Facebook Slams WSJ Report For 'Ignoring Critical Facts' On Polarizing Content

Facebook has slammed a Tuesday report in the Wall Street Journal accusing the company of 'shutting down efforts to make the site less divisive' and 'largely shelved' internal research on whether social media increases polarization in general.

"Unfortunately, this particular story willfully ignored critical facts that undermined its narrative. The piece uses a couple of isolated initiatives we decided against as evidence that we don't care about the underlying issues - and it ignored the significant efforts we did make," said Facebook VP of Integrity, Guy Rosen.

"The piece disregarded how our research, and research we continue to commission, informed dozens of other changes and new products. It also ignored other measures we've taken to fight polarization. As a result, readers were left with the impression we are ignoring an issue that in fact we have invested heavily in." -Guy Rosen, Facebook VP of Integrity

The Journal claims that Facebook's interest in tackling "sensationalism and polarization" was "fleeting" - as "Mr. Zuckerberg and other senior executives largely shelved the basic research, according to previously unreported internal documents and people familiar with the effort."

Not true, says Rosen, who cited several initiatives the company undertook to fight polarization:

https://www.zerohedge.com/technology/facebook-slams-wsj-report-ignoring-critical-facts-polarizing-content

Canceled Contact Tracing Contract Reveals Michigan Authorized Democrat Firm for 400 Activists to Collect Medical Information

A copy of the since-canceled contact tracing contract Michigan Democrat Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration executed with a Democrat operative’s consulting firm, obtained exclusively by Breitbart News, shows the firm would have been paid to recruit 400 volunteers to collect medical information from state residents.

The contract was signed April 20, 2020, between the Michigan Public Health Institute and Great Lakes Community Engagement, a nonprofit organization under the control of Mike Kolehouse, a Democrat campaign consultant.

Emails released on Tuesday show Whitmer’s team gave the “green light” to hire the firm, according to Bridge Magazine.

“We got the green light from EOG [the executive office of the governor] to move forward with a slightly different organizational arrangement of the contact tracing volunteer work,” Andrea Taverna, a senior adviser at the Department of Health and Human Services, said in an email to other health department officials.

“This would still be working with Mike Kolehouse, so work there isn’t lost — it’s just organized somewhat differently,” she wrote.

Despite those statements, Whitmer’s office has sought to distance her from the arrangement.

“When it was brought to my attention, I told them to cancel it,” Whitmer said during an April 22 press conference.

She also defended the department, saying it “does not have a political bone in their theoretical body.”

But no one has explained how Kolehouse, who has a long history of working exclusively for Democrat campaigns and progressive causes, came onto the scene to begin with.

Janice Kidd, finance and budget manager at the Michigan Public Health Institute, signed the agreement.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/05/27/exclusive-canceled-contact-tracing-contract-reveals-michigan-authorized-democrat-firm-for-400-activists-to-collect-medical-information/

Great Lakes Community Engagement - Subcontract

https://www.scribd.com/document/463245509/Great-Lakes-Community-Engagement-Subcontract#from_embed

Stop Work Order 4.21.2020

https://www.scribd.com/document/463245514/Stop-Work-Order-4-21-2020#from_embed

Grenell Destroys Unmasking Queen Samantha Power After She Crawls Out of Her Hole to Peddle More Russia Conspiracy Theories

Former Acting DNI Ric Grenell destroyed former US Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power on Wednesday.

Samantha Power crawled out of her hole on Wednesday to push more Russia-Putin-conspiracy theories.

Recall, Samantha Power previously testified to the House Intelligence Committee that she had seen ZERO evidence of Russian collusion.

But she’s still publicly spreading lies about Russia and Vladimir Putin.

POWER: Rubio sounds alarm that peddling (Trump) conspiracy theories does Russia’s disinfo work. “It’s imprtnt to remind everyone that Putin is not a Republican or a Democrat,” Rubio said. “What he seeks more than anything else is to put us at each other’s throat”

RINO Senator Marco Rubio is not to be trusted. He hates President Trump and he played a role in peddling the phony Hillary-funded dossier.

And now Samantha Power is doing Rubio’s bidding.

Grenell dropped in and set Samantha Power straight.

