If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. X, formerly Twitter, is now mandating the use of a government ID-based account verification system for users that earn revenue on the platform – either for advertising or for paid subscriptions. To implement this system, X has partnered with Au10tix, an Israeli company known for its identity verification solutions. Users who opt to receive payouts on the platform will have to undergo a verification process with the company. This initiative aims to curb impersonation, fraud, and improve user support, yet it also raises profound questions about privacy and free speech, as X markets itself as a free speech platform, and free speech and anonymity often go hand-in-hand. This is especially true in countries where their speech can get citizens jailed or worse. “We’re making changes to our Creator Subscriptions and Ads Revenue Share programs to further promote authenticity and fight fraud on the platform. Starting today, all new creators must verify their ID to receive payouts. All existing creators must do so by July 1, 2024,” the update to X’s verification page now reads. This shift towards online digital ID verification is part of a broader trend across the political sphere, where the drive for identification often conflicts with the desire for privacy and anonymous speech. By linking online identities to government-issued IDs, platforms like X may stifle expression, as users become wary of speaking freely when their real identities are known. This policy shift signals a move towards more accurate but also more intrusive forms of user identification. Although intended to enhance security, these practices risk undermining the very essence of free speech by making users feel constantly monitored and raise fears that, in the near future, all speech on major platforms will have to be linked to a government-issued ID. Anonymity has long been a cornerstone of free speech, allowing individuals to express controversial, dissenting, or unpopular opinions without fear of retribution. Throughout history, anonymous speech has been a critical tool for activists, whistleblowers, and ordinary citizens alike. It enables people to criticize their governments, expose corruption, and share personal experiences without risking their safety or livelihoods. Governments around the world have been pushing for an end to online anonymity over the last year, and X’s new policy change is a step towards this agenda. Related: “I Want Everybody’s Name.” Nikki Haley Ignores the First Amendment As She Demands an End to Online Anonymity Over the last year, a slew of child safety bills has emerged, ostensibly aimed at protecting the youngest internet users. However, beneath the surface of these well-intentioned initiatives lies a more insidious agenda: the push for widespread online ID verification. X owner Elon Musk has commented in support of these bills, as recently as last week. While this new X change is only for those users looking to claim a cut of the advertising revenue that X makes from their posts and is not yet enforced for all users, it is a large step towards the normalizing of online digital ID verification. If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. The post New X Policy Forces Earners To Verify Their Government ID With Israeli Verification Company appeared first on Reclaim The Net.

Is This the Greatest Community Note of All Time?

