Mastodawn

Zhi Zhu 🕸️13h ago

"The #US is no longer a #democracy. One of the most credible global sources on the health of democratic nations now says this outright. The Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) Institute at Gothenburg University reaches the alarming conclusion in its annual report, that the US is hurtling towards #autocracy at a faster rate than #Hungary and #Turkey.

...the US ... has lost its long-term status as a liberal democracy."
https://www.theguardian.com/world/commentisfree/2026/mar/17/trump-is-aiming-for-dictatorship-thats-the-verdict-of-the-worlds-most-credible-democracy-watchdog

#Trump #GOP #Politics #USPol #News #USA #UnitedStates

Zhi Zhu 🕸️

"“For Orbán in #Hungary, it took about four years, for Vučić in #Serbia, it took eight years, and for Erdoğan in #Turkey and Modi in #India, it took about 10 years to accomplish the suppression of democratic institutions that #Trump has achieved in only one year,” Lindberg says.

US #democracy is now back at the worst recorded level since 1965, when US #CivilRights laws first introduced de facto universal suffrage. All progress made since then has been erased"
https://www.theguardian.com/world/commentisfree/2026/mar/17/trump-is-aiming-for-dictatorship-thats-the-verdict-of-the-worlds-most-credible-democracy-watchdog

‘Trump is aiming for dictatorship’. That’s the verdict of the world’s most credible democracy watchdog

Sweden’s V-Dem Institute warns that the US is no longer a liberal democracy. And autocracy is creeping across Europe too, says writer Martin Gelin

The Guardian

Zhi Zhu 🕸️12h ago

"A record 41% (3.4 billion) of the world’s population currently resides in countries where democracy is deteriorating... #Washington is leading this global turn away from #democracy.

...the speed with which US democracy is being dismantled is unprecedented in modern history. The main factor is a “rapid and aggressive concentration of powers in the presidency”... At the same time, civil rights have been rapidly declining and freedom of expression is now at its lowest level since the 1940s."

Zhi Zhu 🕸️12h ago

[Speaking of Freedom of Expression, Trump's #FCC chair is threatening the broadcast licenses of any #news agency whose reporting does not please the king.]

"The is the federal government telling news stations to provide favorable coverage of the war or their licenses will be pulled.

A truly extraordinary moment.

We aren't on the verge of a totalitarian takeover. WE ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF IT."
- US Senator Chris Murphy
https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:moye3apncjjbyqgb7orp5quj/post/3mh2jsyhiys2d

#Trump #BrendanCarr #FreeSpeech #Press #US #USA

Zhi Zhu 🕸️12h ago

Here is #BrendanCarr, quote-posting #Trump & threatening the broadcast licenses of any #news organization that does not provide favorable coverage of Trump's #war in #Iran:

"Broadcasters that are running hoaxes and news distortions – also known as the fake news – have a chance now to correct course before their license renewals come up.

The law is clear. Broadcasters must operate in the public [Trump's] interest, and they will lose their licenses if they do not."

#Fascism #Politics #US #USA

Zhi Zhu 🕸️11h ago

"Donald Trump letting you know how the authoritarian capture of the media is going, in case you missed it. Unlike other authoritarians in places like Hungary and Poland he has no worries about advertising his authoritarian take over of the media."
- Eliot Higgins
https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:2whlowi5jjjqrdrrj4lxh2lx/post/3mh2cnoznqs2z

#DonaldTrump #Trump #Authoritarian #Fascism #GOP #Politics #News #Press #Media #FreeSpeech #FirstAmendment #US #USA #UnitedStates #America

Zhi Zhu 🕸️11h ago

Trump’s FCC Chairman Threatens Broadcasters’ Licenses After POTUS’ Tirade Over Iran War News Coverage
https://deadline.com/2026/03/trumps-fcc-chairman-threatens-broadcasters-licenses-after-potus-tirade-over-iran-war-news-coverage-1236753887/

"Donald Trump‘s FCC chairman threatened broadcaster licenses and warned that news outlets should “course correct” before their renewals come up after the president blasted the media over their coverage of the Iran war."

#Trump #BrendanCarr #FCC #Fascism #Politics #News #Press #FreeSpeech #US #USA #UnitedStates #America #FirstAmendment

Zhi Zhu 🕸️11h ago

"Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI) wrote on X about Carr’s post, “This is a clear directive to provide positive war coverage or else licenses may not be renewed. This is worse than the comedian stuff, and by a lot. The stakes here are much higher. He’s not talking about late night shows, he’s talking about how a war is covered.”

Carr also has gone after late night and daytime talk shows"
https://deadline.com/2026/03/trumps-fcc-chairman-threatens-broadcasters-licenses-after-potus-tirade-over-iran-war-news-coverage-1236753887/

#Trump #BrendanCarr #FCC #Fascism #News #TV #Media #FreeSpeech #Iran #War #US #USA #America

Trump’s FCC Chairman Threatens Broadcasters’ Licenses After POTUS’ Tirade Over Iran War News Coverage

Brendan Carr warned that broadcasters could "course correct" before station renewals.

Deadline

Zhi Zhu 🕸️11h ago

"the threats of agency action are the point. There’s even a term for it: #Jawboning ... intended to elicit an action from a #private company by mere pressure from a #government entity.

...Gomez wrote about Carr ... “The #FCC can issue threats all day long, but it is powerless to carry them out. Such threats violate the #FirstAmendment and will go nowhere. Broadcasters should continue covering the #news, fiercely and independently, without fear of government pressure.”

