Musk’s all-out crusade, from buying Twitter to actively supporting Trump

In the space of a few months, the multi-billionaire seems to have partly tied his fate, and the future of his companies such as Tesla, to the outcome of the US presidential election. “If Trump loses, I’m fucked.” With his usual blend of provocation, paranoia and candor, this is how Elon Musk summed up his situation just a few weeks before the US presidential election. In an interview with former Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson broadcast on Monday, October 7, his phrase illustrates the new state of affairs. Since it was bought by the billionaire in October 2022, the social media network Twitter has changed a great deal, right down to its name – now X. The multi-billionaire himself has also completed a major, highly politicized transformation: Since July, he openly supports Donald Trump. Musk’s account on X has become one of the campaign’s main mouthpieces. It’s where he delivers a daily dose of ultraconservative language and insults to Kamala Harris, who he regularly describes as an extremist or communist. Day after day, Musk also repeats a conspiracy theory claiming that the Democrats are “importing” illegal immigrants into key voting states to manipulate the elections. In yet another unusual step, Musk appeared on stage alongside Trump at a rally on October 5. In the space of a few months, Musk seems to have partly tied his fate, and the future of his companies, to the outcome of the presidential election. If Trump is elected, Musk could enjoy enhanced power

via lemonde: Musk’s all-out crusade, from buying Twitter to actively supporting Trump

source: DallE

Sturm und Drang: Nazi Extremists Exploit Hurricane Tragedy

The horrific scenes of destruction in the wake of Hurricane Helene are being exacerbated by a massive coordinated right wing misinformation and disinformation campaign. Far right media outlets, politicians, and ‘influencers’ are pushing bogus claims of refugee and migrant linked FEMA funding shortages, donation seizures, and eminent domain land grabs. Georgia Congressional Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has previously blamed California wildfires on Jewish space lasers, is making bat-shit public claims that ‘they’ can manipulate weather, and are using these powers to influence the upcoming presidential election. Infowars host Alex Jones’ brings similar accusations a little closer to home alleging the Pentagon having ‘dozens of giant weather control platforms’ aimed directly at the United States. X.com owner and richest man-child in the world Elon Musk has not only let his social media network be overrun with confusing and conflicting disinformation, he is personally disseminating false claims to his 200 million followers. Bad actors can also be found on the ground with a variety of violent fascist and neo-Nazi groups including chapters of the Proud Boys, Patriot Front, American Blackshirts Movement, and various regional ‘Active Clubs’ attempting to co-opt the tragedy for recruitment and propaganda purposes. All of these groups are, to varying degrees, acting as de-facto far-right militias or freikorps styled vigilante fighting groups. Many of the Proud Boys leadership are currently serving long prison sentences for sedition and other serious crimes committed during the January 6th, 2021 insurrection. The Active Clubs, Patriot Front, and various other more openly neo-Nazi groups are actively conducting paramilitary and martial arts training in furtherance of an imagined race war that will bring about an end to civil society and enable them to establish an all-white ethno-state.

via anonymous comrades collective: Sturm und Drang: Nazi Extremists Exploit Hurricane Tragedy

The Influence of the US Far Right on Ireland Is Growing

Former KKK members, the founder of the antisemitic Goyim Defense League, and a QAnon promoter are all advising Irish far-right communities, which are increasingly looking to the US for inspiration. The claims could have been taken word-for-word from any one of numerous US far-right websites in recent months. “Reports are surfacing suggesting that [lawmakers] may have been involved in transporting large numbers of refugees and immigration applicants to polling stations to secure votes for individual candidates,” the author of the article claimed. This wasn’t a conspiracist asserting that Honduran migrants are being imported into the US to replace swing-state Republican voters, though; the claim came from a website called The Irish Channel. A new report published on Tuesday by researchers at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue outlines how the website has used generative AI to create articles that have been “heavily influenced by similar election denial efforts in the US.” (…) In July, the Irish Times reported that Frank Silva, a prominent member of the Los Angeles branch of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1980s as well as the violent neo-Nazi group The Order, had joined at least five online calls with members of Ireland’s far-right community. During the calls, Silva reportedly offered advice to those taking part in anti-immigrant protests, including tips on how to make their content go viral and how to handle interactions with police.

