Reclaim the Net – Freedom First Network

When “Fact-Checking” Fails: FEMA’s Political Fallout Puts Misinformation Police Under the Microscope

Dan Frieth — Mon, 11 Nov 2024 02:11:53 +0000

(Reclaim The Net)—The revelation that a FEMA employee instructed relief workers to bypass homes displaying support for Donald Trump during the aftermath of Hurricane Milton has substantiated at least some concerns that were initially dismissed as “misinformation” by several Democratic lawmakers and mainstream media outlets, including the New York Times who described suggestions that relief workers were “neglecting areas that had voted for Republicans” as “false” in a fact check.

This incident sheds light on the broader implications of the fight against online “misinformation,” particularly how premature labeling of claims can potentially suppress legitimate grievances and criticisms that later prove to have been based on some truth, something that happened often in 2020 and the Covid era.

The controversy surrounding a FEMA employee who allegedly directed a relief team to ignore homes displaying support for then-Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has sparked outrage and demands for a thorough investigation by legislators. As first reported by The Daily Wire, the employee, who has now been fired, instructed team members to bypass these homes, an action condemned by FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell as a “clear violation of FEMA’s core values & principles to help people regardless of their political affiliation.”

Criswell’s confirmation of the dismissal came through a post on X, following online reports about the employee’s conduct. While she didn’t specify which hurricane’s relief efforts were affected, ABC News and The New York Times reported it was during the aftermath of Hurricane Milton in Florida. This hurricane struck shortly after the catastrophic Hurricane Helene.

The rush to curb the spread of misinformation online is a top priority for many pro-censorship platforms and legacy institutions claiming to protect public discourse from false narratives. However, this incident exemplifies the complexities and risks inherent in these efforts. Initially, the claims regarding any of FEMA’s discriminatory practices were quickly categorized as baseless and part of an online misinformation campaign. This not only stifled debate but potentially delayed the scrutiny necessary to uncover and address any wrongdoing.

Inside the Push for Police-Run “Misinformation” Units

Didi Rankovic, Reclaim The Net — Mon, 04 Nov 2024 09:16:00 +0000

(Reclaim The Net)—Lexipol, a private consultancy geared towards providing services to law enforcement in the US, has come up with a recommendation to law enforcement to set up a “Misinformation/Disinformation Unit.”

A piece published on the company’s platform, Police1.com, asks its client police departments whether they are “prepared (for) the battle against mis/disinformation.”

Coming from Lexipol, this is no ordinary question, as the firm is said to have contracts with more than 8,000 law enforcement agencies, and is consequently considered to be a key player in what is known as “privatized police policymaking.”

According to Lexipol’s own statements, its reach in March 2020 extended to 8,100 agencies that used the company’s services and manuals (a year earlier, reports said that these agencies were located across 35 US states).

From that position, Lexipol is now making recommendations to its “subscribers” in the law enforcement community to establish a unit that would not only tackle supposed misinformation and disinformation, but also “collaborate with tech companies and civil society organizations to develop early-warning systems and identify harmful content in real time.”

This can be read as brazen defiance of the ongoing efforts, including in the US Congress, to put an end to just such “collaboration” between private and government (here, law enforcement) entities – investigated in one instance as government-Big Tech collusion.

But Lexipol’s write-up plays on fears that it is “disinformation” that might increase public hostility toward police officers and put them at greater risk.

The kind of disinformation breeding hostility Lexipol has in mind may not be exactly the same as that of many police officers, however. The company mentions what are at this point “soft targets,” at least to a certain brand of political and media thinking in the US – Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea – as somehow an example of that domestic law enforcement, too, might be harmed by disinformation, and what to do about it.

With the scaremongering in place, Police1 promotes the well-established narratives: online speech needs to be “protected” from the dangers of AI, and this should be done by the police employing “proactive strategies.”

What is recommended to these state entities is not really different from what the current US authorities ask of social media, and media in general: in this case, it would be a unit, one “charged with identifying false information, fact-checking claims, and creating counter-narratives.”

