Meta board finds 'death to Khamenei' doesn't violate rules as Trump ban remains

Similar statements used during the Jan. 6 Capitol riot are not comparable, the Oversight Board ruled.

Updated: January 9, 2023 - 2:04pm

Meta's Oversight Board decided Monday that posts containing "marg bar… Khamenei," a phrase calling for the death of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, should be allowed on Facebook. (Famous last word of the Meta Oversight Board!!! kek)

The board overturned Meta's decision to remove a Facebook post containing the slogan, which directly translates to "death to Khamenei."

The board said its recommendations will "better protect political speech in critical situations, such as that in Iran, where historic, widespread, protests are being violently suppressed."

Before the ruling Monday, Meta had determined the post violated its Violence and Incitement Community Standard, but "applied a newsworthiness allowance and restored the post," the board said.

The oversight group wrote that the post did not violate the violence standard at all and applying the newsworthiness allowance was "unnecessary" because the phrase should be viewed as a "rhetorical, political slogan, not a credible threat" amid the ongoing anti-government protests.

Similar statements used during the Jan. 6 Capitol riot are not comparable, "as politicians were clearly at risk and 'death to' statements are not generally used as political rhetoric in English, as they are in other languages," the board wrote.

Former President Trump remains banned by Meta, which has barred him from accessing his Facebook and Instagram accounts since the aftermath of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. The Oversight Board found two of Trump's posts that day violated its rules.

"'We love you. You're very special' in the first post and 'great patriots' and 'remember this day forever' in the second post violated Facebook's rules prohibiting praise or support of people engaged in violence," the board said.

Meta is considering allowing Trump back on the platform as he runs for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination. The company should reach a decision in the next several weeks, a spokesperson told CNN last week.

https://justthenews.com/accountability/cancel-culture/meta-board-finds-death-khamenei-doesnt-violate-rules-trump-ban

Seattle schools sue social media platforms, alleging engagement leads to youth mental health crisis

(I'm sure this is they are not happy with free speech, not the children)

The school district's goal is to have the court order social media companies to pay for prevention education and treatment for toxic use of social media.

Updated: January 9, 2023 - 1:20pm

The Seattle Public School District has filed a lawsuit against the owners of such social media platforms such as TikTok, Instagram and Facebook, alleging they are contributing to the mental health crisis among young people.

The 91-page-lawsuit, filed Friday in a U.S. District Court, argues the platforms have "created a public nuisance by targeting their products to children," NPR reports.

The novel case also argues the platforms contribute to cyberbullying and self-harm and have negatively affected students' overall performance in school.

"Defendants have successfully exploited the vulnerable brains of youth, hooking tens of millions of students across the country into positive feedback loops of excessive use and abuse of Defendants' social media platforms," the lawsuit reads. "Worse, the content Defendants curate and direct to youth is too often harmful and exploitive." 

Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act shields online companies from liability for what third-party users post, but the lawsuit argues that this provision doesn't apply in this circumstance. 

"Plaintiff is not alleging Defendants are liable for what third-parties have said on Defendants' platforms but, rather, for Defendants' own conduct," the lawsuit continues. "Defendants affirmatively recommend and promote harmful content to youth, such as pro-anorexia and eating disorder content."

The school district's goal is to have the court order social media companies to pay for prevention education and treatment for toxic use of social media. 

https://justthenews.com/nation/technology/big-tech-being-sued-seattle-schools-corrupting-young-peoples-mental-health

Kristi Noem demands answers after government publishes her and her family's social security numbers

The social security numbers of Noem, her husband, her two daughters, her son and her son-in-law were originally written on visitor logs for the White House.

Updated: January 8, 2023 - 5:05pm

Article

Dig In

South Dakota Republican Gov. Kristi Noem is demanding answers after her and her family's social security numbers were published online as part of the House Jan. 6 committee's records. 

Noem's attorney sent a letter Friday to the White House, the Government Publishing Office, the National Archives and Jan. 6 committee chair Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), asking who was responsible for the leak and what remedies will be taken to protect the governor and her family. 

The social security numbers of Noem, her husband, her two daughters, her son and her son-in-law were originally written on visitor logs for the White House, which the governor said she visited in her official capacity.

The National Archives gave the visitor logs to the Jan. 6 committee as part of the investigation into the riot at the U.S. Capitol. Although the law requires personal information to be redacted before the logs could be published as exhibits, this did not happen. The Government Publishing Office shared the exhibits, with Noem and her family's social security numbers, for several days before taking the information down. 

