Facebook partners with notorious NATO / US pro-war propaganda think-tank to... 'identify and counter fake news and disinformation'

[Delicieuxz]

This obviously is related to politics, but there's no way around it in this case, where one of the biggest and most influential of the tech giants is outright partnering with a political and geopolitical propaganda organization.

 

Article: To ‘protect democracy,’ scandal-fearing Facebook teams up with ‘unbiased’ Atlantic Council

 

Quote

Facebook is “excited to launch a new partnership with the Atlantic Council, which has a stellar reputation looking at innovative solutions to hard problems,” Katie Harbath, Facebook’s director for global politics and government outreach, announced on Thursday.

 

“Experts” from the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab (DFRL) will work closely with Facebook’s “security, policy and product teams” to offer “real-time insights and updates on emerging threats and disinformation campaigns from around the world,” Harbath added.

 

But wait, there’s more! The Atlantic Council’s Digital Research Unit Monitoring Missions will help Facebook watch out for “misinformation and foreign interference” during “elections and other highly sensitive moments” and also work to “help educate citizens as well as civil society.”

 

Atlantic Council is a notorious xenophobic, war-mongering, and propaganda-and-disinformation creating-and-disseminating "think-tank" which receives funding from the US State Department, the Clinton Foundation, oil companies, and dictatorships, and which has a lengthy history of both pushing for war on false pretext and of maliciously targeting, attacking, and smearing innocent individuals who say things unfavourable to US propaganda.

 

Here is a list of 2015 donors to Atlantic Council.

 

 

Atlantic Council has openly advocated terrorist attacks on the US' geopolitical rivals.

 

Atlantic Council is also one of the groups that, in partnership with the CIA and the Ukrainian government, operated the discredited and disgraced Russophobic PropOrNot disinformation program, which during the 2016 US federal election campaign labelled any US and UK news outlets that didn't parrot fake and CIA propaganda as "Russian propaganda" - an action which swiftly resulted in PropOrNot itself becoming dumped, discredited, and blacklisted by US news media as fast as it had appeared on the scene.

 

Unpacking the Shadowy Outfit Behind 2017’s Biggest Fake News Story

FAKE NEWS | How The Atlantic Council Promoted Anti Russian Propaganda

The Anonymous Blacklist Promoted by the Washington Post Has Apparent Ties to Ukrainian Fascism and CIA Spying

PropOrNot Website Exposed As CIA And Ukrainian Operation

 

Seemingly prepared and at-the-ready, the CIA-funded Washington Post boosted PropOrNot as soon as it came on the scene, but received backlash for doing so:

 

Washington Post Disgracefully Promotes a McCarthyite Blacklist From a New, Hidden, and Very Shady Group

The 'Washington Post' 'Blacklist' Story Is Shameful and Disgusting

 

 

The specific Digital Forensic Research Lab mentioned in the article has been recently lambasted for targeting and attacking individuals for being "Russian bots", though in all cases the individuals have turned out to neither be Russian or bots.

 

Here were some of their recent targets (no retraction or apology was made by Atlantic council after its accusations were found to be false):

 

 

 

 

 

Facebook telling claiming that its partnering with Atlantic Council to identify and combat fake news and disinformation campaigns isn't like pissing in your face and telling you that it's raining, it's more like force-shitting down your throat and telling you it's Nutella.

 

Supposing that Facebook isn't simply now just attempting to retroactively justify in the public space a partnership that already existed, if Facebook goes through with this then Facebook itself will be a literal US state propaganda tool, and a pro-war US / NATO propaganda megaphone.

 

The remarkable claim that Facebook is partnering with one of the most vociferous and malevolently-biased propaganda organizations there are for the sake of 'identifying and countering fake news and disinformation' means that US espionage and Facebook now think so little of the intelligence of the average person that they aren't even lifting a finger to try to mask their actions anymore.

 

 

Edit:

 

Atlantic Council just recently published an article, on May 3rd, calling for a "NATO for Infowar", which was filled with false claims.

 

Two days later, the US government announced it was shifting Cybercom to a cyber-warfare unit.

 

And now, just under two weeks later, Facebook is announcing it is going to be a part of the Infowar NATO that Atlantic Council spoke of.

[Granular]

Facebook is evil. More news at 11.

[NMS]

This is my non-political but extremely biased response: does anyone even care about Facebook?

[Selah]

Partnering with a propogandic corporation? What could go wrong for actual humans? :^)

 

All that fake (real) news is going to disappear. Oh Lord we are saved.

[asus killer]

i'm confused. Facebook is partnering with a "xenophobic, war-mongering, and propaganda-and-disinformation creating-and-disseminating think-tank" to "identify and counter fake news and disinformation".

The source is mainly a very unbiased "RT" and some other shady news sources.

 

Nothing to see here, move along.

