If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties‚ subscribe to Reclaim The Net. Simon Harris‚ Ireland’s Education Minister‚ has raised alarms about what he suggests is the rampant spread of “disinformation” on social media‚ describing it as a significant threat to democracy. His concerns mirror those of Tánaiste Micheál Martin‚ particularly in light of the recent Dublin riots‚ where social media has been blamed for spreading “hate‚” a notion that the government in Ireland is using as an excuse to call for more censorship online. The riots‚ characterized by violence and destruction‚ followed a stabbing by an immigrant citizen outside a north city center school‚ injuring three children and a woman. Harris‚ in his statement‚ specifically criticized Elon Musk’s X for its failure to censor certain speech. On RTÉ’s Morning Ireland‚ Harris expressed his full agreement with the Tánaiste. “I think there is a very serious issue‚ not just in this country‚ but in western democracies now in relation to social media platforms‚ which I use‚ which I appreciate and which have great value – but also when wrongly used having an ability to spread disinformation and undermine democracy‚” Harris said. According to The Journal‚ he said that by early next year “there will be a ‘legally binding’ statutory online code in relation to the removal of information that is deemed to be disinformation.” As many politicians often do‚ Harris attempted to suggest that he supports free speech while calling for the censorship of “disinformation.” From the report: “The Minister said he would ‘absolutely defend’ the right to free speech‚ adding ‘it’s the cornerstone of all democracy.’ “What we’re talking about here is the spread of disinformation and the spread of hatred. And I simply wouldn’t be‚ nor would I wish to‚ but I wouldn’t be allowed to in this studio. The social media platform is a form of media‚ it is a media platform and therefore I think there are real legitimate questions around the rules that apply online‚” he said. The post Ireland’s Educator Minister Says Ireland Will Introduce a “Legally Binding” Statutory Online Code for “Disinformation” Removal appeared first on Reclaim The Net.

If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties‚ subscribe to Reclaim The Net. Republicans called out Democrats for continuing to deny that the Biden administration colluded with tech platforms to censor speech during a hearing today‚ despite lawsuits‚ subpoenas‚ and other releases uncovering huge troves of evidence documenting the Biden administration’s relentless censorship demands. Democrats claimed there’s “no evidence” of censorship collusion‚ branded the notion that social media companies are colluding with the government to censor conservative voices as “unfounded‚” and called it a “conspiracy” theory during a House Judiciary Committee Hearing on the Weaponization of the Federal Government. But Republicans shot back and called them out for ignoring the huge banks of evidence that showcase Biden admin officials leaning on Big Tech to censor speech they disapprove of. Three of the witnesses‚ journalist Matt Taibbi‚ journalist Michael Shellenberger‚ and journalist Rupa Subramanya‚ also challenged Democrat attempts to dismiss evidence of Biden admin-Big Tech censorship collusion during the hearing. Rep. Stacey Plaskett (D-VI) claimed there’s “no evidence” of tech companies colluding with the government to censor conservatives. https://video.reclaimthenet.org/articles/wfg30-1-stacey-plaskett-no-evidence-censorship-collusion.mp4 Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) also suggested that assertions that the Biden administration pressured social media companies to censor were a “crazy conspiracy” and implied that because social media companies didn’t censor all the content that was flagged to them‚ this somehow disproved the notion that social media companies were censoring in response to pressure from the Biden White House. https://video.reclaimthenet.org/articles/wfg30-2-dan-goldman.mp4 Rep. Greg Steube (R-FL) pushed back and blasted Democrats for calling Big Tech-government censorship collusion a conspiracy theory and ignoring a “treasure trove of actual evidence in a court proceeding.” https://video.reclaimthenet.org/articles/wfg30-3-gregg-steube.mp4 Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) also challenged the notion that this censorship collusion is a conspiracy theory when questioning Olivia Troye‚ former Homeland Security Advisor and Counterterrorism Advisor to the Office of Vice President Pence. https://video.reclaimthenet.org/articles/wfg30-4-thomas-massie.mp4 Rep. Dan Bishop (R-NC) highlighted that the Biden administration’s censorship actions were significant enough for a court to grant a preliminary injunction. https://video.reclaimthenet.org/articles/wfg30-5-dan-bishop.mp4 Rep. Kat Kammack (R-FL) focused her questioning on the actions of former White House Director of Digital Strategy Rob Flaherty‚ who is now a part of Biden’s 2024 re-election campaign as a Deputy Campaign Manager‚ and his demands that tech companies censor content and accounts during his tenure. https://video.reclaimthenet.org/articles/wfg30-6-kat-cammack.mp4 You can watch the full hearing here. The post Watch: Democrats Blasted for Claiming “No Evidence” of Big Tech-Government Censorship Collusion appeared first on Reclaim The Net.

