Friday, July 09, 2021

What Right do Facebook and Twitter Have to Deny you Access to Your Previous Posts

 What annoys me most about Facebook and Twitter censorship is not so much them flagging a post or deleting a post. I don't have a problem with that just as I dont have a problem for a restaurant or a private club to turn you away if you are not dressed according to their rules; but what right do the social media platforms have to deny me access to all of my previous posts and images I posted in and the messages I corresponded with my contacts in the last 11 years?

For more than 11 years, I posted pictures and footage on Facebook and Twitter, some of which were family pictures and shared only with close friends. Yet for the sake of one post their fact checkers deemed "against their community standards", all of that history is now gone. They were user generated contents and not Facebook or Twitter's properties, they should have no rights to deny you access to what you posted before. 

A lot of the correspondence was also with Iranian dissidents inside Iran. If anything happens to them, shouldn't the legislators make these non-tax paying tech billionaires responsible? 

What could justify the likes of Nick Clegg, Zuckerburg, Lauren Culbertson, Tedd O'Doyle and the rest of the social media's thought police, to get away with this?! 


Monday, July 05, 2021

When Does Evil Prevail?

"The Only Thing Necessary for the Triumph of Evil is that Good Men Do Nothing"
This famous quote from the Irish statesmen, Edmund Burke , has been my favourite excerpt and was part of the banner on my Twitter account before it was permanently shut down by Jack Dorsey's thought police.

Since then I have been thinking why do "good men" sometimes do nothing and help evil prevail? The answer is simple: FEAR. 

We all have different levels of courage within ourselves and we all get tested during our lives. Fear silences and it leads to more evil, more silence leads to even more evil and fear and the vicious cycle continues until it gets out of control.

Today, with the ever increasing cancel culture in the West, we are witnessing how evil is prevailing steadily. For me, it all resonates the atmosphere of fear I felt between 1978-1979 in Iran that led to the triumph of one of the most evil, despotic and reactionary regimes in the modern times, the Islamic Republic. 

First people fear being banned from their social media platforms, which leads to one narrative's dominance instead of a free discussion. Then people fear losing their jobs and the silence spreads further and heavier. Then people fear being isolated and this leads to them becoming targets for physical attacks. Then the evil becomes so strong and dangerous that finally people fear for their lives, by which time they realise it is too late and they should have spoken out earlier.

FEAR really is the root of all evil.  It is why ideological dictatorships have prevailed. They instil fear, the Good Men stay silent and the evil prevails.

These Twitter policy makers are some of those preparing that greater evil to come:



 




And now it seems even more obvious how they are bending over to China too. 

From this morning Times article following Twitter's ban on Professor Anne-Marie Brady:

The Chinese Communist Party does not just decide what its own subjects read and say. It determines your doings too. Yesterday it stopped someone in New Zealand communicating her thoughts to the rest of the world — including me.

Anne-Marie Brady is one of the world’s top China-watchers. Her sardonic, perceptive takes on Beijing’s influence operations and the West’s mostly weak-kneed response have earned her 20,000 Twitter followers. For most of yesterday any outsider trying to visit her at @anne_mariebrady was stopped by a warning screen. Get past that and some recent tweets were “unavailable”. Searches for her drew a blank: she had become a digital unperson. She was also locked out of her account, so she could no longer post any further tweets, message people — or complain to Twitter.

Brady, a professor at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand, reckons her “crime” is to have mocked the muted international participation in the party’s centenary celebrations this month. Ten years ago, at the 90th birthday party, foreign leaders showered the regime with praise and congratulations. Almost the only messages this time came from Moscow and Cairo. Among her takes on this was a link to Lesley Gore’s 1963 hit It’s my party and I’ll cry if I want to.

Twitter has not explained what prompted this. Brady received only an automated warning that she may have “violated” the social media platform’s rules. But the decision probably results from a concerted campaign by the Chinese Communist Party’s online agents. Enough complaints usually trigger an automated block. After I had stoked a furore on Twitter and sent umpteen complaints, her account was restored. Less prominent victims of Chinese censorship would have scantier chances of redress. But the episode highlights the way in which the internet, which we once hailed as a haven for free speech, now makes us much less safe.

It is quite right for Twitter and similar platforms to have the equivalent of a fire alarm, allowing other users to highlight child abuse images, say, or threats of violence. It is reasonable for part of the process to be automated. Much of life operates on the principle that it is better to inconvenience the innocent briefly and mildly than to allow villains free rein. However, China and other adversaries exploit that fair-mindedness, and the potential of technology. With minimal cost, effort and risk, thin-skinned dictatorships can unleash a flood of automated complaints that trigger Twitter’s response.

