Study finds that insect shows promise as a sustainable protein source

Previously overlooked yellow mealworm may serve as alternative protein

The yellow mealworm Tenebrio molitor. Scientists found the insect could

serve as a protein source.

• Credit and Larger Version

September 9, 2020

With global food demands rising at an alarming rate, a study led by scientists at Indiana University—Purdue University Indianapolis has found new evidence that a previously overlooked insect, the yellow mealworm, shows promise as an alternative protein source.

The U.S. National Science Foundation-funded research is based on a new analysis of the genome of the mealworm species Tenebrio molitor, led by Christine Picard of IUPUI.

The work was published in the Journal of Insects as Food and Feed.

"Human populations are continuing to increase, and the stress on protein production is increasing at an unsustainable rate," said Picard.

Picard and her team sequenced the yellow mealworm's genome. The results will help those hoping to use the yellow mealworm for mass production and consumption.

The research found that the yellow mealworm -- historically a pest -- can benefit a range of agricultural applications. Not only can it be used as an alternative source of protein for animals, but its waste is ideal as an organic fertilizer, the scientists say.

New technology used in the study integrates the best of two sequencing methods to produce a reliable genome sequence. "Insect genomes are challenging, and the longer the sequence of DNA you can generate, the better genome you can assemble," said Picard.

Picard added that the mealworms have a variety of uses.

"Mealworms, being insects, are part of the diets of many organisms," she said. "Fish enjoy mealworms, for example. They could also be useful in the pet food industry as an alternative protein source, and chickens like insects -- and maybe one day humans, too, because mealworms are an alternative source of protein."

To harness information for the potential commercialization of these insects, the researchers' next step is to look at what governs the biological processes of yellow mealworms.

"NSF funds resources like the National Center for Genome Analysis Support to provide the computational capacity that enables teams like this to harness the potential of a wealth of genomic data now available," says Peter McCartney, a program director in NSF's Division of Biological Infrastructure.

--  NSF Public Affairs, researchnews@nsf.gov

Malnutrition among a hunter-gatherer group

by University of Helsinki

One of The Khwe San tribe's traditional food, Tceu i.e. False mopane seed - Guibourtia coleosperma. Credit: Matongo Tamie

The diets of hunter-gatherers are changing at a fast pace, as in the contemporary world, they are increasingly being deprived of their access to land and natural resources and urged to adapt to sedentary lifestyle. An interdisciplinary study from the University of Helsinki brings forth the underlying causes of food and nutrition insecurity among a San group in Namibia.


The Khwe San tribe living in North-East Namibia, are still among the few so-called 'bushman' groups, who reside on their ancestral land. However, their contemporary diet includes surprisingly little food from their surrounding environment, but mostly consists of maize meal transported from far away.

Why do the Khwe San, a former hunter-gatherer group living in woodland savannah surrounded by an abundance of wildlife and flora wait for the government to feed them maize? And why does food insecurity persist in these communities in the 21st century?

The doctoral research of Anita Heim, from the University of Helsinki sheds light in these questions and further by taking an interdisciplinary approach in exploring how the Khwe San navigate in their heavily transformed food environment, what do they eat and how they make their food choices.

Banned from hunting and restricted in gathering

The transitioning food system of a former hunter-gatherer group posed an interesting challenge for Heim to conceptualize and analyze food environment and food choices among the Khwe, as such studies in rural settings of low- and middle-income countries are extremely rare. The Khwe reside in a national park, where trophy hunting by foreigners are a common practice but the Khwe, who lived in the area for centuries, are banned of hunting and restricted in gathering. These conditions have contributed to a dietary transition, diverging from their traditional diets based on wild berries, tubers, mushrooms, insects and game meat. Yet, the transition did not follow the common pattern of a foraging society shifting into agricultural society.

"While prevailing developmental policies and practices have focused on agriculture as a pathway to achieve an increased food security, I discovered that the shift has hardly been successful, or meaningful in the fight against hunger. Therefore, the centralized food and financial assistance by the state has been indispensable for the Khwe communities," says Heim.

When hunger is a daily challenge

Today, the Khwe are trapped in a vicious cycle of malnutrition due to a dysfunctional local food system, in which they have no agency over food sources and are deprived of accessing their natural food resources on their traditional lands. These living conditions raise concerns regarding the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the human right to food.

In the situation, where hunger is a daily challenge, according to Heim a wide range of context- and culture-specific solutions are necessary, including the elimination of movement restrictions, effective local food policies, nutritious food-aid and climate friendly agroecological production. Most importantly, in order to supplement the diets with key nutritional food groups, such as fruits, vegetables and meat, the support for traditional foodways is the most fundamental solution for a tribe with a strong hunter-gatherer mindset.

