Leaked Emails Reveal ‘Civil War’ at CIA Change Cut-Out
The biggest public relations fiasco in the history of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) has resulted in two senior officials ending up fired and a “civil war” of sorts between the old neoconservative cadres and the new “woke”management, according to documents obtained by The Grayzone.
The fiasco in question was the phone call between the NED vice-president for communications Leslie Aun and the Grayzone’s Max Blumenthal and Alex Rubinstein, which the independent outlet published in May 2023. Aun initiated the call to address Rubinstein’s description of the Endowment as a “CIA cutout,” but ended up saying “I don’t know” a lot instead.
On Tuesday, the Grayzone published several emails between Michael Allen – who used to be the editor of the NED’s ‘Democracy Digest’ blog – and the Endowment’s founding president Carl Gershman, revealing that the fallout from the call’s publication may have cost Aun and Allen their jobs.
“Amateur hour – hugely embarrassing!” Allen emailed Gershman and NED VP for government relations, David Lowe, a day after the recording was posted on YouTube. “I specifically counseled against her talking to these people.”
Lowe described Aun’s performance as “breathtakingly ignorant” and “too painful to listen to.” Both he and Gershman, who retired in 2021, appeared to disparage the new NED president Damon Wilson for hiring her.
Gershman described the call as a “disastrous screwup” and described Aun as “obviously clueless,” a “moron,” and a “clueless wonder” whose hiring was an “egregious error” reflecting Wilson’s focus on media and image.
In messages to Gershman and Lowe, Allen blamed NED communications director, Christine Bednarz, who reportedly encouraged Aun to talk to the Grayzone. Allen also blamed Bednarz for instituting mandatory “diversity, equity and inclusion” training and berating him about his “white male privilege.”
In one email, Allen complained about the DEI training agenda including “microaggressions” and the “ideological, not historical” 1619 Project, noting that Bednarz had berated him for not using pronouns on his business cards and email signature.
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In a June 5, 2023 email to Gershman, Allen complained about the communications team focusing on the “more urgent matter of NED’s LGBTQIA+ agenda” rather than the Grayzone fallout.
Another point of conflict arose after the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, with Allen complaining that several NED staffers “promoted and attended the pro-Palestinian march organized by ANSWER” and that the NED president still backed Black Lives Matter on Facebook even after they “enthusiastically celebrated the Hamas massacres.”
At one point, Gershman asked if Bednarz harbored some kind of personal resentment for her Israeli ex-husband, or if she was “just a woke flake,” to which Allen replied: “The latter, combined with a certain megalomania and defensive resentment over the Grayzone fiasco.”
Allen ended up getting fired on December 12. In an email to Gershman and Lowe in February, he claimed his firing was in part due to “marginalization prompted by the Grayzone affair, arguably the biggest PR fiasco in NED’s history.”
Aun was fired at some point as well and paid a substantial settlement for “sex discrimination,” according to the documents obtained by the Grayzone. Her online biographies make no mention of her work at NED.
The Endowment was founded by Gershman and Alan Weinstein in 1983, after the CIA suggested the creation of such an organization to then-President Ronald Reagan. “What we do today was done covertly 25 years ago by the CIA,”Weinstein admitted to the Washington Post in 1991. Rubinstein had mentioned the CIA connection in passing, in an April 2023 article about the controversial outfit Bellingcat getting NED funding.
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Newsom Threatens Laws Against Deepfakes After Kamala Harris Parody Video Goes Viral
In a clash between Gov. Gavin Newsom and tech magnate Elon Musk, the California governor promoted his intention to endorse a law targeting what he calls the misuse of AI in political advertising.
This decision escalates the ongoing dispute between the two influential figures. Newsom criticized a parody video shared by Musk, which seemed to showcase a campaign ad for Vice President Kamala Harris with a synthetic voiceover, by posting, “Manipulating a voice in an ‘ad’ like this one should be illegal. I’ll be signing a bill in a matter of weeks to make sure it is.”
Musk retorted sharply on social media, emphasizing the legality of parody in the United States.
“I, Kamala Harris, am your Democrat candidate for president because Joe Biden finally exposed his senility at the debate,” the synthetic Harris voice says in the video. “I was selected because I am the ultimate diversity hire. I’m both a woman and a person of color, so if you criticize anything, I say you’re both sexist and racist,” the video continues.
The legislation Newsom refers to is part of a broader legislative effort to combat “deceptive” practices in digital campaign materials.
Current proposals include the “Defending Democracy from Deepfake Deception Act of 2024” by Asm. Marc Berman, D-Menlo Park. This act mandates that social platforms block “misleading” electoral content 120 days before and 60 days after an election. Additionally, it would require platforms to label manipulated content outside these periods and enable California residents to flag such content as “deceptive.”
Another significant proposal, AB 2839 by Asm. Gail Pellerin, D-Santa Cruz, aims to extend the period during which it is illegal to distribute deceptive media of a candidate to 120 days before an election.
