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The News Cycle is almost impossible to track these days. At least, to do so fully.
That’s where we come in.
In the Badlands News Brief, the Badlands Media team hand picks news items of interest from the previous days to give you an overview of the biggest goings-on relevant to the Truth Community.
Some items feature original commentary from members of our growing team of citizen journalists. Feel free to follow the corresponding link to see their other work.
Now, onto the news from Thursday, May 11 …
Ex-head of DHS disinformation office sues Fox News
The head of the short-lived Department of Homeland Security (DHS) disinformation board has launched a defamation suit against Fox News, alleging the network published false reports about her that endangered her life.
Nina Jankowicz was tapped to lead DHS’s Disinformation Governance Board, and though the board never held a meeting, it was heavily criticized by the GOP and was regularly covered by Fox News.
The purpose of the board was to coordinate disinformation efforts at DHS across topics ranging from migration to addressing plots from Russia and Iran.
The Republican National Committee dubbed it the “Ministry of Truth” in a nod to George Orwell’s novel “1984” and couched disinformation as “any speech we don’t like.”
Fox News mentioned Jankowicz and her role leading the board more than 300 times in its resulting coverage, with hosts and commentators asserting she planned to censor speech with nicknames like “disinfo overlord,” “disinformation czaress,” and “minister of truth.” — The Hill
Our Take: “The Disinformation Governance Board was an entity under the Department of Homeland Security. As the head of that government entity, Nina Jankowicz was representative of the government. Criticizing the government is one of our most profoundly-protected rights under the First Amendment of the Constitution.
A government official asking to be exempt from criticism by one of the largest news networks in the nation is stunning. Even more so is the fact that this government official, Nina Jankowicz, was responsible for policing speech and acting as the arbiter of American truth. If Jankowicz prevails in this suit, it will prove that the constitutional protections for both media entities and individuals alike are no longer in place.
And in this judicial climate, with the questionable posture of the courts, she could very well prevail.
This case could set a historic precedent for free speech, and we will bring you updates as it develops. At a minimum, since Scary Poppins proved her contempt for our natural rights in bringing this case, we should all agree to keep her away from American governance.” — Ashe in America
Nolte: Trump’s Glorious Town Hall Performance Might’ve Delivered the Final Killshot to CNN
President Trump appeared on far-left CNN for 70 minutes last night and just might have delivered the killshot to a propaganda outlet that was already taking a ten count in the ratings.
Boy, was I wrong. Mea culpa, Mr. President. Mea Culpa.
And you cannot imagine how happy I am to be so wrong. Even if Trump did well on CNN, I assumed this would still be a win for CNN. Well, it wasn’t. Instead, it was a catastrophe for the Hoax Network, which is why, right after the town hall; you could hear the tears of frustration in election meddler Jake Tapper’s voice.
Last night, Trump put the t-r-u-m-p in “triumph.” He showed up with a plan, executed it perfectly, exposed “moderator” Kaitlin “Nurse Ratched” Collins* for the mental lightweight she is, and charmed anyone watching who is not a humorless prig missing their “joy” gene. — Breitbart
Our Take: “What some see as a relatively innocuous and inconsequential moment on cable television that will be lost in the Info War flood that the last decade has been, I personally view Trump’s CNN Town Hall from Wednesday night as a pivotal potential ‘turn’ in the public Narrative regarding the Orange Man.
Those of us who’ve been supporting this man for years have not only seen him attacked with all the slings and arrows the Media Industrial Complex could muster, but we’ve been attacked ourselves by association.
I always argue that awakening happens very slowly, and then all at once I think Nolte hits on an important factor regarding the Town Hall that others aren’t taking as seriously: amidst all of the bitter pomp and circumstance Collins tried to bring to the proceedings, and whether or not the centrist and leftist viewing audience was in the mood to be ‘convinced’ by Trump on any actual issues, the big win out of this cultural moment is owing to the simple, inarguable fact that Donald Trump was just plain fun, and funny throughout the night.
He was likable, in short, which is a quality the Democratic Party—hell, what ALL of American Politics is sorely lacking right now.” — Burning Bright
Title 42 is ending. Here’s what it has done, and how US immigration policy is changing
The U.S. is putting new restrictions into place at its southern border to try to to stop migrants from crossing illegally and encourage them instead to apply for asylum online through a new process.
The changes come with the end of coronavirus restrictions on asylum that have allowed the U.S. to quickly turn back migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border for the last three years. Those restrictions are known as Title 42, because the authority comes from Title 42 of a 1944 public health law that allows curbs on migration in the name of protecting public health.
[…]
Starting at 11:59 p.m. EDT Thursday, the Title 42 restrictions will lift.
The Biden administration has put into place a series of new policies that crack down on illegal crossings. The administration says it’s trying to stop people from paying smuggling operations to make a dangerous and often deadly journey.
Now, there will be strict consequences. Migrants caught crossing illegally will not be allowed to return for five years. They can face criminal prosecution if they do. — AP News
Our Take: “Amidst all of the panic in both Mainstream and Right-Wing media regarding the surge of migrants at the southern U.S. border, one of the most encouraging developments in months is transpiring under our very noses: the Biden Administration is not only fighting to keep Trump-era policies in place, but to STRENGTHEN them.