"Shockingly, this is a hugely untapped resource base for improving food security, as the regional stakeholders and decision makers show very little appreciation for foraged wild foods," says Heim.

Declining desire for traditional foods

The monetary income received from the government or earned as wages is spent in the informal markets, supplementing the diets with packaged foods, sugary sodas and alcohol.

The modern foods that provide convenience, enhanced taste and larger bulk have suppressed the appetite for traditional foods, at least among the younger generation. Yet Heim's interviews with elderly revealed that the shift in preference away from traditional foods has been strongly influenced by historical events between the 1970-90s, when the easy reach for modern foods and the contested access to the surrounding natural resources made knowledge transfer about traditional food obsolete. Today, there is a serious risk of long-evolved Khwe knowledge around traditional foods disappearing as the Khwe elders pass away without having transmitted their knowledge and skills to the younger generations.


Explore further

We need to Close the Gap on health. But even official dietary advice disadvantages Indigenous people
More information: Anita Heim et al, Changing food preferences among a former hunter-gatherer group in Namibia, Appetite (2020). DOI: 10.1016/j.appet.2020.104709

Journal information: Appetite

Scientists discover new corals on most comprehensive deep-sea study of GBR

by Schmidt Ocean Institute
 

In Research Vessel Falkor's wet lab, Dr Steph McLennan - Geoscience Australia - and Jeremy Horowitz - PhD Candidate at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University - take photographs of samples brought up by Remotely Operated Vehicle SuBastian. Credit: Schmidt Ocean Institute

For the first time, scientists have viewed the deepest regions of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, discovered five undescribed species consisting of black corals and sponges, and recorded Australia's first observation of an extremely rare fish. They also took critical habitat samples that will lead to a greater understanding of the spatial relationships between seabed features and the animals found in the Coral Sea.

The complex and scientifically challenging research was completed aboard Schmidt Ocean Institute's research vessel Falkor, on its fourth expedition of the year, as part of the Institute's Australia campaign. Using a remotely operated underwater robot to view high-resolution video of the bottom of the ocean floor, some 1,820 meters deep, the science team examined deep sea bathymetry, wildlife, and ecosystems. The collaborative mission brought together scientists from Geoscience Australia, James Cook University, University of Sydney, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), Queensland Museum Network, and Queensland University of Technology, to answer a range of questions about the geological evolution and biology of the deep sea canyons and reefs.

"This included the most comprehensive midwater robotic dive survey series to ever have been conducted in the South Pacific," said Dr. Brendan Brooke, the expedition's lead scientist from Geoscience Australia. "Research vessel Falkor has integrated a range of technologies that have allowed us to work across the full range of ocean depths in the Coral Sea and to provide data for multiple disciplines including geology, biology, and oceanography."

This octopus was observed at nearly 1200 meters depth, during an exploration of the Ribbon Reef Canyons, around 170 km northeast of Cairns, Australia. The Remotely Operated Vehicle was exploring the mid-section of a canyon that connects directly to the shallow waters of the Great Barrier Reef, offshore from Ribbon Reef 5. The research team was using the high resolution cameras and robotic arm of the ROV to observe and collect samples of the geology and seabed organisms. Credit: Schmidt Ocean Institute

During the expedition, researchers took the deepest samples ever collected of soft coral and scleractinian coral in the Coral Sea. They also collected the first sample of ancient bedrock beneath the Great Barrier Reef, estimated to be between 40 and 50 million years old. Scientists made the first recorded observation in Australia of the extremely rare fish Rhinopias agroliba , a colorful and well-camouflaged ambush predator in the scorpionfish family. The cruise also included the most comprehensive survey of midwater jellyfish in the South Pacific.

In addition to the underwater dives, high-resolution mapping of the seafloor was conducted and covered 38,395 square kilometers, an area three times greater than Sydney. The maps include all the major coral atolls on the Queensland Plateau within the Coral Sea Marine Parkand an 80-kilometer section of canyons off the northern Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.

"These maps, samples, and images are fascinating and provide a new understanding of the geological diversity and biological wealth of a region that is already world-renowned for its natural beauty," said Dr. Jyotika Virmani, executive director of Schmidt Ocean Institute. "The data will help marine park managers to protect these ecosystems that are so vital for our global biodiversity and human health. "

PlayAustralian scientists discover new corals in one of the most comprehensive deep sea studies of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea Marine Parks. Credit: Schmidt Ocean Institute

Live streaming of the 18 underwater robotic dives via Schmidt Ocean's channel on YouTube and 112 hours of high definition underwater video during the month-long expedition, which ended August 30, allowed the science team to share their knowledge and excitement of the voyage's discoveries with the world. Through the livestreams, the scientists could interact directly with the public via chat and commentary.


