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Disinfo: “Deep State” in the US deletes social media posts that don’t suit it

Summary

The “Deep State” governing the United States had at one point underestimated the importance of Twitter and social media in general, in influencing American citizens themselves.

After [Donald] Trump won, the Deep State rushed to correct this mistake, and this gap was closed in time for the last US elections. The government and intelligence agencies rushed to take steps to censor social media and reduce “unwanted” information.

…messages and videos that do not fit with the social media administration are deleted, or at the very least, flagged as untrue, or unverified. President Trump’s speeches became a perfect example of this. It is even possible to prevent entire news agencies from accessing these social networks if the information they provide is not suitable for the administration of these networks.

Disproof

Pro-Kremlin disinformation about social media companies and censorship and the presence of a "Deep State".

There is no basis to the claims that social media companies such as Twitter, Facebook or Google have engaged in censorship, or restricting US President Donald Trump or his supporters. The claims about the global elite secretly ruling the world, and specifically, a so-called ‘deep state’ in the United State that promotes wars or controls the US are also not supported with evidence.

Ahead of the 2020 Presidential election in the US, the companies took it upon themselves to adopt additional measures to protect the integrity of the election, which included promoting authoritative information, limiting political ads, and labelling misleading information among other means. The companies apply these measures in line with community standards that users accept when accessing the platforms.

Data from CrowdTangle, a tool owned by Facebook, publishes the most popular posts for each day on Facebook. The BBC reports that "on any given day the top 10 most popular political posts are dominated by right-leaning commentators such as Dan Bongino and Ben Shapiro, along with posts by … Trump".

Furthermore, the idea of a "Deep State" has always been very popular among conspiracy theorists. Its manifestations might be different, but generally, the concept conjures up the image of a small group of men, deciding the fate of the world behind the scenes. However, there is no evidence of such a "Deep State" existing in the United States. No reputable political scientists and researchers confirm the existence of a “Deep State” in the United States.

Read more examples alleging that the “Deep State” fights with Trump and that the result of the 2020 US elections do not matter because the real ruler is the Deep State which will kill any US president that confronts it, or that Zuckerberg introduced his own form of censorship against Sputnik, Xinhua and Press TV, or that CIA-influenced Facebook introduces the mechanism of preventive censorship of Sputnik, and that Google and Facebook manipulate information to destroy Russia.

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publication/media

almashhad-alyemeni.com (Archived)
RT Arabic (Archived)
kachaf.com (Archived)
kol-masr.com (Archived)
nabd.com (Archived)
newsformy.com (Archived)
nuomnews.com (Archived)
raialyoum.com (Archived)
sahafaa.net (Archived)
Sahafah 24 (Archived)
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  • Reported in: Issue 225
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 16/12/2020
  • Language/target audience: Arabic, English
  • Country: US
  • Keywords: US Presidential Election 2020, Twitter, Facebook, Censorship, Deep state, Secret elites / global elites, Donald Trump, Conspiracy theory, CIA

Disclaimer

Cases in the EUvsDisinfo database focus on messages in the international information space that are identified as providing a partial, distorted, or false depiction of reality and spread key pro-Kremlin messages. This does not necessarily imply, however, that a given outlet is linked to the Kremlin or editorially pro-Kremlin, or that it has intentionally sought to disinform. EUvsDisinfo publications do not represent an official EU position, as the information and opinions expressed are based on media reporting and analysis of the East Stratcom Task Force.

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Kyiv will vaccinate residents of Donbas with an unsafe American vaccine

The Minister of Health of Ukraine Maksym Stepanov announced plans for the mass vaccination of residents of Donbas with an unsafe American vaccine against coronavirus. It has been repeatedly reported that the Pfizer vaccine, which the Ukrainian authorities rely on, is unsafe and can cause severe allergic reactions.

December 17, 2020
Disproof

This is part of a disinformation campaign aiming to discredit Ukraine and Western vaccines against Covid-19. See our article on the topic of vaccines - It is all in the headline: the subtle art of information manipulation.

There is no reason to believe that the Pfizer vaccine is dangerous. Clinical trials of vaccines are subject to government inspections, in particular, by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the US, which has access to patients participating in clinical trials, to documentation and other material evidence. The FDA did not accuse Pfizer of falsifying any clinical trials and successfully registered Pfizer's fluconazole after the said clinical trials.

Lithuania is guilty of the bad relations with Russia

Ambassador of Lithuania in Russia Eitvydas Bajarunas complains that in Russia Lithuania is seen as a “small evil Russophobic state which only thinks how to hurt Russia”. He thinks that this stereotype is popular among the inhabitants of Russia.

The relations between Russia and Lithuania got worse during the period of governance of President Dalia Grybauskaite. She was famous for anti-Russian statements and Russophobic position. Nowadays authorities are keeping this position and regularly talk about the “Russian threat”.

This year “Homeland Union – Lithuanian Christian Democrats” party become part of the ruling coalition. Representatives of mentioned party constantly make statements about the threat of “Russian influence” and risks for national security. They are famous for their Russophobic position, criticals statements about Russia and radical offers.

Meanwhile, President Vladimir Putin said that Moscow is ready to collaborate with Vilnius on principles of good neighbourliness. He wants to see a similar position from the colleagues in Lithuania.

December 17, 2020
Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about Russophobia in Lithuania.

The concerns about the security of Lithuania are being presented as elements of the anti-Russian position. Lithuania's assessment of the security environment are directly related to the Kremlin's illegal annexation of Crimea and armed aggression in Ukraine.

Denmark’s arrest of Russian citizen is anti-Russian hysteria

The Danish Public Prosecutor’s Office charged a Russian citizen residing in the country with passing on information about Danish energy technologies to Russian private security agencies.

We view the arrest and the start of the trial as yet another phase of the anti-Russian hysteria on the part of Copenhagen. Such unfounded accusations are like “chasing ghosts”, which endangers the activities of Russian specialists in Denmark. We hope that justice will prevail, despite the biased nature of the accusations against our fellow citizens.

December 17, 2020
Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about Russophobia in Western countries. The claim was neither critically challenged nor counterbalanced in the article.

The suspect is detained in connection to a "major investigation" of Denmark's security and intelligence services. According to the Danish prosecutor service, the suspect has shared sensitive information on Danish energy technology to Russian intelligence services.