#Politics #US #USA

Zhi Zhu 🕸️11h ago

“Let’s be direct: what Chair Carr is describing is government control of the press. He can call it public interest. He can call it accountability. It’s neither. Using federal regulatory power to threaten broadcast licenses over coverage decisions is unconstitutional — full stop. The #FirstAmendment does not have a carve out for news the #FCC chair finds inconvenient.”
https://deadline.com/2026/03/trumps-fcc-chairman-threatens-broadcasters-licenses-after-potus-tirade-over-iran-war-news-coverage-1236753887/

#DonaldTrump #Trump #BrendanCarr #Fascism #Authoritarianism #News #Media #TV #Press #Journalism #US

Zhi Zhu 🕸️11h ago

Rep Ted Lieu provides an appropriate response to Trump and Carr's attempt to control the media:

"Dear @BrendanCarrFCC: If you implement your flagrantly anti First Amendment actions, you will be sued and you will lose. And legal discovery will be awesome. Because the American people can then find out what the administration keeps hiding.

Take your fascist shit and shove it."

Source: https://bsky.app/profile/nancy-oshea.bsky.social/post/3mh2lw742ss2a

#Trump #BrendanCarr #FCC #Fascism #Politics #USPol #US #USA #UnitedStates #America

Zhi Zhu 🕸️11h ago

"Carr, an author of #Project2025 whom Trump hand-picked to run the FCC, has sought to use his powerful position to bend #media outlets — and late-night talk show hosts — to the #Trump administration’s will. Under his watch, the #FCC has opened investigations into multiple #news outlets and threatened to strip the licenses of broadcasting companies deemed to have covered the administration and the president unfavorably."
https://www.ms.now/news/trump-fcc-chair-news-networks-iran-war-coverage

#DonaldTrump #Fascism #Politics #US #USA #America

Zhi Zhu 🕸️11h ago

It's not the public interest Carr cares about
The FCC Chairman wants to make the boss happy

by Ann Telnaes
Mar 15, 2026

"Trump wants propaganda, not news coverage of his war and FCC Chairman Brendan Carr is making threats to get it."
https://anntelnaes.substack.com/p/its-not-the-public-interest-carr

#EditorialCartoon #PoliticalCartoon #Cartoon #Politics #Humor #DonaldTrump #Trump #BrendanCarr #FCC #Fascism #News #Press #Media #TV #Journalism #FreeSpeech #US #USA #UnitedStates #America

Zhi Zhu 🕸️11h ago

"The First Amendment has been around for a lot longer than Trump and MAGA. It was ratified on December 15, 1791, as part of the Bill of Rights. Trump’s near-constant attacks on it are a serious matter, and we should take them seriously. Our continued exercise of our rights under the First Amendment is essential to its survival."
- Joyce Vance
https://joycevance.substack.com/p/attacking-the-first-amendment-on

#FirstAmendment #FreeSpeech #BillOfRights #Constitution #Freedom #US #USA #UnitedStates #America #Fascism #DonaldTrump #Trump

Attacking the First Amendment on Repeat

Nothing like casual threats to free speech on a Saturday morning in America.

Civil Discourse with Joyce Vance

Zhi Zhu 🕸️11h ago

"Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), who has faced scrutiny from the administration for advising service members to disobey illegal orders, wrote: “When our nation is at #war it is critical that the #press is free to report without #government interference. It is literally in the #Constitution. This is overreach by the #FCC because this administration doesn’t like the microscope and doesn’t want to be held accountable.”"
https://www.commondreams.org/news/fcc-chair-carr-threatens

#Trump #BrendanCarr #News #Media #Journalism #US #USA

Zhi Zhu 🕸️10h ago

Here is the report about #democracy referred to in the first post of this thread:
https://www.v-dem.net/documents/75/V-Dem_Institute_Democracy_Report_2026_lowres.pdf

As you can see, it has an entire chapter about the autocratization of the #USA with sub-headings like:

"Undoing #CivilRights and Equality before the #Law"

"The Most Rapid “Executive Aggrandizement” in Modern #History"

"Seeking to Silence #Media, Dissenting Voices, and Academia"

"Elections Remain Largely Unaffected – For Now"

#Trump #GOP #Fascism #Politics #News #US #USA #UnitedStates

Zhi Zhu 🕸️7h ago

"Donald Trump fumed on Truth Social about newspapers covering attacks on #US tanker aircrafts in #SaudiArabia. Within hours, FCC chair #BrendanCarr ...vowed to revoke the licenses of broadcasters who air what he called “fake news”...

Early on Monday, #Trump completed the sycophantic cycle with a second post announcing that he’s “thrilled” by Carr’s threats and accusing unnamed #media outlets of “treason”"
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/mar/17/trump-iran-fcc-brendan-carr

#DonaldTrump #FCC #Fascism #News #Press #TV #USA #UnitedStates

@ZhiZhu "Good night and good luck."

Eric Schutte 11h ago

@ZhiZhu
Interesting; ‘no more biased fact checking’ on Meta and ‘free speech’ on X/Twitter.
So the real truth can be massively spread on Meta, X (and Truth Social?) and NOBODY will moderate that. Free speech has two sides; 1=misinformation 2=the truth !!!!!
#RemoveTrumpAdministration #JudgementDayWillCome