[Mihle]

Very biased and shady news sources.....

[Delicieuxz]

13 minutes ago, asus killer said:

i'm confused. Facebook is partnering with a "xenophobic, war-mongering, and propaganda-and-disinformation creating-and-disseminating think-tank" to "identify and counter fake news and disinformation".

The source is mainly a very unbiased "RT" and some other shady news sources.

 

Nothing to see here, move along.

Your post is biased and deceitful.

 

The source is Facebook's announcement, Atlantic Council's own comments and undisputed history, its list of donors, and analysis by reputable award-winning sources such Consortium News and The Intercept.

 

RT, which is probably the most objective and honest English mainstream news source there is, is a medium reporting the news while including a link to Facebook's announcement in its article.

 

If you can't differentiate between a source and a news outlet that reports the source, then that's something for you to work on. But please don't be a propagandist in this thread.

[Selah]

6 minutes ago, Delicieuxz said:

Your post is biased and deceitful.

 

The source is Facebook's announcement, Atlantic Council's own comments and undisputed history, its list of donors, and analysis by reputable award-winning sources such Consortium News and The Intercept.

 

RT, which is probably the most objective and honest English mainstream news source there is, is a medium reporting the news while including a link to Facebook's announcement in its article.

 

If you can't differentiate between a source and a news outlet that reports the source, then that's something for you to work on. But please don't be a propagandist in this thread.

Rt is state owned by Russia though. They have a point.

[Delicieuxz]

41 minutes ago, M00NMUFFIN said:

 

So? All the most popular news in the West is state-funded. What's your point?

 

BBC, CBC, Washington Post, CNN, Euronews, France24, Atlantic Council, Radio Free Europe, Voice of America, Deutsche Welle, the multitude of US news outlets that receive funding from Broadcasting Board of Governors, those receiving funding from Alhurra, and many, many more.

 

If you watch news in the US or UK, you're watching state-funded news.

 

RT, while funded by the Russian government, is designed, produced, and hosted by people formerly from BBC, NYT, CNN, NBC, Newsweek, The Guardian, and other well-known Western news outlets, making RT the most compositionally-balanced mainstream news outlet there is. Many of the people at RT left their former news outlets because they weren't allowed to report freely at them. One of the producers at RT who used to work at BBC said the BBC does pre-show prep to ensure that hosts aren't going to contradict the government narrative on various subjects. Multiple people at RT have said they have far more freedom at RT than they did at CNN, NBC, or elsewhere.

 

As I said, RT, is probably the most objective and honest English mainstream news source there is, is a medium reporting the news while including a link to Facebook's announcement in its article.

 

40 minutes ago, Selah said:

Rt is state owned by Russia though. They have a point.

RT is funded by the Russian state, but isn't owned by the Russian state.

[asus killer]

those aren't factual news, for the most part are opinions and conspiracy theories. All you have to do is read links.

I have no idea if some of what they say is true or not, but they aren't a trustworthy news source by any means.

[Drak3]

7 minutes ago, Delicieuxz said:

As I said, RT, is probably the most objective and honest English mainstream news source there is,

Okay, Putin.

[Sauron]

16 minutes ago, Delicieuxz said:

Your post is biased and deceitful.

 

The source is Facebook's announcement, Atlantic Council's own comments and undisputed history, its list of donors, and analysis by reputable award-winning sources such Consortium News and The Intercept.

 

RT, which is probably the most objective and honest English mainstream news source there is, is a medium reporting the news while including a link to Facebook's announcement in its article.

 

If you can't differentiate between a source and a news outlet that reports the source, then that's something for you to work on. But please don't be a propagandist in this thread.

This:

1 hour ago, Delicieuxz said:

Atlantic Council is a notorious xenophobic, war-mongering, and propaganda-and-disinformation creating-and-disseminating "think-tank"

is a biased outlook, regardless of whether you agree or not. Bias is not necessarily a bad thing, but we must recognize it. It's more than just the source, it's an interpretation - which again is fine, as long as we're aware of it. The quote from the article also sports sarcastic "s, which show the author's opinion.

 

It's also interesting how this "fake news" stuff is becoming more and more about what you choose to believe, which is how it used to be before the internet.

[Delicieuxz]

32 minutes ago, asus killer said:

those aren't factual news, for the most part are opinions and conspiracy theories. All you have to do is read links.

The RT article links to the Facebook announcement where Facebook says on its own Facebook website in a news bulletin:

 

"Today, we’re excited to launch a new partnership with the Atlantic Council, which has a stellar reputation looking at innovative solutions to hard problems. Experts from their Digital Forensic Research Lab will work closely with our security, policy and product teams to get Facebook real-time insights and updates on emerging threats and disinformation campaigns from around the world."

 

So, that's fact.