Twitter could punish those who raise false alarms, for example by suspending or blocking their accounts. But that would be too much trouble. The company’s main interest is in protecting itself from lawsuits, by ensuring that potentially illegal material does not get published. Maintaining democratic debate is much less important. Similarly, LinkedIn, which operates in China, puts a local block on users (like me) whose profiles use banned words such as “Tibet” and “Tiananmen Square”.

Brady is undaunted. She is used to harassment from China. This may encourage more people to buy her books, or follow her on Twitter. But the episode highlights a potentially fatal weakness in our system. Our freedoms, the rule of law and safety all depend on technology that is developed and run on murky and selfish lines. Twitter, like Facebook and Google, is banned in China. By contrast, these tech giants flourish in freedom. Their intellectual property and contracts are protected by laws made not by bureaucratic fiat but by elected legislators. These companies vigorously lobby governments and lawmakers on issues such as privacy regulation. They ventilate their grievances in the media (good luck with that in China). They readily go to court to defend their interests too (ditto). But these behemoths do not exert themselves to protect the system that enables their success. They choose convenience, growth and profit instead.

We already see the consequences of that in the epidemic of petty fraud perpetrated via misleading text messages and emails. This works only because our banks, phone companies and internet companies allow it. They could spend money on ensuring that anomalous payments go through extra checks. They could investigate those opening the accounts used by fraudsters. They could make it impossible to buy bogus web addresses or make phone calls that seem to come from reputable numbers. Such measures would be costly and cumbersome, they maintain. True — but a much greater cost lands on us, the victims of the frauds that they enable.

Democracy may be next. We rely on emails, websites, search engines, mobile phones and social media at all levels, from national campaigns to private messaging. But these systems are wide open to attack, be it disruption, fakery or snooping. Someone has recently been using “deepfakes” — synthetic audio and video — to impersonate, very convincingly, an aide to the jailed Russian opposition leader, Alexei Navalny. The caller then tricked politicians in the Baltic states and Ukraine into giving away confidences and making embarrassing remarks. A prank? Maybe. But eastern Europe is a testing ground for such tactics. They will be deployed here soon.

The endemic weaknesses in our technology put us all at the mercy of mischievous and malevolent outsiders. They can spy on us, distort our perception of reality, and shape our decision-making. We have perilously little time left to change this, and our foes will strive to ensure that we fail.

Thursday, July 01, 2021

Thank You Rudi Bakhtiar

 

Rudi Bakhtiar, the American-Iranian journalist has backed me against Twitter and I am extremely grateful to her.

Rudi is petite and beautiful but most importantly she has the heart of a lioness. She has reported from some of the most dangerous situations and the word fear is not part of her vocabulary. 

Rudi and I, may not always share the same political views but we both have a common trait; we can not stay silent when we see something wrong.

Last night she called me and expressed her outrage at Twitter's Thought Police closing my account.

Rudi is not going through easy times at the moment and I am not at liberty to talk about her current predicament until she permits me, making me even more indebted to her kindness, fairness and courage.

Thank you Rudi Bakhtiar.




Wednesday, June 30, 2021

Is Twitter Banning to be PC or Has it Been Influenced by the Islamic Republic of Iran?

No one knows who the individuals who ban the Twitter accounts are. But whoever they may be, are they acting on misguided political correctness zeal or have they been influenced by the Islamic Republic agents?



Many of the BigTech employees with Iranian backgrounds were photographed by protesters as they were taking part in Iran's sham elections throughout European and American cities. 

One thing is for sure, there is no logic or consistency in who they decide to ban. Legislation to regulate social media platforms is very much needed. 




Tuesday, June 29, 2021

Twitter and Facebook Ban Me Permanently

 


When I left Iran for good, I was under the impression that I will now be able to speak out against political Islam extremism without any fear for the consequences of what I say. 

For many years that was the case. It is how this blog was started and it was an exhilarating feeling that I could be the voice of many victims of political Islam without fearing for what will happen as a result of what I say.

Things are changing however. A generation of indoctrinated youngsters in the West with no life experience and understanding of Islamic extremism, have been employed by the major social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, to monitor free speech. A task they do assiduously but inconsistently when they decide what they ban and there is no independent body to monitor these Gestapo pretenders.

After several temporary bans, Twitter and Facebook both banned me for life. Above is the screenshot of the tweet I posted on Twitter that led to my permanent ban. 

I posted the tweet after the Würzburg knife attack that led to the murder and serious injuries of several innocent people. An unprovoked attack by an Islamist "knifeman on a personal jihad" who killed an 82 year old pensioner and a 24 year old mother who was murdered by him while she tried to protect her young daughter. The attacker shouted “Allahu akbar. I realised my personal jihad,” after he was shot and arrested by the German police.

