Category: Media

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Media In Canada Obedient To Gov’t Covid Narrative Largely Because Of Subsidies

Justin Trudeau (or his clone), and Theresa Tam take questions from the obedient and largely compliant media. Some highlights from the video include:

[1] No clear answer given about quarantine camps
[2] Journalists asked to be puppets and discredit alternative sources
[3] Social media censored/demonitized, made invisible by algorithm
[4] Information should be checked against official sources — not necessarily for accuracy
[5] Asking people to do testimonials, no specification it be true
[6] Innoculate people “from vaccine misinformation”
[7] Public should only trust official sources

One has to wonder why there is no skepticism whatsoever shown, and why members of the media are toeing the line like this. And there is a simple answer: money.

1. Other Articles On CV “Planned-emic”

The rest of the series is here. Many lies, lobbying, conflicts of interest, and various globalist agendas operating behind the scenes. The Gates Foundation finances: the WHO, the US CDC, GAVI, ID2020, John Hopkins University, Imperial College London, the Pirbright Institute, the BBC, and individual pharmaceutical companies. Also: there is little to no science behind what our officials are doing; they promote degenerate behaviour; the Australian Department of Health admits the PCR tests don’t work; the US CDC admits testing is heavily flawed; and The International Health Regulations are legally binding. See here, here, and here. Our democracy is thoroughly compromised, as shown: here, here, here, and here.

2. Important Links

Reminder: 2018 Fall Economic Update To Subsidize Journalism
2019 Budget For Canada

CLICK HERE, for Digital News Subscription Tax Credit.
https://archive.is/4of5V
WayBack Machine Archive

CLICK HERE, for Refundable Labour Tax Credit (25% of salaries)
https://archive.is/SKSh1
WayBack Machine Archive

CLICK HERE, for Canadian Periodical Fund. ($1.5M limit)
https://archive.is/yZP02
WayBack Machine Archive

CLICK HERE, for April 2020 announcement on media subsidies
https://archive.is/53cVu
WayBack Machine Archive

CLICK HERE, for Special Measures For Journalism (Covid)
https://archive.is/4JeLG
WayBack Machine Archive

3. Reminder Of $595M Media Grant In Nov 2018

Support for Canadian Journalism
A strong and independent news media is crucial to a well-functioning democracy. It empowers citizens by providing them with the information they need to make informed decisions on important issues, and also serves to hold powerful institutions—including governments—to account by bringing to light information that might not otherwise be made available to the public. In short, strong and independent journalism serves the public good—for Canada, and for Canadians. Canadians have a right to a wide range of independent news sources that they can trust, and government has a responsibility to ensure that Canadians have access to these kinds of news sources.

A New Non-Refundable Tax Credit for Subscriptions to Canadian Digital News Media
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To support Canadian digital news media organizations in achieving a more financially sustainable business model,
the Government intends to introduce a new temporary, non-refundable 15-per-cent tax credit for qualifying subscribers of eligible digital news media.
.
In total, the proposed access to tax incentives for charitable giving, refundable tax credit for labour costs and non-refundable tax credit for subscriptions will cost the federal government an estimated $595 million over the next five years. Additional details on these measures will be provided in Budget 2019.

It was 2 years ago that this media subsidization was covered on this site. See page 40 in the report. The goal was to keep otherwise unprofitable media afloat usin taxpayer money in order to hold the Government to account, and to promote diverse ideas.

Now, if holding the Government to account, and promoting viewpoint diversity were the results, then it “may” be worthwhile. But as we will see, that’s not the goal at all.

4. 2019 Budget Includes These Measures

Supporting Canadian Journalism
A strong and independent news media is crucial to a well-functioning democracy. Recognizing the vitally important role the media play in helping citizens make informed decisions about important issues, in the 2018 Fall Economic Statement the Government announced its intention to introduce three new tax measures to support Canadian journalism:
• A new refundable tax credit for journalism organizations.
• A new non-refundable tax credit for subscriptions to Canadian digital news.
• Access to charitable tax incentives for not-for-profit journalism.
As previously announced, the Government will establish an independent panel of experts from the Canadian journalism sector to assist the Government in implementing these measures, including recommending eligibility criteria. Given the importance of ensuring that media outlets are able to operate with full independence, the Government proposes to establish an independent administrative body that will be responsible for recognizing journalism organizations as being eligible for any of the three measures.
Further details are available in Tax Measures: Supplementary Information.

That’s from page 173 of the 2019 budget. The goal is to provide: (a) tax credits for organizations; (b) tax credits for subscribers; and (c) further tax incentives for NFP journalism. More details are listed on page 373.

Of course, there will be an “independent panel” deciding on who gets this money. It can’t be too independent, since real journalists call out the lies and fabrications of governments.

5. Digital News Subscription Tax Credit

Qualifying subscription expense
A qualifying subscription expense is the amount a subscriber paid in the year for a digital news subscription with a QCJO that does not hold a license as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Broadcasting Act. To qualify for the credit, a digital news subscription must entitle an individual to access content in digital form that is primarily original written news.

How to apply
A new form, T622, Digital News Subscription Tax Credit, and process will be published so that organizations can get confirmation that the subscriptions they offer are eligible as qualifying subscriptions. Eligible subscriptions will be published on the CRA’s webpages.

Organizations whose subscriptions no longer qualify for the credit are required to inform their subscribers.

How to claim the credit
Individuals who have entered into an agreement with a QCJO for a qualifying subscription that is eligible, can claim the credit on their income tax return for the years 2020 to 2024.

This essentially amounts to pushing propaganda, since the Government can easily decide what does and does not count as a Qualifying Canadian Journalism Organization. It effectively subsidizes (at taxpayer expenses), outlets and topics it wants to see advanced.

However, this is not the only subsidy that is now in place.

6. Refundable Labour Tax Credit (25% Of Salary)

1. What is the proposed new refundable labour tax credit?
The budget proposes to introduce a new refundable labour tax credit (Tax Credit) on qualifying labour expenditures (Qualifying Labour) payable to an eligible newsroom employee of a qualifying journalism organization (Qualified Organization).

4. What is Qualifying labour?
Qualifying Labour for a taxation year includes the salary or wages payable by a Qualified Organization to an eligible newsroom employee in respect of the portion of the taxation year throughout which the organization is a Qualified Organization. The salaries and wages will be reduced by the total of all amounts of assistance that a Qualified Organization received or is entitled to receive in respect of the salary of eligible newsroom employees. The amount of Qualifying Labour will be limited to $55,000 in respect of each eligible newsroom employee.

5. What salary and wages are eligible as Qualifying Labour?
Qualifying Labour will include salary and wages payable to an eligible newsroom employee in respect of a period on or after January 1, 2019. As such, salary and wages that are in respect of a period before January 1, 2019 will not be Qualifying Labour. In addition, salary and wages will be Qualifying Labour of an organization only if they are in respect of a period throughout which the organization is a Qualified Organization.

