YouTube Helped Defeat Clinton Says Pravda on the Hudson (NY Times)

Yes, more bullshit and lies from the New York Times. This time they're claiming YouTube, by broadcasting RT videos, worked for Russia to defeat Hillary.

YouTube — the world’s most-visited video site, owned by one of the most powerful and influential corporations in America — played a crucial role in helping build and expand RT, an organization that the American intelligence community has described as the Kremlin’s “principal international propaganda outlet” and a key player in Russia’s information warfare operations around the world. [...]

As the presidential election heated up in the spring of 2016, RT consistently featured negative stories about Mrs. Clinton, according to United States intelligence officials. That included claims of corruption at her family foundation and ties to Islamic extremism, frequent coverage of emails stolen by Russian operatives from Mrs. Clinton’s campaign chairman, and accusations that she was in poor physical and mental health.

Of course, the article features no evidence for many of its claims. For example, it has never been shown that the DNC and Podesta emails "were stolen by Russian operatives." All the evidence that's been revealed actually strongly suggests it was a leak by a DNC insider and or the DNC itself.

But that doesn't stop the Times reporters from continuing to spread falsehoods in their never-ending effort to blame Russia for Hillary's defeat. Now it is YouTube's turn in the hot seat after Facebook and Google have already been raked over the coals by establishment politicians desperate to keep Russiagate alive.

“More than half of American adults say they watch YouTube, and younger viewers are moving to YouTube at staggering numbers,” said Senator Mark Warner, Democrat of Virginia and vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, which is investigating Russia’s exploitation of social media platforms based in the United States. “YouTube is a target-rich environment for any disinformation campaign — Russian or otherwise — that represents a long-term, next-generation challenge.”

Anyone who believes Hillary lost because of YouTube videos of RT programming has dived so deep underground into the conspiracy sewer they've lost the ability to smell the shit that's being peddled as "proof" of Russia's sinister and "highly effective" ability to influence on our elections, if not our entire society. But that's the line of bull the corporate media and the Democrats continue to peddle even in the face of their own compromising links to Putin's regime.

Most Americans could not care less about Russiagate, as the polls have demonstrated. Indeed, Russiagate is all about the hype not any hard facts. In reality it's a great piece of fiction:

Since Election Day, the controversy over alleged Russian meddling and Trump campaign collusion has consumed Washington and the national media. Yet nearly one year later there is still no concrete evidence of its central allegations. There are claims by US intelligence officials that the Russian government hacked e-mails and used social media to help elect Donald Trump, but there has yet to be any corroboration. Although the oft-cited January intelligence report “uses the strongest language and offers the most detailed assessment yet,” The Atlantic observed that “it does not or cannot provide evidence for its assertions.” Noting the “absence of any proof” and “hard evidence to back up the agencies’ claims that the Russian government engineered the election attack,” The New York Times concluded that the intelligence community’s message “essentially amounts to ‘trust us.’” That remains the case today. [...]

These imperatives have incentivized a compromised set of journalistic and evidentiary standards. In Russiagate, unverified claims are reported with little to no skepticism. Comporting developments are cherry-picked and overhyped, while countervailing ones are minimized or ignored. Front-page headlines advertise explosive and incriminating developments, only to often be undermined by the article’s content, or retracted entirely.

A dangerous fiction, nonetheless, as it is being used to justify online censorship of alternative media voices unfettered by corrupt corporate influence.

Google dropped RT from the preferred lineup last month. Andrea Faville, a Google spokeswoman, said the decision was unrelated to the congressional inquiry, and that RT had been dropped as part of a “standard algorithmic update.” But Google also noted that it was not placing any other limits on RT: The channel could still sell regular ads on its videos and the status downgrade only applied in the United States. Google later clarified that RT was downgraded in other markets, but it would not say which ones.

Kirill Karnovich-Valua, RT’s deputy editor in chief, said the organization had not been informed of Google’s decision and it was puzzled about why it was dropped despite being “one of the most watched YouTube channels in the world.”

“This speaks to the unprecedented political pressure increasingly applied to all RT partners and relationships in a concerted effort to push our channel out of the U.S. market entirely, and by any means possible,” Mr. Karnovich-Valua wrote in an email.

