‘Secret Putin-Musk calls’ claim by WSJ dismissed by Kremlin

The newspaper has suggested that the US billionaire has regular conversations with the Russian president

A article in the Wall Street Journal alleging that Elon Musk has secretly made contact with Vladimir Putin and other senior Russian officials is untrue and is most likely linked to the entrepreneur’s involvement in the US presidential election, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday.

The American billionaire and the Russian president had a single phone call before the Ukraine conflict escalated into full-blown hostilities in February 2022, Peskov told journalists, repeating what he had told the WSJ.

”Most likely, it’s just disinformation in the extremely confrontational electoral political fight [in the US]. The race is in its final phase, and the opponents do not shy away from anything,” the official suggested.

The WSJ piece published on Thursday, mostly detailed Musk’s role as a private contractor for the US military and national security state, his stance on the Ukraine conflict and support for the Trump reelection campaign. The newspaper claimed that the billionaire’s public statements about resolving the conflict between Moscow and Kiev, which he has been making since late 2022, “mirrored some aspects of the Kremlin’s” position.

The article cites “current and former US, European and Russian officials” who allegedly claim the calls, “a closely held secret in government,” have taken place.

Several White House officials also reportedly told the outlet they weren’t aware of such contacts.

The only Russian source cited in the text is a “former intelligence officer briefed on the situation,” who claimed that late last year Putin asked Musk not to activate the Starlink satellite system in Taiwan as a favor to Beijing. Musk’s SpaceX has no license to provide internet services in Taiwan, the newspaper noted.

In addition to Putin, the report claims that Musk has also been in contact with former Russian Prime Minister Sergey Kirienko, who currently serves as deputy head of the presidential administration. The billionaire declined to comment on the allegations, the WSJ said.

READ MORE: UK lobbyists working with US Democrats to ‘kill Musk’s Twitter’ – leaked files

Just weeks ago, there were allegations that Trump had been secretly in touch with Putin, and now it is Musk, Peskov told reporters, referring to a book by US journalist Bob Woodward, in which he claims a source told him that since leaving office, the Republican politician has spoken to the Russian leader on multiple occasions. Trump and Putin have both denied the claim.

https://www.rt.com/russia/606430-musk-putin-calls-lie/

UK lobbyists working with US Democrats to ‘kill Musk’s Twitter’ – leaked files

The Center for Countering Digital Hate reportedly hopes that advertiser boycotts and help from top Democrats will bring down X

A UK-based nonprofit tied to the ruling Labour Party, is trying to “kill” Elon Musk’s X platform with help from top Democrats in Washington, according to internal documents leaked by a whistleblower. Musk has declared “war” on The Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) in response.

In several monthly planners distributed to staffers this year, the CCDH lists “Kill Musk’s Twitter [sic]” as its top annual priority, according to files leaked to journalists Matt Taibbi and Paul Thacker and published on Tuesday. CCDH staffers have been told that they will “focus” on advertising, “trigger EU and UK regulatory action,” and “progress towards change in USA and support for STAR.”

An acronym for ‘Safety, Transparency, Accountability and Responsibility’, STAR is a proposed censorship bill that would create an “independent digital regulator” in the US who could “impose consequences for harmful content.”

In its efforts to build support for these goals, the CCDH contacted Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota) in May, and organized an invitation-only conference in Washington the following month, which whistleblowers claimed was attended by a senior adviser at the White House, a Democratic Party staffer in the office of Representative Adam Schiff (D-California), US State Department officials, and the vice president of Media Matters for America, a Democrat-aligned ‘watchdog’ group.

Musk sued Media Matters earlier this year after the organization released a report claiming that advertisements could be seen alongside pro-Nazi posts on X. Musk called the report “manufactured,” and his lawsuit alleges that its sole purpose was to “drive advertisers from the platform and destroy X Corp.”

Musk purchased Twitter for $44 billion in 2022, rebranding the platform as X and rolling back most of its censorship policies. Within days of Musk’s purchase, the White House announced the creation of the now-defunct ‘Disinformation Governance Board,’ ridiculed by conservatives and free speech advocates as an Orwellian “Ministry of Truth.” A week later, the CCDH joined two dozen other liberal NGOs in calling for an advertiser boycott of X.