6. What is an eligible newsroom employee?
An eligible newsroom employee, in respect of a Qualified Organization in a taxation year, means an individual who:
is employed by the Qualified Organization in the taxation year; works, on average, a minimum of 26 hours per week throughout the portion of the taxation year in which the individual is employed by the Qualified Organization; at any time in the taxation year, has been, or is reasonably expected to be, employed by the Qualified Organization for a minimum period of 40 consecutive weeks that includes that time; spends at least 75% of their time engaged in the production of news content, including researching, collecting information, verifying facts, photographing, writing, editing, designing and otherwise preparing content; and meets any prescribed conditions.

Up to 25% of an employee’s salary (of the first $55,000) would be subsidized by the Government, or more correctly, by taxpayers. This means potentially $13,750 of an employee’s salary in total, and that’s per employee. This is designed for full time media outlets.

But these handouts aren’t limited to full time media outlets. Even part time, or infrequent periodicals can benefit from the taxpayer money.

7. Canada Periodical Fund ($1.5M Limit)

Limits of government assistance
Except for farm periodicals, we can fund up to $1.5 million per periodical.
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Publication receiving the Government of Canada Refundable Labour Tax Credit (RLTC) are ineligible to the Aid to Publishers component of the Canada Periodical Fund.
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The total financial assistance received from the Aid to publishers component of the Canada Periodical Fund and other levels of government (federal, provincial, territorial and municipal) cannot exceed 75% of any publisher’s total expenditures for the creation, production, marketing and distribution of magazines and non-daily newspapers.

The Canadian Periodical Fund will provide a magazine or non-daily publication with up to 75% subsidization, or $1.5 million, whichever is less. Although there are rules as to how much the publication must produce anyway, it’s still a significant amount of taxpayer money.

Also note: there is the disclaimer that “periodicals that contain offensive content in the opinion of the department of Canadian Heritage” may not receive funding.

8. Special Measures For Journalism (Covid-19)

And in case the magazine or periodical doesn’t qualify for subsidies under the Canadian Periodical Fund, there is a new program announced, the “Special Measures For Journalism”. That’s right, a special program to prop up alternative media outlets during this “pandemic”.

Objectives and expected results for the Special Measures for Journalism component
The purpose of the Special Measures for Journalism component is to provide short-term emergency financial relief to Canadian magazines and community newspapers during the COVID-19 crisis in 2020. The component will provide funds for the 2020-2021 fiscal year, to publishers that have a free circulation model or low levels of paid circulation, or are published in digital format. Please note that daily newspapers will not be eligible to this new component.

The component provides a flexibility to allow publishers to direct funds to the areas of greatest need. Recipients can spend the funds on a variety of publishing activities, such as content creation, production, distribution, or business development.

This initiative is above and beyond the $595 million expense that was announced back in 2018. This is specifically to keep media outlets going “through the pandemic”. Note: it excludes daily publications, which means that the more infrequent outlets would get it. It creates the huge conflict of interest by subsidizing outlets who most desperately need the money. And how much money?

The maximum amount that can be awarded to an eligible publication is $1,500,000.

Publication receiving the Government of Canada Refundable Labour Tax Credit (RLTC) can obtain funding from the Special Measures for Journalism component. Please note that the amount of any funding received will be deducted from the RLTC.

The total financial assistance received from Special Measures for Journalism and other levels of government (federal, provincial, territorial and municipal) cannot exceed 75% of any publisher’s total expenditures for the creation, production, marketing and distribution of magazines and community newspapers for the current fiscal year.

Again, this applies to non-daily publications, such as weekly or monthly outlets. These are typically the ones who would need it the most. Wonder if giving favourable coverage was a requirement.

If an outlet receives no subsidies, it could theoretically be subsidized under this program to the tune of 75%, or $1.5 million. If subsidies exist from other sources, it could still be topped up to reach that amount.

If a 75% subsidy amounted to $1.5 million, that would mean the organization in question ran up some $2 million in expenses in a year. Considering that non-daily outlets are excluded, most, if not all, of the less frequently published media companies would fall into these limits.

Similar to the Canadian Periodicals Fund, there is the disclaimer that “periodicals that contain offensive content in the opinion of the department of Canadian Heritage” may not receive funding.

This program is similar in many ways to the Canadian Periodical Fund, but removes many of the limitations that had been imposed.

9. Canadian Media Is Bought Off

Even for periodicals that didn’t qualify normally, there is now a grant of up to $1.5 million for the year. One has to assume that any coverage of the “pandemic” would be friendly towards the Government.

Regarding outlets that didn’t qualify beforehand, are they really going to bite the hand that feeds them? After all, if their coverage becomes too critical of the Government narrative, they may find that the CRTC concludes their content to be offensive.

Even without an access to information request, it’s possible to estimate how much an organization will take. If it’s a regular publication, and the approximately salaries are known, just multiply $13,750 times the number of employees. For less frequent publications, just multiply their total expenses by 75%. Far from exact, but these will provide rough estimates.

Now, are any of these media outlets likely to seriously challenge the Government on this “pandemic” narrative? Probably not.

Go back to the video at the start. Even Tam admits that social media censors, both by deleting content, and by using the algorithms to make them invisible.

10. Followup With Canada Revenue Agency

Hello ********,

The Government remains committed to supporting newsrooms while respecting the basic principle of journalistic independence.

Now, more than ever, strong and independent news media are essential to contribute to an informed public and an effective democracy.

To be eligible for the journalism tax measures, an organization must first be designated as a qualified Canadian journalism organization (QCJO). Once designated, a QCJO must then meet additional criteria for each of the tax measures:

· The Canadian journalism labour tax credit, a 25% refundable tax credit on salaries or wages payable in respect of an eligible newsroom employee for periods beginning on or after January 1, 2019.

· The digital news subscription tax credit, a 15% non-refundable personal income tax credit for digital news subscription costs paid by an individual to a qualified Canadian journalism organization, which applies to qualifying amounts paid after 2019 and before 2025.

· A new type of qualified donee called a registered journalism organization for not-for-profit journalism organizations, which is in effect as of January 1, 2020.

A QCJO that meets the additional criteria can claim the Canadian journalism labour tax credit by completing schedule T2SCH58 Canadian Journalism Labour Tax Credit and filing it with its return of income for the year.

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has been receiving QCJO applications since December 2019. With the establishment of the Independent Advisory Board on Eligibility for Journalism Tax Measures (the Board) in March 2020, and the legislative amendments that were proposed in April 2020, the CRA is in a position to provide journalism organizations with the support they need, beginning with the QCJO designation.

You can find information about applying for QCJO designation and the application form at Qualified Canadian journalism organization.

The CRA is working with the Board to seek its recommendations on whether applicant organizations meet certain QCJO criteria related to original news content and journalistic principles and processes.

The confidentiality provisions of the Income Tax Act prevent the CRA from disclosing the names of organizations that have applied for, received, or been denied QCJO designation. We are able to advise that QCJO designations are now being issued, with files being addressed on the basis of the order they were received.

For more information on the tax measures to support journalism, please go to Frequently Asked Questions.

Sincerely,

************************

Media Relations| Relations avec les médias
Canada Revenue Agency | Agence du revenu du Canada
For media inquiries | Pour les demandes médiatiques : cra-arc.media@cra-arc.gc.ca

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UNESCO Continues Crackdown On What It Calls “Misinformation”

UNESCO is still pushing efforts to combat “misinformation”, which of course is anything that conflicts with the official versions of events (the ever shifting versions). However, you aren’t supposed to notice such inconsistencies or gaps in logic.