“After spending years peddling a Russian collusion hoax, but under oath admitting you saw NOTHING, forgive us if we ignore your new warnings,” Grenell said.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/05/grenell-destroys-unmasking-queen-samantha-power-crawls-hole-peddle-russia-conspiracy-theories/

“Rod, You Did Your Duty!” – FLASHBACK: Jeff Sessions Thanks Rod Rosenstein for Choosing Bob Mueller in Junk Attempted Coup (VIDEO)

Former Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein will appear as a first witness in the Senate Judiciary Committee’s investigation into the origins of the Russia probe next week. Rosenstein took over the Justice Department’s fraudulent investigation of President Donald Trump knowing the basis of the probe was a complete lie. The criminal investigation went on for two years in the hopes of removing the US President from office.

It should be noted that Rosenstein KNEW Robert Mueller was suffering with senility and Rosenstein therefore KNEW that dirty cop Andrew Weissmann was running the entire investigation.

In May 2019 when Rosenstein stepped down fired AG Jeff Sessions was there to tell the deep state leader, “Rod, you did your duty!”

Let this be a reminder that the disgraceful Jeff Sessions should never be trusted with public office ever again.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/05/rod-duty-flashback-jeff-sessions-thanks-rod-rosenstein-choosing-bob-mueller-junk-attempted-coup-video/

Suddenly Everything is Too Big to Fail – John Rubino

Everyone needs be looking past the Coronavirus crisis and at what governments are trying to do to counter the economic destruction and massive unemployment. Is the financial cure worse than the disease? Financial writer John Rubino says look at commercial real estate as an omen of what is to come. Rubino explains, “Sooner or later you’ve got to pay your bills, and if you don’t have anybody paying your bills to you, then you go bankrupt. Commercial real estate could just be a blood bath, which take us back to all the bailouts. You can’t let a big sector go bust in this world because suddenly everything is too big to fail. There is not a major sector out there that can be allowed to go bust. Not the airlines, not commercial real estate, certainly not the banks, you name it and it has to be bailed out. That’s where the really crazy stuff starts. When people figure out we are basically bailing out everybody from home owners to student loan holders, to car loan holders and right down the line, and then we get state and local governments with this gigantic multi-trillion dollar problem . . . and the amount of debt is off the charts to bail all of these guys out, that is when the real fun starts.”

How long will the bailouts go on? Rubino says, “We are heading into a Presidential election, which means we cannot let anything major fail. If you are the Trump Administration and Congress, you can’t let something big fail because it’s a crisis right before you need to get re-elected. So, you’ve got to bail people out. That’s what California, Illinois and Chicago, New York, Kentucky and all the bankrupt and badly run states have been hoping for all along. They have been hoping there would be a big crisis that would bail them out of their horrendous mismanagement of the past 20 or 30 years. There was no way that Illinois was not going to go bankrupt in normal times . . . or Chicago. . . . Now, they can go to the federal government and say we need a trillion dollars right now or we are going to lay off all the cops and all the teachers, and they think they have a pretty good chance of getting the bailout because the alternative is poison for the people running for office . . . . If you are the Trump Administration or Congress, I don’t see how you stop bailing people out before the election.”

What could go wrong? Rubino says, “They have control of the money supply, and they think that’s enough. That’s only half of the ledger. What they don’t have control of is the value of these currencies that they are creating infinite amounts of. . . . You can’t control what people think the currencies are worth, or what the dollar is worth going forward. Once these currencies start falling in a disorderly way, and not 1% or 2% a year, then it’s game over. They will find out at some point a printing press is good as long as the currency maintains value, but as soon as it starts falling, a printing press does you no good because the more you print, the faster the currency falls. So, that day is coming, and these never ending bailouts might be the catalyst that takes us there, and it’s been a long wait.”

https://usawatchdog.com/suddenly-everything-is-too-big-to-fail-john-rubino/

‘Bill Gates is the most interesting man in the world’! He gives millions to MSM to laud his aims, while the NYT does it for FREE

The Microsoft billionaire is called a Coronavirus saint, with articles praising him for being a ‘prophet’, for saving millions of lives, for wearing nice sweaters. But it’s got nothing to do with his big media ‘grants’, ok?

Bill Gates has been getting an awful lot of press lately. Which might be considered odd since the planet is currently in the grip of an actual virus, rather than one that just causes Powerpoint to crash when changing slides.

