On February 18, 2025, the official @WhiteHouse social media account posted a video titled “ASMR: Illegal Alien Deportation Flight” showing immigrants in shackles being transported on a deportation flight, with audio prominently featuring the sound of jingling chains being laid out on …
White HouseDonald Trumpdeporteeswhite-houseasmrdeportationtroll-culturedehumanization+2 more
In early 2025, Donald Trump successfully negotiated a series of lucrative settlements with major media and tech platforms, including a $24 million settlement with YouTube over account suspension, a $25 million settlement with Meta, a $10 million settlement with X (Twitter), a $15 million settlement …
Donald TrumpAlphabet Inc.GoogleYouTubeElon Musk+3 moremedia-controlregulatory-capturelawsuit-settlementssocial-medialegal-strategy+1 more
Soccer superstar Kylian Mbappé’s official X (Twitter) account was compromised in a sophisticated phishing attack to promote a fraudulent $MBAPPE token on the Solana blockchain. The scam saw the token’s market cap rapidly surge to $464 million before crashing to less than $100,000 within …
Kylian MbappéUnknown HackersSahil Aroracryptopump-and-dumpcelebritysocial-mediaphishing+2 more
Investigation reveals VP nominee J.D. Vance follows multiple controversial accounts on X with white nationalist, far-right, and conspiracist views. Accounts include Raw Egg Nationalist, Bronze Age Pervert, Richard Hanania, Darryl Cooper, and Laura Loomer - figures associated with Hitler memes, …
J.D. VanceRaw Egg NationalistBronze Age PervertRichard HananiaDarryl Cooper+1 morewhite-nationalismsocial-mediaextremist-networksgreat-replacementpolitical-extremism+2 more
The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 on June 26, 2024, that neither state nor individual plaintiffs established standing to enjoin federal officials over alleged coercion of social-media platforms. Justice Barrett’s majority opinion found plaintiffs failed to show government actions caused platforms to …
Supreme Court of the United StatesJustice Amy Coney BarrettJustice Samuel AlitoJustice Clarence ThomasJustice Neil Gorsuch+2 morecourtssocial-mediastandingfirst-amendmentcontent-moderation+3 more
Dataminr began providing the Los Angeles Police Department with real-time surveillance alerts about Gaza war protests just two days after Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, demonstrating the company’s ongoing role in monitoring constitutionally protected political speech despite …
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The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that White House officials, the Surgeon General, CDC, and FBI ’likely coerced or significantly encouraged’ social media platforms to censor content, constituting state action in violation of the First Amendment. The court found evidence of a …
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Under Musk’s control, Twitter was rebranded to X and underwent systematic dismantling of content moderation systems, transforming the platform from a “global town square” into an oligarchic-controlled information warfare infrastructure. The Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) …
Elon MuskTwitter/X PlatformCenter for Countering Digital HateEddie PerezFar-right Network Actorssocial-mediamedia-captureinformation-warfareplatform-manipulationcontent-moderation
Elon Musk completed a $44 billion acquisition of Twitter Inc. with significant funding from Saudi Arabia’s Prince Alwaleed bin Talal’s Kingdom Holding Company and Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund, raising critical questions about foreign influence over global communication …
Former Trump aide Jason Miller officially launched Gettr, an alt-tech social media platform targeting American conservatives, with initial and significant funding from Chinese exile billionaire Guo Wengui’s family foundation. The platform, which emerged from a pre-existing Chinese-language …
Jason MillerGuo WenguiGettrSteve BannonWar Room podcast+1 moresocial-mediaforeign-fundingconservative-platformhidden-influencemedia-manipulation
Twitter and Facebook suppressed the New York Post’s Hunter Biden laptop story after months of FBI warnings about potential Russian ‘hack-and-leak’ operations. The FBI had possessed the laptop since December 2019 and confirmed its authenticity, but when social media companies asked …
Facebook removed network of 54 accounts, 50 pages, and 4 Instagram accounts linked to Roger Stone in July 2020. Network spent over $308,000 on advertising since 2015, used fake accounts to pose as Florida residents and evade enforcement. Connected to Proud Boys and active during 2016 election when …
Roger StoneFacebookdisinformationsocial-mediastone-networkinformation-warfare
The U.S. Office of Special Counsel determined that White House Social Media Director Dan Scavino violated the Hatch Act when he used his position to call on Trump supporters to defeat Republican Congressman Justin Amash in a primary election. Although Scavino posted the tweet from his personal …
Dan ScavinoDonald TrumpJustin AmashOffice of Special Counsel (OSC)hatch actethics violationsdan scavinosocial mediatrump administration+1 more
The ACLU of Northern California released a report revealing that Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram had provided special data access to Geofeedia, a surveillance technology company that marketed its location-based monitoring tools to law enforcement agencies for tracking Black Lives Matter protesters …
ACLUGeofeediaTwitterFacebookInstagramsurveillancesocial-mediablack-lives-matterprotestscivil-rights+3 more
Twitter exercised its contractual veto power to block U.S. intelligence agencies from accessing Dataminr’s social media surveillance platform, marking a rare instance of a tech company refusing to facilitate government intelligence gathering. The decision came as Dataminr was conducting an …
Facebook conducted a massive psychological experiment on 689,003 users without explicit consent, manipulating their news feeds to study emotional contagion. Researchers Adam Kramer, Jamie Guillory, and Jeff Hancock published findings in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, revealing …
Adam KramerJamie GuilloryJeff HancockFacebookCornell Universitysocial-mediaresearch-ethicspsychological-manipulationtech-ethicsdigital-privacy