"Schmidt Ocean Institute and the technology that it has brought to Australia is a huge enabler in better understanding our marine resources from a lens of diverse disciplines," said Dr. Scott Nichol, one of the lead expedition scientists from Geoscience Australia. "This work brings newunderstanding and will keep the scientists busy for years."


Explore further 

First completely remote at-sea science expedition in Australia's coral sea marine park
Provided by Schmidt Ocean Institute

 

Trading Commission Report Sends Clear Signal of Climate Change Risks to US Economy

Statement by Rachel Cleetus, Union of Concerned Scientists

Published Sep 9, 2020

WASHINGTON—The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), headed by Trump administration appointee Commissioner Rostin Behnam, released a new report today titled “Managing Climate Risk in the Financial System.” The findings from the first-of-its-kind CFTC report offers a consensus view of the 34-member Climate-Related Market Risk Subcommittee, which has representation from financial firms, NGOs, academia and industry.

Below is a statement by Rachel Cleetus, lead economist and policy director for the Climate and Energy Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS).

“This report sends another clear signal that climate change poses a significant risk to our economy and financial system. If left unaddressed, these risks—which include flooding exacerbated by sea level rise and heavy rainfall, extreme heat, and worsening wildfires—will escalate untenably and harm our prosperity and well-being today and into the future.

“Markets for agricultural commodities, real estate, insurance and mortgages are among those highly exposed to these risks, as are the supply chains of many companies. Liability risks for fossil fuel companies, whose products are the main drivers of climate change, are mounting as cities, counties and states file lawsuits against these companies, including ExxonMobil and Chevron, to recover the costs of climate damages and fraud.

“We only need to look around the nation today to see that devastating and costly climate change impacts are already here and now, as evidenced by horrific wildfires in California, Oregon and Washington, as well as the super-charged 2020 hurricane season that just won’t let up.

“The science is clear: we can and must limit these risks by sharply cutting global heat-trapping emissions and transitioning to a net-zero economy no later than 2050. The report also makes a series of policy recommendations, including strengthening the Securities and Exchange Commission’s requirements for disclosure of climate risks by publicly traded companies, calling on regulators to review the administration’s attempt to forbid retirement managers from considering climate change and other environmental concerns in investment decisions, improving financial regulation and oversight of climate risks by federal and state authorities, and putting a price on carbon. Better data and tools for assessing and managing climate risks are also needed.

“Financial regulators and the private sector must live up to their responsibilities to help protect our nation and prepare for climate change. However, market-based policies will not be sufficient on their own, especially in addressing long standing racial and socioeconomic inequities caused by climate change. Comprehensive, equitable and just climate policies are vital.”

For more information, click here to see comments submitted by UCS to the CFTC in June 2020 as input to the report.

USPS governing board chair revealed as head of Mitch McConnell super PAC

Robert 'Mike' Duncan leads Senate Majority Leader's campaign arm as Democrats allege conflicts of interest and Trump sabotage at US Postal Service

Alex Woodward New York Tuesday 01 September 2020

The chairman of the US Postal Service governing board continues to direct Mitch McConnell's multi-million dollar super PAC, following accusations that Donald Trump's administration aided by congressional Republicans have threatened to suppress mail-in voting efforts as Democrats accuse agency leadership of conflicts of interest.

Robert "Mike" Duncan is among three principals listed with the Senate Leadership Fund, the Senate Majority Leader's $127m political action group, according to recent filings with state regulators in Virginia. The filings were first reported by Jesse Lehrich from the advocacy group Accountable Tech.

Mr Duncan was listed as the super PAC's chair in 2018 and 2019 disclosures during his confirmation to the USPS Board of Governors.

The recent filing follows intense scrutiny over the fate of the beleaguered agency and its postmaster general Louis DeJoy, who was appointed by the president earlier this summer, as House Democrats accuse the administration of sabotaging vote-by-mail efforts during the coronavirus pandemic to ensure his re-election in November.

Democrats in the House of Representatives overwhelmingly voted to support the Delivering For America Act, which would inject $25bn into the agency and reverse sweeping cuts and operational changes, including the removal of mail-sorting machines and public mailboxes, and halt any changes that have slowed deliveries and ensure that all election-related mail be prioritised.