 

The next link is the list of Atlantic Council donors, which links to the list of Atlantic Council donors that comes from Atlantic Council. So, that's fact, too.

 

The next link is an RT article which quotes and links to Atlantic Council's own report calling for the right to initiate attacks on Russia's critical infrastructure and public services. So, that's factual, too.

 

The next series of links features analysis of PropOrNot's own web resources that include mention of their involved groups (such as their website being registered to InterpreterMag.com), and allude to individual people who are officially involved in those groups.

 

The next couple of links include an article from award-winning and internationally-renowned The Intercept, by a Pulitzer-Prize-winning author, and Rolling Stone, both lambasting the CIA-funded Washington Post for its promoting of a McCarthyist blacklist that was subsequently debunked.

 

Next up in the OP are a few twitter posts from people who were literally accused by Atlantic Council in a UK-government-commissioned report of being "Russian bots" - which was widely covered in the news.

 

Also, Atlantic council does routinely push for wars and aggressive initiative against US geopolitical rivals, and did encourage aggression against Libya based on what are now known to have been lies. So, saying such is fact, too.

 

 

So, when you say this isn't factual news but opinions... you're either being deliberately deceitful, or have made an assumption before checking anything. Because the OP subject matter and links contain factual news and not opinion.

 

 

 

By the way, Atlantic Council just published an article on May 3rd calling for a "NATO for Infowar", which was filled with false claims.

 

Two days later, the US government announced it was shifting Cybercom to a cyber-warfare unit.

 

And now, just under two weeks later, Facebook is announcing it is going to be a part of the Infowar NATO that Atlantic Council spoke of.

[Tech_Dreamer]

whos fighting who? it's an ideology game now.

[asus killer]

24 minutes ago, Delicieuxz said:

The RT article links to the Facebook announcement where Facebook says on its own Facebook website in a news bulletin:

 

"Today, we’re excited to launch a new partnership with the Atlantic Council, which has a stellar reputation looking at innovative solutions to hard problems. Experts from their Digital Forensic Research Lab will work closely with our security, policy and product teams to get Facebook real-time insights and updates on emerging threats and disinformation campaigns from around the world."

 

So, that's fact.

 

The next link is the list of Atlantic Council donors, which links to the list of Atlantic Council donors that comes from Atlantic Council. So, that's fact, too.

 

The next link is an RT article which quotes and links to Atlantic Council's own report calling for the right to initiate attacks on Russia's critical infrastructure and public services. So, that's factual, too.

 

The next series of links features analysis of PropOrNot's own web resources that include mention of their involved parties.

 

The next couple of links include an article from award-winning and internationally-renowned The Intercept, by a Pulitzer-Prize-winning author, and Rolling Stone, both lambasting the CIA-funded Washington Post for its promoting of a McCarthyist blacklist that was subsequently debunked.

 

Next up in the OP are a few twitter posts from people who were literally accused by Atlantic Council in a UK-government-commissioned report of being "Russian bots" - which was widely covered in the news.

 

Also, Atlantic council does routinely push for wars and aggressive initiative against US geopolitical rivals, and did encourage aggression against Libya based on what are now known to have been lied. So, saying such is fact, too.

 

 

So, when you say this isn't factual news but opinions... you're either being deliberately deceitful, or have made an assumption before checking anything. Because the OP subject matter and links contain factual news and not opinion.

 

i am not saying there aren't actual facts in there, i'm saying those aren't factual news.

Misinformation and propaganda are just that, facts mixed with not facts, opinions and conspiracy theories.

 

I'm also not taking sides, for me Russia and the US are equally shady and untrustworthy. This is a war between ideologies like someone said, between 2 countries led by morons.

[Mihle]

1 hour ago, Delicieuxz said:

 

RT, which is probably the most objective and honest English mainstream news source there is, is a medium reporting the news while including a link to Facebook's announcement in its article

RT most objective? LOOOL!

[Delicieuxz]

2 minutes ago, Mihle said:

RT most objective?

Out of English mainstream news sources, definitely. I think you're greatly over-estimating the objectivity of English mainstream news sources.

[RuffRuffmcgruff]

WOW, all the hate OP getting for being completely right. This is scary, 1984 rings a bell. They're just creating their own truths now and don't even have to hide it anymore. Get me off this fucking planet

[Mihle]

16 minutes ago, Delicieuxz said:

Out of English mainstream news sources, definitely. I think you're greatly over-estimating the objectivity of English mainstream news sources.

You are greatly over-estemaiting the objectivity of RT.