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When it comes to sleeping‚ the animal kingdom has a whole range of options. Some might opt for a long period of hibernation‚ and others dream the night away – but a new study on chinstrap penguins has revealed that they get around 11 hours of sleep in four-second bursts.On King George Island in Antarctica‚ a colony of chinstrap penguins (Pygoscelis antarcticus) go on foraging trips‚ guard their eggs‚ and raise their young. A predator of chinstrap penguin eggs in this area is the brown skua (Stercorarius antarcticus)‚ a bird that seeks to sneak unguarded eggs from the nest mainly at the edge of the colony. Chinstrap penguin couples separate for foraging trips‚ with one member heading out to sea while the other stays to guard the offspring. The “stay-at-home” parent must therefore maintain constant vigilance guarding the eggs or young chicks to prevent predation events‚ and even protect their nest site from theft by other invading penguins. "I'm just resting my eyes"Image Credit: Won Young LeeThe penguin parent therefore faces a challenge when it comes to sleeping – nodding off for too long would leave the chicks unguarded from potential threats. So what do they do? The team examined 14 penguins with eggs in their nests and‚ using data loggers‚ measured sleep-related activity in their brains and body posture changes.        The penguins went about their foraging behavior‚ taking turns incubating the nests. The team found that sleep could occur in the penguins at the nest while they were either lying or standing‚ and nearly 72 percent of their short-wave-sleep (SWS) was in bouts lasting less than 10 seconds. The team also found that while both penguin parents had around 600 bouts of SWS per hour‚ those incubating the nest had more SWS in shorter bouts. Both parents seemed to sleep better during the middle third of the day. Another interesting finding from the study found that contrary to what the team believed‚ birds nesting at the edge of the colony actually slept better and had longer periods of SWS than those birds nesting closer to the center. This suggests that the need for vigilance against predators like the skua might not be such a pressure‚ and instead nest thieving by other penguins could be more of a direct threat. “The data reported by Libourel et al. could be one of the most extreme examples of the incremental nature by which the benefits of sleep can accrue‚” write Christian Harding and Vladyslav Vyazovskiy in a Perspective article in the same journal‚ mentioned in a statement about the new study.  “Although sleep bout duration is sensitive to many variables and differs widely among species‚ the seconds-long microsleeps of chinstrap penguins are markedly brief."Overall‚ the team found that the penguins accumulated around 11 hours of sleep by sleeping for only 4 seconds around 10‚000 times a day. They suggest that repeated microsleeps must give at least some of the benefits associated with sleeping for longer periods of time‚ providing short periods for rest and recovery. The paper is published in the journal Science.