Any fair person can see that my tweet was in no way promoting violence against anyone. I was merely criticising the European politicians who have neglected the proper vetting of who can settle in Europe. Those politicians in my view have let down their own citizens. I was always taught, actions have consequences. Many innocent people have been killed because the European politicians have neglected their duty to protect their own people, but they are facing no consequences for their neglects. 

The tweet that criticised the EU politicians led the Twitter Thought Police, which remind me of Iran's Minister of "Guidance",  to ban me permanently from tweeting. In doing so, they can take pride in banning a dissident voice against the Islamic Republic of Iran while all the repressive figures of the regime continue to spread their disinformation and their tweets of hate and poisoned ideology unhindered.

It is ironic that my pinned Tweet on my account was my question to Jimmy Wales, the founder of Wikipedia, at an Oxford Union debate, asking him if the social media platforms should allow tyrants and those who restrict free speech to use their platforms? Absurdly it has turned out that those tyrants and despots remain on these social media platforms and I am banned:


I have come to learn that behind every cloud there is a silver lining. My ban from Twitter and Facebook does not diminish my arguments against political Islam nor my warnings about the unholy alliance between the Left and the Islamists, it is a further proof of what I have been saying about the social media's control of narratives. My ban has proved that Twitter and Facebook exercise thought control in favour of the extremists and murderers.

It has also been a real opportunity to see who stands by me when I need their support. It is always good to be reminded who is a true friend: [see links below]

I thank all those who did not fear Twitter's thought police and tweeted in my support. Anyone who wants to follow me can subscribe to my Telegram App channel: https://t.me/SledgeHammerNews where there is still no Thought Police. 




Monday, January 25, 2021

Twitter's Thought Police Find Nothing Wrong with Child Porn!!

Twitter is facing a lawsuit in the Northern District of California, because its Thought Police repeatedly refused to remove child porn videos saying they found nothing that violated their rules and policies!

Not only Twitter refused to remove the disgusting videos which were going viral, Jack Dorsey's company made money off the clips as well, according to the New York Post article!

Those of us who have had experience of the inconsistencies and duplicities of Twitter's Thought Police, including me, can very well believe Dorsey's Kapos are capable of such hideous acts.

In a previous post, I published screenshots of how Twitter did not consider the threats to rape my family members, including my children, as "violating their rules and policies".

I sincerely hope the courts will handout the punishment Dorsey deserves. He is a threat to democracy, free speech and also to the basic moral decency. The BigTech billionaires should not be allowed to get away with their control of public opinion. 

Thursday, January 21, 2021

Help Me Move Away from Twitter to Telegram

Ask anyone who has had to flee tyranny and dictatorship and they will tell you their greatest feeling about living in a democracy is that they no longer have to watch over their shoulder after what they say.

The feeling of being able to say what is on your mind and expecting no retribution other than a debate and a civilised exchange of pros and cons of what you have said, is like the weight of a mountain off your shoulders.

Twitter and Facebook's thought police have now become intolerable platforms for free speech.

Help me move away from those platforms by following me on Telegram:

https://t.me/SledgeHammerNews



Wednesday, January 13, 2021

Twitter Bans Me Again! - The Utter Hypocrisy of the BigTech Thought Police

Twitter has banned me once again. This time for calling a Leftwing activist (@djuk2k) - an "inherent racist"! He had assumed I don't understand English because of my foreign name! Of course the Left can label you all sorts of things and right now the Bigtech companies, like Twitter and Facebook, let them get away with it. Well in fact they encourage and support them.

Even worse still, I have reported tweets which have threatened my family members, some even said they were going to rape my wife and my sister.  Twitter however responded "We have considered your report carefully and have found no violation of our rules and regulations"! See below:





So to summarise, the Twitter Thought Police bans me for calling someone a racist but allows someone to threaten to rape and kill my family members! 

When is this Bigtech censorship and hypocrisy going to stop? When will our elected representatives pick up the courage to properly regulate these user content generated social media platforms that are getting too powerful and are undermining our fundamental rights of free speech?

The twitter account for the Left wing activist who reported me is @djuk2k, He claims to be Darren Jackson from Manchester. He can't debate so he tries to ban people's right to express themselves. with the help of his BigTech Thought Police.







At at time when the people in Iran are struggling to be heard and their protests are being brutally suppressed, the likes of Darren Jackson - @djuk2k - from Manchester and his followers are more than happy to help the Ayatollahs in Iran by silencing the likes of me.

And here is another previous ridiculous Twitter ban I faced. I posted a tweet which just said "Twitter allows this?" I was referring to a tweet by an American "comedian" showing a severed head of Donald Trump drenched in blood, and Jack Dorsey's Thought Police banned me!