However, the Microsoft founder and billionaire has shifted his area of interest in recent years from computing to global health - an interesting philanthropic move, but he’s an astoundingly clever man so presumably more than capable of making such a move.

Gates wanting to divert some of his vast fortune into trying to better mankind is obviously a fine thing for him to do, and indeed to a large extent praiseworthy. But there is something about the level of fawning coverage that he is receiving from the mainstream media that is a little more unsettling than usual.

Last week, The New York Times published an opinion piece entitled, “Bill Gates is the most interesting man in the world”. There’s no question mark used. He. Simply. Just. Is. And there’s no holding it back in its gushing, hagiographic praise.

https://www.rt.com/op-ed/489938-bill-gates-coronavirus-msm/

Bombshell Audio Leak - Powerful Zionist Groups Hold Meeting, Plot Latest Strategy to Deprive Americans of Free Speech (Audio)

Jewish organizations are coordinating a multi-pronged assault on political liberty in 2020, naming nationalists, the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, the American Civil Liberties Union, and young people who play computer games as targets, according to a telecommunicated conference over Zoom obtained by National Justice.

They plan to use a diversity of tactics: ingratiating themselves in social media companies, civil litigation, using artificial intelligence to indoctrinate children, and getting the government to pass laws criminalizing the decision to not do business with the state of Israel.

The meeting, which occurred in late March, provides insight into what Jewish groups regularly discuss among themselves. It was hosted by David Sifry of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), and included contributions from Amy Spitalnick, representing Integrity First for America (IFA), Rachel Fish of Foundation to Combat Antisemitism (FCA), and Dillion Hosier of Israeli-American Civic Action Network (ICAN).

Here is the audio of the meeting, which went on for 1 hour and 15 minutes

https://russia-insider.com/en/bombshell-audio-leak-powerful-zionist-groups-hold-meeting-plot-latest-strategy-deprive-americans

Jordan: World cannot stay silent in face of Israeli annexation

“The decision will kill the two-state solution and fuel the conflict," said Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi.

The international community must unite to halt Israeli annexation, which will institutionalize apartheid, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said Wednesday as he pressed for increased UN involvement in the peace process.

“The decision will kill the two-state solution and fuel the conflict, margin the one-state option an inevitable fate, which the world cannot stay silent on, especially with the institutionalization of apartheid and racism,” Safadi said, according to a report from the Jordan News Agency.

Safadi spoke with UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov in Amman about ongoing UN efforts to convene a meeting of the Quartet to discuss ways to save the peace process.

After the meeting Safadi tweeted that he had spoken with Mladenov on "efforts to prevent illegal annexation of occupied Palestinian land [and] to create horizon for talks to solve conflict on basis of [two]-state solution [and international] law. Protecting peace requires preventing annexation."

Mladenov tweeted that he had also meet with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri. He wrote that he had spoken with both him and Safadi "about the need to help all sides engage on resolving the [Israeli-Palestinian] conflict on the basis of two states [and] avoid damaging unilateral action."

Jordan and the Palestinian Authority are in the midst of a campaign to thwart any Israeli annexation attempts. The European Union and the UN have similarly expressed concerns.

Last week, Mladenov called for the Quartet – composed of the UN, EU, Russia and the US – to convene and “come forward with a proposal that will enable the Quartet to take up its mediation role and work jointly with countries in the region to advance the prospect of peace.”

https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/jordan-world-cannot-stay-silent-in-face-of-israeli-annexation-629516

‘Obsessive partisanship’: Pew Research blasted for misleading tweet casting Dem districts as doing better on Covid-19 deaths

The Pew Research Center is being criticized on social media for appearing to spin a graphic depicting deaths from the coronavirus outbreak in favor of Democrats – despite the actual data painting a very different picture.

“Covid-19 deaths have declined in Democratic congressional districts since mid-April, but remained relatively steady in districts controlled by Republicans,” the research body tweeted on Wednesday.

While the statement was technically true, it didn’t quite match up with the data presented. According to Pew, and based on numbers from Johns Hopkins University (JHU), Democratic districts have actually seen a decline in Covid-19 deaths since mid-April, while numbers in Republican districts have stayed relatively steady – but coronavirus fatalities in Dem districts are still more than double those in opposing districts.