The end of the 7 a.m. hour of Wednesday morning’s CNN News Central report left us wondering how serious CNN takes their analysis. In an attempt to cover a story, respecting the opinions of both sides of the aisle, former Trump White House Communications Director Mike Dubke defended his former boss’s recent comments on contraception policy. However, instead of responding to his opinion in respectful disagreement, left-wing political analyst Bakari Sellers, interrupted the dialogue by laughing at his fellow panelist, going on to insult the former President.  Host Kate Bolduan introduced the discussion, which led to Sellers’ inappropriate outburst, detailing an interview where former President Trump had been asked about contraceptives. She criticized him for the poor execution of his response as well as the clarity which the answer did, in fact lack. She then acknowledged the former President’s opinion on contraception which he later posted on Truth Social then opened the floor for Dubke to further explain.     Dubke resolved to look at the situation with a sense of charity explaining similar slip-ups had occurred before: MIKE DUBKE: One I think this is in almost the exact same vein as the previous conversation we just had again, I in this case, I think I can be, I don't need to be charitable. I'm going to make the direct assumption that Donald Trump misheard or didn't think through the answer to the question when he said contraception and confused it with an abortion pill. And other parts of the conversation of Roe V. Wade. I'm going to go there because we've seen we've seen in other campaigns, even Republican primary campaigns with Lisa Murkowski and Kelly Tshibaka and Alaska, where Murkowski uses very effectively. Now in that case, Kelly Tshibaka meant to say contraception. In this case, I think it was very clear that the president did not. His campaign cleaned it up. He also pointed out that the anchor asking Trump the question seemed to have ulterior motives, and may have just been in search of a clickbait story. This is why we can’t have nice things, for as soon as Dubke made his claim, Sellers interrupted the panel, laughing at the comment. Sellers’ reaction was not entirely surprising considering the history of the network, yet that must not dissuade us from acknowledging the completely improper actions of one who was called to represent fair journalism and a higher form of decorum depicted. Yet Sellers not only claimed that the former President was lying about his stance on reproductive rights, but went on to state that “Trump has the policy depth of a shallow bathtub.” Again this is no surprise to any regular at CNN As the left-leaning media leaves behind its roots in traditional journalism, our standards mustn’t lower. The bare minimum should not have to be praised to see that journalism in the mainstream media is faltering.  The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read: CNN News Central May 22, 2024 7:56 AM Eastern (...) KATE BOLDUAN: He was asked if he, if that, if, if that had something, if that meant he would support some restrictions on contraception and he kinda waffled through it and basically suggested that some states are going to have different policies than other then he backtracked on Truth Social. “I have never and will never advocate imposing restrictions on birth control or other contraceptives. I do not support a ban on birth control.” As he goes on. What is going on here Mike? MIKE DUBKE: Well a couple of things. One I think this is in almost the exact same vein as the previous conversation we just had again, I in this case, I think I can be, I don't need to be charitable. I'm going to make the direct assumption that Donald Trump misheard or didn't think through the answer to the question when he said contraception and confused it with an abortion pill. And other parts of the conversation of Roe V. Wade. I'm going to go there because we've seen we've seen in other campaigns, even Republican primary campaigns with Lisa Murkowski and Kelly Tshibaka and Alaska, where Murkowski uses very effectively. Now in that case, Kelly Tshibaka meant to say contraception. In this case, I think it was very clear that the president did not. His campaign cleaned it up. But I also – Listening to the clip and I think it's important to listen to the clip. I also wish and I think the American people also hope for this is that when it is that obvious of a faux pas, whether it be on the right or the left, that the anchor clean it up. I mean, I'm a bit dubious at the anchor wasn’t looking for some clickbait here in the way that he phrased the question and how we phrase the question too frankly, to an individual who’s had a lot on his mind this week. And been distracted by other items. BAKARI SELLERS: [audibly laughing] BOLDUAN: I will just say in defense of all anchors – I can’t get into any anchor’s mind, but in defense of all anchors, I ask the questions; an easier job to listen to my question and to answer it. Because I promise you I will follow up. Bakari go ahead.  DUBKE: No. And I trust you will follow-up. I wish he had as well.  BOLDUAN: That’s a good point. SELLERS: I struggle with that answer so much because people come on this TV show and air all the time and give Joe Biden hell about his ability to do the job due to lack of energy or age or whatever. And to make the excuse that Donald Trump has a lot on his mind. I mean, he's running for president of the United States.  The fact is Donald Trump is responsible for overturning Roe V. Wade. He put the justices on the court to do it. And so contraception – this is the way that I would put it if I was a Joe Biden campaign, look if you want Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Donald Trump deciding what your wife does with her body to re-elect Donald Trump.  They don't do well on this issue and they also don’t do well on policy which is why he stumbles. People vote for Donald Trump for something else, they vote for Donald Trump for that machismo for what they believe to be strength. People don’t vote for Donald Trump for that policy depth, because he has none. Donald Trump has the policy depth of a shallow bathtub. And that's what you see when you have him try to answer things about reproductive health, he simply cannot.