Pro-free speech advocates showed their support for X (formerly Twitter) owner Elon Musk after he let advertisers know how he really felt about their anti-free speech blackmail campaign.  During a Nov. 29 interview with leftist Squawk Box co-anchor Andrew Ross Sorkin‚ Musk made clear that he would not be deterred by advertiser boycotts. Musk told Sorkin‚ “If someone is going to try to blackmail me with advertising— blackmail me with money? -–‚ go f*** yourself. Go f*** yourself. Is that clear? I hope it is.” Musk’s comment came in response to pressing questions about how some companies‚ including Walt Disney Corporation‚ pulled advertising on X. After Musk’s statement‚ past victims of censorship and proponents of free speech spoke up to support Musk. Praising Musk’s pushback‚ The Babylon Bee CEO Seth Dillon responded‚ “This is how you handle woke bullies. You refuse to give them what they want because what they want is your integrity‚” before promising to double advertising spending on X.  This is how you handle woke bullies. You refuse to give them what they want because what they want is your integrity. The Bee is doubling our pledge to advertise on X from $250k to $500k. I wish we could do more but we spend too much on DoorDash. https://t.co/3RTkOKp6lY — Seth Dillon (@SethDillon) November 29‚ 2023 Echoing Dillon’s response‚ creator of Libs of TikTok Chaya Raichik‚ reposted the exchange‚ calling it “the most incredible clip you will watch today‚” and saying that she couldn’t stop watching it‚ before passing on Musk’s message to boycotting advertisers herself.  I literally can’t stop watching this. It may be the top video of 2023 https://t.co/UMAR2mK4YY — Chaya Raichik (@ChayaRaichik10) November 30‚ 2023 The Daily Wire host Michael Knowles weighed in on the Nov. 30 edition of The Michael Knowles Show‚ to say that Musk was right to push back against advertisers. Knowles asked his listeners‚ “If the richest man in the world is not allowed to speak his mind.  If the richest man in the world is not even allowed to let other people speak the truth as we see it‚ then why even go on pretending that we live in anything resembling a free country anymore?" Pundits such as The Daily Wire Editor Emeritus Ben Shapiro‚ Daily Wire host Matt Walsh‚ Louder with Crowder host Steven Crowder and Benny Johnson also chimed in to praise Musk.  Some commentators focused on Musk’s salvo against woke Disney. After Sorkin brought up a conversation he had with Disney CEO Bob Iger‚ Musk made sure the Disney CEO felt included. Following his curse-laden message‚ Musk said‚ “Hey Bob‚ if you’re in the audience.” Musk suggested that consumers would punish corporations like Disney‚ before pointing out that Disney was already suffering from a boycott. “What this advertising boycott is going to do is it is going to kill the company and the whole world will know that those advertisers killed the company and we will document it in great detail‚” Musk told Sorkin. Conservatives are under attack! Contact your representatives and demand government agencies and Big Tech be held to account to mirror the First Amendment while providing transparency‚ clarity on so-called hate speech and equal footing for conservatives. If you have been censored‚ contact us at the Media Research Center contact form‚ and help us hold Big Tech accountable.

Former CNN media reporter Brian Stelter is on tour promoting his exciting new book about Fox News. But judging by the pitiful sales figures‚ it looks like his media blitz hasn’t had its intended effect. With just 3‚807 copies sold in the first week‚ it’s safe to call this one a flop. We decided to dig up some stats to help put that impressively low sales figure into context. Here are nine very small things that are somehow more numerous than copies sold of Stelter’s exciting new book. 1) VARIETIES OF POTATO According to the International Potato Center (yes‚ that’s a thing)‚ there are more than 4‚000 varieties of the delicious tuber. We figured it’d be appropriate to lead off a Stelter story with a potato fact.  2) CNN EMPLOYEES Even after the big round of layoffs that came during the Chris Licht era‚ there are still more people working at CNN than there are copies of Stelter’s book in circulation — approximately 4‚000 of them‚ according to the CNN Worldwide Fact Sheet. 