Lawmakers fear that recent cuts have also jeopardised the deliveries of prescription drugs, social security checks, rental and credit card payments and other bills and critically needed mail.

Senator McConnell has refused to bring up a standalone funding bill for the USPS to his Republican-controlled Senate. The president has also threatened to veto the measure.

Five of the six members of the USPS Board of Governors – who selected the president's appointee, a prominent donor to the Trump campaign – have financial, legal and campaign ties to the president and Republicans.

Mr Duncan, from Senator McConnell's Kentucky, previously served as general counsel and chair of the Republican National Committee from 2002 to 2009, during which the GOP and related state organisations steered mass voter suppression efforts that also aimed at mail-in voting disenfranchisement. He also was listed as a director of American Crossroads, a super PAC that has spent nearly $2m supporting the president's re-election bid this year.

In June, he confirmed Mr DeJoy – who has donated to the president's campaign – as the new postmaster general.

The House Oversight Committee could subpoena Mr DeJoy for internal USPS documents following Democrats' suggestion that conflicts of interest within USPS leadership have also contributed to nationwide chaos at post offices.


Mr Trump has repeatedly claimed that vote-by-mail efforts are vulnerable to mass fraud, an assertion that his campaign has not backed with any evidence, according to court documents related to the campaign's federal lawsuit to block drop-off ballot boxes.

He has nearly explicitly admitted his administration will block funds to the USPS to prevent mail-in voting.

"They want $25bn for the post office," he told Fox News this month. "They need that money in order to have the post office work so it can take all of these millions and millions of ballots. Now, in the meantime, they aren't getting there. But if they don't get those two items, that means you can't have universal mail-in voting because they're not equipped to have it."

Mr Trump participates in mail-in voting; he submitted his absentee ballot for Florida's primary elections through a third party, a practice that many Republicans, including the president, said should be illegal.

The House Oversight and Reform Committee revealed that internal documents from the USPS showed a significant drop in service since the beginning of July, including first-class mail deliveries.

Roughly 180 million voters are eligible to vote by mail through absentee ballots, rather than potentially risk coronavirus infection or transmission by entering a voting precinct on election day this autumn. Millions of Americans already participated in elections using mail-in ballots.

Several House Republicans criticised the Delivering For America Act as a "smokescreen" to prevent legislation on the GOP's agenda and a "manufactured crisis" to "score points" following prime-time messaging during the 2020 Democratic National Convention that warned against voter suppression and criticised the president, whom Republicans cast as a victim of another "election hoax" not unlike his impeachment.

The Far-Right Group Called The “Proud Boys” Were Seen Beating BLM Protestors In Oregon
ELLY BELLE
LAST UPDATED SEPTEMBER 8, 2020,


PHOTO: NATHAN HOWARD/GETTY IMAGES.

As protests against police violence and racism have been undying in many parts of America for months on end, counter-protestors and vigilantes like Kyle Rittenhouse have continued to show face, too. This weekend, after 100 days of Black Lives Matter protests in Portland, a far-right group known as the Proud Boys showed up in Oregon to counter-protest the anti-fascist and BLM demonstrators — and they violently clashed with them, causing serious harm.

After attending a nearby pro-Trump rally, the Proud Boys and other demonstrators showed up at the Oregon State Capitol Building in Salem carrying guns and baseball bats. When word spread, counter-protestors from the left showed up — and that’s when the far-right group took it into their own hands to literally bash them away.

Videos from the scene show the crowd punching a Black Lives Matter protestor, beating them with a baseball bat, and macing them with pepper spray. Men in camouflage backpacks can be seen descending on the anti-racist protestor, while shouting, “Take a hike!” and “Get them!” The men then swarmed the person and began beating them up while yelling profanities and insults. Accord to the Associated Press, they also fired paint-gun pellets before police began to arrive.

But this is nothing new for members of the Proud Boys: the group has been wreaking havoc in the world since they were established by Gavin McInnes amid the 2016 presidential election (McInnes was a co-founder of VICE Magazine, but has not been involved with Vice Media Group since 2008. VMG acquired Refinery29 in 2019.)

The Proud Boys were originally a group of men who wanted to gather to drink and talk about masculinity. But they've since become one of the most well-known hate groups in America. They have been documented as an extremist group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, though they deny any specific connection to the far-right. In their own words, they are explicitly anti-feminism, against transgender people, anti-immigration, open Islamaphobes, and often espouse white supremacist ideologies.

The group only accepts men, and self-describes as “Western chauvinists” with an agenda of spreading “anti-political correctness” and being “anti-white guilt.” They’ve appeared alongside other hate groups at extremist gatherings including the "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, which united racists in the South, Klansmen, antisemites, and militias.