UNESCO reminds people to only trust official sources.

1. Developments In Free Speech Struggle

There is already a lot of information on the free speech series on the site. For background information for this, see: Digital Cooperation; the IGF, or Internet Governance Forum; ex-Liberal Candidate Richard Lee; the Digital Charter; big tech collusion in coronavirus; Dominic LeBlanc’s proposal, and Facebook, Google, and Twitter lobbying.

This article is Part I for UNESCO agenda.

2. Other Articles On CV “Planned-emic”

The rest of the series is here. There are many: lies, lobbying, conflicts of interest, and various globalist agendas operating behind the scenes, and much more than most people realize. For example: The Gates Foundation finances many things, including, the World Health Organization, the Center for Disease Control, GAVI, ID2020, John Hopkins University, Imperial College London, the Pirbright Institute, and individual pharmaceutical companies. It’s also worth mentioning that there is little to no science behind what our officials are doing. The International Health Regulations (IHR), that the WHO imposes are legally binding on all members.

3. Important Links

CLICK HERE, for Sept 8 UNESCO article on “misinformation”.
https://archive.is/wbkP1

CLICK HERE, for $27M in research projects announced.
https://archive.is/uGjO6

CLICK HERE, for Ryerson gets $478,000 grant to study CV misinfo.
https://archive.is/Rjq9y
CLICK HERE
https://archive.is/qguDf

CLICK HERE, for UN Global Pulse mainpage.
https://archive.is/BGVUo
CLICK HERE, for UN Global Pulse policy page.
https://archive.is/Gg1l3

CLICK HERE, for International Telecommunication Union.
https://archive.is/tJjKD
ITU-COVID-19-activities

CLICK HERE, for UNESCO, and fighting fake news.
https://archive.is/JFCrx

CLICK HERE, for WHO, and reporting misinformation online.
https://archive.is/BC3ql

CLICK HERE, for UN “Verified” program.
CLICK HERE, for ShareVerified website.

4. Decisions On CV/Masks/Vaccines

2015 ONA Arbitration Ruling (Sault Area Hospital)
2015.ontario.college.of.nurses.mask.ruling

2016 ONA Arbitration Ruling (William Osler Health System)
2016.ona.masks.or.vaccinate.ruling

2018 ONA Arbitration Ruling (St. Michael’s Hospital)
2018.ontario.college.of.nurses.mask.ruling

2020 BC Ombudsman Ruling
2020.BC.ombudsman.report.2.orders.overreach

Oregon Court Rules Against Measures
Oregon SHIRTCLIFF ORDER

Wisconsin Court Says “Stay At Home” Orders Illegal
wisconson.may.2020.coronavirus.order.overturned

2020 Pennsylvania Judge rules against Governor
pennsylvania.covid.measures.illegal

The above 7 rulings are helpful to our cause. However, this recent one in Newfoundland and Labrador is a potential setback, as the Judge ruled travel restrictions are justified.

September 2020 NFLD Rules Travel Ban Justified
Justice-Donald-Burrage-decision-on-NL-travel-ban

I wonder if UNESCO would consider it “misinformation” to post about the several rulings with conflict with the official narratives of lockdowns, masks, and vaccinations.

scotus.allows.nevada.to.discriminate

scotus.allows.california.to.discriminate

scotus.on.religious.advertising

Finally, a few American rulings on enshrining freedom of religion in the face of a false pandemic. Unfortunately, these don’t really help the cause.

5. UNESCO Article On CV Misinformation

Hundreds of millions of people worldwide will be better able to spot the difference between information and misinformation about COVID-19, as a result of a new co-operation within the UN system.

The co-operation is supported by a grant of $4.5m from the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund.

The fund was specifically set up to support work to track and understand the spread of the virus; ensure patients get the care they need and frontline workers get essential supplies and information; and accelerate research and development of a vaccine and treatments for all who need them.

For UNESCO, the contribution to the partnership will be in training journalists and supporting community radio.

Thousands of journalists will be trained for updated reporting on the pandemic and related disinformation through a series of online interactive briefings with experts and mentors.

UNESCO will also work with partners to produce content for radio channels, particularly in vernacular languages for areas with scarce or no Internet access, with the topic covering preventive measures, debunking myths about the virus, and highlighting the importance of non-discrimination and solidarity.

Part of the package will be training on how to operate a home-based radio studio during lockdown.

WHO, through its offices in Africa, is developing an “Infodemic Response Alliance” that will bring together ministries of health, civil society, media, fact checkers and UN actors to ensure early warnings of misinformation. Other WHO activities are planned in the Eastern Mediterranean, European, the Americas, and South East Asia regions.

Besides UNESCO and the WHO, the other UN partners include UN Global Pulse and the ITU (The International Telecommunication Union).

The UN Global Pulse, within the UN Secretary-General’s innovation team, will use artificial intelligence to analyse radio coverage for trends in misinformation such as rumours around vaccines, promotions of false cures, and discussions about financial hardships. “We will use this infodemic intelligence to support community level responses and do predictive analytics to fuel decision making across all pillars of the UN response,” says Global Pulse’s chief data scientist Miguel Luengo-Oroz.

The ITU will engage with more than 200 mobile network operators to use short message service (SMS) and voice messages to provide healthcare advice. “We will also share good practices such as replacing default ringtones with special caller tunes containing voice messages about the virus,” says ITU’s Roman Chestnov.

As part of the project, WHO will create an Infodemic Observatory with the Fondazione Bruno Kessler as well as a suite of scientific tools to manage the infodemic, including through “social listening” and assessing people’s vulnerability to misinformation.

The UN’s Health Organization will also initiate a pilot project with Ryerson University in Canada to create a “Global Misinformation and Factchecking Centre” to serve as a comprehensive public repository of fact-checking organizations around the world and to identify and document best practices for tackling the COVID-19 infodemic crisis and help to inform future policy interventions.

Yes, that is the entire September 8, 2020 article, quoted verbatim. Nothing has been added to alter its meaning. It’s difficult to make UNESCO look worse than it already does, but let’s try.

6. Canada Takes Grant Applications In February

Even as the Canadian Government was telling public in February that there was nothing to worry about, it was shoveling out millions in grants money. There were at least a few grants designed to “study and counter” misinformation. Ottawa knew even then that this would last a long time, but lied about it.

7. Ryerson Uni Gets CV Misinformation Grant

TORONTO — As the outbreak of COVID-19 continues to spread across the world, so too does the flow of information and misinformation related to the virus. In a recent announcement by the Government of Canada, researchers at Ryerson University’s Ted Rogers School of Management and Royal Roads University will collaborate to examine the spread of digital misinformation related to the coronavirus. The study seeks to mitigate the spread of misinformation, stigma and fear through education.

The study, Inoculating Against an Infodemic: Microlearning Interventions to Address CoV Misinformation, will be a two-year study that aims to develop online learning interventions to improve people’s knowledge, beliefs and behaviours related to COVID-19.

