eicker.news ᳇ tech newsDec 24
The #USStateDepartment barred five #Europe|ans, including leaders of organisations addressing #digitalhate and a former #EUcommissioner, accusing them of pressuring #UStech firms to #censor #Americanviewpoints. This action is part of the #Trump administration’s campaign against #foreigninfluence over #onlinespeech, utilising immigration law. The five individuals were identified by the under secretary of state for public diplomacy, Sarah Rogers. https://apnews.com/article/state-department-trump-immigration-rubio-visas-87c8a4692f3184e4f83fdd8ed5093886?eicker.news #tech #media #news
US bars five Europeans accused of censoring Americans

The State Department is barring five Europeans it accuses of leading efforts to pressure U.S. tech firms to censor or suppress American viewpoints. Secretary of State Marco Rubio characterized them as “radical” activists and “weaponized” nongovernmental organizations. The five Europeans include the leaders of organizations that address digital hate and a former EU commissioner who clashed with tech billionaire Elon Musk over broadcasting an online interview with Donald Trump. Rubio’s statement said the five Europeans advanced foreign government censorship campaigns against Americans and U.S. companies, which he said created “potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences” for the U.S.

AP News
Mother Jones MagazineDec 3

Why Did Trump Pardon the Former Honduran President? Follow the Tech Bros.

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/12/why-did-trump-pardon-the-former-honduran-president-follow-the-tech-bros/

Miguel Afonso CaetanoDec 3

"Back in March 2011, the Israeli consulate in New York City had a problem. A group of soldiers from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) were coming to the U.S. on a PR trip, and Israeli officials needed help persuading influential media outlets to interview the delegation.

Luckily for the consulate, a new organization called Act For Israel, led by Israeli-American actor Noa Tishby, was prepared to swing into action. “[I]n mid March 2011, the New York Consulate requested our assistance,” Tishby’s organization wrote in a document revealed in a recent trove of leaked emails.

“Act For Israel quickly arranged seven interviews with the top ranks of U.S. blogs and radio shows,” the document explained, highlighting that their efforts helped promote “Israel’s narrative” in Red State, which it described as the “most read blog by US Senators and Congress representatives.”

The previously unreported campaign appears to have violated the Foreign Agents Registration Act, which mandates that American citizens and organizations publicly disclose any work that seeks to influence American politics on behalf of a foreign power. “That sounds like a slam-dunk case of activities that should have required FARA registration,” said Ben Freeman, a FARA expert at the Quincy Institute, which publishes RS.

The leak provides a rare window into how some pro-Israel activists have skirted rules aimed at providing transparency about foreign influence over American politics — a practice that has helped obscure the scale of Israeli propaganda efforts in the United States. In public, Act For Israel appeared to be no more than a group of pro-Israel Americans advocating for a stronger U.S.-Israel relationship. But the leaked emails and documents show that representatives of the organization sought to shape U.S. public opinion while boasting privately of their intimate collaboration with the Israeli government."

https://responsiblestatecraft.org/israel-noa-tishby/

#Israel #USA #ForeignInfluence #Propaganda #IDF

Inside Israel's shadow campaign to win over American media

Leaked emails show how Act for Israel, led by Noa Tishby, worked on behalf of Israel to advance its interests in the United States

Responsible Statecraft
Eric Darnley SmallNov 25
The recent update to X (formerly Twitter) allowing users to see the geographic location of accounts has revealed that many prominent pro-MAGA and Trump-supporting accounts are operated from regions outside the United States. These accounts, with large followings and active engagement in U.S. politics, often share content supporting Trump and his policies, raising concerns about foreign influence and misinformation campaigns aimed at shaping American political discourse. Researchers from NewsGuard have identified several of these accounts, noting that they spread misleading and polarized claims about U.S. politics, including false narratives related to Democrats. This discovery highlights ongoing challenges in moderating foreign interference and misinformation. Will social media companies take stronger steps to verify account origins and combat foreign influence? More here: https://fortune.com/2025/11/25/elon-musk-x-maga-supporters-influencers-overseas-locations/ #X #ForeignInfluence #Misinformation #SocialMedia #USPolitics
Elon Musk might have just accidentally revealed that a lot of MAGA influencers are based in South Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe

Elon Musk’s X unveiled a feature Saturday that lets users see where an account is based. Oops.

Fortune
WinbuzzerNov 25

https://winbuzzer.com/2025/11/25/x-feature-accidentally-exposes-foreign-influence-operations-xcxwbn/

New X Feature Accidentally Exposes Foreign Influence MAGA Operations

#SocialMedia #ElonMusk #X #Disinformation #Privacy #Security #Politics #ForeignInfluence #TrustAndSafety #ContentModeration #Botnets #Cybersecurity #ClickFarms

legolasposeidon at KillBaitNov 25

MAGA Influencers Revealed to Be Operating from Abroad, Causing Online Stir

A recent investigation has uncovered that a number of popular MAGA (Make America Great Again) social media influencers are not based in the U.S., as many had assumed, but are actually operating from foreign countries. This revelation came to light after podcaster Matt Binder shared screenshots of va... [More info]

Mother Jones MagazineNov 24

Twitter’s Foreign Influence Problem Is Nothing New

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/11/twitters-foreign-influence-problem-is-nothing-new/

The USA PotatoNov 24

Twitter’s Foreign Influence Problem Is Nothing New

Late last week, the X social media platform rolled out a new “location indicator” tool, plans for which had first been announced in October. Suddenly, it became much easier to get information on where in the world the site’s users are actually posting from, theoretically helping to illuminate inauthentic behavior, including attempted foreign influence. “It […]

https://murica.website/2025/11/twitters-foreign-influence-problem-is-nothing-new/

Twitter’s Foreign Influence Problem Is Nothing New – The USA Potato

TechdirtNov 24

X’s New Feature Reveals Why Trust & Safety Work Was Never About The ‘Censorship Industrial Complex’

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://www.techdirt.com/2025/11/24/xs-new-feature-reveals-why-trust-safety-work-was-never-about-the-censorship-industrial-complex/

X’s New Feature Reveals Why Trust & Safety Work Was Never About The ‘Censorship Industrial Complex’

For the last few years, Matt Taibbi, Michael Shellenberger, and their allies have spent considerable energy attacking both academic researchers studying disinformation and the trust & safety te…

Techdirt
goldfishromania at KillBaitNov 23

MAGA Influencers Revealed to Be Operating from Abroad, Causing Online Stir

This revelation raises serious questions about the authenticity of the MAGA movement's online presence. It's unsettling to think that major influencers could be operating from abroad, influencing American politics without any real connection to the U.S. It's hard to ignore the potential for foreign ...

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