Since the Black Lives Matter protests began in late May, the Proud Boys have continued to show up at events. More recently, on August 22, 2020, members of the Proud Boys appeared in Portland to fight counter-protestors, and incited more violence while there — armed with mace, clubs, and paintball guns.

Following this past weekend's violence started by the Proud Boys in Salem, the Salem Police Department made multiple arrests of those who attacked some of the counter-protestors, according to reports. The Proud Boys currently have another rally planned in Portland on September 26.

 HATE FROM THE RIGHT JUSTIFIES ATTACKS ON BLM AND ANTI FASCISTS

Mark Levin: “America has to learn to hate Black Lives Matter and antifa” like the country hates the KKK and neo-Nazis

WRITTEN BY MEDIA MATTERS STAFF

PUBLISHED 09/09/20 11:39 AM EDT

Mark Levin: "America hates the Klan and the neo-Nazis and America has to learn to hate Black Lives Matter and antifa with the same amount of resolve"

SEPTEMBER 8, 2020

Audio file

CitationFrom the September 8, 2020, edition of Westwood One's The Mark Levin Show

MARK LEVIN (HOST): It's the Democrats, it's the Marxists, it's Black Lives Matter, antifa. They are the ones that have been rioting, looting, burning with the support of the Democrat Party and the best the Democrat Party can do now is send Biden out every now and then to say, “I don't support rioting or looting no matter who does it."

Who's doing it, Joe? Who's doing it, Joe? Must be the Klan and the neo-Nazis. They're the ones. America hates the Klan and the neo-Nazis, and America has to learn to hate Black Lives Matter and antifa with the same amount of resolve because all these extremist organizations hate the country and are trying to destroy us from within. The difference is I recognize this and you recognize this, but the Democrat Party is saddled up to the other side, to the nuts on the left. Whereas we reject the nuts on the left and the nuts on the right as constitutional conservatives.

YOU ARE THE NUTS ON THE RIGHT

https://www.mediamatters.org/black-lives-matter/mark-levin-america-has-learn-hate-black-lives-matter-and-antifa-country-hates

RESEARCH/STUDY
Fox News prime-time shows spent over 3 hours displaying violent imagery in August



WRITTEN BY TYLER MONROE

RESEARCH CONTRIBUTIONS FROM MEDIA MATTERS STAFF

PUBLISHED 09/03/20 10:04 AM EDT


The hosts of Fox News’ prime-time shows -- Tucker Carlson Tonight, Hannity, and The Ingraham Angle -- spent August bombarding their viewers with imagery of violence and fires, often with images that were days or months old, as they discussed the ongoing protests against police brutality across the U.S.


Top Lines:

Fox News’ prime-time shows displayed 3 hours and 15 minutes of violent imagery during the month of August.
Fox displayed images or videos of burning objects or fires 81 times.
At least 50 times, Fox displayed images or videos that were over five days old.
On more than 20 occasions, the images or videos shown in August were from May or June.




In total, Fox’s three prime-time shows displayed 3 hours and 15 minutes of violent imagery -- including of looting, crime scenes, acts of violence, fires, and the aftermath of violence or destruction -- in the month of August. Of the 252 instances of violent imagery, 81 instances included images of burning objects




In August, protests continued across the country in support of racial justice and against police violence in the wake of the killing of George Floyd and others. In some cases, clashes between police and protesters have turned violent, resulting in looting and property destruction. Fox has seized on these protests, oftentimes attempting to use them to further the idea that President Donald Trump is the “law and order” candidate.

Prime-time shows repeatedly cherry-picked images and videos of violence to create a false sense of a large-scale crisis across the United States, particularly in “Democrat-controlled cities.” Oftentimes, Fox relied on old footage to support its violence narrative, airing clips older than five days at least 50 times in August. On more than 20 occasions, the images or videos shown in August were from May or June. Fox displayed images and footage of violence -- protesters clashing with police, crime scenes, shootings, sexual assaults, or fires -- during nearly every show throughout its prime-time broadcasts in August. The images were shown during hosts’ opening monologues, in their predesigned graphics, and while they conducted interviews with guests. Tucker Carlson Tonight showed the most violent imagery, with an hour and 42 minutes shown in August

Video file From the August 27, 2020, edition of Fox News' 

 https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-news-prime-time-shows-spent-over-3-hours-displaying-violent-imagery-august


This repeated fearmongering about violence happened while Fox News hosts like Carlson defended violence from the 17-year-old Trump supporter who allegedly shot three protesters, killing two, in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in late August.