Professor Anatoliy Gruzd, Canada Research Chair of Social Media Data Stewardship and Philip Mai, Director of Business and Communications at the Social Media Lab at the Ted Rogers School, will examine how COVID-19 related misinformation propagates across social media platforms and will be developing a real-time information dashboard that will help the public track efforts to debunk coronavirus misinformation online.

It’s disturbing that the Government of Canada (taxpayers, really) decided to give a University almost half a million dollars to combat misinformation. Worse still, are 2 details:

First, this was March 12 the article went off. The deal had already been inked, and Canada hadn’t even officially declared a pandemic yet. Almost like they knew in advance.

Second, this study was to last 2 years. The Canadian Government knew before March 12, 2020, that this “pandemic” would last for at least 2 years.

8. UN Global Pulse, AI Implementation

UN Global Pulse leads efforts to develop data privacy, protection and ethics principles, engages privacy specialists and regulators to contribute to policy frameworks for the use of big data, and works with governments to facilitate synergies and knowledge exchange to create strategies for the ethical use of artificial intelligence. The areas of work that our policy agenda focuses on are:

Data Privacy & Protection
UN Global Pulse advocates for the accountable and responsible use of data and provides expertise to UN partners and to governments in developing data privacy and data protection frameworks.

AI Ethics
UN Global Pulse promotes human rights-based AI innovation through the development of standards and guidelines to ensure a safe and equitable digital future.

Digital Cooperation
UN Global Pulse works to foster global digital cooperation and realize the potential of digital technologies to advance human well-being and mitigate the risks of misuse and missed use of data and artificial intelligence.

All of this sounds completely harmless, but then, it always does.

So-called “digital cooperation” is actually a reference to a subgroup at the United Nations, who is working towards global internet governance. Global Pulse works with AI, supports digital cooperation, and is involved in efforts to combat “misinformation” online. What could possibly go wrong?

9. International Telecommunication Union (ITU)

ITU-COVID-19-activities

During the COVID-19 global pandemic, digital technologies and connectivity have become a critical enabler facilitating business continuity and connecting people more than ever before. The sudden increase in internet usage and upsurge in data consumption are putting heavy pressure on existing broadband networks decreasing the quality and speed of the Internet. We are also confronted with increased opportunity for digital technology’s potential for misuse – from cyberattacks and crimes to misinformation, as well as burgeoning issues related to data privacy and security. Most importantly, as 46% of the global population/almost 3.6. billion people are still without internet, the lack of connectivity and issues of accessibility will become even more pressing: translating directly into missed socio-economic opportunities and missed learning opportunities, and so widening the digital divide and inequality gap in our society.

This Webinar series started with a discussion on assessing current connectivity gaps and challenges in different regions, followed by best practices and success connectivity stories; capacity building (to implement misinformation management); online safety and security, with a final discussion session on how to balance public health, privacy and human rights. Each session was prepared and organized jointly by strategic partners, including leading UN agencies on action to address the subject matter.

The ITU also has a very long section on “digital cooperation”. Again, this is code for global governance of the internet. The ITU, Global Pulse, and the United Nations as a whole seem to be completely for this agenda.

10. UNESCO, Journalist “Training” On Pandemic

Yes, UNESCO is actually training journalists on combatting misinformation around this “pandemic”. In short, only official sources can be trusted.

11. WHO On Reporting Misinformation

The World Health Organization actually provides guidelines on how to report what it calls “misinformation”, on common social media platforms.

12. UN ‘Verified’ Initiative Flood Digital Space

https://twitter.com/UN/status/1263499796016435202
https://archive.is/LzGVz

28 May 2020 — As the world unifies amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the United Nations recently launched ‘Verified’ — an initiative aimed at delivering trusted information, life-saving advice and stories from the best of humanity. The initiative also invites the public to help counter the spread of COVID-19 misinformation by sharing fact-based advice with their communities.

Melissa Fleming: Verified is a United Nations initiative that calls on people around the world to become “information volunteers” and share UN-verified, science-based content to keep their families and communities safe and connected. You can sign up to become “information volunteers” at www.shareverified.com.

The initiative is a collaboration with Purpose, one of the world’s leading social mobilization organizations, and supported by the IKEA Foundation and Luminate. Led by the UN Department for Global Communications, the Verified initiative will produce a daily feed of compelling, shareable content around three themes: science – to save lives; solidarity – to promote local and global cooperation; and solutions – to advocate support for impacted populations. It will also promote recovery packages that tackle the climate crisis and address the root causes of poverty, inequality and hunger. Our priority audience: those who are being targeted with misinformation. We are also partnering with First Draft, an organization which closely monitors the spread of misinformation.

https://www.un.org/en/coronavirus/%E2%80%98verified%E2%80%99-initiative-aims-flood-digital-space-facts-amid-covid-19-crisis

13. Silencing Legitimate Criticisms

Make no mistake. This isn’t any well intentioned effort to prevent serious harm from coming to the public. Instead, this is about coordination to PREVENT THE EXPOSURE of harmful efforts, and to show the truth to the world.

This is censorship, masked as public safety.

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Google Lobbying: Smart Thermostats; Digital Taxes; Smart Cities; 5G Infrastructure; Content Regulation

Google has been officially registered to lobby the Federal Government since 2008. But don’t worry, it’s not like it will lead to major laws getting changed, or anything like that. Canuck Law is a serious site, and does not tolerate conspiracy theories.

1. Developments In Free Speech Struggle

There is already a lot of information on the free speech series on the site. Free speech, while an important topic, doesn’t stand on its own, and is typically intertwined with other categories. For background information for this, please visit: Digital Cooperation; the IGF, or Internet Governance Forum; ex-Liberal Candidate Richard Lee; the Digital Charter; big tech collusion in coronavirus; Dominic LeBlanc’s proposal, and Facebook lobbying.

2. Important Links

(1) https://lobbycanada.gc.ca/app/secure/ocl/lrs/do/vwRg?cno=365072&regId=897489&blnk=1
(2) https://archive.is/TaD59
(3) https://lobbycanada.gc.ca/app/secure/ocl/lrs/do/vwRg?cno=16607&regId=898683&blnk=1
(4) https://archive.is/2NNky
(5) Google’s Recent Communications Reports
(6) https://archive.is/v0jDY
(7) https://www.who.int/dg/speeches/detail/munich-security-conference
(8) https://archive.is/VlN8K
(9) https://www.who.int/news-room/feature-stories/detail/who-and-rakuten-viber-fight-covid-19-misinformation-with-interactive-chatbot
(10) https://archive.is/fWfYY
(11) https://www.who.int/news-room/feature-stories/detail/who-launches-a-chatbot-powered-facebook-messenger-to-combat-covid-19-misinformation
(12) https://archive.is/PRIHD

3. Google And Smart Thermostats

Google is currently in talks with the Federal Government if they install energy efficient or “smart” thermostats, and potential rebates. Presumably, these rebates would be financed by tax dollars or additional debt.

