I went to the U.S. Government site this morning that is supposed to be where you can order free at home COVID tests -- clicked through on a message that was in my inbox. It brought me to this *official* dreck (tranlation: 💩 ).

Just don't trust anything this administration says, does or publishes anymore. What a meteoric fall.

[NB: No alt text published here -- it's the Orange Menace's lies about origins of COVID. No need to repeat.]
#COVID19 #disinformation #USpol

Open Statement from Within the U.S. #Environmental Community: Against #Collapse Ideology, Despair, and #Disinformation

2/2

@flowinguphill.bsky.social

@jksteinberger.bsky.social

@michaelemann.bsky.social

#accelerationism
#climate
#climatechange
#climatecrisis
#USpol

bc we obviously cant do this, i let chatGTP do it.

Open Statement from Within the U.S. #Environmental Community: Against #Collapse Ideology, Despair, and #Disinformation

1/2

@flowinguphill.bsky.social

@jksteinberger.bsky.social

@michaelemann.bsky.social

#accelerationism #climate #climatechange #climatecrisis #USpol

@funkylab @martin_fff
to clarify this some more:

I said #Twitter is a #disinformation platform that can't be trusted

that doesn't mean that every account there is lying

but "because someone on twitter said so" is a non-argument for me

if the info of that "someone" proves to be correct I'm adjusting my opinion, twitter or not

if disinformation is spread on #Mastodon it is still disinformation & will be called out eventually

by a community

whereas in twitter there's a lying AI

While you say that the Digital Services Act keep elections free and fair, we would like to speak loud and clear to all European politicians:

STOP THE RUSSIAN PROPAGANDA IN EUROPE!
LEAVE X, NOW!

Please, protect democracy, sign, and share with your local representative this Open Letter to All European Politicians and Leaders to Abandon X/Twitter

leavex.eu

#LeaveX #EscapeX #disinformation #X #Russia #farright #fascism

Greetings from Muskau: Russian Propaganda Surges as Musk, Trump Jr. and AfD Align leavex.eu/posts/greetings-from…

*There are currently masses of Russian propaganda videos in circulation, ostensibly from the news media. Many are attacking the USAID. Elon Musk, Trump Junior and the AfD are happy to help. The closing of ranks is complete.*

Excellent article by @chrisstoecker. Share it.

#Russia #Musk #afd #USA #USPol #Europe #EU #disinformation #FakeNews #trump #USAID

The @Freiheitsrechte quit X **today**. This is the German civil society organization that won the legal case against X.

That all civil society organizations concerned with disinformation campaigns and their threat can do the same.

#X #eXit #LeaveX #EscapeX #disinformation

Why being on X for the sake of opposition is complete nonsense leavex.eu/posts/why-stay-on-so…

“The argument that you can’t leave platforms like X or TikTok because there would otherwise be a lack of “dissent” and “opposition” is untenable for several reasons—it’s simply complete bullshit. It is based on a false assumption about how these platforms work and what impact one’s presence there actually has.”

Great article by @kuketzblog, now in English!

#LeaveX #X #disinformation #USpol #Musk #TikTok

Top Historian Timothy Snyder Warns Elon Musk Is Performing a Coup
newsweek.com/timothy-snyder-el…

#coup #USPol #Musk #disinformation #authoritarianism

Top Historian Warns Elon Musk Is Performing a Coup

Elon Musk's activity as part of Donald Trump's new administration has been described as a "coup" by a leading political historian.

^{Theo Burman (Newsweek)}

Putin’s disinformation networks flood social media in bid to skew German election.

A Kremlin-backed campaign is trying to influence voters ahead of the 23 February poll, according to a government report obtained by POLITICO.

mediafaro.org/article/20250206…

#Germany #Politics #Elections #Disinformation #FakeNews #Kremlin #Russia #SocialMedia #Twitter #X

#X - 💪 Independent: “A Welsh police force has completely quit X, claiming the social media site is “no longer consistent” with its values.

Police forces across the country have been reducing their usage of the platform under Elon Musk’s tenure after it was used to spread misinformation sparking the far-right riots this summer.”