3) ANNUAL DEATHS CAUSED BY AGRICULTURAL MACHINERY At least‚ this was the case back in 2016. The latest figures were hard to pin down. According to Business Insider‚ there were 4‚183 such deaths that year. Per that same article‚ there were also more than 10‚000 deaths caused by falling out of bed. 4) CRITICALLY ENDANGERED EASTERN LOWLAND GORILLAS If you decided to collect every copy of Stelter’s book that was purchased last week and distributed each to one of these apes‚ there would be several thousand unfortunate gorillas left with nothing to read. Depending on whose estimates you’re using‚ there are anywhere from 5‚000 to 6‚800 of these impressive creatures roaming the jungles of Sub-Saharan Africa. 5) THE POPULATION OF ANTARCTICA IN THE SUMMER Obviously the frozen continent has no permanent residents‚ but things are actually pretty busy down there during the summer months. With 66 active scientific bases running year-round‚ Antarctica’s population swells to around 4‚000 during the warm season‚ during which temperatures soar to a balmy 36 degrees Fahrenheit. 6) CHEMICALS RELEASED BY A SINGLE CIGARETTE According to the American Lung Association‚ a burning cigarette releases over 7‚000 chemicals‚ many of which are toxic. Scientists have not yet determined how many chemicals Stelter’s book emits when burned. 7) ADS SEEN PER DAY BY THE AVERAGE AMERICAN Based on the most reputable figure we could find‚ it is estimated that on average Americans see between 4‚000 and 10‚000 ads daily. Obviously that’s a pretty massive range‚ and this stat is somewhat disputed. Still more than Stelter’s book though. 8) PAPA JOHN’S PIZZA LOCATIONS WORLDWIDE In 2022‚ the renowned pizza chain had 5‚706 physical locations scattered across the globe. That number has never seen a year-over-year decrease since 2007‚ so barring some horrible pizza-related catastrophe‚ it’s safe to assume that there will be even more Papa John’s stores in 2023. 9) DAILY USERS OF CNN+ DURING ITS FIRST (AND LAST) MONTH During the one magical month that CNN+ existed‚ the streaming service reportedly saw fewer than 10‚000 daily users. That’s low‚ which is a real shame‚ but at least it’s higher than 3‚807. In fairness to Brian‚ writing a book is an impressive feat in and of itself. And as long as we’re keeping score‚ I still have fewer than 3‚807 followers on X. That being said‚ it’s still pretty funny that there are several orders of magnitude more words in Brian Stelter’s book than there are copies of it in circulation.

The sales of Brian Stelter’s latest anti-Fox News book were so low that he made an appearance with the liberal ladies of ABC’s The View on Thursday in an attempt to bump up his numbers. Of course‚ there were the usual back-slapping conversations for him going after one of their mutual hate objects‚ but Stelter also had sweet nothings to proclaim the cast: falsely claiming the show was home to truthful conversations. Faux conservative co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin touted Stelter’s “important book” and wanted to focus on the “intrigue” of the Murdoch family. “So‚ after decades of running the company‚ Rupert Murdoch announced he would step down‚ he’s passing the baton to Lachlan Murdoch. There’s a lot of intrigue around this family and is it going to look different under the son? Tell us what we can expect and what you learned in writing this?” she wondered. Keeping the discussion in fantasyland‚ Stelter suggested the Murdoch family was literally like the ridiculous TV show Succession: Rupert Murdoch was so cozy with Donald Trump at the start of the Trump presidency‚ they were best buds on the phone. The relationship has fallen apart‚ he hates Trump now. But Rupert’s handed it off to his son Lachlan.  And this is really real-life Succession‚ crazy billionaire Thanksgiving. As they were nearing the end of the second segment with Stelter‚ Farah Griffin finally got around to admitting “have a handful of very good reporters like Trey Yingst‚ Jennifer Griffin‚ people who cover actual news.” Lamenting: “And it's so hard for those journalists that they have to be next to basically people espousing propaganda.”     