4. Google Lobbying On Many Subjects

Subject Matter Details
Legislative Proposal, Bill or Resolution
-Copyright Act, in respect of amendments related to user rights and intermediary liability.
-Copyright Act, in respect of reforms to the Copyright Board of Canada
-Income Tax Act, in respect of a proposed ‘digital renovation tax credit’ for small and medium sized businesses.
-Income Tax Act, specifically expanding section 19 to cover digital advertising.
.
Policies or Program
–Broadcasting policy, specifically related to governing online content.
–COVID-19 pandemic, more specifically potential collaboration between the Government of Canada and Google on remote work practices, chatbots, community mobility reports, and network infrastructure.
-Consideration of the creation of a Government digital service, a central office to coordinate digital transformation of the Government of Canada
-Government of Canada consultation on Canadian Content in a Digital World
–Immigration and visa policies, specifically policies that will promote and maintain a highly-skilled workforce.
-Innovation policy, specifically policies or programs related to the adoption of technology by small and medium-sized enterprises.
-Intellectual Property Strategy, as it relates to intangible assets.
-Internet advertising policy, specifically the adoption of digital media and advertising by government.
-Internet policy, specifically as it relates to cyber-security and national security.
-Internet policy, specifically the implementation of policy affecting the governance of the internet.
-Policies that would encourage growth of The Toronto-Waterloo Region Corridor, an 100-km stretch that is the second largest technology cluster in North America and is a global centre of talent, growth, innovation and discovery
-Procurement policy, specifically policy related to the provision of technology services by the Government of Canada.
-Providing feedback to a Canada Revenue Agency employee on draft government communications training program
-Public service polices to create greater digital skills
-Public service policies to encourage more open government
-Taxation policy, specifically proposed changes to the taxation of technology companies.
–Technological developments related to artificial intelligence.
-Technology policy, specifically promoting the development of technological infrastructure through the Smart Cities Challenge.
.
Policies or Program, Regulation
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), specifically provisions related to intellectual property and digital trade.

These are the things that Google is currently in talks with the Federal Government in order to implement.

It would be nice to have more information on what “network infrastructure” actually meant, but most people can probably guess what it is.

5. Google Lobbying Canadian Politicians

Former Facebook lobbyist, and current CPC leader, Erin O’Toole, was lobbied twice in 2018 by Google.

This is hardly an exhaustive list. Members of all parties have been lobbied for years by Google. There are some 300 communications reports listed in the Lobbying Registry.

6. WHO Partners With Social Media

WHO is working with manufacturers and distributors of personal protective equipment to ensure a reliable supply of the tools health workers need to do their job safely and effectively.

But we’re not just fighting an epidemic; we’re fighting an infodemic.

Fake news spreads faster and more easily than this virus, and is just as dangerous.

That’s why we’re also working with search and media companies like Facebook, Google, Pinterest, Tencent, Twitter, TikTok, YouTube and others to counter the spread of rumours and misinformation.

We call on all governments, companies and news organizations to work with us to sound the appropriate level of alarm, without fanning the flames of hysteria.

The World Health Organization openly admits to partnering with social media companies to “combat misinformation” related to this so-called pandemic. It was mid-February that this Munich Conference happened. On March 31, the Rakuten Viber app was launched by WHO, and on April 15, a Facebook app was set.

Misinformation, of course, is simply anything that conflicts with the ever-shifting official narrative.

7. Google Supports Free Speech On YouTube

Google demonstrates its commitment to free speech, by hiring 10,000 people to scrub videos from YouTube (which Google owns). Nothing to worry about, as only hateful and extremist content will be erased.

8. Nothing To See Here, People

Despite the vast array of subjects which Google is lobbying the Federal Government on, there is no need to be concerned. There is nothing malevolent about it. After all, Google would never lie or mislead.

In fact, social media companies are following the lead of the World Health Organization to ensure that only the official sources of information get released to the public.

Please move along.

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Ottawa, Privy Council Lobbied By Facebook, Crestview Strategy, O’Toole

Facebook meeting with the Canadian Government over legislation which is set to influence digital media. Facebook claims that many of these meetings are solicited by the Government itself.

1. Important Developments On Free Speech

There is already a lot of information on the free speech series on the site. Free speech, while an important topic, doesn’t stand on its own, and is typically intertwined with other categories. For background information for this, please visit: Digital Cooperation; the IGF, or Internet Governance Forum; ex-Liberal Candidate Richard Lee; the Digital Charter; big tech collusion in coronavirus; and Dominic LeBlanc’s proposal.

2. Important Links

CLICK HERE, for Office of the Lobbying Commissioner.
CLICK HERE, for Crestview Strategy’s mainpage.

CLICK HERE, for Facebook lobbyist, Erin O’Toole of HB firm.
https://archive.is/ennLd

CLICK HERE, for Kevin Chan’s LinkedIn page.
https://archive.is/Ngbtb
CLICK HERE, for Kevin Chan, Privy Council Office Holder.
https://archive.is/3Mwny

CLICK HERE, for Zakery Blais LinkedIn page.

3. Context For This Article

The lobbying firm, Crestview Strategy, is being covered once again. This time, it is because of Crestview’s lobbying efforts on behalf of Facebook. It’s time to show some of the secrets the public may not know about this.

It was addressed in Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, and Part 48 how Crestview Strategy was lobbying the Federal Government on behalf of GAVI, the Global Vaccine Alliance. However, Crestview has its fingers in many more pies than just the drug industry.

4. CPC Head Erin O’Toole Ex-Facebook Lobbyist

Less than a year after serving as a lobbyist for Facebook, O’Toole announced he was going to enter Federal politics.

5. Kevin Chan: Privy Council, OLO, Facebook

In the lobbying records, it is mandatory to disclose all senior officers who hold (or have held), public office. The registry lists Kevin Chan, who held several positions with the Privy Council. Interestingly, none of that appears on Chan’s LinkedIn profile.

Also, from 2009 until 2011, Chan worked for the Office of the Leader of the Opposition. At that time, it was Liberal Leader, Michael Ignatieff. Ignatieff is now a Vice-President at George Soros’ Open Society.

It’s worth pointing out the the Leader of the Official Opposition is now Erin O’Toole, who was also lobbyist for Facebook, when he worked for Heenan Blaikie.

6. Conflict Of Interest With Privy Council

As can be seen in the last section, Kevin Chan worked for the Privy Council’s Office for several years, before joining Facebook. He is now one of their senior officers.

Dominic LeBlanc is currently the President of the Privy Council. He has publicly suggested passing laws to combat “misinformation online”. In order to do this, LeBlanc would have to get social media outlets like Facebook onboard with that agenda.

It seems that Facebook Canada (using their in-house Council), has been lobbying the Canadian Government — and specifically the Privy Council — a lot in the last few years. But don’t worry, that won’t lead to a crack down on free speech or anything like that.

7. Zakery Blais Worked For AG David Lametti

His experience spans both the public and private sectors. He previously worked as a Legislative Assistant to a Canadian Member of Parliament, providing strategic political and communications advice. Prior to joining Crestview Strategy, Zakery also worked in various capacities in public affairs, including as an analyst focused on the energy and natural resources sectors.

Blais worked for a sitting MP, according to his Crestview Strategy profile, but does not identify the person. However, on his LinkedIn page, it is listed as David Lametti. Lametti was a Parliamentary Secretary at that time, but is now the sitting Attorney General of Canada.