The latest NewsBusters study found 573 minutes of Trump-trial coverage on ABC, CBS, and NBC, but less than eight minutes for the trial of Sen. Bob "Gold Bars" Menendez, Democrat of New Jersey. It's funny how GOP scandals always "overshadow" the Democrats when the networks create the "news." On Tuesday, CNN.com posted a Gregory Krieg article headlined "Trump circus overshadows Menendez trial." Krieg explained "Sen. Bob Menendez’s corruption trial, which began eight days ago in the nearby U.S. District Court, has been an afterthought to just about everyone." Menendez "is likely pleased to have his legal drama playing out in relative obscurity. It’s a similar dynamic for his Democratic colleagues as they navigate the final months of his term." "Relative obscurity" is something the media can create, and curate. In the same way, they can create "relative notoriety" for their enemies. Meanwhile, the media are already dreading the Hunter Biden trial, which only one half of the media will find interesting. Inside the liberal bubble on PBS's Washington Week with The Atlantic, host Jeffrey Goldberg asked NPR Morning Edition anchor Steve Inskeep: "Hunter Biden is not running for president, there's a big difference. But the question is, how is this going to affect the mood and happiness and effectiveness of Joe Biden?" Inskeep replied: "For Democrats, this is going to be noise. I presume, without knowing their programming choices, that it's going to be all over Fox News, that it's going to be all over right wing media, and there's going to be a lot of focus and a lot of attention and a lot of energy directed at that." NPR infamously proclaimed in 2020 that the Hunter Biden laptop was "not a story," but a "pure distraction." Meanwhile, over the weekend the president kept bragging about how his son Beau died from cancer after he spent “a year in Iraq as a major – he won the Bronze Star —living next to a burn pit.” In a different speech, his son served "in Iraq for a year in those burn pits.” Biden exaggerates about his own record, and the record of his family. No one expects pro-Biden networks and newspapers to fact-check the braggodocio.  Enjoy the podcast below, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

California police say that a woman was arrested after they discovered the decomposing body of an elderly woman wrapped in plastic bags on Friday. The Hanford Police Department said they went to a residence on Encore Drive near 11th Avenue after a neighbor requested a welfare check on Friday. When they gained entry, they found the body of 67-year-old Peggi Ann Yingling in a locked closet. 'There is a lot of violence in the world, but that is really, really close.' "The victim was an elderly female, and the body was starting to decompose. She was wrapped in plastic bags, and that led us to believe that this was not of natural causes," said Hanford Police Lt. Justin Vallin. Police interviewed 37-year-old Kelli Yingling, who also lived at the home. The younger Yingling had already been in custody at the Kings County Jail over a police pursuit on May 2 and warrants unrelated to the death of the elderly woman. Police said that she made statements implicating herself, and they arrested her on a homicide charge after an autopsy report found evidence of strangulation. She was charged with murder and elder abuse resulting in death, and later, the district attorney added premeditated murder. One neighbor who wasn't identified told KFSN-TV that they had noticed the absence of the elderly woman. "The windows were all closed up a few boxes, then we saw a couple letters on the door, so, from her friends that hadn't seen her so there were a few people that were concerned about her whereabouts," he said. 'Too close to home.' Other residents of the neighborhood said it was usually quiet and they were shocked by the arrest. "Very shocked, too close to home if you will. There is a lot of violence in the world, but that is really, really close," said Gabriel Virrueta. Police had been to the residence prior to the death investigation because of arguments between family members. Virrueta remembers the elderly Yingling. "She was very quiet, very introverted, she would come out and ask us, me, the neighbors for help and ride to the store and ride to the doctor's office," he added. Hanford is a city of about 57k residents located in the San Joaquin Valley between Bakersfield and Fresno. Here's a news report about the incident: Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

In 1980, Terry Fox ran the equivalent of almost 130 marathons in just 143 days to raise money for cancer research — despite the difficulties of running with a prosthetic leg. The post The Incredible Story Of Terry Fox, The Cancer Patient Who Ran 3,339 Miles Across Canada In A ‘Marathon Of Hope’ appeared first on All That's Interesting.

Ohio Secretary of State Says Joe Biden Won't Be on the November Ballot

Nikki Haley said Wednesday that she will be voting for Donald Trump in the general election, a notable show of support given their intense and often personal rivalry during the Republican primary calendar.But Haley also made it clear that she feels Trump has work to do to...

Angela Stanton King, a senior adviser to Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s independent campaign for president, announced she was leaving his team due to an "increasingly hateful and divisive atmosphere."