Friday, June 05, 2020
Headlines for June 5, 2020
Worst, Most Misleading & Funniest Headlines for June 5, 2020
*Unrest continues for a seventh day in former British colony
Not the Onion!
*Death of George Floyd Sets Off Sustained Protests Across US
It wasn’t the “death” of George Floyd that set off nationwide protests. It was his murder by a cop. In cold blood. While three other cops aided and abetted the murder. Knowing they were being watched, even filmed, but expecting complete impunity for their actions.
*World alarmed by U.S. protests, but thousands march in support
“Nations around the world have watched in horror at the civil unrest in the United States following the death of George Floyd.”
*Trump Threatens to Send Troops Into States
Subhead: President Deploys the Police for a Photo Op
Front page of the New York Times Tuesday. The brutal assault on peaceful protesters and even journalists like Nicole? Reduced to “deploys the police”.
*Looters swipe $2.4M worth of watches from Soho Rolex store: police sources
Ultimately changed to: Conflicting reports of looting at Soho Rolex store
"the store’s spokesman said “no watches of any kind were stolen, as there weren’t any on display in the store. There were simply windows broken and some vitrines [display cases] smashed.”"
*China, Russia and Iran using state media to attack U.S. over George Floyd killing
Ken Dilanian, who else? “All three countries used their substantial online editorial presences to criticize the Floyd killing, the police reaction to protests, and President Donald Trump.” Pretty sure that applies to media in most countries in the world, including the U.S.!
““It should be noted that the latest known pro-Chinese government messaging information operations on social media have been marked by their clumsy and spammy approach; such covert operations would be unlikely to play a substantial role in stoking the American protests on the ground.”
*George Floyd death: China takes a victory lap over US protests
“Chinese state media have given extensive coverage to the protests, highlighting the chaotic scenes and alleged police brutality in America to claim that China enjoys greater social stability.”
“Chinese and Hong Kong officials have also called out the US for applying "double standards" in its response to civil unrest.
"You know there are riots in the United States and we see how local governments reacted," said Hong Kong's leader Carrie Lam.
"And then in Hong Kong, when we had similar riots, we saw what position they adopted then."
“"It's powerful, because they are not making it up," Prof Repnikova says.”
*Russia Jumps on Floyd Killing as Proof of U.S. Hypocrisy
“The Kremlin line is that peaceful protests always escalate into riots. They want to portray all peaceful protesters as criminals. This is why they use all these pictures from the U.S.,” said Ivan Kurilla, an expert on Russia’s relations with the United States at the European University at St. Petersburg.
“By taking measures to prevent looting and other illegal actions, authorities should not violate the rights of Americans to peaceful protest,” Maria Zakharova, the foreign ministry’s spokeswoman,
China, Iran targeting presidential campaigns with hacking attempts, Google announces
These were simple phishing attempts, something so simple even I could do it, hardly indicative of government run operations, no matter what Google claims. “Iran has a history of weaponizing information.” By what, reporting on the death of George Floyd? What does that even mean, anyway, “weaponizing information”?
A story we covered back on March 20 but took on added signifance last week after the murder of George Floyd and the nationwide outrage that followed:
Russia Trying to Stoke U.S. Racial Tensions Before Election, Officials Say
It never stops, despite this: “Russia’s primary goal…is to foster a sense of chaos in the US, though its motivations are under debate.” As I have several times recently, I ask: “Has this chaos reduced the war budget? Kept the US from opposing Nordstream? Stopped it from trying to overthrow Assad or Maduro?” They never point to any conceivable benefit to Russia from this “chaos” they’re allegedly causing, because there isn’t any.
And how are they causing this chaos? Through utterly nefarious means…by reporting the truth:
“Russia’s more public influence operations, like state-backed news organizations, have continued to push divisive racial narratives, including stories emphasizing allegations of police abuse in the United States and highlighting racism against African-Americans within the military.”
Also “Last week, RT ran a story about a video of New York police arresting a black man that sparked outrage.”