On August 1st, Blais renewed his Crestview lobbying registration for the Gates financed GAVI. See here.

8. Jason Clark: Crestview, GAVI, Facebook

Jason holds a Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Western University, and a Master of Arts degree in International Studies and Diplomacy with a Specialization in Global Energy & Climate Change Policy from SOAS, University of London in London, United Kingdom. Jason serves on the Board of the Ottawa Bicycle Club and volunteered for several Ottawa-area Liberal Party of Canada candidates during the 2015 election campaign.

Crestview’s Jason Clark has been a lobbyist for both Facebook and GAVI. He also worked as an election volunteer for the Liberal Candidates in Ottawa for the 2015 election.

9. Chad Rogers: Crestview, GAVI, Facebook

Chad Rogers is a strategist, entrepreneur and founding partner at Crestview Strategy, a public affairs agency.
.
Chad helps leaders, companies and industry associations make their case and get things approved. He has been a public opinion researcher, senior advisor to a Premier, and has served as an advisor to political party and government leaders across the globe.

Rogers was a founding partner of Crestview Strategy (as was Rob Silver, who is Katie Telford’s husband). He has also been registered as a lobbyist for both Facebook and GAVI. Interesting, however, he won’t list the Premier, but a search on LinkedIn identifies it as the 1999-2003 Government — who was led by John Hamm.

10. Crestview Strategy & Facebook Lobbyists

Although they haven’t all filed formal communications reports, it seems that Facebook always has at least 1 or 2 lobbyists on staff, ready to go

11. Everyone Should Have A License

A proposal earlier this year to make all media outlets in Canada have a license. The Government backtracked a bit when there was a public backlash.

Of course, it must be asked: where did this idea come from? Was it some bureaucrat with the CRTC? Was it Facebook and Google? Was it some other group who wants to shut down free speech?

12. Big Tech Collusion On “Pandemic”

This was addressed in another article, but it seems that social media companies are fully on board with promoting the vaccine agenda, and stamping out “misinformation” of their platforms.

13. This Doesn’t Look Like Arms Length

There is little real separation here. Lobbyists are paid to influence politicians on a variety of issues, including media, free speech, taxation, and vaccines. As such, the interests of the public are given little, if any, real consideration.

One last point: this isn’t just a Liberal problem. Crestview Strategy, and similar groups, have ties to many political parties, including the Conservative Party of Canada.

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UN Global Internet Governance Forum, Meeting Since 2006

Getting your own politicians to protect free speech is difficult enough. How does it work when the rules are being drafted by unelected officials in other countries?

1. Important Developments On Free Speech

There is already a lot of information on the free speech series on the site. Free speech, while an important topic, doesn’t stand on its own, and is typically intertwined with other categories. For background information for this, please visit: Digital Cooperation; ex-Liberal Candidate Richard Lee; the Digital Charter, big tech collusion in coronavirus, and Dominic LeBlanc’s proposal.

IF you think that Canadian laws don’t do enough to protect free speech in general, or online free speech more specifically, just wait until it is regulated globally.

2. IGF Meetings Held Since 2006

2006: Athens, Greece, https://archive.is/g2NnZ
2007: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, https://archive.is/uiFsE
2008: Hyderabad, India, https://archive.is/6rV0k
2009: Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, https://archive.is/dS2SO
2010: Vilnius, Lithuania, https://archive.is/uzC3U
2011: Nairobi, Kenya, https://archive.is/Dl71r
2012: Baku, Azerbaijan, https://archive.is/XUDaX
2013: Bali, Indonesia, https://archive.is/wksxQ
2014: Istanbul, Turkey, https://archive.is/XKnUe
2015: João Pessoa, Brazil, https://archive.is/1CiSE
2016: Jalisco, Mexico, https://archive.is/Rkazl
2017: Geneva, Switzerland, https://archive.is/mtw6w
2018: Paris, France, https://archive.is/zEsjK
2019: Berlin, Germany, https://archive.is/KGwzo

3. Important Issues Global IGF Discusses

What Key Issues are discussed at the IGF?
As an example, key issues discussed at the 12th meeting of the IGF in 2017 include:
.
– The impact of modern technologies on industry, society, and the economy;
– Multistakeholderism and Multilateralism and the setting of global norms;
– The new digital economy & sustainable development — providing opportunities or deepening divides?
– The role of government in policy making in the digital age;
– The emergence of a global, Internet society;
– Cybersecurity and cyber-threats;
– Artificial intelligence (AI);
– Critical Internet resources;
– Blockchains and bitcoins;
– Fake news;
– Access, inclusion and diversity;
– The pressing need for security in the Internet of Things;
– Digital divides;

https://www.intgovforum.org/multilingual/content/about-igf-faqs

Advocates of strong free speech laws will notice (in particular) the topics of the role of government, and fake news. Makes one wonder if various Heads of State will decide what is real news and what is fake.

4. Who Funds Global IGF?

How is the global Internet Governance Forum funded?
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The Internet Governance Forum (IGF) Secretariat – based in Geneva, is sustained financially through the extra-budgetary Trust Fund Account managed by United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA). The nature of the IGF Trust Fund is such that it is voluntary and multi-donor driven, with varying contributions from Governments and non-governmental organisations from the technical community, the private sector and the civil society. The IGF Trust Fund covers the administrative and operational costs of the IGF Secretariat including personnel, fellowships, and meeting costs (venues, interpretation, logistical costs, etc.); and funds the travel costs of MAG Members from developing countries. More details about the list of donors and funds received are available online. The Trust Fund also provides support to various intersessional activities, inter alia Best Practice Forums, major policy initiatives such as Connecting and Enabling the Next Billion(s), etc.

Each year, the organizational and conference cost of the annual meeting of the Internet Governance Forum is provided for by the Government of the host country, administered through a Host Country Agreement signed between the Government and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs.

https://www.intgovforum.org/multilingual/content/about-igf-faqs

Donors to the Trust Fund (highest to lowest)

  • Government of Finland
  • Government of Germany
  • European Commission
  • Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)
  • The Internet Society (ISOC)
  • Number Resource Organization (NRO)
  • Government of the Netherlands
  • Government of Switzerland
  • Government of the United States
  • Government of the United Kingdom
  • Government of Japan
  • Nominet UK
  • Tides Foundation
  • Verizon
  • IGFSA
  • Brazilian Internet Steering Committee
  • AT&T
  • China Energy Fund Committee
  • Verisign
  • Afilias Global Registry Services
  • Facebook
  • Government of Portugal – Fundacao Para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia
  • Microsoft Corporation
  • Siemens Aktiengesellschaft – Communications / Nokia Siemens Networks
  • Google
  • Government of Norway
  • Government of Sweden
  • Amazon
  • UNINETT Norid
  • The Swiss Education & Research Network (SWITCH)
  • The Walt Disney Company
  • European Registry for Internet domains
  • CISCO
  • auDA Australia’s Domain Name Administrator
  • International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) – Business Action to Support the Information Society (BASIS)
  • Coordination Center for TLD
  • Danish Internet Forum
  • Politecnico di Torino
  • Community DNS
  • Government of the Republic of Korea
  • European Telecommunication Network Operators’ Association
  • MCADE, LLC
  • NIC-MEXICO
  • Nic.at The Austrian Registry
  • Summit Strategies International
  • NIKKEI DigitalCORE
  • Ribose Inc.