Last month, RT said the Justice Department had demanded that a private company affiliated with RT America register as a “foreign agent” — a term that dates back to a law originally enacted in 1938 to deter Nazi propaganda

The Empire is fighting back for all its worth, determined to block any news outlets that don't carry the official corporate sanction of approval. The Pravda on the Hudson (i.e., NY Times) is one of their main sources of psy-ops campaigns against the American people. As they say in the movies:

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The Aspie Corner's picture

Podesta was working with Manafort (The guy who managed Trump's campaign) and the Pro-Russia Ukraine government.

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7yWn-RosPQ]

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Modern education is little more than toeing the line for the capitalist pigs.

Guerrilla Liberalism won't liberate the US or the world from the iron fist of capital.

JekyllnHyde's picture

@The Aspie Corner

... you guessed it, Boris Badenov and Natasha Fatale!

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A riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma

@The Aspie Corner
are primarily political operatives -- they are lobbyists. They are in it for the money, not for any particular political motive. None of their financial shennanigans have much to do with a US/Russia geopolitical conflict, or with the current msm obsession concerning Russian media's infiltration.

Both D and R lobbyists have in the past, facilitated deals with both Russian and Ukrainian oligarchs. This behavior is normal graft and influence-peddling -- S.O.P. and not related to the current build-up of Russophobia in US media.

In the "infowars" between US media and Russian media, the Russians are winning -- or at least they are gaining considerable ground. I believe this is mostly because they produce a superior news product, and present credible alternatives to various American disinformation campaigns. For example RT is very often a more informative and more truthful source than CNN, on a number of different issues. RT will not however, generally run programming that is critical of the Russian Federation.

The main problem US media face, is self-generated. They are failing to heed Sun Tzu's famous dictum about knowing things:

“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”

American pundits generally (including most of our "think tank" people) haven't got a clue about who, what, or why Russians are the way they are. They have no clear idea about the nature of their own supposed "enemy". I doubt that either attacking or banning RT, or labeling it as "fake news", is going to be an effective counter-measure for US media executives. They seem to be flailing around in the dark, almost on purpose.

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native

because people aren't believing their BS.
So their reaction is for censorship.

They are ignoring the fact that censorship will be turned on them eventually.

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@gjohnsit RT in particular is not doing anything illegal. They have a point of view, and it is mainly from the left. The reaction to them is to censor them, rather than counter them with "better speech". The argument for the censorship of RT will be the argument that is used to suppress the speech of others. The most dangerous argument for censorship that is developing is that certain videos, articles, etc, created divisiveness among the American people. BLM is already there as an unwitting agent of the Kremlin creating divisiveness. Shit, even Pokemon played a part.

Good video from Secular Talk on this issue via ahole Bill Mahrer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_faFAYTM3k

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Wink's picture

how she was beaten. Just happy as hell that she was! Putin, Russia, BernieBro mofos, Racists, Sexists, dumbasacluck midwesterners.... don't care. But I get the feeling we haven't heard the last from the Clintons. Just knowing they Still must be smoldering from the November Trouncing makes for a rainbows and lollipops kind of day!

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the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.

Deja's picture

@Wink
Yahoo

I don't care either. I do wish she would stfu already, though.

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edg's picture

@Wink

It was a very happy day for me when Her Majesty was decoronated. What the Democrats won't admit is that when you run a crappy candidate, you get crappy results. Beating Clinton didn't require Russians or YouTube or Facebook. She did it all by Herself.

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Raggedy Ann's picture

so many excuses. If only we had reporters like those in Wales:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGYOizfMpfM

Yeah, laugh it off ms.heinous!

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"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11

One symptom of McCarthyism is that anything "the other" does is always nefarious in nature, even if done by millions of others. In reading the article, RT is doing what every other news organization, club, company etc is doing on youtube. But because the Russians are doing it, it must automatically be considered nefarious. Nobody is forcing youtube viewers to subscribe or even watch RT videos.

But McCarthyism always leads to censorship and attacks on dissent. And it looks like the proverbial floodgates have already opened, and there is no stopping it. Youtube is demonetizing alternative voices including apparently not allowing some commentary to be shown. It is not just attempts to censor RT but it spills over to "non-Russian" alternative voices.

I think that the people at youtube and FB understand that the censorship they are being forced to do will result in revenue hits. But that is the price of doing business, and they will do pretty much what the US government wants in the same way they acquiesced to China.

