Media Issues
Chicago Teachers Union leader partied in Puerto Rico as teachers were herded back into schools
By Kristina Betinis and Jerry White, 6 January 2021
The incident exposed the class gulf between the union and rank-and-file educators, who are fighting to protect their lives as the Democratic Lightfoot administration forces a return to dangerous schools.
999 Anti-Russia campaign escalating in lead up to Biden inauguration
5 January 2021
999 CTU official travels to Puerto Rico, right wing uses to push to reopen Chicago schools
5 January 2021
999 Ford Ad
5 January 2021
The New York Times scapegoats medical workers in the tragic death of Dr. Susan Moore
By Benjamin Mateus, 31 December 2020
The New York Times has used Dr. Moore’s tragic death to promote its racialist narrative of American society and the COVID-19 pandemic.
999 Anti-Russia campaign
24 December 2020
The frenzied anti-Russia campaign in anticipation of Biden presidency
By Bill Van Auken, 19 December 2020
The unfounded charges of Russian hacking dominating the media along with talk of war and retaliation by leading Democrats constitute a deadly warning of what is to come.
New York City EMS worker receives massive support against right-wing smear by New York Post
By Clara Weiss, 18 December 2020
The Post piece prompted a big backlash on social media, and the paramedic’s remarkable rebuttal quickly went viral.
CNN, Spiegel double down on anti-Russia campaign over Navalny case
By Clara Weiss, 17 December 2020
This latest bogus “investigation” into the Navalny case marks yet a further escalation of the anti-Russia campaign.
New York Times smears COVID-19 whistleblower Rebekah Jones
By Genevieve Leigh, 14 December 2020
The Times is attempting to dig up completely irrelevant episodes from Jones’ past in order to discredit her work in exposing the state cover-up of COVID-19 cases.
New York Times, Washington Post feminist critics disparage The Queen’s Gambit
By Fred Mazelis, 11 December 2020
The Netflix series ignores identity politics, in favor of a humane and unselfish view of life.
The pandemic and the normalization of death
By Andre Damon and David North, 9 December 2020
The demand by the political and media establishment that society must prioritize “the economy” over the preservation of human life implies that mass death is essentially necessary and unavoidable.
The conspiracy to reopen schools
By Andre Damon, 1 December 2020
Despite a months-long media campaign claiming it is safe to reopen schools, every reputable scientific study has shown that closing schools is one of the most effective ways to contain the pandemic.
Ten years since WikiLeaks published the US diplomatic cables
By Thomas Scripps, 28 November 2020
WikiLeaks contributed to a growing recognition among workers and young people that state criminality and ruling class conspiracies are not accidents or the work of a few bad individuals, but the product of a whole social system based on the rule of competing oligarchies which must be overthrown.
999 Matt Taiibi interview with Andre Damon
27 November 2020
Censored Planet: University of Michigan research finds worldwide increase in internet censorship
By Kevin Reed, 27 November 2020
Data collected by a group of UM researchers has revealed that online interference is growing internationally and that “the world’s freest countries are not safe from internet censorship.”
Hailing election security, New York Times drops its “Russian meddling” narrative
By Barry Grey and Jacob Crosse, 26 November 2020
The fact that it is absent from the Times’ November 22 editorial makes absolutely clear one basic fact: the entire anti-Russia narrative is a deliberate fabrication.
Zoom cancels meetings at several universities on Zoom censorship
By John Conrad, 24 November 2020
Zoom’s dramatic escalation of censorship has major implications as schools, academic institutions as well as political organizations have become increasingly dependent on the platform to conduct classes, conferences and meetings.
Why are millions of Americans traveling for Thanksgiving as the pandemic rages?
By Niles Niemuth, 24 November 2020
Even as travel this week is expected to decline from last year, with many citing concerns over COVID-19 as a reason to stay home, the movement of tens of millions across the country threatens to massively accelerate the spread of COVID-19.
999 Reply to Jacobin on Biden
24 November 2020
Trump administration delays enforcement of TikTok ban
By Kevin Reed, 21 November 2020
The White House backed off from its threat to shut down the video-sharing app TikTok if its Chinese owner ByteDance did not divest itself of the popular social media platform to an American owner by November 12.
States certifying Biden victory despite Trump lawsuits, recount demands
By Patrick Martin, 19 November 2020
The effective cutoff date for Trump’s efforts to overturn the election through the courts is Dec. 8, when states submit their lists of presidential electors to the federal government.
