last 30 years was hopelessly unsuccessful and nothing worthy of Russian support…

Russia Slows Down Twitter

Roskomnadzor, the Russian agency that monitors and sanctions media has decided to slow down Twitter…

RIA Novosti reports that such a decision was taken because the website refuses to block illegal content. The moderators of Twitter have allegedly failed to remove 3,168 publications containing calls for suicide, child pornography and about the use of drugs.

That is, Roskomnadzor does not care that people with a pro-Russian opinion (see here and here) are massively being blocked by US social media sites, and they come up with a lame justification for why an American tech giant should have their work made more difficult in Russia.

I personally believe that American websites such as Twitter, Facebook, Google and YouTube ought to be blocked in Russia (a market of 150 million people) as an answer to US and Western sanctions. These billion dollar businesses would be easier to ban than food imports. It is not like Facebook is something you necessarily need for living.

There was Probably an Organized Effort Throughout Social Media Platforms to Censor Information Critical of Alexey Navalny

From Bloomberg:

Facebook Inc. removed a network of more than 500 Instagram accounts that originated in Russia and targeted audiences in support of anti-corruption activist Alexey Navalny, according to a new report from the social media company.

The campaign relied on fake accounts to post critical or irrelevant content with hashtags associated with protests in January that backed the imprisoned opposition leader, a phenomenon known as hashtag poisoning, said Nathaniel Gleicher, Facebook’s head of cybersecurity policy. The process involves posting irrelevant or critical content to drown out relevant information and redirect the conversation. In some cases, fake users posted memes suggesting protesters got Covid-19.

Facebook’s automatic systems often detected and removed the fake accounts, prompting the bad actors to create new ones, so there were never 500 accounts in operation at the same time, Gleicher said.

The social media campaign targeted domestic audiences throughout demonstrations attended by tens of thousands of protesters in dozens of cities over the weekends of Jan. 23 and 31. The protests provoked a violent response from authorities, who accuse Navalny of working with foreign governments to try to destabilize the regime.

A video on my YouTube channel showing a violent protester of North Caucasus origin fighting the police was removed on grounds that violence is not allowed on the website. However, my channel contains other videos that could be interpreted as violent, why was this chosen? Maybe because it was posted shortly after the protests and would conflict with the Western media narrative of the protesters being “mostly peaceful.” My Twitter account was suspended because I criticized Navalny. And this leads me to believe that there was a command from somewhere to censor any critical content related to Alexey Navalny.

Ukrainian Section of RFE/RL Goes Full Soviet With a Caricature of Anatoly Shariy

The RFE/RL was created by the US government as an alternative to the heavily censored media behind the Iron Curtain. Today its journalists cheer the censorship happening to government opponents in one of Murica’s client states…

The RFE/RL accuses Shariy of spreading manipulation and propaganda. That is perhaps true, I don’t know. But for those who know Russian, I recommend this interview. We see the hand of the Kremlin, although Shariy lives as an exile in the EU, namely in Spain. There he does a lot of work trying to bring attention to Nazi infestation of his homeland Ukraine. Ukraine’s secret service, the SBU are trying to accuse him of high treason for his subversive activities. Good luck with that.

Ukraine is a place where television channels are closed down, they are trying to shut Shariy up, and the RFE/RL and the US embassy fully supports this because these channels and Sharij are allegedly “pro-Russian.” Does that mean pro-Russians now have the objectivity ball in their court?

Update: Here is Dan Peleschuk of RFE/RL calling Shariy “toxic propaganda”. You see folks, toxic propaganda is anything critical of the Ukrainian government and any criticism of the Ukrainian government is from Putin.

Twitter Censors Eduard Dolinsky by Hiding his Profile

The reason I stopped using Twitter and Facebook is because of wanton censorship. A variety of blockages, shadow bans, termination of accounts is being deployed against a vast variety of people for an incredible range of transgressions. Sometimes you don’t even know what caused the ban you received. There is illegal content that should absolutely be removed from websites but most people are not sanctioned for any of that. And really, the correct answer, the minute you receive a ban is to stop using that site. There is Telegram, and everyone is posting there…

Now sometimes, the social media engage in a strange obstruction of content. Eduard Dolinsky is the head of the Ukrainian Jewish Committee and regularly posts information regarding the rampant rehabilitation of Nazi collaborators in Ukraine. This is what his Twitter page looks like when you load it…

So, apparently, brining attention to monuments to Nazis is including sensitive content. Look at the way the profile is hidden from view, as if it was deleted. This is a form of censorship as there isn’t a valid reason to hide his profile and its contents.

And his posts are equally hidden…

There is an option to change settings but I will not register to Twitter again.

Social Media Must be Punished for Censorship

The biggest commodity, the vital resource of the social media are the people. And the best reaction to censorship is to stop using the platforms that treated you this way…

Have these things ever happened to you?