Methodology:


Media Matters scanned all original episodes of Fox News’ Tucker Carlson Tonight, Hannity, and The Ingraham Angle during the month of August for video packages containing violent imagery.

We counted as “violent imagery" images of people sexually assaulting or shooting others; people looting stores, destroying property, or stealing items; police physically attacking, threatening, or arresting persons; the aftermath of violent altercations, such as boarded-up, wrecked, or destroyed buildings, crime scenes, or crime tape; and buildings, cars, or other objects on fire or persons throwing Molotov cocktails or other incendiary devices.

We counted an uninterrupted series of violent images as a “video package." Each video package was reviewed for whether the package included any burning or fire imagery and timed and tallied.

We coded the dates of video packages based on on-screen identification of the footage aired. We assumed vague dates, such as “month of May," to be the first of the month. If no dates were provided, we excluded those packages from the video package analysis.

Mark Zuckerberg denies Facebook is a “right-wing echo chamber,” but the facts tell a different story

Facebook’s pro-conservative bias has turned the platform into a cesspool of hate and lies

Molly Butler/Media Matters | Trump photo via Donald Trump Facebook

WRITTEN BY PARKER MOLLOY
PUBLISHED 09/09/20 

In a new interview with Mike Allen of Axios, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg defended the social media platform from accusations of being a “right-wing echo chamber,” explained why the site doesn’t treat anti-vaccination content the same way it treats COVID-19 misinformation, and contemplated whether history will look back on the company as “an accelerant of social destruction.” But contrary to what Zuckerberg said, Facebook is a right-wing echo chamber, even if he doesn’t like that characterization.

During the most recent episode of Axios on HBO, host Mike Allen confronted Zuckerberg with some uncomfortable truths about what sort of content is currently thriving on his platform. Zuckerberg’s counter-argument was not especially strong.

MIKE ALLEN (HOST): President Obama very effectively leveraged Facebook for two elections, but now that’s flipped. And Facebook, the reality is, is a real right-wing echo chamber. If you look at some of the loudest voices on Facebook, it’s your Breitbart, and it’s Sarah Palin, and it’s Franklin Graham, and that part of the spectrum has figured out Facebook in this moment. Your liberal friends must hate it.

MARK ZUCKERBERG (FACEBOOK CEO): Well, look, I think your characterization, frankly, is just wrong. I don’t think that the service is a right-wing echo chamber, to use your words. I think that everyone can use their voice and can find media that they trust that reflects the opinions and the life experiences that they’re having. Some people, I think, had found before that their experiences weren’t being covered by traditional media and now are able to find voices and follow them that resonate more with their life experience. It’s not clear to me that that’s a bad thing. But look, I mean, the stories that get the most reach on a day-to-day basis are the same things that people talk about in the mainstream. They’re not highly partisan political issues. It’s just meaningful news that’s happening on a day-to-day basis.

But Zuckerberg’s denial that the platform presents “highly partisan” stories in a right-wing media echo chamber is simply false. New York Times technology columnist Kevin Roose has been documenting Facebook’s best-performing content. Day after day, the results tell a tough truth: Facebook is overflowing with right-wing content.

Since July 2018, Media Matters has published multiple studies countering claims that conservatives were somehow being censored on Facebook, finding each time that the opposite was actually the case. In fact, Axios itself reported in September 2019 that tech companies have secret data showing that conservative pages outperform liberal ones.
Media Matters’ coverage illustrates just how much of a right-wing echo chamber Facebook has become.
In August, Media Matters published a 19-month timeline of Facebook’s failures and reported that a pro-Trump PAC was being allowed to run hundreds of ads lying about Democratic nominee Joe Biden’s policy positions. Facebook also refused to take action for months on a manipulated video made to look like Biden was introducing a singer in blackface.
We’ve found that on certain topics, such as reproductive rights, immigration, and trans issues, right-wing outlets have dominated the conversation on Facebook entirely, even when the information they publish is misleading or outright false.
Despite bans on promoting anti-LGBTQ conversion therapy, the QAnon conspiracy movement, misleading claims about voting, and misinformation about the census, Facebook has struggled with enforcement and continued to enable such dangerous right-wing content to spread on its platform.
Earlier this year, Facebook teamed up with Fox News for a coronavirus town hall, despite Fox’s long record of COVID-19 misinformation. (This follows last year’s exclusive interview between Zuckerberg and Fox anchor Dana Perino.)