New York City educators and parents must take control over online learning! Schools must stay closed until the pandemic is contained!
New York City Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committee, 19 November 2020
Our committee warns that the closure of schools is a temporary maneuver and we call on educators, parents and students to demand no resumption of in-person learning until a proven vaccine has been verified and distributed free of charge.
Vote breakdown shows class interests, not race, drove Trump’s defeat in Midwest “battleground” states
By Barry Grey, 19 November 2020
An analysis of the vote results in the three Midwestern “battleground” states that were key to Biden’s victory—Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin—confirms that the critical factor was a turn by substantial sections of white workers to oppose Trump.
Facebook censors IYSSE online meeting about Trump coup threat
By Kevin Reed, 18 November 2020
The blocking of a meeting about the post-election coup plotting of Donald Trump from being posted on Facebook is an example of the intensification of political censorship being carried out by the social media platforms against left-wing and socialist organizations and publishers.
Students, workers, and artists denounce censorship
Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters condemns Twitter’s suspension of IYSSE account
By Gabriel Black, 16 November 2020
The censoring of the IYSSE, at a time of growing interest in a genuine socialist perspective among young people has been met with an outcry and statements of protest.
Corporate damage control: Detroit News parrots management, UAW lies about COVID safety conditions at US auto plants
By Shannon Jones, 14 November 2020
The piece is a shameless attempt at damage control as the real situation, which is being documented by the World Socialist Web Site Autoworker Newsletter, is spiraling out of control.
Stop online censorship: Restore the Twitter account of the International Youth and Students for Social Equality (US)!
By Kevin Reed, 13 November 2020
In an act of online political censorship, Twitter has suspended the account of the International Youth and Students for Social Equality in the US.
As Biden popular vote lead hits five million
Trump, Republicans continue campaign to overturn election
By Patrick Martin, 12 November 2020
Republican efforts are focused on six states, all won by Biden: Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada.
Dr. Michael Osterholm, named to the Biden coronavirus taskforce, calls for a national lockdown
By Benjamin Mateus, 12 November 2020
President-elect Joe Biden has refused to call for a national lockdown despite Dr. Osterholm’s declaration that this is the only way to bring the pandemic under control.
Stop Trump’s conspiracy to nullify the 2020 elections!
By Socialist Equality Party (US) Political Committee, 11 November 2020
The events of the past 48 hours have made clear that President Donald Trump is refusing to accept his electoral defeat and is actively engaged in a coup to overturn the elections and establish a personalist dictatorship.
FBI seizes internet domain names it claims are part of Iranian influence campaign
By Kevin Reed, 7 November 2020
The Justice Department made vague assertions of “covert influence” and “pro-Iranian propaganda,” but presented no evidence of its allegations.
Social media platforms implement aggressive censorship during the 2020 US elections
By Kevin Reed, 6 November 2020
The major social media platforms took their political censorship operations into high gear on election day, including Facebook placing a fact checking label on every single post by anyone on their platform who is commenting or sharing content about the election in any way.
Google admits to censoring the World Socialist Web Site
By Kevin Reed, 4 November 2020
In an extraordinary public admission, Google CEO Sundar Pichai stated during congressional testimony on October 28 that the online search giant has been censoring content from the World Socialist Web Site.
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Glenn Greenwald resigns from the Intercept in protest against censorship
By Andre Damon, 4 November 2020
Glenn Greenwald, the most prominent collaborator of whistleblower Edward Snowden and a world-renowned critic of the US media and intelligence agencies, has resigned from The Intercept, the publication he founded in 2013, in protest against its attempts to stifle his reporting critical of the Democratic Party.
999 Vancouver, Washington police shooting/protests
2 November 2020
Missouri hospitals face being overwhelmed in latest surge of COVID-19 infections
By Cole Michaels, 2 November 2020
Hospital administrators across the state are raising the alarm, demanding the governor take action to limit the spread, including mandating masks, even as plans remain to reopen schools.
Kentucky State Police training documents approvingly cited Adolf Hitler
By Jacob Crosse, 2 November 2020
Exposed last week by a high school student newspaper, the slideshow reveals the mentality and training undergirding police departments across the US and internationally.
Health systems in the United States are facing growing strains with the surge in COVID-19 cases
By Benjamin Mateus, 29 October 2020
The number of US COVID-19 cases surpassed nine million yesterday, with 500,000 of these cases added to the ledger just in the last week.