via wired: The Influence of the US Far Right on Ireland Is Growing

X is back online in Brazil, but it’s still a defeat for Musk

The platform has paid off its fines, suspended accounts deemed to have broken Brazilian law, and appointed a legal representative in the country. A Brazilian Supreme Court justice lifted the suspension Tuesday evening on the social media platform X after the company met all of the court’s demands, ending a months-long dispute over the limits of freedom of expression in an era characterized by disinformation and polarization. The platform — which has paid off its fines, suspended accounts deemed to have broken Brazilian law and appointed a legal representative in the country — began coming back online within hours of the decision, reopening operations in one of its most active markets. The suspension order was a political defeat for the company’s owner, Elon Musk. The tech billionaire, who since his 2022 acquisition of the platform then known as Twitter has cast himself as a global champion of free speech, effectively called the bluff of the Brazilian judiciary system — and lost. (…) After months of mounting tension, during which the pair exchanged allegations and insults, Moraes suspended the platform in late August. Within weeks, it was clear that X — which was already losing Brazilian users to its competitors — needed Brazil a lot more than Brazil need X. The platform announced that it would cede to the court’s demands. On Tuesday evening, Moraes appeared to take a victory lap in his judicial order. The Brazilian “constitution does not permit for liberty of expression to be confused with a liberty to commit aggression,” he wrote. Nor does the “prohibition of hate speech and the incitation of antidemocratic acts” constitute “censure.” He framed his dispute with X as an ideological battle over the limits of freedom of expression in a time when countries are grappling with how to respond to misinformation disseminated on social media. Given what Moraes described as a “new reality in which digital populist extremists can use social media to widely spread hate speech,” there needed to be an “absolute respect” for the rule of law.

via washington post: X is back online in Brazil, but it’s still a defeat for Musk

siehe auch: Elon Musk’s X is back in Brazil after its suspension, having complied with all judicial demands. The social media platform X began returning to Brazil on Wednesday, after remaining inaccessible for more than a month due to a clash between its owner, Elon Musk, and a justice on the country’s highest court. Internet service providers began restoring access to the platform after Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes authorized lifting X’s suspension on Tuesday. “TWITTER IS ALIVE,” Lucas dos Santos Consoli, known as luscas on X, wrote on the platform to his more than 7 million followers. “I’m happy that the platform decided to follow the laws of Brazil and finally adapted, after all I’ve been using the app for almost 15 years so I can’t deny that I was missing it,” the 31-year-old told The Associated Press. De Moraes ordered the shutdown of X on Aug. 30 after a monthslong dispute with Musk over free speech, far-right accounts and misinformation. Musk had disparaged de Moraes, calling him an authoritarian and a censor, although his rulings, including X’s nationwide suspension, were repeatedly upheld by his peers. Musk’s company ultimately complied with all of de Moraes’ demands. They included blocking certain accounts from the platform, paying outstanding fines and naming a legal representative. Failure to do the latter had triggered the suspension.

Unglück an Hitlers Lieblingsberg: Neonazi stürzt in den Tod – #AufFührersSpuren

Ein langjähriger Neonazi kommt an einem Berg zu Tode, der für Neonazis besondere Bedeutung hat. Für Teilnehmer der Gruppenwanderung muss es traumatisch gewesen sein. Ein führender bayerischer Neonazi ist an Hitlers angeblichem Lieblingsberg in den Tod gestürzt: Tage nach einem Bergunglück sind durch Spendenaufrufe von rechtsextremen Weggefährten Name und Details zum Opfer bekannt geworden. Die Rede in Hilfsaufrufen ist von einer “Gruppenwanderung”, und sie führte auf einen Berg, der große Anziehungskraft auf die rechte Szene hat: Die Neonazi-Partei “Der III. Weg” hatte bereits in der Vergangenheit den Untersberg an der deutsch-österreichischen Grenze für Fotos mit Parteifahne bestiegen. Jetzt ist nach einer Wanderung dort ihr bayerisches Vorstandsmitglied Andreas M. gestorben – wegen eines falschen Schritts stürzte er in die Tiefe. 60 Meter teils senkrecht in die Tiefe gestürzt Der Unfall ereignete sich am 29. September und ging als Meldung durch die Medien. Die Polizei schilderte damals dramatische Umstände: Nachdem der 37-Jährige auf einer regennassen Wurzel ausgerutscht und mehr als 60 Meter über teils senkrechtes Gelände abgestürzt war, waren dort zwei Hubschrauber im Einsatz. Spendenaufruf: Die Nachricht vom Tod von Andreas M. wurde mit Spendenaufruf in etlichen Kanälen verbreitet. Zwei Begleiter des Mannes standen derart unter Schock, dass sie nicht mehr selbstständig absteigen konnten und ausgeflogen werden mussten. Wer die Wanderer waren, darüber war wenig bekannt. “30-köpfige internationale Gruppe” hieß es vom Kreisverband Berchtesgadener Land des Roten Kreuzes. (…) Vom Polizeipräsidium in Rosenheim heißt es hingegen, die Reservierung der Hütte für die Gruppe sei von einem “bekannten Angehörigen der rechten Szene” erfolgt. (…) Der völkische Wiener Schriftsteller Guido von List hatte behauptet, vom Untersberg aus werde die “Morgen-Götter-Dämmerung des arischen Geistes” anbrechen, und die Zeit sei nah, dass sich das Tor öffne für den “Emporstieg des Wiedergeborenen”. Für seine Germanenreligion hatte er ein Swastika-Zeichen genutzt, er gilt als möglicher Ideengeber Hitlers zur Verwendung des Hakenkreuzes. (…) Auf dem Berghofgelände auf dem Obersalzberg, wo Hitler Vernichtungspläne schmiedete und mit Stalin telefonisch den Nichtangriffspakt vereinbarte, befindet sich heute eine Dokumentationsstätte. Dort hinterlassen NS-Nostalgiker immer wieder eher heimlich Hakenkreuze auf Aufklebern und in Baumrinden. Auf dem Berg hat aber auch schon eine größere Gruppe offen den Hitlergruß gezeigt. Deshalb wurden 2019 in Salzburg Mitglieder einer zwölfköpfigen Riege aus Deutschland verurteilt, die sich über ein Forum für zwei Übernachtungen am Fuß des Untersbergs eingemietet hatten. In ihrer Pension fand sich ein Wappen der “Forschungsgemeinschaft Deutsches Ahnenerbe”, die SS-Reichsführer Heinrich Himmler gegründet hatte

