News

Selective application of regulatory standards.

The incident involving Philippe Herlin’s remarks on CNews, a prominent French news channel, has stirred significant controversy and regulatory action.

Herlin, a notable economist, was given a platform to express his skepticism regarding anthropogenic global warming during a broadcast. He characterized climate change as a fabricated concept aimed at justifying state intervention, going so far as to describe it as a form of totalitarianism.

Neither the hosts of the program nor any other participants in the studio challenged his assertions. This lack of opposition on air ultimately led to repercussions for CNews.

The French media regulator, Arcom (formerly CSA), conducted an investigation and found that CNews had violated broadcasting standards by failing to ensure a balanced presentation of controversial viewpoints.

(Related: Trump announces plans to reject CBDCs, promote free speech in AI, ban government censorship and defund censorship institutions.)

As a result, Arcom imposed a €20,000 ($21,880) fine on the channel for allowing Herlin’s views to go unchallenged.

The fine has sparked considerable debate about the role of media regulation and the freedom of expression in France.

Selective application of regulatory standards

Critics point out that while Arcom insists on impartiality in broadcasting, there is a historical precedent of mainstream media outlets overwhelmingly promoting the consensus view on issues like climate change, often without giving adequate airtime to dissenting perspectives.

Herlin’s comments have become a focal point for discussions on journalistic integrity and the boundaries of free speech. His assertion that climate change discourse serves political agendasrather than scientific truth challenges the dominant narrative supported by many media outlets and governmental bodies

Moreover, the timing and nature of Arcom’s enforcement have raised suspicions of selective application of regulatory standards. Critics argue that the reaction to Herlin’s remarks reflects a broader concern within established circles about the potential impact of dissenting viewpoints on public opinion and policy decisions.

Four months ago, France’s highest administrative court ordered Arcom to conduct a thorough examination of whether CNews complies with regulations governing balanced and independent journalism.

The ruling marks a significant victory for Reporters sans Frontières (RSF), which petitioned the State Council to overturn Arcom’s previous decision not to investigate the channel often dubbed as the “French Fox News” by critics.

RSF had accused CNews of morphing into an “opinion media” outlet and alleged that Arcom had repeatedly disregarded calls to enforce the channel’s obligation to uphold “honesty, independence and pluralism” in its reporting.

The court’s directive compels Arcom to assess not only the diversity of political views during electoral periods but also the breadth of opinions expressed by columnists, presenters and guests across CNews‘ programming.

Christophe Deloire, RSF’s secretary-general, hailed the court’s decision as a “historic victory for democracy and journalism,” emphasizing the critical role of media pluralism in safeguarding democratic principles.

He underscored RSF’s decade-long advocacy for Arcom to exercise its regulatory powers effectively to ensure diverse factual and opinion-based content for citizens.

In previous actions, Arcom had fined CNews €200,000 ($218,796) in 2021 for broadcasting remarks by far-right commentator Éric Zemmour on the asylum system, which the regulator classified as hate speech. Zemmour, known for his controversial views and prior convictions related to hate speech, had been a prominent figure on CNews before his presidential candidacy in 2022 and remains a frequent guest.

Despite its rising viewership, surpassing BFMTV in December ratings, CNews has vehemently denied any political alignment and rejected comparisons to Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News.

Serge Nedjar, the channel’s director-general, emphasized its commitment to covering contentious topics like insecurity, immigration and identity, asserting that these subjects resonate with a broad segment of the French public.

In response to criticism about its editorial stance, Roch-Olivier Maistre, president of Arcom, acknowledged CNews‘ evolution towards an opinion-oriented format reminiscent of channels found in other countries, notably the United States. He clarified that while Arcom monitors political pluralism in terms of airtime given to politicians, the regulation does not extend to evaluating the viewpoints expressed by the channel’s commentators.

Follow Censorship.news for more news about people being censored in America and other parts of the world.

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Mike Adams the Health Ranger analyzes the relationship between the secret service and the attempted assassin.

Mike Adams joined Chase Geiser on the Thursday Alex Jones Show to break down how the so-called Trump assassin was merely a patsy for some powerful players hidden deep behind the scenes.

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Witold Waszczykowski, the former head of Poland’s diplomacy, has warned that Ursula von der Leyen’s controversial agenda as the European Commission president will spark widespread street protests across the continent.

In an interview with wPolityce.pl, Witold Waszczykowski, the former Polish minister of foreign affairs and a former MEP for Law and Justice Party (PiS), has expressed his strong disapproval of Ursula von der Leyen’s reelection as the head of the European Commission. Waszczykowski believes that von der Leyen’s second term will be marked by confrontational street protests due to her ambitious and, in his view, unrealistic promises.

Waszczykowski predicts that von der Leyen’s agenda will lead to protests by farmers and workers on the streets of European cities. 