As US vote total surges, Trump, Republicans seek to block counting
By Patrick Martin, 29 October 2020
Record numbers of voters have cast early votes or voted by mail, an indication of a growing politicization of the American population.
999 Threat to kidnap Phoenix mayor
29 October 2020
999 Comment on AFL-CIO and Trump coup
29 October 2020
Trump defends killer cops and police attacks on protesters in Philadelphia
By Jacob Crosse, 29 October 2020
Trump is using protests against the police murder of Walter Wallace, Jr. in Philadelphia to justify repression by federal, state and local forces against the eruption of mass opposition to his planned election coup.
National Guard sent to suppress protests over police murder in Philadelphia
By Jacob Crosse, 28 October 2020
The horrific shooting of 27-year-old William Wallace Jr. in front of his mother and brother ignited protests in his West Philadelphia neighborhood.
The New York Times attacks the First Amendment and embraces censorship of “disinformation”
By Kevin Reed, 28 October 2020
An essay published in the October 18 edition of the New York Times Magazine argues that online “disinformation” has rendered First Amendment rights to free speech “inadequate,” requiring government and social media censorship of “unfettered speech.”
999 AFL-CIO and the general strike
28 October 2020
Questions remain as to ties between police, border militias and Trump campaign in southwest US
By Chase Lawrence, 28 October 2020
Border militias in the Southwest have trained thousands of vigilantes with the same fundamental outlook as the men who plotted to kill Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. These groups have connections to individuals like Joe Arpaio, who is close to the Trump campaign.
Facebook deploying teams with advanced censorship tools in advance of the US election
By Kevin Reed, 27 October 2020
Citing concerns over election-related “chaos” and “violence,” Facebook is preparing—in collaboration with the US intelligence state—advanced software tools for implementing a censorship regime during November 3 and its aftermath.
999 Trump admin admits to herd immunity policy
27 October 2020
Prospect of right-wing violence and police repression hangs over US election
By Eric London, 27 October 2020
Additional details are emerging of right-wing plans for election day violence as police prepare to repress election night demonstrations.
999 The New York Times embraces censorship
27 October 2020
COVID rips through Michigan K-12 schools: record 29 new outbreaks reported last week
By Zac Corrigan, 27 October 2020
Altogether, there are now 99 total ongoing outbreaks that have led to 482 reported cases of COVID-19 among students, teachers and staff throughout Michigan.
A week before the US Presidential election, USPS management pushes forward unprecedented attacks on mail-in balloting
By Shuvu Batta, 27 October 2020
With the US Presidential election one week away, the United States Postal Service, led by GOP mega-donor Louis DeJoy, has ramped up the drive to privatization and to place a cloud over mail-in balloting.
Supreme Court ruling on mail-in ballots sets stage for stolen election
By Eric London, 27 October 2020
Monday’s Supreme Court ruling strips tens of thousands of Wisconsinites of their right to vote and facilitates Trump’s plot to remain in power no matter the popular vote.
Right-wing recall campaign seeks to remove Socialist Alternative’s Kshama Sawant from Seattle City Council
By Kayla Costa, 27 October 2020
The campaign to recall Kshama Sawant is led by the Democratic Party with the active support of Republican and far-right elements.
Trump escalates coup plotting with swearing-in of Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett
By Patrick Martin, 27 October 2020
The installation of Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett, without significant resistance by the Democrats, is a key step in Trump’s plans to hijack the presidential election.
999 AOC subordinates herself to Biden on CNN
27 October 2020
White House makes clear, “We’re not going to control the pandemic”
By Benjamin Mateus, 26 October 2020
In an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union” talk show, White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows made clear that the Trump administration has abandoned any effort to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.
999 The New York Times embraces censorship
26 October 2020
Mercenary group sued for hiring armed poll watchers for election day in Minnesota
By Kevin Martinez, 26 October 2020
The Council on American-Islamic Relations of Minnesota is suing Atlas Aegis for recruiting former Special Operations personnel to patrol polling places.
999 US election developments
26 October 2020
Activist with ties to Ohio Republican legislators plotted to kidnap and kill Governor Mike DeWine
By Eric London, 24 October 2020
Renea Turner is a Trump supporter linked to a group of state legislators who have threatened to impeach DeWine or have him “arrested” for his coronavirus lockdown actions.
As police continue to disobey orders
Right-wing groups sue Michigan over ban on weapons at polling stations
By Michael Anders, 23 October 2020
Three right-wing organizations have filed a lawsuit to overturn Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s order banning open carry of firearms at polling stations.