In addition to the funding of various governments, the following names should be familiar to almost everyone: Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Disney, Amazon, AT&T, Verizon, and the Soros-funded Tides Foundation.

5. IGF And UNSG Panel On Digital Cooperation

>> FABRIZIO HOCHSCHILD: Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, dear friends and colleagues. We’re having this conversation under unusual circumstances at a pivotal moment in history.

In a world already fundamentally transformed by digital technologies, the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic and the need for social distancing have propelled the adoption of information and communications technologies and transformed the bedrock of humanity’s means of survival and prosperity: communication. To cooperate, we must communicate, and to communicate nowadays, we must use digital means. This is an important time for Internet governance.

COVID-19 has raised the stakes for global digital cooperation. Over the last few months, my office, in partnership with the international telecommunications unit, organized a series of webinars on digital cooperation in times of COVID-19 and beyond. These discussions considered challenges when urgent cooperation is required, such as with regard to the ongoing deficit in connectivity, with regard to human rights challenges and trust and security issues.

.
Health systems today don’t just have to treat the sick. They also have to deal with cyber attacks and the spread of dangerous, life-threatening misinformation.

In follow-up to the Secretary-General’s call for a global cease far, I also called for a digital cease fire. Global cooperation is necessary if we wish to overcome the pandemic without drastically compromising values like privacy and freedom of speech.

A few days ago, the Secretary-General presented his roadmap for digital cooperation which sets forth his vision for how the international community should engage on these and other key digital issues outlined in the report of the High-Level Panel on Digital Cooperation. The roadmap describes a range of actions for all stakeholders from the United Nations system to member states, the private sector, civil society organizations, and the technical community. The United Nations, including the IGF, the Internet Governance Forum, can truly serve as a platform for informed discussion and evidence-based decisions and practices.

The High-level Panel had noted, and I quote, “a great deal of dissatisfaction with existing digital cooperation arrangements, a desire for more tangible outcomes, more active and diverse participation by governments and the private sector, and more inclusive processes and better follow-up,” end of quote.

The IGF should be retooled to become more responsive and relevant to current digital issues. We must ensure that the IGF is a forum that governments value and want to attend while preserving the important space it represents for other stakeholder engagement.

The IGF’s coordinating and strategic role needs to be further strengthened. The roadmap includes a series of suggestions to further enhance the IGF, such as by improving fundraising, inclusion, and outcomes. I hope you will all be engaged in the follow-up of the action areas highlighted in the Secretary-General’s roadmap, and I hope you will all share your views specifically on how the IGF can be made even more responsive to the evolving challenges of digital cooperation.

Thank you for your engagement and support of the IGF and digital cooperation. We welcome and we need your ideas, your proposals, and your continued enthusiasm and support.
Thank you.

Don’t worry. It’s not like this will lead to a global body deciding what can or can’t be talked about or shared on the internet. This will absolutely never be abused.

6. Global Digital Cooperation Frameworks

The Global Internet Governance Forum goes on to propose several different ways that “digital cooperation” could be implemented on a world-wide scale. But don’t worry. It’s all just discussion, and nothing that gets suggested will ever become legally binding.

7. Canadian Internet Governance Forum

Save the date: The virtual Canadian IGF will be Nov. 24 and Nov. 25, 2020.
The Canadian Internet Governance Forum (IGF) is Canada’s leading multi-stakeholder forum on digital and internet policy issues.
.
The inaugural event took place last year in Toronto and brought together over 200 representatives from government, civil society, and the private sector to tackle pressing public policy issues facing the internet.
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The Canadian IGF is a national initiative of the global United-Nations-convened Internet Governance Forum, which holds annual meetings at different locations around the world. The Canadian IGF will produce a report detailing the unique, regional priorities facing Canadian stakeholders in attendance. This report will then be fed into the global IGF.

2019.canadian.internet.governance.forum

This isn’t just some abstract UN group far off. There exists a Canadian branch of the Internet Governance Forum, and its agenda is pretty much what one would expect.

Throughout the discussions, several common themes emerged across subject areas. These
included trends towards increased regulation; the necessity for plain language content; and,
the need for education and digital literacy. For stakeholders engaging in Internet governance
domestically and abroad, priorities going forward include the need for:
• A transnational, multistakeholder approach to internet governance.
• Awareness of/education on the issues, and how users can participate in discussions
related to internet governance.
• Solutions developed by any stakeholder group that are thoughtful, evidence-based, and
proportionate.
• Transparency from both governments and businesses in order to promote public trust
and build the capacity of users.

These priorities are elaborated in the conclusion of this report.

That is from page 5 on the report. They explicitly state that they view internet regulation as a global concept.

Key Issues
• Fake news and misinformation.
• Hateful online speech.
• Global and domestic threats.
• Data security

Discussion Overview
The panel’s discussion surrounded three main topics: 1) While foreign actors are a threat, domestic actors are an equal or higher risk when it comes to the dissemination of fake news and the proliferation of hateful speech online. Social media platforms also have to balance discouraging fake news, while ensuring they are not censoring a legitimate group; 2) Political actors are increasingly using social media platforms as a tool to get messages out; and 3) In the aftermath of Cambridge Analytica, academics have seen social media platforms reduce their access to datasets to study the fake news problem.

A recent report on Canadians’ use of social media shows that 94% of internet users here in this country have at least one social media account. The exposure to potential misinformation and disinformation campaigns is enormous.

Both technological and policy-based solutions are needed to confront the fake news problem. Facebook, for instance, has a three-pronged strategy focusing on people, technology and, increasingly, partnerships. Facebook has gone from 10,000 to 30,000 people dedicated to working on this challenge. In Q2 and Q3 of last year, Facebook removed approximately 1.5 billion fake accounts. The development of digital literacy skills is required to help users discern between real and fake news. The need for civility among users was also stressed. Canada must decide on its approach to fake news and newer technology, generally. Do we want to follow the lead of the United States or Europe?

A void has been created in the news world because traditional journalism is fading quickly. Social media platforms have become a new distribution channel for news. Panelists disagreed on whether the problem can be solved through technology or if it is more deeply rooted in human causes for which technology has no response

2019.canadian.internet.governance.forum

From pages 18/19 in the report: it seems that outlets like Facebook have taken it upon themselves to determine what accounts are fake, and what counts as fake news.

The authors of this report, (and of IGF more broadly), keep referring to “international stakeholders”. It seems to imply that other parties should have some say over free speech on the internet, instead of Canadians themselves.

8. Canada Gov’t Bought Off Media (2018)

It’s interesting that the report talks about the decline of traditional media (which is true), but omits the tax-payer funded bailout that the Canadian Government gave. In effect, old-stock media in Canada is now subsidized even more so. Even without the IGF, the media is already pretty corrupt.

9. UNESCO Campaign Against Mis-Information

This was covered a few months ago, but UNESCO has been embarking on a serious campaign against what it calls “misinformation”. UNESCO reminds people to only trust official sources for information on coronavirus.