California already has a deepfake law (AB 730, updated by AB 972), designed to address the use of artificial intelligence to create deepfake media. Enacted to mitigate the potential harm caused by realistic but fabricated digital content, this law primarily targets deepfakes involving political candidates and explicit content without consent.
Key provisions of AB 972 include:
Political Ads: The law prohibits the distribution of manipulated videos, audio recordings, or images of a political candidate within 60 days of an election if the content is likely to deceive a reasonable person into believing it is authentic unless it contains a disclaimer stating it has been manipulated.
Explicit Content: It is illegal to create or distribute deepfake content that depicts a person engaging in sexual activity, or appearing nude, without that person’s consent. This is aimed at protecting individuals from non-consensual sexual content, commonly known as “revenge porn.”
Civil Recourse: Victims of unauthorized deepfakes have the right to sue for damages. This gives individuals a way to seek redress if they are feel harmed by deepfake content.
However, the sticking point in the law for Newsom is that it has an exception. The law does include certain exceptions, such as parody, satire, or any other protected forms of speech under the First Amendment.
Since both parody and satire are rightly protected under the First Amendment, it’s unclear what Newsom is going to try next.
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Moscow Responds to Assassination of Hamas Leader
Russia has strongly condemned the assassination of Hamas political chief Ismail Hanieyah, who was killed in a missile strike on his residence in the Iranian capital Tehran on Wednesday.
The attack is widely believed to have been carried out by Israel, but West Jerusalem has yet to officially claim responsibility for the strike.
Commenting on the assassination, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stressed that Moscow “strongly condemns this attack, as it resulted in the death of Haniyeh.”
“Such actions are aimed against attempts to establish peace in the region and can significantly destabilize the already tense situation,” Peskov stressed.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry had already released a statement condemning the attack, claiming that it is “obvious that those who organized this political assassination understood that these actions were fraught with dangerous consequences for the entire region.”
The ministry stressed that there is no doubt that Haniyeh’s murder will have an extremely negative impact on future indirect contacts between Hamas and Israel and called on all parties involved to exercise restraint and avoid any steps that could dramatically worsen the security situation in the region and lead to a large-scale military confrontation.
Russia’s embassy in Tehran has also expressed shock at the “cynical murder” of Haniyeh, calling it an “unacceptable political crime” that will escalate tensions in the Middle East and negatively impact negotiations to end hostilities in Gaza.
Read more Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh killed in Iran
Haniyeh’s assassination has also been condemned by other countries including Türkiye, Jordan, Qatar and Malaysia, with many describing it as a blatant violation of international and humanitarian law and warning that it could lead to a wider conflict in the Middle East.
Tehran, meanwhile, has vowed to avenge the Hamas leader’s killing, with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian vowing to defend the country’s “territorial integrity, dignity, honor, and pride” and promising to “make the terrorist occupiers regret their cowardly act.”
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has also warned that Israel will be “severely punished” for the murder of the Hamas political chief.
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Meta says Mass Censorship of Iconic Trump Photo was an ‘Error’
Facebook has acknowledged censoring an iconic image of former President Donald Trump, taken right after he narrowly-survived an assassination attempt. The photo, which quickly went viral, shows Trump with a raised fist and a bloodied face, moments after the incident at a campaign rally.
Meta says the mass censorship of the image was an “error.”
The image in question was taken by an Associated Press photographer during a harrowing scene on July 13 in Butler, PA, where Trump was addressing supporters. During the speech, Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire, mildly injuring Trump and fatally wounding Corey Comperatore, a bystander who was shielding his family.
This stark, emotive image became a symbol of defiance as Trump, despite his injury, stood up and rallied his supporters with a call to “Fight! Fight! Fight!” However, the photo’s journey through social media over the last day was marred by censorship.
An altered version of this photo had surfaced online, showing Secret Service agents supposedly smiling after the event, which led to its initial restriction by Facebook’s third-party fact-checkers, who cited concerns of manipulation.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, later extended this caution to the original, unaltered image, a move they now say they regret.
Dani Lever, communications director for Facebook, stated, “This was an error. This fact check was initially applied to a doctored photo showing the Secret Service agents smiling, and in some cases, our systems incorrectly applied that fact check to the real photo. This has been fixed and we apologize for the mistake.”
This incident highlights ongoing concerns regarding the oversight of digital speech as algorithmic changes can have major impacts on which messages get shared.
The mass censorship of the images follows a major news outlet’s photo editor criticizing the use of the widely-circulated photo. The editor argued that the dramatic image, which portrays President Trump bloodied but defiant, could inadvertently serve as “free PR” for him, glorifying his image amid a critical incident.
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National Security Breached after Hackers Break into Most Sensitive US Government Files
One of the largest IT providers servicing the U.S. military-industrial complex suffered a major cybersecurity breach last week that is raising concerns about the safety of the establishment’s most sensitive files and documents.