Corporate America puts its money on Biden and the Democrats
Part one
By Patrick Martin, 22 October 2020
Biden and the Democrats have significantly outraised Trump and the Republicans, with cash from Wall Street and Silicon Valley accounting for much of the difference.
Why does Jacobin Magazine downplay the danger of fascist violence?
By Eric London, 22 October 2020
A recent Jacobin article on the Michigan coup plot is aimed at reassuring its readers that there is “nothing to see here.”
As coronavirus infections spike across Midwest
Excess US deaths during COVID-19 pandemic top 300,000
By Benjamin Mateus, 22 October 2020
The estimate by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is nearly 50 percent higher than the official coronavirus death toll of 220,000 in the United States.
Fair Wayne Bryant, jailed for life for stealing hedge clippers, granted parole by Louisiana Pardon Board
By Helen Halyard, 21 October 2020
Imprisoned for life at the notorious Angola State Penitentiary in Louisiana on one count of attempted simple burglary, he was granted parole by a 3-0 vote of the state Parole Board, after being denied parole on three previous occasions.
999 Jacobin and Michigan plot
21 October 2020
999 Google anti-trust case
21 October 2020
Trump steps up fascist agitation, targeting Fauci
By Barry Grey, 21 October 2020
Fauci has already become a target of far-right Trump supporters. He and his wife have received death threats by email, phone and text message.
Federal Reserve data shows over 100 million in US out of labor force
By Jacob Crosse, 21 October 2020
The number reveals that despite claims of a falling unemployment rate, millions remain out of work as Congress refuses to pass coronavirus relief.
999 Trump-Biden town halls
17 October 2020
Twitter and Facebook censor New York Post report on Hunter Biden
By Kevin Reed, 17 October 2020
The social media platforms Twitter and Facebook blocked and suppressed the sharing of links to a news article from the New York Post on Wednesday in a blatant act of online censorship.
Who is Barry County, Michigan Sheriff Dar Leaf?
By Joseph Lorenz, 17 October 2020
The extent of Leaf’s political connections to the fascist groups remain unclear, but his own political history highlights the rise of the far right into the mainstream of US politics and the danger posed by these fascists in the coming period.
US border police attack Native American protest against Arizona border wall
By Adria French, 17 October 2020
Thirty protesters were shot with rubber bullets and teargassed during a ceremony Monday held at a border checkpoint on O’odham lands in southern Arizona.
Democrats let Amy Coney Barrett sail through Supreme Court confirmation hearings
By Barry Grey, 17 October 2020
In the course of the hearings, the Democrats deliberately downplayed the connection between the rush to confirm and install Barrett on the Supreme Court and Trump’s conspiracy to carry out an election coup.
Questions surround role of presidential adviser Stephen Moore
Trump calls Whitmer “dictator” as evidence emerges of involvement of Wisconsin militia in Michigan coup plot
By Eric London, 16 October 2020
A transcript of a preliminary hearing held Tuesday in the federal case against conspirators in the Michigan coup plot makes clear that only a fraction of the details have yet been exposed.
Factional warfare erupts in New York Times over the 1619 Project
By Tom Mackaman and David North, 15 October 2020
Following the publication of a highly critical essay by a New York Times columnist, the public statements issued by the publisher and leading editors reflect tensions provoked by the exposure of the 1619 Project’s falsification of history.
Day two of hearing for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett: Democrats maintain silence on White House plot to overturn election
By Barry Grey, 14 October 2020
At Tuesday's hearing, the Democrats adopted a posture of cringing respect for the far-right judge, echoing Biden's remark in last month’s presidential debate that she is “a very fine woman.”
Trump intensifies conflict with big tech over Section 230 protections following censorship moves by Facebook and Twitter
By Kevin Reed, 10 October 2020
After Facebook and Twitter both censored Trump for falsely comparing the coronavirus to the flu, the president called for a repeal of the law protecting social media companies from liability for content posted on their platforms.
Trump copies Hitler
6 October 2020
A video tweeted by President Trump depicting his return to the White House on October 5, 2020 after being hospitalized with COVID-19 was clearly modeled after Hitler's arrival at the 1934 Nazi Party Congress in the Nazi film Triumph of the Will.
Trump mobilized Republican-state army to suppress DC protests in June coup attempt
By Nick Barrickman, 5 October 2020
An investigation conducted by the Washington Post details how Trump utilized a legal loophole to deploy National Guard troops from various states on the streets of Washington D.C. to suppress protests on June 1.