via t-online: Unglück an Hitlers Lieblingsberg: Neonazi stürzt in den Tod

siehe auch: Top neo-Nazi falls 200ft to his death while hiking ‘Hitler’s favourite mountain’ Andreas M was treasurer and assessor of the regional association of right-wing extremist party The Third Way and was killed when he fell down Adolf Hitler’s favourite mountain. A neo-Nazi out for a hike with pals was killed when he fell more than 200ft to his death from a mountain said to have been a favourite of Adolf Hitler. The man, named only as Andreas M, was on his way down the Alpine Path from the summit of the Untersberg Mountain in Germany in a group of 30 when he is said to have slipped on a wet root. The 37-year-old fell more than 200ft down rocky terrain to an area known as the Dongus-Marterl. His friends, with the aid of two other people climbing the 1,972 metre mountain, called the emergency services but he was pronounced dead. An emergency rescue helicopter was launched and lowered an emergency doctor to the scene of the accident, but there was nothing which could be done, German publication Merkur reported.

Messengerdienst kooperiert – Telegram liefert Daten an Ermittler

Bislang verweigert Telegram deutschen Ermittlern selbst für die Aufklärung schwerer Straftaten wichtige Informationen. Das hat sich jetzt offenbar verändert, was mit Ermittlungen gegen den Chef Durow zusammenhängen könnte. Seit Jahren ist der Messengerdienst Telegram den Sicherheitsbehörden ein Dorn im Auge. Hier tummeln sich Kriminelle und Extremisten; es wird gehetzt, gedroht, mit illegalen Waren wie Drogen oder Waffen gehandelt, es werden sogar Terroranschläge geplant. (…) Telegram hatte seinen Nutzern stets Anonymität zugesichert und sogar offen erklärt, nicht mit Behörden zusammenzuarbeiten. Noch im August hatte das Bundeskriminalamt auf Anfrage erklärt, Telegram habe die Beauskunftung von Bestandsdaten “zuletzt abgelehnt”. Jetzt aber kommt offenbar Bewegung in die Sache. Darauf deuten bereits Angaben von Telegram selbst hin: Der “Transparency Report” der Plattform weist auf Nachfrage für Deutschland aus, dass im Jahr 2024 insgesamt 53 Anfragen aus Deutschland “zu IP-Adressen und/oder Telefonnummern” von Nutzern beantwortet worden seien. Insgesamt seien davon bislang 115 Nutzer betroffen gewesen.

via tagesschau: Messengerdienst kooperiert  Telegram liefert Daten an Ermittler

DSA: Bundesnetzagentur benennt ersten “Trusted Flagger”

Die erste deutsche Organisation, REspect!, hat sich für den Status eines vertrauenswürdigen Hinweisgebers qualifiziert. Die Bundesnetzagentur hat als deutsche Aufsichtsbehörde für den Digital Service Act (DSA) der Europäischen Union erstmals einer Organisation den Status als “Trusted Flagger” verliehen. Dieser Sonderstatus sieht unter anderem vor, dass Meldungen dieser Einrichtungen von Plattformbetreibern wie YouTube, Instagram, TikTok oder X besonders schnell abgearbeitet werden müssen. Vertrauenswürdiger Hinweisgeber Bei der nun zum vertrauenswürdigen Hinweisgeber ernannten Stelle handelt es sich um die Meldestelle “REspect!” der Stiftung zur Förderung der Jugend in Baden-Württemberg. Sie nimmt Hinweise von Nutzern über ein – auf Wunsch anonym nutzbares – Meldeformular mit Screenshots entgegen, prüft diese im Anschluss und leitet die Ergebnisse dann an Plattformbetreiber weiter. Bei strafrechtlicher Relevanz werden die Verfasser zudem angezeigt. Der Fokus der Meldestelle “REspect!” liegt dabei auf Hass und Hetze. Seit 2017 hat sie nach eigener Darstellung über 20.000 Anzeigen gestellt und mehr als 70.000 Hinweise erhalten.

via heise: DSA: Bundesnetzagentur benennt ersten “Trusted Flagger”

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