“Citizens will pay more and more for these ideas,” he warned, recalling the “yellow vests” movement in France and suggesting that such protests could spread across Europe. “These bureaucratic whims will not be accepted by ordinary people,” he added.

He also points to the corruption he says was inherent during von der Leyen’s term as president.

“Von der Leyen’s previous term was riddled with scandals and blunders,” Waszczykowski stated. “From the vaccine procurement scandal involving SMS messages to the Brexit debacle and the ‘Qatargate’ corruption scandal, her tenure has been far from exemplary.”

He also criticized the EU commission’s handling of the Russian aggression in 2022, arguing that the EU’s response was too slow and ineffective.

Despite these criticisms, von der Leyen secured a second term, a fact that Waszczykowski attributes to her pre-election pact with the left and the Greens. 

“By promising support for the Green Deal and constitutional changes outside the Treaty, she secured a majority,” he said.

Waszczykowski also questioned why some MEPs from the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) supported von der Leyen. He suggested that their support stemmed from a fear of being marginalized by the majority political mainstream and a desire to maintain some influence. 

“Many conservative circles in the West practice a symptom-free conservatism,” he said, “using conservative rhetoric but acting like liberals.”

The former minister believes that PiS’ current strategy is flawed and that they should have joined forces with Marine Le Pen’s Patriots for Europe to build a strong conservative bloc and negotiate changes within the EU.

As for von der Leyen’s promises and announcements during the debate, Waszczykowski compared them to the unrealistic pledges made by Donald Tusk in Poland. 

“These are all pipe dreams,” he said. “The EU is being sidelined by China and the U.S. and especially by an aggressive Russia. Von der Leyen herself experienced this in Ankara when she was not even offered a chair next to President Erdoğan.”

He also anticipates that von der Leyen’s second term will further the trend towards a super state, with decisions being made at the EU level by majority vote, potentially leading to coercion and blackmail tactics similar to those used by Tusk in Poland.

“Countries, including Poland, will be afraid to leave the EU for geopolitical reasons,” Waszczykowski said, “and will be forced to accept all these eccentricities under the threat of Polexit.”

Unless significant socio-political movements emerge to oppose these changes, Waszczykowski fears that Europe will be pushed towards a future that many will find unacceptable but be unable to stop.

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EXCLUSIVE: Economist Reveals How Gold, Silver, And The US Dollar Went Up After Assassination Attempt

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German police officer Rouven L. partially predicted his own death, saying that “young Arab men have a very short fuse” and “are quick to use a knife”.

For the first time since German police officer Rouven L. was stabbed to death by an Afghan Islamist who had been living in Germany for eight years illegally, the family of the victim is speaking out, with multiple interviews with the mother and sisters featured on a documentary from German public media station Südwestrundfunk (SWR).

In fact, the sister of Rouven L. said that her brother knew the dangers of policing the event in Mannheim, which was hosted by the anti-Islam group Pax Europa, and even made a number of comments predicting exactly what would come to pass.

Rouven L.’s sister spoke with him the day before the police operation, where he told her he had read about Pax Europa extensively beforehand, which is led by German political activist Michael Stürzenberger, who was the first targeted by the Afghan Sulaiman Ataee, who stabbed Stürzenberger, multiple times. While Rouven L. was no supporter of the movement, he told his sister that the event could pose a significant danger and that riots could be expected, saying that “the young Arab men have a very short fuse” and “are quick to use a knife.”

The sister also noted that her brother said that he knew Stürzenberger and his movement deliberately provoked the highly temperamental Arab men in order to provoke public disorder from their side.

“Something has to change”

However, SWR also interviewed the mother, who said because of the nature of the murder of her son, which was committed by an Afghan migrant, it highlights that “perhaps” Germany’s migration policy needs to be reconsidered. 

“It was important to me that people are aware that something is not right here in Germany,” she said. “Something has to change.”

In the hospital, the family enjoyed one last small comfort and were allowed to “be with Rouven the whole time” until his death. His sisters stayed by his side the entire time.

A total of five members and aids to the Pax Europa group were attacked in Mannheim, with some of them seriously injured. The main target, however, was Stürzberger, who was stabbed several times in his face, chest, and legs, and required emergency surgery.

Rouvan L. heroically tried to intervene to stop Ataee but ended up being stabbed in the neck.

German crime statistics reveal that foreigners are responsible for an overwhelming number of violent crimes in Germany. A record amount of violent crime was recorded in 2023, with foreigners also responsible for a record share of these crimes. The data shows that they are committing 6 in 10 violent crimes in the country and 41 percent of overall crime.

At the same time, surging knife crime also continues to highlight their growing role in public insecurity.

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EXCLUSIVE: Economist Reveals How Gold, Silver, And The US Dollar Went Up After Assassination Attempt

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A glitch with Microsoft Windows is said to have caused computer systems to crash around the world, crippling airport and communications operations.