10. UN Wants Internet Ruled By International Law

Tremendous progress has been made internationally in accepting that international law and the UN Charter apply in cyberspace. He urged the private sector to be involved in countering the number of malevolent tools being deployed in cyberspace, especially in developing more secure software.

Combating Fake News and Dangerous Content in the Digital Age
.
The consensus from the session on Fake News was that part of the complexity to tackle disinformation was the challenge to define it. From election interference to stoking up hate or increase religious hatred, there are also other multilayered levels such as spam, and misleading types of content like opinion pieces masking as objective journalism.

Irene Poetrant, Senior Researcher for Citizen Lab of University of Toronto agreed, saying definitions matter and in order to maintain an open and democratic system, it is important for government, private sector, civil society and institutions to work together, and that fake news is not just a problem of the west but a global problem.

“Misinformation is the antithesis of Google’s mission”, said Jake Lucchi, Head of Online Safety and Social Impact. Partnering with journalists, governments, and third parties, they try to find product solutions to identify misinformation and find ways to surface authoritative content. “Young people need to have critical thinking and skills to be able to navigate the internet and check our sources.” Improved algorithms and having policies in place to prohibit hate speech are also key – providers have to ensure misinformation are not allowed on their platforms.

That page is from the November 2018 meeting is Paris. While it sounds benevolent on the surface, who exactly will be the arbitrator of what is “fake news”? Remember, UNESCO (as an example), repeatedly says that only official sources can be trusted. This comes in spite of a wealth of information that CONTRADICTS those narratives. This raises the question of can valid media be shut down if factual reporting is tagged as “misinformation”?

11. Digital Charter Long In The Making

Think that the “Digital Charter” was an idea suddenly concocted? It wasn’t. The UN Digital Cooperation Panel was launched in the Summer of 2018. When the New Zealand shooting happened in March 2019, the stage had already been set.

In a similar vein, the mass shooting in Nova Scotia appears to be a pretext for the Federal Government imposing a mass gun grab.

12. Calls To Expand Digital Cooperation

11 June 2020 – New York
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres presented today a set of recommended actions for the international community to help ensure all people are connected, respected, and protected in the digital age. The Secretary-General’s Roadmap for Digital Cooperation is the result of a multi-year, multi-stakeholder, global effort to address a range of issues related to the Internet, artificial intelligence, and other digital technologies.

The Roadmap for Digital Cooperation comes at a critical inflection point for digital issues, with the COVID-19 pandemic accelerating digitization and magnifying both opportunities and challenges of digital technology.

digital.cooperation.roadmap.expand

But don’t worry. These resolutions and agreements won’t ever become legally binding, or anything like that. These are just ideas being thrown around.

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Guest Post: Question Regarding Recent Antifa/BLM Riots In The US, By Blaise Vanne

(One of the many, MANY examples of Black Lives Matter harassing innocent bystanders. This was aired by Sky New Australia — of a DC restaurant — and shown August 25)

1. Trafficking, Smuggling, Child Exploitation

Serious issues like smuggling or trafficking are routinely avoided in public discourse. Also important are the links: between open borders and human smuggling; between ideology and exploitation; between tolerance and exploitation; between abortion and organ trafficking; and between censorship and complicity. Mainstream media will also never get into the organizations who are pushing these agendas, nor the complicit politicians. These topics don’t exist in isolation, and are interconnected.

Even when slavery is brought up, it is solely in the context of Whites oppressing and enslaving others. The rest of slavery’s history is never discussed This would destroy the narrative that Whites owe everyone else reparations, and shatter the idea that Whites should forever feel guilt over distant ancestors.

2. Contribution By Blaise Vanne

Since whites are disproportionately incarcerated more than Asians, do Asians, many of who have been here since the 1800s, then owe whites reparations? Should Democrats, who have caused the black underclass in their leftist cities, be the ones who pay? Can we count the $15 to 22 trillion already spent in the War on Poverty towards this figure (and where we now have MORE poverty than when we started) towards reparations? Will the Learjet leftists in Hollyweird be forced to open up their zillion room mansions to house inner city blacks (think far left Tom Hanks’ 14,500 sq. foot mega mansion in Pacific Hts, bought for $36mm in 2020), or will their self-serving pandering be more than enough? Will Nancy Pelosi’s highly protected (by men with GUNS) mega- mansion in Pacific Hts, San Francisco take in squatters? Will you ask multimillionaire Bernie Sanders to open up one of his three houses, such as the $600k one with 500’ of Lake Champlain lakefront? Reparations up to $14 trillion were suggested to Bret Baier by black zillionaire BET president Bob Johnson, but given that black Harvard prof Henry Louis Gates says 388,000 Africans landed on N. American shores, total, while in contrast Dr. Robert Davis of Ohio State says up to 1.25 million Europeans were taken as slaves by Muslims to their lands during roughly same period (3 times as many!), with their corsairs even reaching as far as Iceland, does that mean Muslims owe white Europeans $42 trillion (3x as much)? Can someone tell me where to sign up? Just asking. I could sure use the “free” dough.

Also, will white descendants of indentured servants get some reparations, or should descendants of blacks who owned other blacks as slaves owe reparations, such as Anthony Johnson (c. 1600 – 1670), a black Angolan who was one of the earlier slave owners legally recognized by the Colony of Virginia courts. Do we owe Russia money (the word “Slav” as in “Slavic language” derives from the same root as our word for slave (from late 13c., “a person who is the chattel or property of another,” from Old French esclave (13c.), in turn derived from Medieval Latin Sclavus “slave” – so used in this secondary sense because of the many Slavs sold into slavery by conquering peoples.), or perhaps the Irish, for by the 1630’s, Ireland was the primary source of slaves in the English slave trade. In fact, a 1637 a census showed that 69% of the total population of Montserrat were Irish slaves. Even Scientific American has questioned why the Irish surnames have such a strong presence in places such as Montserrat, Jamaica, St. Kitts, etc. Once Iceland gets paid for its citizens taken as slaves to Muslim North Africa and Turkey, does Iceland then owe Ireland money, in that perhaps half the population genetically speaking was Irish slaves, taken by Vikings? Oh yes, I forgot: Muslims also took many English as slaves, with perhaps 3 – 5,000 in Algiers alone. And of course, the Romans had almost everyone has slaves, many from Germanic tribes, so they must owe everyone?

Finally, if we are looking at systemic discrimination, any word from your founders in Black Lives Matter, Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi, re. their roots in the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, which is a descendant of the Maoist inspired New Communist Movement. The reason I ask is The Black Book of Communism, published by Harvard Univ. Press, says that various flavours of communism and leftism murdered around 100 million people last century. Since Antifa seems to be concerned about “oppression,” they just may want to look at that.

Oh yes, I almost forgot! Could Antifa also advise why your allies in the US are now destroying statues of leading anti-slavery statues, including defacing Lincoln himself, as well as Matthias Baldwin, who fiercely fought against slavery 30 years before the Civil War (in which MILLIONS died to end slavery), John Greeleaf, a prominent Quaker pacifist/anti-abolitionist? Anyhow, I thought “Hate had no home here” – or do your friends in your Tripartite Pact have special exemptions?

Antifa… Looking forward to your answers. Or not.