New deaths reported in Democrat-controlled areas have fallen from 7.4 to 4.1 in the last month – based on a rolling average of seven days – while Republican districts have seen the average for new deaths drop from 2.0 to 1.7.

Once the actual numbers are observed, Pew’s assertion that Democrat congressional districts have seen a decline while Republican congressional districts have seen little change comes off as a bit misleading – something social media users have not been afraid to tell the “nonpartisan” data analysis center.

“When ppl ask me what I mean when I say America's uniquely obsessive partisanship is disrupting important study and analysis, in addition to tapping into the public's worst instincts, well,” reporter Seth Mandel tweeted when presenting the study to his followers.

https://www.rt.com/usa/489922-pew-research-dem-districts-coronavirus-deaths/

JPMorgan’s Dimon Admits Fed Liquidity Is Propping Up Stocks… Deutsche Bank CEO: Markets Too Optimistic About Coronavirus Recovery: Deutsche Bank CEO…

Deutsche Bank chief executive Christian Sewing said on Tuesday that markets were too optimistic in their assessment of a recovery from the coronavirus crisis.

JPMorgan’s Dimon Admits “Fed Liquidity Is Propping Up Stocks”

“…bringing out the bazooka…”

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon told the Deutsche Bank Global Financial Services Conference attendees (virtually) that he sees a “good chance” of a fairly rapid economic recovery and is hoping things pick up in 3Q after what will be weak GDP this quarter.

“I give it some pretty good odds,” Dimon said. “The government has been very responsive, the Federal Reserve has been very responsive. Large companies have a huge wherewithal, hopefully we’ll keep the small ones alive long enough that most of them get back into business.”

While the all-seeing CEO warned that JPMorgan is “prepared for a scenario where recovery is slower,” Dimon implicitly pointed out that for now there’s nothing to fear but fear itself because “The Fed’s liquidity, bringing out the bazooka, is propping up stock prices (as well as all other asset classes).”

Significant Stimulus Needed to Rebuild Economy

Canada’s economy will continue to require significant amounts of stimulus in the rebuilding phase, even with the potential for higher debt levels to fuel financial vulnerabilities, according to the outgoing head of the country’s central bank.Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz,…

The Bond Market Is Betting on More Fed Action to Dodge a Depression

The Federal Reserve has already unleashed a barrage of new policies to keep the economy out of depression. Investors reckon it’s lining up another one. The Fed’s version of the strategy known as yield-curve control is expected to involve capping yields on government bonds of a chosen maturity…

https://www.investmentwatchblog.com/jpmorgans-dimon-admits-fed-liquidity-is-propping-up-stocks-deutsche-bank-ceo-markets-too-optimistic-about-coronavirus-recovery-deutsche-bank-ceo/

The CDC just changed its stance on surface transmission of COVID-19 — again

Hard to keep up

Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published guidance that suggested COVID-19 was not easily transmitted on surfaces. Friday, the CDC has changed that guidance somewhat, Fox News reported.

What they said last week: The CDC website said last week that COVID-19 "does not spread easily" from "touching surfaces or objects." That put it in the same category as animal-to human transmission.

This revelation was a big deal to people who had been nervous about the potential of catching the coronavirus from touching groceries or shopping carts or countertops. Also, previous CDC guidance had said COVID-19 survived on some surfaces for days.

What they say now: "After media reports appeared that suggested a change in CDC's view on transmissibility, it became clear that these edits were confusing," a CDC statement read.

Now, the CDC says it "may be possible" to contract COVID-19 by touching a contaminated surface and then touching your eyes, nose, or mouth.

"This is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads, but we are still learning more about how this virus spreads," the statement said.

Now, it is quite unclear what the actual risk of surface transmission is.

Government confusion: This isn't the first time the public has received mixed messages from the government on crucial COVID-19 information. The messaging around the use of masks has been inconsistent.

In February, Surgeon General Jerome Adams tweeted that masks "are not effective in preventing the general public from catching coronavirus."

In March, Dr. Anthony Fauci said on "60 Minutes" that the general public "should not be walking around with masks."

In April, when the virus outbreak was worsening in the U.S., President Donald Trump recommended the use of cloth face coverings outside the home. But, he made it clear that he would not be following that recommendation, and there's no evidence that a cloth mask is effective.

https://www.theblaze.com/news/cdc-changed-stance-surface-transmission-again