Breitbart News last week used one of the Weather Channel’s videos to mislead its readers into believing that climate change is a hoax — and now the normally non-political channel is striking back.
On this week’s episode of On Contact, Chris Hedges discusses the damage done to Europe by neoliberal policies with Philipp Ther, author of “Europe Since 1989: A History”. RT Correspondent Anya Parampil looks at the current rise of the far right in Europe spawned by neoliberalism.
Trump is man of the year, May is arms dealer of the year and Farage is twat of the year.
On Monday, over 2,000 people packed into Riverside Church in Manhattan to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Democracy Now! It was an historic occasion in part because it marked the first time Noam Chomsky and Harry Belafonte appeared on stage together in conversation. The two have been longtime champions of social justice. Chomsky is a world-renowned political dissident, linguist and author who gained fame in the 1960s for his critique of the Vietnam War and U.S. imperialism. He is institute professor emeritus at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he has taught for more than 50 years. Harry Belafonte is a longtime civil rights activist who was an immensely popular singer and actor. He was one of Martin Luther King’s closest confidants and helped organize the March on Washington in 1963.
The head of the U.S. Pacific Command decided for some reason that Wednesday’s commemoration of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor 75 years ago was the right moment to take a swipe at San Francisco 49er quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
The issue of “fake news” is one that’s currently being discussed around the internet, and it’s being framed as a big problem in the digital age.
Some have suggested that fake news is an ugly target that needs to be eradicated and blocked from the internet. Both Google and Facebook have taken steps to make fake news less prevalent, and a host of major news outlets from NPR to CNN and Forbes are all discussing this “problem.”
In many ways, it is a problem. For example, the owner of a pizza joint in Washington D.C received death threats and negative online reviews after a fake news story reported that Hillary Clinton was running a satanic child-sex-trafficking ring out of the back of the restaurant. In other ways, fake news can be highly entertaining– satire often is. It has a way of exposing our fears, our assumptions, and bringing a degree of humor into what can often be a depressing news cycle.
But honestly, in a culture that places such high value on the freedom of speech, I’m surprised at the way the entire discussion is being framed. I’m surprised that so many seem to think that the fake news itself is the problem that needs to be addressed.
It’s not.
You see, the problem isn’t fake news at all– the problem is a lack of critical thinking on the part of so many Americans.
Ralph Nader joined Thom Hartmann for a discussion about how elites got the election so wrong.
Democratic House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi appeared on the Face the Nation and sounded a lot like the party she claims to oppose.
A billboard promoting atheism during the holiday season has been run out of town by Christians in Monroe, Louisiana, who deemed it too offensive for their community’s religious sensibilities to tolerate.
Always Question Authority 