Leidos Holdings Inc. may not be a household name, but those who know of the company are aware of its close ties to the Pentagon, NASA and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), among other powerful federal agencies. Leidos also works extensively with defense contractors, boasting $4 billion in services under contract in 2022 that rendered the company the largest federal IT contractor that year.
Other clients served by Leidos include the Department of Defense (DOD) and an array of private corporations. Federal contracts are the company’s bread and butter, though, representing 87 percent of its revenue.
The recent hacking incident saw the theft of internal documents, though nobody seems to know its source. Leo Hohmann believes that this is how World War III is being fought: not with World War II-style weapons, but rather digitally through the internet.
Experts say the documents that were stolen and leaked in the hack are part of two other breaches that occurred in 2022 at Diligent Corp., a platform used by Leidos.
“The nature and sensitivity of the stolen documents remain unclear, but the leak underscores vulnerabilities in the cybersecurity frameworks of companies handling critical government information,” reported Cyber Security News, as cited by Hohmann.
(Related: Earlier this month, “nearly all” AT&T customers were hacked in a data breach that never should have happened – will the company be held accountable?)
Is Leidos tied to CrowdStrike, which has servers in Ukraine to facilitate Zelensky’s theft of $1 trillion-plus U.S. taxpayer dollars?
Cyber Press put together an investigation report with one gigabyte of data files in .zip, .msg, .doc, .jpg, .png, .xls/x, and .pdf format. All of the files are associated with the technical assistance Leidos provides to its customers.
Bloomberg News claims to have reviewed some of the files, though the news outlet could not verify their authenticity due to “obscured details.”
“The exact content and nature of these documents have not been publicly disclosed,” Hohmann notes.
There has not yet been a public statement issued by Leidos addressing the nature of the hack. The company is thus far refusing to comment on the stolen information.
The person or persons responsible for the hack indicated plans to sell the data in two different formats, which experts are concerned might put national security at risk.
“This incident has prompted a broader discussion on government contractors’ security measures and protocols,” Cyber Security News reported. “The consequences of such data breaches are far-reaching, including financial losses, reputational damage, operational disruptions, and legal complications.”
Leidos first came into existence in 2013. It was later acquired by defense contractor Lockheed Martin Corp.’s information technology business.
“They can’t protect themselves but they want us to believe they can protect us?” wrote one of Hohmann’s subscribers about the U.S. government.
“I’m so glad every day that 98% of my life is lived in the physical world. I have no cell phone, I work in a diner where we accept cash only, I pay all my bills but my credit cards with cash and I know all my neighbor’s names. I look around at how fast everyone’s lives are changing and how much stress they face in their online worlds and am grateful I chose a different path.”
Another connected the dots from Leidos to CrowdStrike, which has servers in Ukraine where Volodymyr Zelensky “has been bribing the feckless, dementia-ridden pedophile for the past four years with a fake proxy war and draining U.S. taxpayers dry to the tune of almost one trillion dollars,” referring to Biden.
The establishment seems to be getting increasingly more prone to cyberattacks – is it a sign of an impending EMP attack that will take down the grid? Find out more at CyberWar.news.
Trump Wins In A Landslide, Says Top Economist Martin Armstrong
Election 2024: Arizona and Michigan Train Clerks to Report AI Deepfakes to Law Enforcement
The AI (and specifically, deepfakes) panic is playing a prominent role in this US election campaign, with the states of Arizona and Michigan introducing a scheme to train election clerks in identifying content branded as such.
Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes and Michigan and Minnesota counterparts Jocelyn Benson and Steve Simon, all three Democrats, are among those pushing an initiative called the Artificial Intelligence Task Force, launched by the NewDEAL Forum.
NewDEAL Forum is a Washington-based NGO whose board is populated by Democrat-associated figures, and which states it set out to “defend democracy” by developing tools and methods to help election officials and voters not only identify but also flag “malicious AI-generated activity” like deepfakes and “misinformation.”
Arizona and Michigan are considered to be swing states and there this effort is happening in the form of tabletop exercises that teach participants how to inform law enforcement and first responders about flagged content.
That’s not the only recently launched “project:” there’s liberal voting rights and media Democracy Docket platform, which is quoting Jocelyn Benson as saying that Michigan now has a law making “knowingly distributing materially-deceptive deep fakes” a felony.
But this applies only if this activity is seen as intending to harm a candidate’s reputation or chance at success, the Michigan secretary of state explained. However, it wasn’t immediately clear how transparent and precise the rules around determining the intent behind a deep fake are.
If applied arbitrarily, such legislation could catch a lot of things in its net – like satire and parody.
And it’s not an insignificant distinction when talking about AI, and deepfakes for that matter, since both have been around for a while, the latter notably in the entertainment industry.
Yet, when trying to explain why this focus on finding, flagging, and reporting content seen as harmful AI to law enforcement is an urgent problem, those promoting the policy speak about it being “nearly impossible” to distinguish authentic from generated video/audio material – as if this is something new.
The Democracy Docket notes that in addition to the three states, 15 others have also introduced legislation that deals with “election-related AI.”
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