Intercept:
Ahead of Supreme Court arguments over the future of TikTok, critics have warned that banning the popular social media app in the United States would be an assault on free speech. For some Republican lawmakers, that’s at least part of the point — and there’s a very specific type of speech they want to squash: pro-Palestinian sentiments.
Republicans have been discussing banning TikTok since Donald Trump’s first term, with a plethora of justifications centered around Chinese interference. But in the wake of Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel, conservatives have become hyper fixated on policing pro-Palestinian messages on the app, accusing TikTok of influencing young Americans to “support Hamas” and favoring pro-Palestinian content. TikTok, for its part, has vigorously defended itself against the perception that it favors Palestinian perspectives and asserted that its algorithm does not 'take sides.'
Nina Smith, a political communications strategist and former senior adviser to Stacey Abrams, said the GOP’s messaging around TikTok and Palestine is emblematic of the party’s double standards on free speech. 'They’re pushing for their ability to say all manner of things on the internet. And yet they want to try and censor people who are very concerned about, justifiably concerned about what’s going on in the Middle East,' Smith said. 'And so it’s absolutely a freedom of speech violation.' ”
https://theintercept.com/2025/01/09/tiktok-ban-israel-palestine-republicans/
-->The NYT has so far avoided one of the major reasons why TikTok is under attack. The right wing Zionists want to destroy another source of information about the Palestinian genocide.
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Common Dreams:
"The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) – a Quaker organization that has worked for peace and justice for over a century – has cancelled planned advertising with the New York Times after the paper refused to allow an ad that referred to Israel’s genocide in Gaza. The ad read: 'Tell Congress to stop arming Israel's genocide in Gaza now! As a Quaker organization, we work for peace. Join us. Tell the President and Congress to stop the killing and starvation in Gaza.'
'The refusal of The New York Times to run paid digital ads that call for an end to Israel’s genocide in Gaza is an outrageous attempt to sidestep the truth,' said Joyce Ajlouny, General Secretary for AFSC. 'Palestinians and allies have been silenced and marginalized in the media for decades as these institutions choose silence over accountability. It is only by challenging this reality that we can hope to forge a path toward a more just and equitable world.'
After receiving the text for the ad quoted above, a representative from the advertising team suggested AFSC use the word 'war' instead of 'genocide' – a word with an entirely different meaning both colloquially and under international law. When AFSC rejected this approach, the New York Times Ad Acceptability Team sent an email that read in part: 'Various international bodies, human rights organizations, and governments have differing views on the situation. In line with our commitment to factual accuracy and adherence to legal standards, we must ensure that all advertising content complies with these widely applied definitions.' ”
https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/new-york-times-rejects-quaker-ad-for-calling-israels-actions-genocide
-->What a laugh about the NYT rejecting the full page ad because of "accuracy and adherence to legal standards." In many ways, the NYT is the newspaper of the genocide, always trying to hide the full nature of the Palestinian holocaust.
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United Nations:
"Gaza war: UN World Food Programme condemns Israeli attack on aid convoy.
Israeli airstrikes continued across Gaza overnight into Monday, while the UN World Food Programme (WFP) reported that one of its aid convoys in the war-shattered enclave was targeted by Israeli fire on Sunday.
The WFP issued a statement on Monday condemning the attack insisting that its vehicles had been 'clearly marked'. 'At least 16 bullets' struck the convoy of three vehicles carrying eight staff members which came under fire near Wadi Gaza checkpoint. 'Thankfully, no staff members were injured in this terrifying encounter,' the agency added.
All necessary clearances had been obtained from the Israeli authorities and WFP said that it was 'just the latest example of the complex and dangerous working environment' confronting its teams.' "
https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/01/1158746
-->The NYT? Why, our newspaper of record is missing in action when it comes to Israel's war crimes and crimes against humanity.
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