  1. You have been sanctioned by social media moderators after trolling around certain political figures, or pages of political parties? Know that these figures have a direct contact to the moderators, who are tasked with censoring dissenting views. These politicians have purposely pressured Facebook and Twitter to do something about their trolls, that is anyone that disagrees with their actions and opinions.
  2. You have had your functions disabled or account terminated for an old entry that nobody was seeing. This is done for a simple reason, so that the people effected feel guilty of having committed a transgression.
  3. You have had your functions disabled or account terminated for something trivial like a joke about gay sex and the fashion industry, or a joke meme featuring some Nazi official. Neither was homophobic or promoted Nazism but they blocked you and deleted your profile anyway. Whether this is because they purposefully decided to persecute your online persona, or due to an algorithm should not interest you because at the end of the day, this is censorship.

Know this, if you hold pro-Russian, conservative, anti-immigration, anti-globalist views, they will censor you. The American social media are completely in the hands of liberal billionaires, who don’t care about people like you, and they despise you, and do not want you on their platform. This is why they have delegated their moderation to radical progressive leftists in the West, and anti-Russian neonazis in places like Ukraine. This is all motivated by political pressure, and secret service involvement.

But at the end of the day, you are their prized commodity, and they exist to serve you advertisement. If you are using them, you are making them money, and they censor you for your opinion, for having fun on their website? Why are you still using them? Why are you registering a new account when they delete your old one? Isn’t this type of draconian ostracism of your persona a reason enough to quit? After all, you make them money, even if your presence is worth few cents.

If you are reading this, you are probably a politically opinionated person. Well, guess what? Facebook no longer wants to be a space for politics! In the wake of the Capitol riots, they said they will not offer people political groups anymore. Apparently, the plebs have been sharing too much sensitive information, and that’s why it needs to be shut down. The question is, as a person involved in politics, is it not time to be looking for different avenues of communication?

Now, there other but related arguments for quitting social media. Your mental health and your productivity suffer and your personal life is invaded by a dealer of advertisement to a point where it becomes rather creepy. These days, I work on my PC and leave my phone in another room. I don’t even have YouTube videos playing on it anymore.

Twitter Blocks the Page of Sputnik V, the Russian Coronavirus Vaccine

In recent months numerous Russian entities have been blocked on American social media for no other reason than being Russian…

The Sputnik V account on Twitter has been blocked according to RIA Novosti.

I wonder, how long are the Russian authorities going to take this before they block American social media sites in the Russian Federation. These websites block Russian entries, clearly serve a hostile foreign power and at the same time operate in a market of 150 million people. There ways Russia can hit back at America economically, and this clearly is one of them.

Ask Your Normie Friends About Big Tech

I have decided to bother some of my friends by…

asking them about social media. It is a little brand awareness game where I ask my normie friends whether they know of any competitor to YouTube or Facebook.

It would seem to me that these two have a virtual monopoly on online video sharing and interpersonal communication.

Few of my normie friends have ever heard of platforms such as GAB or Bitchute, or the fact they were deplatformed by Big Tech companies, among them Google.

The latter, as the parent company of YouTube, denied a service to a potential competitor. This may be legal but monopolies certainly aren’t encouraged in other fields. Mind you, bakers can be tried in court for refusing to bake a cake for a gay couple.

A related poll I ran on Twitter, I got 16 respondents:

YouTube Leads Proudly the Mass Censorship of Right-Wingers by Big Tech

Do you think you still have a free speech if your voice is being censored by communication companies that have a virtual monopoly in your country, and are controlled by your political opponents?

Nick Fuentes, a right-wing rant boy got his YouTube channel vapourized by Google the other day because he has been a very naughty apparently:

“This account has been terminated due to multiple or severe violations of YouTube’s policy prohibiting hate speech,” the notice reads.

The removal comes just over one month after Google opted to demonetize the channel and end the far-right figure’s ability to earn revenue from advertisements.

At the time, a video on Fuentes’ channel centered around Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) and Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) was also removed for violating the site’s rules on hate speech.

In a statement to the Daily Dot, a YouTube spokesperson confirmed that the channel was terminated after receiving three strikes for hate speech within a 90-day period.

Source

Hate speech? That’s serious. As someone, who has listened to Nick Fuentes for a while, I must say he mocked mass immigration. Mocking mass immigration is off limits on YouTube now. But it ain’t hate speech.

On Bitchute  (The Bitchute mobile app was deplatformed by big tech and is not available on Android or iOS devices) there is a video of Nick Fuentes saying that the pressure to censor him came from timid liberals, that is conservatives rather than the left wingers, after he criticized some of them over their support for mass immigration.

James Tulp.jpg

In other news:

YouTube has removed a video of Rand Paul using the name of alleged Ukraine whistleblower Eric Ciaramella on the Senate floor, saying it contravened its community guidelines.

“We’ve removed hundreds of videos and over ten thousand comments that contained the name. Video uploaders have the option to edit their videos to exclude the name and reupload,” Ivy Choi, a spokeswoman, told Politico.

Source

Eric Ciaramella, Eric Ciaramella, Eric Ciaramella!