The expiration of Title 42 would be a bad thing if nothing is taking its place, but the Biden Admin seems to be putting even stricter restrictions on crossings, in a move that is oddly similar to Trump’s 2015 to present rhetoric.
Some who believe there's a Continuity of Government plan in place get accused of 'hopium' in light of the Regime's destructive agenda.
That said, and contrary to popular belief, it IS possible to have a rational conviction of the former while acknowledging, tracking and even preparing for the latter.
The enemy is in a Death Spiral, but they'll produce a Death Blossom on the way down. We still have to be wary of it.” — Burning Bright
Trump won’t commit to backing Ukraine in war with Russia
Former President Donald Trump would not say Wednesday night who he thinks should prevail in Russia’s war against Ukraine, instead telling New Hampshire GOP primary voters that he wants “everybody to stop dying.”
“I want everybody to stop dying. They’re dying. Russians and Ukrainians. I want them to stop dying,” Trump said at CNN’s town hall moderated by “CNN This Morning” anchor Kaitlan Collins. “And I’ll have that done in 24 hours.”
Trump, who would not say whether he wants Ukraine to successfully deter Russia when pressed by Collins, told the audience gathered at Saint Anselm College that he doesn’t “think in terms of winning and losing.”
“I think in terms of getting it settled so we stop killing all these people,” he said. — CNN
Our Take: “It won’t shock any of my regular readers—or Badlands show watchers—to learn that it was the Ukraine-Russia segment of Trump’s Town Hall on CNN that drew my most rapt interest.
Of course, if you’ve been following the theorizing of the growing number of us who believe there is some sort of international coordination in effect between Trump, Vladimir Putin and other would-be sovereign leaders around the world, Trump’s manner of responding—or not—to obvious war-mongering on behalf of the Prussian Proxy State of Ukraine and against the Russian Federation would not surprise you.
More so than the hints at an international ‘plan’ that could be in place to both implement and codify a new and lasting world peace, however, the exposure of CNN mouthpiece Collins—and the Media, by extension—as escalatory and inflammatory warmongers will NOT be lost on a bipartisan viewing audience.
That’s a win in the Mind War, folks. Take it.” — Burning Bright
Top NBCUniversal Ad Exec And World Economic Forum Taskforce Chair In Talks To Become Twitter CEO: WSJ
Are Twitter's days of encouraging free speech and independent thought numbered... or is Musk, just days after unveiling that Tucker is joining, playing 4D chess?
Just hours after Elon Musk announced he had picked a new female Twitter CEO candidate, the WSJ revealed the identity of the person in talks to become the next CEO of the world's most important social network: it is Linda Yaccarino, who is currently NBCUniversal’s influential head of advertising.
Yaccarino, who is chairman of global advertising and partnerships at NBCU, has been with NBCU for more than a decade, where she has been an industry advocate for finding better ways to measure the effectiveness of advertising. As head of NBCU’s advertising sales, she was key in the launch of the company’s ad-supported Peacock streaming service.
Elon Musk, Twitter’s owner, said in a tweet Thursday that he had hired a new CEO, but didn’t say who it was. “She will be starting in ~6 weeks!” Mr. Musk said in the tweet.
In some ways, Musk's pick of Yaccarino is not a surprise: as Chair of the Advertising Council's Board of Directors and arguably NBCU's top advertising exec, she is meant to fill a critical void at the new Twitter: that of advertising. After all, despite having massive traffic, Musk's social network - which as a reminder cost him $44 billion - has been hemorhaging ad revenue as woke brands have abandoned the website. — ZeroHedge, sourcing the Wall Street Journal
Our Take: “Not going to pretend to know the endgame, here, but it's not something to freak out about.
First of all, Yaccarino’s role will likely be geared toward monetization, rather than content moderation, though we’ll keep an eye on the latter.
If anything, Twitter still being seen in the public consciousness as Left-leaning or, at worst, Centrist, with an Alt. Right Nazi (also known as a dude who expresses free thought) in Elon Musk as owner, and a WEF stooge taking the public slings and arrows for whatever disclosures spill out of the platform is a net positive.
Twitter isn't the entirety of speech online.
And Elon is a troll.
As Just Human always said, Understanding > Reacting.” — Burning Bright
We hope you enjoyed this brief look back at the major news items you might have missed in this ever-escalating and ever-accelerating news cycle as the Information War continues to rage on around us.
The Badlands Media team will continue to combine our cognitive powers in order to slow things down and find the signal amidst the noise as this series expands.
As always, if you have any thoughts on these news items or the MANY others swirling in the digital ether, drop into the comments below to share them with your fellow Badlanders.
YES!! Excellent Job Pres. Trump!!! Great job writing about this! Trump has always been able to make me laugh. This time his energy much lighter... like it was a fight that was already won, (even more so)" type thing". Also, I agree with Just Human on AOC being an actress for the white hats. She is just a little too blatantly idiotic and irritating to be real.
I look forward to Bright Brief each day, and appreciate the many contributors. This was/is a great idea for all of us.
Never actually thought about Elon being a troll!