Stelter called Fox News “a very uncomfortable environment” for them and suggested that that was why The View was better. “[W]e should advocate to have a truthier‚ healthier environment. That’s why I love this show! Your guys are louder than the liars!” he praised. Moderator Whoopi Goldberg was tickled by that compliment and said he could join their “very truthy table any time.” Farah Griffin also chimed in‚ adding: “We correct ourselves all the time!” Farah Griffin’s exclamation was a tacit admission that they say false things often and that ABC’s legal department made them say things to blunt liability. As a NewsBusters study discovered‚ in 2022‚ The View was forced to issue three dozen (36) legal notes to cover themselves. In September‚ racist and anti-Semitic co-host Sunny Hostin and executive producer Brian Teta whined about the study on The View’s podcast. Hostin called the legal notes a “necessary evil” they had to put up with and Teta insisted that the notes were “not a correction” but rather “is something that as a part of ABC News we are asked to do to make sure we’re presenting all statements and sides.” He would later call them corrections. Stelter’s erroneous compliment flew in the face of The View’s more egregious lies. They once suggested that conservative Turning Point USA had invited neo-Nazis to one of their events‚ and were forced to retract their claims only after the group threatened to sue the show. They also falsely claimed Ginni Thomas‚ the wife of Justice Clarence Thomas‚ was an insurrectionist leader on January 6. Hostin also made a false racist attack against Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley‚ lying about her using a fake name to appear white. She also lied about Congressman Jim Jordan (R-OH) terrorizing her at a congressional hearing. Those were only a handful of The View’s lies. Stelter was right about them being loud‚ but The View cast were most definitely the liars. The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read: ABC’s The View November 30‚ 2023 11:30:52 a.m. Eastern (…) ALYSSA FARAH GRIFFIN: But you’ve got this important book out and I have to ask you‚ so after decades of running the company‚ Rupert Murdoch announced he would step down‚ he’s passing the baton to Lachlan Murdoch. There’s a lot of intrigue around this family and is it going to look different under the son? Tell us what we can expect and what you learned in writing this? BRIAN STELTER: Right. Rupert Murdoch was so cozy with Donald Trump at the start of the Trump presidency‚ they were best buds on the phone. The relationship has fallen apart‚ he hates Trump now. But Rupert’s handed it off to his son Lachlan.  And this is really real life Succession‚ crazy billionaire Thanksgiving. Lachlan Murdoch is just as conservative as his dad but is not as interested in politics; doesn't care as much about politics. So‚ I'm told he doesn't really like Trump but he’s also not doing anything to try to step in the way of this anti-democratic movement. FARAH GRIFFIN: So‚ it’s ultimately driven by the ratings. STELTER: Well‚ yes‚ that’s right. And the other brother‚ James‚ he’s on the outside. Maybe someday he can take over. I mean that's sort of the cliffhanger in the book: What's going to happen in the event of Rupert Murdoch's death? But that's awkward to say out loud and right now James is on the outside. SUNNY HOSTIN: Right. And he's less conservative‚ correct? STELTER: He definitely has more of a vision of dragging Fox back to reality. Back to the middle. SARA HAINES: That’s probably why he didn’t get the job! STELTER: Well‚ that's the thing. That’s the thing and it will be a family battle someday. (…) 11:41:22 a.m. Eastern FARAH GRIFFIN: Can I mention one thing because I have a few friends at Fox. They have a handful of very good reporters like Trey Yingst‚ Jennifer Griffin‚ people who cover actual news. And it's so hard for those journalists that they have to be next to basically people espousing propaganda. STELTER: That's what makes it a very uncomfortable environment. It’s multiple things in one. Fox though‚ it is still the beating heart of the GOP. I think it's really important to study it for that reason. We have to know how it works and how it sometimes doesn't work‚ how it goes wrong‚ because we should advocate to have a truthier‚ healthier environment. That’s why I love this show! Your guys are louder than the liars! [Applause] FARAH GRIFFIN: We correct ourselves all the time! STELTER: You got to be louder than the liars! WHOOPI GOLDBERG: Brian‚ you're welcome at this table – at this very truthy table any time. STELTER: Truthy table. Thank you. (…)