The Washington Post reported Friday that nearly 2,000 Social Security numbers associated with White House visitors in December 2020, including that of at least three cabinet members and several GOP governors, were published and removed Wednesday.

"Governor Noem and her family are now at a very high risk of identity theft and being personally compromised due to the failure to redact the social security numbers," Noem's attorney James Moore said in a letter to those involved in obtaining and publishing the White House visitor logs.

"This wrongful public dissemination of Governor Noem and her family's social security numbers is a direct violation of federal law," Moore said. "Furthermore, we expect a detailed response addressing how the breach of privacy occurred, who was responsible, what steps each of you has taken to remedy the breach, and what specific measures and remedies will be taken to protect Governor Noem and her family in light of the public dissemination of their private information and the heightened risk for identity theft and other future privacy violations."

A former Jan. 6 committee aide told the Post that the "records released publicly underwent a review process to redact personal details and other sensitive information" and "any release of such information was inadvertent." (yeah we believe you)

Other high-profile figures with social security numbers published in the visitor logs include Gov. Greg Abbott (R-Texas), Gov. Henry McMaster (R-S.C.) and former Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar. 

https://justthenews.com/government/state-houses/kristi-noem-demands-answers-after-government-publishes-her-and-her-familys

Biden's FCC nominee shared post calling Trump a 'raggedy white supremacist'

(All’s fair in love and war, Fuck Joe Biden!)

The president previously nominated Sohn to replace Pai in October 2021, but concerns about her previous social media activity stopped the Senate from voting to confirm her.

By Madeleine Hubbard

Updated: January 8, 2023 - 4:56pm

President Joe Biden's nominee for the Federal Communications Commission previously shared a tweet calling former President Donald Trump a "raggedy white supremacist."

Gigi Sohn, a commissioner nominee, retweeted a post in June 2020 from actress Issa Rae stating, "Your raggedy white supremacist president and his cowardly enablers would rather kill everybody than stop killing black people," Fox News reported Sunday.

Biden nominated Sohn last week to replace the vacancy left by FCC Chairman Ajit Pai.

The president previously nominated Sohn to replace Pai in October 2021, but concerns about her previous social media activity stopped the Senate from voting to confirm her.

"The number of Biden nominees who come out here and have tweeted about Republicans being white supremacists and racists, it seems like that's how you get nominated in this administration," Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) said in February 2022. "People are just tired of it."

If confirmed, Sohn would be one of five commissioners overseeing communications by radio, television, satellite and cable in all 50 states and U.S. territories.

https://justthenews.com/government/white-house/biden-fcc-nominee-shared-post-calling-trump-raggedy-white-supremacist

New Arkansas Gov Huckabee Sanders picks Florida chancellor to lead state's education department

Oliva has been Florida's senior chancellor since 2017, a tenure that includes the 2018 Parkland school shooting.

Updated: December 30, 2022 - 8:48am

Incoming Arkansas GOP Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders has picked one of Florida's top education officials to lead her state's education department.

Governor-elect Sanders on Thursday nominated Florida Senior Chancellor Jacob Oliva who in recent years played a vital role in carrying out Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis' public schools eduction agenda, according to Politico.

DeSantis' agenda attracted national attention for its fights against local schools board over the implementation of COVID-19 restrictions and carrying out legislation that restricts lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity, Politico also reports.

Oliva has been Florida's senior chancellor since 2017, a tenure that also includes the 2018 Parkland school shooting, in which a former Stoneman Douglas High School student opened fire on ex-classmates and -staffers, killing 17.

Arkansas lawmakers have endorsed Sanders' nomination of Oliva, whose career in education includes classroom teaching.

Oliva appears headed to Arkansas, considering the Florida Education Department has already publicly thanked him for his service, also according to Politico.

https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/education/new-arkansas-gov-huckabee-sanders-picks-florida-chancellor-lead-state

More than 30,700 mail-in ballots in Illinois for November election were rejected

More than 2.2 million mail-ballots were requested across the state for November's election.

By The Center Square Staff

By Greg Bishop

Updated: January 8, 2023 - 7:26am

About 30,700 mail-in ballots in Illinois were rejected statewide in last year’s November election, according to preliminary data from the Illinois State Board of Elections.

Data shows a total of more than 2.2 million mail-ballots were requested across the state for November's election. More than 657,000 were returned with around 626,300 counted. That’s a difference of about 30,700.