New York Times echoes Trump’s attacks on “violent anarchists”
By Jacob Crosse, 3 October 2020
Times editorial board member Farah Stockman attacks supposed anarchists from the standpoint of the privileged African American upper middle class.
A tale of two leaks
NYT hailed for publishing Trump’s tax returns, Assange pilloried for exposing DNC-Clinton corruption in 2016
By Oscar Grenfell, 30 September 2020
The New York Times, having led the chorus against WikiLeaks for its exposure of Clinton and the Democrats in 2016, has discovered the virtues of the fearless publication of leaked documents in the 2020 election.
US escalates military intervention in Syria
By Bill Van Auken, 22 September 2020
The bolstering of the US force with another 100 troops, armored vehicles, and air power heightens the threat of confrontation between the world’s two biggest nuclear powers.
Louisville police chief declares “state of emergency” in advance of state’s decision on charges against policemen who killed Breonna Taylor
By Kevin Reed, 22 September 2020
Federal police agencies have been requested by U.S. Attorney Russell Coleman to provide protection for the courthouse and three other buildings in downtown Louisville in anticipation of protests this week.
Devastation left in the wake of Hurricanes Sally and Laura along the US Gulf Coast
By J. L'Heureau, 22 September 2020
The region stretching from Texas to Florida remains locked in the crosshairs of a historically overactive hurricane season.
The New York Times and Nikole Hannah-Jones abandon key claims of the 1619 Project
By Tom Mackaman and David North, 22 September 2020
The Times has abandoned, without any public announcement or explanation, the central thesis that 1619, not 1776, was the “true founding” of the United States.
Supreme Court fight deepens political crisis surrounding US elections
By Patrick Martin, 21 September 2020
The death of liberal justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has created a vacancy on the highest US judicial panel that President Trump aims to fill with an ultra-right nominee.
President Trump gives preliminary approval to takeover of TikTok by Oracle and Walmart
By Kevin Reed, 21 September 2020
In an unprecedented act of imperialist piracy, the assets of Chinese-owned video sharing app TikTok are being handed over to Oracle, Walmart and group of private investors.
The death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg (1933-2020)
By Tom Carter, 21 September 2020
With around-the-clock tributes, the American media is presenting the late Supreme Court justice as a “progressive icon” and a “trailblazing feminist.”
Corporate publications hostile to revelations that CIA spied on Julian Assange and their own journalists
By Oscar Grenfell, 21 September 2020
Corporate publications rebuffed requests that they publish information on the spying, even when it targeted their own journalists.
As Bloomberg pledges $100 million, Wall Street boosts Biden campaign
By Patrick Martin, 15 September 2020
Bloomberg’s announcement is only the largest pledge of support from the financial oligarchy for the Democratic campaign.
Los Angeles Sheriff threatens violence, reporter arrested after shooting of deputies
By John Andrews, 15 September 2020
After the shooting of two deputy sheriffs by an unknown gunman in Compton, California, Los Angeles Sheriff Alex Villanueva threatened anti-police violence protesters and deputies roughed up and arrested a local reporter.
Bernie Sanders offers left gloss to Biden’s right-wing campaign
By Jacob Crosse and Barry Grey, 15 September 2020
With polls tightening, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders urged the Biden campaign to do a better job of selling its right-wing program to workers and youth.
Once more: What has happened to the #MeToo witch-hunt?
By David Walsh, 8 September 2020
From October 2017 onward, through at least the first few months of 2020, the American media was alive—and one might say aglow—with lurid allegations of sexual misconduct directed against prominent figures in the arts and elsewhere.
The killing of Michael Reinoehl: A state murder
By Niles Niemuth, 7 September 2020
Reinoehl’s death was a state-sanctioned killing, carried out with the support of the Justice Department and the White House.
Boycott by professional athletes expands in second day of protests against police violence
By Kevin Reed, 28 August 2020
The boycott among professional athletes expanded on Thursday in response to the brutal police shooting of 29-year-old Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
The Republican National Convention: A frightened ruling class incites fascist violence
By Patrick Martin, 27 August 2020
The convention, dominated by hysterical threats against left-wing political opposition, took place against the backdrop of a shooting of demonstrators by a right-wing vigilante.
Far-right militia member arrested for fatally shooting two protesters and wounding a third in Kenosha, Wisconsin
By Jacob Crosse, 27 August 2020
Video posted on social media shows friendly interaction between Kenosha police and armed militia members just prior to the murderous assault on demonstrators.
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