Even worse, the social media giant has actively worked with far-right outlets to run its news and fact-checking programs. Last year, Facebook partnered with far-right haven of misinformation Breitbart as a trusted partner for Facebook News. And Facebook has continued to allow one of The Daily Caller’s subsidiaries to participate in its independent fact-checking program, despite the right-wing website continuing to receive money from Trump and GOP groups.

At another point in the interview, Zuckerberg claims that he believes the site’s moderation policies are set and applied “evenly and fairly” to all users. But this is another lie.

In August, BuzzFeed News reported that Facebook had repeatedly sidestepped its own policies to intervene “exclusively” on behalf of conservative publishers by removing fact checks from right-wing content found to be false by the company’s independent fact-checking partners. The Facebook pages for far-right media figures and groups such as Breitbart, Diamond and Silk, Charlie Kirk, and PragerU all benefited from Facebook’s internal help. Joel Kaplan, Facebook’s vice president of global public policy and a former member of President George W. Bush’s administration, was reported to have been involved in this operation. Facebook reportedly fired one employee who collected evidence of the preferential treatment the platform gave exclusively to conservative pages.

Since 2016, Facebook has taken an increasingly conservative bent, with much of the internal activism reportedly the result of Kaplan and Katie Harbath, Facebook’s public policy director for global elections and former chief digital strategist for the Republican National Committee. In January, Facebook hired former Fox & Friends senior producer Jennifer Williams to head video strategy for Facebook News, joining the company’s extensive staff of former figures from right-wing media and Republican politics. In February, The Washington Post published a bombshell report detailing some of their behind-the-scenes conservative advocacy at Facebook.

Zuckerberg may disagree with the characterization of Facebook as a right-wing echo chamber, but that doesn’t make it any less true. Conservatives are thriving on Facebook, and they’re able to do this thanks to inconsistently applied policy enforcement, internal ideological advocacy, and general right-wing favoritism.

SHOCK! FOX IS ANTI-UNION

Fox's Brian Kilmeade: Workers who build cars should not be paid “union wages”

WRITTEN BY MEDIA MATTERS STAFF

PUBLISHED 09/10/20 6:45 AM EDT

Citation From the September 10, 2020, edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends

BRIAN KILMEADE (CO-HOST): He (BIDEN) is in Michigan, where he said he looks to have a secure lead, but he puts a bunch of cars behind him and a handful of people, and he said something that he could have said in his basement.

But the problem is he says "it's union workers." No one is anti-union. But if union wages are going to be the -- how we build cars, they are going to be too expensive to build here for Americans to build here to buy them here. That's why so often people build it out of the country or picked a right-to-work states in order to build them down south and North Carolina and South Carolina. So it's a disingenuous thing altogether.

Lou Dobbs claims mail-in voting is a plot by the postal workers union to steal the election

WRITTEN BY MEDIA MATTERS STAFF

PUBLISHED 09/08/20 6:12 PM EDT

  

From the September 8, 2020, edition of Fox Business' Lou Dobbs Tonight 

LOU DOBBS (HOST) Well, who decided, just who decided that these ballots would be in the mail to whomever without any control and at the complete, complete control of the postal union workers who support left-wing radical Dem candidates? I mean, how could this happen? 

TOM FITTON (JUDICIAL WATCH PRESIDENT): The postal office on a good day can't get the mail to where it's supposed to be. There's at least an 8-10% failure rate in terms of getting first-class mail there on time. So what's going to happen is the ballots will get there late. No one will know when they will be mailed. They could be mailed after the deadline, which is an illegal way to undo the election, and you can bet there will be leftist judges waiting to force officials to overrule Republicans who object to changing the rules after the fact. It's going to be like Florida in 2000, Lou. Remember the first count had Bush winning, so the Democrats wanted a second count, and Bush was winning, and they kept on wanting to recount until they got to victory.

DOBBS: Well, it sounds like this is going to be up to the postal service's management of their unions to decide the -- I mean, we'll turn over to the AFL-CIO to get their judgment on who won.

 

FISA Court Decides FBI, NSA Surveillance Abuses Should Be Rewarded With Fewer Restrictions On Searching 702 Collections

Legal Issues

from the hey-we've-got-terrorists-to-catch-and-whatnot dept

Wed, Sep 9th 2020 10:44am — Tim Cushing

A heavily-redacted opinion has been released by the FISA Court. Even with the redactions, it's clear the NSA and FBI have continued to abuse their Section 702 privileges. But rather than reject the government's arguments or lay down more restrictions on the use of these collections, the court has decided to amend the rules to make some of these abuses no longer abuses, but rather the new normal. This means there are now fewer protections shielding Americans from being swept up by the NSA collections or targeted using this data by the FBI.