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Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@MrWebster They are censoring commentary? Comments or videos?

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"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

@Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal I sometimes check out Debbie at Sane Progressive and she claims that a number of videos were taken down.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qapeE40fZ4o

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EdMass's picture

How To Calm Down In 10 Seconds (Fast Relaxation Trick to Stop Anxiety and Stress)

https://youtu.be/xI3sVuH7rms

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Prof: Nancy! I’m going to Greece!
Nancy: And swim the English Channel?
Prof: No. No. To ancient Greece where burning Sapho stood beside the wine dark sea. Wa de do da! Nancy, I’ve invented a time machine!

Firesign Theater

Stop the War!

@EdMass
the Onion's approach.

I especially like item 2.

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The earth is a multibillion-year-old sphere.
The Nazis killed millions of Jews.
On 9/11/01 a Boeing 757 (AA77) flew into the Pentagon.
AGCC is happening.
If you cannot accept these facts, I cannot fake an interest in any of your opinions.

and Her had been a better candidate and person (stress on 'person' since she sucks as a human), Her might have won.

As it stands, all of us here know the truth.

Sigh.

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Yaldabaoth, Saklas I'm calling you. Samael. You're not alone. I said, you're not alone, in your darkness. You're not alone, baby. You're not alone. "Original Sinsuality" Tori Amos

detroitmechworks's picture

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rBWHND-hF4]

So sorry that not going along with the "Official Story" is now treason.

So take your opinion piece on why you didn't really lose that schoolyard game becuz tha otha kid cheats...

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z32FFmcjkyM]

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I do not pretend I know what I do not know.

Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

You don't need merit in a rigged game.

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"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

Free speech, means exactly that. If you don;t like what someone says then speak against it. Have at it. Censorship means that you get to shut the other guy up in place of making an argument. Now I can see something of a case if it's hate speech, but be really careful as to how you label speech.

What makes this even more ridiculous is that RT and Sputnik News are very good about reporting the news as it is. Sputnik is especially good about reporting the news from Syria, they must have many reporters on the ground, not just in telephone booths in London. Op-ed and editorials are pro Russian, good. We need to be exposed to different points of view. The American point of view is so stoked with hubris and bullshit that a counter view can only help move the discussion towards objectivity.

Reporters from RT and Sputnik will bristle when you talk about equivalency - e.g."they all lie". In reporting just the news, they adhere to a higher standard of journalistic integrity. If I follow a story for months or years after it happens I find that RT's reporting was very accurate, and the NYT is very inaccurate. Take reporting on Russia's entry into the Syrian conflict. The NYT ran a front page story about, essentially, how Russia has made no difference and will fail at a painful cost. RT and Sputnik were following events on a day to day basis and reporting on them accurately. Well, NYT, you were once again proved to be full of shit. Syria and Russia are succeeding because of tactical military superiority on the ground, and by being a protecting, positive force for the people of Syria. This was exactly contrary to the Western message. Where's your apology NYT?

People vote with their mice and clickers. If RT is one of the most (the most?) watched news channels on you tube then people are voting. People know that they are getting real news and a different perspective, not Western propaganda, when they watch RT. Endless propaganda has created the hunger for opposing real news. Keep it up MSM and you will become less and less relevant. Logic doesn't make any difference though, because they are corporations, and well, corporations are stupid and stubborn by definition. Corporate executives become executives because of their intellectual superiority and dominant understanding, so why would they change their point of view?

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Capitalism has always been the rule of the people by the oligarchs. You only have two choices, eliminate them or restrict their power.

Amanda Matthews's picture

Letters and making use of the Comments features on places like the NYT, WP, New Yorker, etc., and let them know that they are being laughed at by most of this country. We know why we voted the way we did. Nothing will ever change that. And we need to press that point because these corrupt bastids are up to something and I bet it involves monitoring, filtering, and censoring the internet.

The internet is making life WAAAAYYYY too complicated for them. They hate it when we talk to each other.

EDIT: several typos

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I'm tired of this back-slapping "Isn't humanity neat?" bullshit. We're a virus with shoes, okay? That's all we are. - Bill Hicks

Politics is the entertainment branch of industry. - Frank Zappa

dervish's picture

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"Obama promised transparency, but Assange is the one who brought it."