#Twitter #ElonMusk #disinformation #rightwing
independent.co.uk/news/uk/home…

Welsh police force quits Elon Musk’s X over clash in ‘values’

Critics claim Elon Musk has allowed disinformation to spread on X since his takeover of the platform in 2022

^{Athena Stavrou (The Independent)}

In our appeal we argue:
"#Disinformation and hate speech, ... are still defining elements" on #X, "elections are being manipulated and democratic institutions are attacked."

A current example of this is the #Trollrensics study on the #EPelection that became public last week. According to it, millions of posts promoting right-wing populist parties were distributed by over 50,000 fake accounts on X. 👇
theguardian.com/world/article/…

Why do #universities legitimize these fake campaigns with their presence on X?
Sign the petition 👉 → openpetition.de/unis4mastodon

#Unis4Mastodon 🇪🇺 🌼 🇪🇺

Disinformation networks ‘flooded’ X before EU elections, report says

Analysis by Dutch researchers shows coordinated activity in France, Germany and Italy in run-up to ballot

^{Lisa O'Carroll (The Guardian)}

“In recent years, UU's reach on X has decreased compared to other platforms, such as LinkedIn. In addition, we have seen how X, often more than other platforms, struggles with the rise of disinformation, fake accounts and online harassment.”

There will always be comments about how things can be done faster or differently, but these are simply decisions that show courage of the @utrechtuniversity!! 💪❤️👌🏫📰

#utrechtuniversity #socialmedia #disinformation #publicvalues

uu.nl/en/news/utrecht-universi…

Utrecht University quits X

As Utrecht University, we choose to no longer use X (formerly Twitter) as part of our communication strategy.

^{Utrecht University}

We, the Aktionsbündnis neue Soziale Medien (New Social Media Action Alliance) today appealed to #universities in Germany to shut down their #X (formerly #Twitter) accounts as soon as possible.

Signatures for the appeal, written as an open letter, are now being collected on the #OpenPetition platform 📝
openpetition.de/petition/onlin…

The appeal points out that the presence on X/Twitter does not do justice to the universities' remit to provide information because of the #disinformation and political agitation practised there. At the same time, presences should be established on #Mastodon and other services in the #Fediverse, whose decentralised and moderated design is much more compatible with the rules of democratic and sustainable coexistence.

First #universities in Germany leave X/Twitter

At the end of last year, Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences announced its withdrawal from #X / #Twitter. President Prof. Steinmetz justified the move:

"We have observed with growing discomfort the consequences of inadequate content moderation on 'X'. Discriminatory and anti-Semitic content, conspiracy narratives, political #disinformation and even calls for #violence were able to spread rapidly on 'X', ... We no longer want to be found in this environment. We can no longer reconcile this with our values: ... As a community of diverse people, #tolerance and respectful interaction with one another is important to us."

h-da.de/meldung-einzelansicht/…

Bravo, #h_da!
There is an urgent need for universities to compare their mission statements with the behavior of the major advertising platforms and draw conclusions.
You can sign here to encourage more #unisinsfediverse:
👉 openpetition.de/petition/onlin…

The #library of University #Mannheim has left X/ #Twitter:
"As a scientific institution, we are committed to free and open access to information and knowledge and also reject any kind of #extremism, #hatespeech and #disinformation. We have therefore decided to close our account on the #X platform as of January 31, 2024."
blog.bib.uni-mannheim.de/Aktue…

Bravo, Mannheim University Library, for this decisive step!
And don't these values apply to all scientific institutions in Germany?
The UB is now looking into setting up an account on #Mastodon, as @unimannheim already operates.
If you want to help the #universities continue on this path, sign the petition:

👉 openpetition.de/unis4mastodon

#unis4mastodon

Around a month ago, the radio station Deutschlandfunk also withdrew from the X/ #Twitter platform
twitter.com/DLF/status/1742134…

It had previously reported: "The #X communication platform is losing more advertising customers. ... In addition, the EU Commission announced that it no longer wanted to place advertising for the time being. The reason given was that there was an alarming increase in #disinformation and #HateSpeech on the platform."
deutschlandfunk.de/weitere-wer…

#unisinsfediverse