Elizabeth Goitein of the Brennan Center has a good rundown of the abuses and the court's response. She points out in her Twitter thread that some of this can be traced back to the reforms enacted by the USA Freedom Act, which codified some restrictions but didn't go far enough to prevent future abuses or mandate better reporting of rule breaking by these agencies.

The opinion [PDF] notes the NSA found it too difficult to comply with a Section 702 requirement that at least one end of targeted communications involve someone outside of the United States. When faced with following this requirement and possibly losing access to communications it wanted, it simply chose to ignore the requirement.

On some prior occasions when NSA had tasked apparently [redacted] it violated its current targeting procedures [redacted] apparently in order to avoid loss of foreign-intelligence information. See Preliminary Notice of Compliance Incident Regarding [redacted] Certain Upstream Acquisitions, Feb. 21, 2019. Of course, the proper course would have been to seek amendment of the procedures earlier, rather than unilaterally deciding to deviate from them. Indeed, the Court's October 3, 2019, Order required the government to provide additional information about the disposition of information that was improperly acquired as a result of that incident.  

That's the problems with the "upstream" collection. The "downstream" collection has similar problems.

The Notice filed on August 23, 2019, explains that [redacted] post-tasking checks for selectors for certain [redacted] would not result in useful information regarding the location of the targets who use those facilities. See August 23, 2019, Notice, at 2-3. In anticipation of tasking such facilities, the proposed NSA targeting procedures have been revised to require [redacted] post-tasking checks only "in those cases in which [NSA]is technically capable of' performing them.

The courts says all of this is fine. It doesn't want the NSA to lose access to foreign intelligence information by tossing out stuff it can't be sure originated outside of the United States. It also doesn't want the NSA to lose similar information on the downstream side by tossing out anything whose origin can't be determined. So the court says it's the thought that counts and allows the NSA to disregard these requirements whenever they pose problems to analysts.

The Court expects that [redacted] post-tasking checks will be employed whenever feasible. On that understanding, and in view of the increased frequency with which acquired communications will be reviewed for indications that a target is in the United States when the [redacted] checks are not feasible, this revision does not impede the Court's finding that the 2019 NSA Targeting Procedures are "reasonably designed to ... ensure" that acquisitions are "limited to targeting persons reasonably believed to be located outside the United States."

The court also addresses the NSA's information sharing with the FBI. And it comes to the conclusion that in close cases, the FBI should just get the info and determine on its own whether it's been legally acquired.

Under these provisions, NSA has some discretion in determining what information is "reliable" or "useful," and therefore must be passed to the FBI. The Court expects NSA to make such determinations on an individualized, case-by-case basis, by assessing the totality of information available about a particular target or selector. In close cases, the Court expects NSA to err on the side of providing information to the FBI, rather than withholding it, so that the FBI is better able to make informed and accurate decisions under its targeting procedures.

The FISA court notes this could result in abuse by the FBI but says that risk is worth taking since it would result in more efficient surveillance efforts.

One can conceive of circumstances in which omitting an FBI [redacted] under this provision could result in erroneous approval [redacted]. On the other hand, it seems likely that, in the vast majority of the situations in which the provision would be relied upon, the FBI would simply be avoiding duplicative effort that would not yield relevant new information.

This permission slip by the FISA Court is being handed out despite the FBI reporting recent violations of its Section 702 privileges.

In July 2019, an oversight review of [redacted] discovered 87 queries of raw FISA-acquired information in [redacted] that were not reasonably likely to retrieve foreign-intelligence information or evidence of a crime, including:

- queries of college students participating in a "Collegiate Academy"; and

- queries of individuals who had visited the FBI office (e.g., for maintenance).

The court says the FBI also abused access to run searches on a person filing a complaint and to vet potential informants.

The FBI also reported searching unminimized Section 702 collections 16,000 times -- all supposedly considered likely to "return foreign-intelligence information or evidence of a crime." The court says the FBI can really only justify seven of the 16,000 searches.

There's even more violations listed in the order, but at the end of it, all Judge James Boasberg has to say is that everyone involved did a pretty good job and just needs to try a bit harder in the future. And since trying hard is hard, he's made things easier by loosening a few restrictions. This obviously won't stop the never ending run of surveillance abuses. But it will designate fewer of them as "abuses," so things will at least look like they're improving, even if nothing has really changed.

GO HERE TO SEE PDF POSTED FISA DOCUMENT

https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20200907/14044545258/fisa-court-decides-fbi-nsa-surveillance-abuses-should-be-rewarded-with-fewer-restrictions-searching-702-collections.shtml