bill barr only has time for bagpipes.
Posted on 06/16/2020 3:48:25 PM PDT by EyesOfTX
NBC blue-check “journalists” celebrated all over Twitter Tuesday afternoon after engaging in blatant anti-trust behavior, conspiring with Google to de-platform conservative news sites The Federalist and ZeroHedge. It later turned out that they had not quite succeeded in the way they had hoped, as Google backed off to some extent – probably on their internal lawyers’ advice – but the clear anti-trust nature of NBC/Comcasts’ actions was not lost on at least one GOP Senator.
The controversy started when NBCNews ran this story:
NBC News ✔ @NBCNews ZeroHedge and The Federalist will no longer be able to generate revenue from any advertisements served by Google Ads. https://nbcnews.to/2N0UP1R
Google bans two websites from its ad platform over protest articles The two sites, ZeroHedge and The Federalist, will no longer be able to generate revenue from any advertisements served by Google Ads.
nbcnews.com 692 2:10 PM - Jun 16, 2020 Twitter Ads info and privacy 537 people are talking about this From the article:
Google’s ban comes after the company was notified of research conducted by the Center for Countering Digital Hate, a British nonprofit that combats online hate and misinformation. They found that 10 U.S-based websites have published what they say are racist articles about the protests, and projected that the websites would make millions of dollars through Google Ads.
ZeroHedge had already been demonetized prior to NBC News’ inquiry, Google said. ZeroHedge and The Federalist did not respond to requests for comment.
Imran Ahmed, CEO of the Center for Countering Digital Hate, said it found advertisements for many companies that had otherwise made public statements supporting Black Lives Matter and the recent protests running on the websites.
[End]
NBC of course leaves out two key facts:
The Center for Countering Digital Hate is not a “research group” at all: It is in fact a radical, far-left activist group. Big difference; NBC’s own employees were apparently responsible for taking CCDH’s “research” to Google, as evidenced by this celebratory tweet from an NBC reporter:
Adele-Momoko Fraser ✔ @AMFraserNBC NEW -- from @NBC_VC. Thanks to @SFFakeNews and @CCDHate for their hard work and collaboration! https://twitter.com/NBC_VC/status/1272962743436374016 …
NBC News VC ✔ @NBC_VC Two far-right sites, ZeroHedge and The Federalist, will no longer be able to generate revenue from any advertisements served by Google Ads.@AMFraserNBC reports.https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/google-bans-two-websites-its-ad-platform-over-protest-articles-n1231176 …
116 2:43 PM - Jun 16, 2020 Twitter Ads info and privacy 1,547 people are talking about this All of this clear anti-trust sort of activity by Comcast/NBC News and Google caught the attention of at least one GOP senator, Josh Hawley of Missouri, who issued this tweet a little bit later:
Josh Hawley ✔ @HawleyMO Wait, wait - you want to treat the @FDRLST comment section, which they don’t curate, as THEIR speech but simultaneously say the content you directly host and modify IS NOT your speech under Section 230? Wow, this is getting really interesting https://twitter.com/google_comms/status/1272997427356680195 …
Google Communications ✔ @Google_Comms Replying to @Google_Comms Our policies do not allow ads to run against dangerous or derogatory content, which includes comments on sites, and we offer guidance and best practices to publishers on how to comply. https://blog.google/products/adsense/manage-risks-associated-with-user-comments/ …
5,463 4:36 PM - Jun 16, 2020 Twitter Ads info and privacy 2,907 people are talking about this Moments after that, Google made it clear that it had not actually de-funded either site, further clarifying that its issue had nothing to do with the actual content of the sites, but in their non-curated comments sections, as Senator Hawley had noted in his tweet.
So, here we have:
NBCNews/Comcast acting like Standard Oil circa 1900, aggressively collaborating with leftist activists and a fellow media giant to de-platform two other news sites that it does not like or approve of; Google threatening to de-platform two conservative media sites for not engaging in the same form of censorship that it practices itself; And NBCNews/Comcast and Google clearly engaging anti-trust, restraint of trade behavior designed to put smaller competitors out of business. This is EXACTLY the very behavior that a real journalist named Ida Tarbell convinced Teddy Roosevelt to go after Standard Oil and other industrial monopolies over, and which led to the nation’s landmark anti-trust laws.
If this episode does not spur the Justice Department into action to formally investigate these two media giants, then you might as well just take those laws off the books, because they will have no meaning anymore.
The ball is clearly in your court, Attorney General Barr.
That is all.
The left never learns. The more you censor something, the more people want to read and discuss it.
The top of the Xfinity/Comcast movie section has four large boxes: Women, Blacks, LGBT and Latinos.
Their social justice campaign is out in the open.
Today it’s de-platforming these sites. Removing their ad revenue.
Tomorrow it will be removing them completely from search results.
And as long as the government allows this suppression of Free Speech?
Big Brother is in complete control of our 1st Amendment Rights.
So funny to me that BLM gets so happy when 1 person gets fired for some inane post or tweet BUT seem fine when large companies, who claim to support them have a SMALL percentage of the business minority workers. Like Google and Apple only have 3% of blacks as employees. Blacks are 13% of the country. Why are BLM happy with 3% job opportunities for blacks. These companies don’t really support BLM. They just talk big in support. These BLM and others are getting so TAKEN with these companies. These companies forfiet a few white conservatives and think they have placated the mob. Seems to work though.
Angry
Angry
Angry
Angry
Hate the Anglo. Hate Men. Hate Christianity. Hate heterosexuals. Hate Capitalism. Hate merit. Hate Western Civilization.
There is no end to their grievances.
or depravity
The communist juggernaut appears unstoppable... From Russia to the U.S. with love... It only took about 100 years...
No wonder "our" black robed mullahs came out of the closet this week... Masks no longer necessary...
bill barr only has time for bagpipes.
That shouldn’t take long.
Today it’s de-platforming these sites. Removing their ad revenue.
Tomorrow it will be removing them completely from search results.
And as long as the government allows this suppression of Free Speech?
Big Brother is in complete control of our 1st Amendment Rights.
It’s simple really. Big Tech knows they have a green light from the GOP to continue this nonsense to beat Trump.
It’s nice Hawley is tweeting at Google but he is dropping bombs on McConnell to engage the media wing of the Demofascist party NOW? No. So it seems clear we will get campaign season beltway theater from the GOP as the progressives in Big Tech attempt to strangle the Trump campaign. Lovely.
POTUS needs his own party on his flanks to successfully engage Big Tech. He’s not going to get it.
I think it’s time to drop my Comcast service and go with something else......
Too bad we don’t have an AG.
This !
Everyone says we will address this at the polls in november.
that’s a lie
we could have the house also (we are one person away from having the SCOTUS) and it wouldn’t matter
I DONT want it to be this way, but we will lose the country unless we get our hands dirty.
i said NO to that all theses years on the board.
MANY years.
If even I think it’s time that maybe physical action is needed, then it’s way past time
Go directly to the conservative news sites bypassing Google and their ilk.
Google and youtube should be regulated.They have far too much unchecked power.
Duck duck go being selected on all family devices.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.