Countries around the world have been hit by a powerful IT outage, crippling air traffic control systems, banks, and broadcasters. Windows 10 users are said to have borne the brunt of the crisis, with media reports and experts attributing the failures to a recent update of CrowdStrike, a web/cloud-based anti-virus which has caused computers to crash.

Problems have so far been reported in Australia, New Zealand, India, and Japan, with the monitoring site Down Detector also showing outages at the Microsoft Store and Amazon, as well Delta and Ryanair airlines, among others.

• 19 July 202412:15 GMT CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz has told NBC that his company is “deeply sorry for the impact that we’ve caused to customers, to travelers, to anyone affected” by the outage. He confirmed that the crash was caused by a software bug in an update which conflicted with Microsoft systems. 
  “We’ve identified it very quickly… The systems come back online as they are rebooted,” he said, adding that CrowdStrike is working with its customers to help them return to normal operations. At the same time, he was unable to say how long exactly it will take to achieve this.

• 11:54 GMTSeveral major Chinese airlines have told CGTN that their operations were not affected by worldwide disruption as they use different IT systems.
• 11:45 GMTThe UK government has held an emergency meeting following the global IT outage, a Downing Street spokeswoman said, adding that UK authorities were “working closely with the respective sectors and industries on this issue.” She confirmed that newly elected Prime Minister Keir Starmer did not chair the meeting but is being kept in the loop, explaining that he had a meeting with Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky.
• 11:35 GMTTesla and Space X CEO Elon Musk has branded the Microsoft outage the “biggest IT fail ever.” He also laughed at a meme comparing Microsoft to the Secret Service following the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, concluding that neither was secure.
• 11:23 GMTMicrosoft has said, as quoted by Reuters, that the underlying cause of the global outage has been fixed, but acknowledged that the residual impact continues to affect some of its apps and services. 
• 11:18 GMTThe White House National Security Council spokesperson told CNN that the Biden administration is aware of the outage and is “looking into the issue and impacts” of the incident.
• 10:56 GMTDubai International Airport says it has returned to normal operations after some of its check-in procedures were affected by the global outage. It noted that “airlines promptly switched to an alternate system, allowing normal check-in operations to resume swiftly.”
• 10:34 GMTAround 30% of McDonald’s outlets in Japan have been forced to suspend operations due to the outage, Kyodo News has reported, citing the local branch of the fast-food giant. It is not yet clear when services can be resumed in full, it added.
• 10:31 GMTRussia’s Ministry of Digital Development said the Microsoft outage was further proof that the country needs to continue weaning itself off foreign software, especially when it comes to critical infrastructure.
• 10:24 GMTThe Kremlin’s IT systems have not been affected by the Microsoft outage, spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said. Flight and railway authorities in Russia have also confirmed that their operations continue unimpeded.

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EXCLUSIVE: Economist Reveals How Gold, Silver, And The US Dollar Went Up After Assassination Attempt

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And, the Spanish PM wants to make sure the “trusty” legacy media (referred to as “traditional” in reports appearing in – the legacy media) are given a leg up in a competitive market.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is pushing for new rules to be adopted with the stated aim of stopping the spread of “fake news” – specifically that which he brands as being “largely finances by the extreme right.”

But the opposition there remains unconvinced that this is not simply another initiative to censor media outlets that the government dislikes, sold to the public as a new way to rein in “digital tabloids that spread hoaxes.”

Despite, or because of these suspicions, that the government’s activities are aimed at stifling the very foundations of democracy, free speech, and media, Sanchez chose to “sell” his proposal to Spain’s parliament as necessary – to protect democracy.

“Without reliable and diverse sources of information, the citizens are blind,” Sanchez is quoted as declaring.

He’s not wrong – but actions, as well as context, speak louder than words. Not only is Sanchez’s “law on censorship,” as opponents are calling it, supposed to align with the EU’s Media Freedom Act, but it also comes at a particularly sensitive time for Sanchez personally.

Namely, his wife is about to testify in court in a corruption scandal, which the prime minister has previously said was fabricated for political reasons “by right-wing media,” and to assist the opposition.

And announcements of new rules around media outlets were first heard from the head of government earlier this month, when the wife, Begona Gomez, made her first court appearance in the case.

The most influential among the opposition, the People’s Party, has no doubt that Sanchez is simply out to control the media publishing content critical of him.

Sanchez, on the other hand, insists the new rules would apply equally to all media without favoritism. Some of the proposed measures include identifying “all shareholders with influence over editorial policy” – which would require a strong and clear definition of who qualifies before it would ever be accepted as fair by critics.

And, the Spanish PM wants to make sure the “trusty” legacy media (referred to as “traditional” in reports appearing in – the legacy media) are given a leg up in a competitive market.

Namely, the plan is to subsidize their transition to digital with €100 million ($109 million).

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EXCLUSIVE: Economist Reveals How Gold, Silver, And The US Dollar Went Up After Assassination Attempt

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