Illinois lawmakers expanded mail-in ballots during the pandemic to go beyond absentee requests, allowing anyone to request a ballot. The Democratic-controlled state legislature further expanded mail-in balloting to allow for the universal option to be a standing request for voters who apply with their local elections official.

In DuPage County this past election, an election official was comparing mail-in ballot applications to verify signatures on the ballots, not the original voter signature on file with the county’s elections office. A lawsuit over the issue is pending.

On Friday, the Illinois legislature further modified the mail-in balloting law.

A Senate amendment to House Bill 45 makes changes to correct a drafting error in state law and make clarifications in various judicial circuits.

The measure also strikes out of state elections law the requirement an election authority compares the signature of a mail-in ballot with the official voter file held by the county clerk.

State Rep. Curtis Tarver, D-Chicago, said the measure is needed because of updated technology.

“Our thought in the language is that it would allow for both the digitized as well as the original placard for voter registration,” Tarver said during floor debate Friday. “We’re clarifying it now to check the voter registration or the signature on the application as it relates to the ballot for vote-by-mail.”

State Rep. Amy Elik, R-Alton, said that’s not clear in the bill, and the approved language is a problem.

“If that ballot comes back and all that they’re comparing it to is the application, that’s not a comparison at all,” Elik said. “So, I want to make that clear that this is causing the opportunity for more voter fraud.”

https://justthenews.com/nation/states/center-square/more-30700-mail-ballots-illinois-november-election-were-rejected

Audit finds widespread fraud, abuse of 'extra pay' in Chicago Public Schools

Audit also found widespread fraud by "deliberately miscoding" truant students as transfers.

Updated: January 8, 2023 - 7:31am

Chicago Public Schools spent 77% of the $1.49 billion in federal COVID-19 relief money on employees' salaries and benefits and the district has seen "extra pay" skyrocket during the pandemic, according to a 2023 report from the district's Office of Inspector General.

The report provides many critical conclusions, including a concern over abuse of extra pay for employees in the form of overtime or stipends for taking on extra duties.The cost of extra pay for district employees increased from $42.5 million in 2017 to $73.9 million in 2021.

There was also widespread fraud by "deliberately miscoding" truant students as transfers in an effort to "mask chronic absenteeism" that the Office of the Inspector General said called into question the district's reported attendance and graduation rates.

The report gave examples of a practice called "buddy punching," where one school district employee clocks in an absent colleague as working.

"At one school, colleagues punched in a teacher’s ID number on days when the teacher stayed home from summer school," the report stated.

In another example, one schooldistrict employee received nearly $150,000 in extra pay and other forms of supplemental pay over four yearswhile clocked in at his school while casino records indicate he was visiting a casino. That same employee was paid for working two different types of supplemental pay jobs simultaneously.

A clerk paid herself more than $15,000 in unauthorized overtime and other extra pay over 13 months by using the principal’s password to enter and approve her own extra compensation.

"Paper timesheets that are supposed to be maintained by schools to document Extra Pay mysteriously disappeared during OIG fraud investigations," the report stated.

School district officials say they have not had the staffing to check if the corrective action policies were actually implemented due to a lack of staffing, according to the Office of Inspector General.

The Office of Inspector General stated that on June 28, 2022, the OIG outlined 10 findings and 10 recommendations on how to address abuse of the Extra Pay Rules and requested a corrective action plan from Chicago Public Schools by August 9. On that date, Chicago Public Schools sent a memo "promising various actions, most of which it said would be explained in a November 30 Integrity Memo. However, the OIG later found that the November 30 Integrity Memo left several areas of concern unaddressed."

The district responded to the report.

“Chicago Public Schools greatly values our partnership with the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) and we support the work to investigate all issues of misconduct among our 40,000 team members," Chicago Public Schools' spokeswoman Mary Fergus told The Center Square in an email. "As a District, we take seriously our responsibility to serve our families with integrity and to address individuals who breach CPS policies and the public’s trust and hold them accountable. CPS will continue to ensure our District policies and procedures support the highest ethical standards to ensure our valued team members act in the best interest of our students.”

The district stated the Office of Inspector General report "also notes that the District has committed to making several policy improvements to help prevent future misconduct. CPS has informed the OIG that it is creating a team within the Office of Student Support and Engagement that will address the improper use of leave codes and the documentation of transfers and dropouts."

https://justthenews.com/nation/states/center-square/audit-widespread-fraud-abuse-extra-pay-chicago-public-schools

N>>18111324 Santos aide impersonated McCarthy's chief of staff in calls to GOP donors

This is getting too funny!