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Element X Steps Into the Future of Messaging Privacy With Matrix 2.0 Debut

Didi Rankovic, Reclaim The Net — Fri, 01 Nov 2024 22:07:39 +0000

(Reclaim The Net)—At the recent Matrix Conference, developers behind Element launched the latest iteration of their effort – Element X, a private, decentralized, open-source, and end-to-end encrypted app.

Element X is a Matrix-based (and the first Matrix 2.0) cross-platform messenger based on the classic Element mobile apps, and according to a blog post, “almost all” its users can now use Element X for messaging.

This applies both to personal and corporate scenarios. The plan is to turn Element X – a full rewrite – into Element once again – as soon as the migration has been completed for all users.

COO and co-founder Amandine Le Pape presented a demo of the new features during the conference, including that known as Element (video) Calls.

The key developers went into the technical side of things as well, explaining that the software now uses Rust SDK and SwiftUI, as well as Jetpack Compose (these are APIs and UI frameworks for various platforms.)

Users are urged to now try, and provide feedback on the new product for Android and iOS.

Some notes touching on privacy and security issues are made, such as the app being available on Google Play Store’s free and open source alternative F-Droid as well – and that some metrics testing is done via Simplified Sliding Sync.

It’s an opt-in, available to those who wish to help the developers understand how their app is behaving, performance-wise.

Other than providing users with “beautiful usability, performance, and productivity,” some other noteworthy Element X features include instant sync, instant login, and instant launch, end-to-end-encrypted voice and video conferencing that is powered by Matrix – an open standard real-time communications protocol.

Currently not generally available, but the plan is to have that in place by the end of the year is what is known as next-generation authentication, which includes login via QR code.

Encryption is one of those features that are always desirable, but often difficult to set up or use by “the average user”; here, the team behind Element X promises “radically improved encryption UX (user experience)” which relies on matrix-rust-crypto and the Invisible Encryption Initiative.

The blog post also provides technical details on how to register an account and use Element X.

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Microsoft’s “Inclusivity Checker” Sparks Fears of a Looming “Speech Police”, Flagging Terms Like “Mother” for More “Gender-Neutral” Alternatives

Didi Rankovic, Reclaim The Net — Sat, 26 Oct 2024 17:19:29 +0000

(Reclaim The Net)—Microsoft is busy inventing new phrases to make sure that, what the tech giant and its likes consider “inclusivity,” is properly reflected in Microsoft Word.

But at least as far as words, “mother” and “father” are concerned, this inclusivity seems to, paradoxically, work by exclusion.

Gone are the days when Word offered spelling and grammar checks. Now, for people who like their writing software to nudge and prod them during the writing process by suggesting “more suitable” replacements, Word has something called “Inclusivity Checker.”

The repository of terms contained in the tool, that are recommended to be replaced, is only growing.

A modern update takes a dim view of the expression “maternity leave” on “gender-inclusivity” grounds, and suggests that it be replaced with “birth-related leave,” “parental leave,” or “childbirth leave.”

Fathers who go on paternity leave should instead be described as taking “child-bonding leave,” Microsoft thinks. All this is explained as a way to make sure that the writer is inclusive of “all genders.”

Is all this really necessary? Microsoft thinks it is. According to the Free Speech Union, one of the terms writers who, for some reason, use Word are advised to replace is Postman Pat: it should be “Postal Worker Pat,” according to those behind this effort.

In that case, the intent is to avoid the possibility of gender bias. The same goes for “biologically female” – a phrase best avoided, according to Microsoft.

The feature is at this time not hard-coded into Word: the software is “inclusive” of both opt-ins (this seems to be the default) and opt-outs. “Problematic” words are underlined in blue and then recommended alternatives pop up.

Right now, there is no auto-correct function, either. But, if critics compare this sort of thing as moving ever closer to Orwell’s dark dystopian world ruled by extreme censorship and government control – one never knows what’s around the corner.

And if you don’t like it, and thought you might switch to, oh, Google Docs? Bad news: this giant also has a similar feature, introduced in 2022.

Google frowns at terms such as “housewife” and “landlord” and would rather you write, “stay-at-home spouse” and, “property owner.”

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