[Curufinwe_wins]

3 minutes ago, RuffRuffmcgruff said:

WOW, all the hate OP getting for being completely right. This is scary, 1984 rings a bell. They're just creating their own truths now and don't even have to hide it anymore. Get me off this fucking planet

And if all others accepted the lie which the Party imposed – if all records told the same tale – then the lie passed into history and became truth. "Who controls the past," ran the Party slogan, "controls the future: who controls the present controls the past." And yet the past, though of its nature alterable, never had been altered. Whatever was true now was true from everlasting to everlasting. It was quite simple. All that was needed was an unending series of victories over your own memory. "Reality control," they called it: in Newspeak, "doublethink." (1.3.18)

 

Sounds good, but most of the time people can't keep winning indefinitely, and thus the 1984 mantra doesn't actually work all that well in practice (though I can guarantee you, not a government on Earth hasn't tried to figure that out.)

 

Thing is... last I checked, Trump hasn't directly murdered his opposition leader (or Obama for that matter). The obviously verifiable facts must be true because the obvious lie serves to discredit. The key is framing. I can show you a set of facts, and frame a tale better than any pure fantasy, because the human mind will fill in the gaps with their own biases. Only by checking for inconsistencies can we really see the battle lines in the world struggle for disinformation propagation.

[RuffRuffmcgruff]

2 minutes ago, Curufinwe_wins said:

And if all others accepted the lie which the Party imposed – if all records told the same tale – then the lie passed into history and became truth. "Who controls the past," ran the Party slogan, "controls the future: who controls the present controls the past." And yet the past, though of its nature alterable, never had been altered. Whatever was true now was true from everlasting to everlasting. It was quite simple. All that was needed was an unending series of victories over your own memory. "Reality control," they called it: in Newspeak, "doublethink." (1.3.18)

 

Sounds good, but most of the time people can't keep winning indefinitely, and thus the 1984 mantra doesn't actually work all that well in practice (though I can guarantee you, not a government on Earth hasn't tried to figure that out.)

 

Thing is... last I checked, Trump hasn't directly murdered his opposition leader (or Obama for that matter). The obviously verifiable facts must be true because the obvious lie serves to discredit. The key is framing. I can show you a set of facts, and frame a tale better than any pure fantasy, because the human mind will fill in the gaps with their own biases. Only by checking for inconsistencies can we really see the battle lines in the world struggle for disinformation propagation.

Completely agree, but I wouldn't think they'd try something like that overnight. It's little stepping stones leading up to a point of, i know Alex Jones coming out now, a new world order, ruled by one government, under one currency with one news feed. 

[RuffRuffmcgruff]

1 minute ago, Sampsy said:

Seriously? RT is literally the mouthpiece of the Kremlin. It's as bad a news source as you can get. 

Curious, where do you get your news from?

[Delicieuxz]

3 minutes ago, Sampsy said:

Seriously? RT is literally the mouthpiece of the Kremlin. It's as bad a news source as you can get. 

Or, so you've been conditioned by Western propaganda to dogmatically think, so that you'll dismiss any information that that Western propaganda deems as unfavourable towards its propaganda.

 

What US or UK news comes close to the objectivity and all-sides analysis of RT? Certainly not CNN, Fox News, NYT, NBC, Washington Post, BBC...

[Curufinwe_wins]

15 minutes ago, Delicieuxz said:

Or, so you've been conditioned by Western propaganda to dogmatically think, so that you'll dismiss any information that that Western propaganda deems as unfavourable towards its propaganda.

 

What US or UK news comes close to the objectivity and all-sides analysis of RT? Certainly not CNN, Fox News, NYT, NBC, Washington Post, BBC...

With all due respect. I've read a lot of RT. Objective and all-sides analysis is not something I would even come close to putting forth as strong suits. RT does a better job at vetting statements of facts than Fox (lol) and most US media, while putting an even stronger spin on telling you what to think from those facts.

 

As it happens, the paper I am most impressed with in that regard is "The Hill", however they have a fairly limited scope of news topics, and primarily meet objectivity by having very broad general statement articles, and explicitly varied opinion pieces from rather outspoken contributors all around the isle.

 

 

As always a varied diet of news sources is the best way to waver through to the kernels of truth in this world, and in particular being able to distinguish between fact and framing. Something your OP does a rather terrible job with (as a minor critique).

[hobobobo]

1 minute ago, Delicieuxz said:

Or, so you've been conditioned by Western propaganda to dogmatically think, so that you'll dismiss any information that that Western propaganda deems as unfavourable towards its propaganda.

 

What US or UK news comes close to the objectivity and all-sides analysis of RT? Certainly not CNN, Fox News, NYT, NBC, Washington Post, BBC...

What always gets me is the first sentence of your sounds completly bonkers, as in out of this world fantasy, despite being more or less based in reality. Maybe its the years of immersion in western culture, but it so hard to take it for what it is without hearing constant "USA! USA! USA!" chanting in my head.

 

PS. Zvezda - most unbiased tv news. Maybe Vera, clerical view of the news is fucking amazing, if i was still smocking weed id watch it 24/7