The CCDH was founded by Morgan McSweeney, chief of staff to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and former director of Labour Together, a think tank closely associated with Starmer’s Labour Party. Labour Together has been advising US Vice President Kamala Harris’ election campaign, and more than 100 Labour Party activists are currently campaigning for Harris in the US.

CCDH CEO Imran Ahmed, who worked with McSweeney at Labour Together, aided Starmer’s rise to power by leading advertiser boycotts against his left-wing opponents. Among these opponents was ‘The Canary’, a leftist news site driven out of business over accusations of anti-Semitism from the CCDH and its subsidiary, ‘Stop Funding Fake News’.

In the US, the CCDH has lobbied the White House to censor Covid-19-related “disinformation,” unsuccessfully tried to get similar content banned from Substack, and led multiple campaigns against Musk.

According to internal documents, Ahmed is aware that the CCDH’s activities risk crossing a line between advocacy and lobbying, which is illegal for nonprofits. Before scheduling meetings with lawmakers earlier this year, someone in the organization advised staff to “understand our limitations” as a nonprofit organization, but still to “inch towards our goal of regulatory action.”

In a series of posts on X on Tuesday, Musk pronounced the CCDH “a criminal organization,” and declared that “this is war.”

https://www.rt.com/news/606165-censorship-ngo-kill-musk/

Americans getting wise to ‘propaganda machine’ – Musk

The “big government machine” will clamp down on free speech if the Democratic candidate wins, the tycoon has predicted

A victory for Democratic nominee Kamala Harris could usher in a crackdown on freedom of speech in the US, tech billionaire Elon Musk has warned.

Speaking at a rally for Republican candidate Donald Trump in Pennsylvania on Saturday, the Tesla and X CEO was asked what kind of administration he would expect to see from Harris if she wins the November election.

“We’ll see a lot of censorship under a sort of Kamala regime. Kamala is really just a puppet, frankly. If the teleprompter breaks she doesn’t know what to say,” Musk said, adding that he prefers to think of the administration as a “big government machine” that puts on a certain face to appeal to voters.

In contrast, the tycoon said he finds claims that Trump is “a danger to democracy” to be “bizarre and hypocritical,” given that US President Joe Biden was “removed” from the race in an “incredibly undemocratic” fashion.

“There’s clearly a strong a strong push for censorship under the guise of fighting disinformation. But disinformation is really a propaganda word. Who’s going to decide what disinformation is? The government? That’s crazy,” Musk stated.

However, the billionaire said he remains optimistic about a shift in the national mindset – as more Americans refuse to believe “everything the media tells you.”

“Actually, in the US people are starting to realize that the legacy media is just a propaganda machine,” he argued, while the European audience “still thinks the news is real.”

In June 2022, Harris spearheaded the creation of the White House Task Force to Address Online Harassment and Abuse, with a focus on protecting women and the LGBTQ community.

In 2019, the US vice president labeled social media platforms as purveyors of “hate” and “misinformation” and said she wanted to hold them accountable for the content they spread.

Musk has repeatedly criticized the US government for overreach and attempts to introduce what he sees as excessive content moderation.

While the mogul previously positioned himself as politically neutral, he publicly endorsed Donald Trump after the former president survived an assassination attempt in July, donating tens of millions of dollars to his campaign. The Republican, if he wins, has promised to create a new government post called ‘secretary of cost-cutting’ tailored specifically for Musk.

https://www.rt.com/news/605975-musk-fears-censorship-harris/

UBI universal basic income makes people MORE LAZY

The Largest Study on Universal Basic Income Yielded Disappointing Results for Advocates

Universal basic income (UBI) is a government program that gives every adult citizen a regular payment. Advocates argue that UBI is a safety net to provide people with the security they need to pursue their passions, start businesses, or go back to school. A study of a UBI program that provided $1,000 per month to 1,000 low-income individuals for three years showed that it made recipients poorer! They stayed underemployed and unemployed longer and spent more time relaxing.

more…

https://needtoknow.news/2024/10/the-largest-study-on-universal-basic-income-yielded-disappointing-results-for-advocates/

https://fee.org/articles/the-largest-study-ever-on-ubi-was-just-conducted-the-results-are-disappointing-for-advocates/

>>21829051

>>21829098

they're in a catch-22

between a rock and a hard place

etc.

damned if they do AND damned if they don't