theguardian--2020-07-04--Kansas paper published by Republican posts cartoon likening masks order to Holocaust

A Kansas newspaper whose publisher is a county Republican chairman posted a cartoon on its Facebook page likening an order from the state ’ s governor requiring people to wear masks in public to the round-up and murder of millions of Jews during the Holocaust .
The cartoon on the Anderson County Review ’ s Facebook page depicts Democratic governor Laura Kelly wearing a mask with a Jewish Star of David on it , next to people being loaded on to train cars .
Its caption is : “ Lockdown Laura says : Put on your mask ... and step @ @ @ @ @ @ @ newspaper posted the cartoon on Friday , the day Kelly ’ s mask order took effect .
It drew several hundred comments , many strongly critical .
Publisher Dane Hicks , who is also Anderson county ’ s Republican party chairman , said he would answer questions once he could reach a computer .
His newspaper is based in the county seat of Garnett , about 65 miles south-west of Kansas City .
It has a circulation of about 2,100 , according to the Kansas Press Association .
Kelly , who is Catholic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Mr Hicks ’ decision to publish antisemitic imagery is deeply offensive and he should remove it immediately.
” Kansas Senate minority leader Anthony Hensley , a Democrat , called the cartoon “ appalling ” and “ disgusting ” and said anyone connected to its posting should be fired .
Rabbi Moti Rieber , executive director of Kansas Interfaith Action , said most if not all comparisons of current events to the Holocaust are “ odious ” and said it was “ incoherent ” to equate the masks order , an action designed to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Finally , he said , putting the Star of David on Kelly ’ s mask was antisemitic because it implies “ nefarious Jews ” are behind her actions .
“ This thing is like the trifecta of garbage , ” Rieber said , calling on Republican leaders to repudiate the cartoon and Hicks .
Some Republicans have criticized Kelly ’ s order for infringing on personal liberties , though Kansas law allows counties to opt out and Anderson county has done so .
The governor issued the order because of a resurgence in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s total to nearly 16,000 as of Friday , when Kansas finished its worst two-week rise since the pandemic began .
The state has reported 277 Covid-19-related deaths .
The number of infections is thought to be far higher because many people have not been tested , and studies suggest people can be infected without feeling sick .
State Republican chairman Mike Kuckelman was spending the Fourth of July in the Missouri Ozarks and did not immediately respond to a text seeking comment .
Hicks previously criticized Kelly in a blogpost for taking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ what he called the state ’ s “ bureaucracy-hammered ” economy .
Kelly lifted statewide restrictions on businesses and public gatherings on 26 May , after weeks of criticism from the Republican-controlled state legislature .
Some conservative lawmakers have accused her of being heavy handed and dictatorial .
Anderson county , with about 7,900 residents , is part of a conservative swath of eastern Kansas .
Republicans outnumber Democrats two to one and Donald Trump carried it with nearly 73 % of the vote in 2016 .
The state health department has reported @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all since 8 May .
There have been no reported deaths there .
County commission chairman Jerry Howarter said of the more than 70 people who showed up to its meeting on the mask mandate on Friday , all but one opposed it .
He said he had not seen the cartoon .

A Kansas newspaper whose publisher is a county Republican chairman posted a cartoon on its Facebook page likening an order from the state’s governor requiring people to wear masks in public to the round-up and murder of millions of Jews during the Holocaust.
The cartoon on the Anderson County Review’s Facebook page depicts Democratic governor Laura Kelly wearing a mask with a Jewish Star of David on it, next to people being loaded on to train cars. Its caption is: “Lockdown Laura says: Put on your mask ... and step on to the cattle car.”
The newspaper posted the cartoon on Friday, the day Kelly’s mask order took effect. It drew several hundred comments, many strongly critical.
Publisher Dane Hicks, who is also Anderson county’s Republican party chairman, said he would answer questions once he could reach a computer. His newspaper is based in the county seat of Garnett, about 65 miles south-west of Kansas City. It has a circulation of about 2,100, according to the Kansas Press Association.
Allow Facebook content? This article includes content provided by Facebook. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. To view this content, click 'Allow and continue'. Allow and continue
Kelly, who is Catholic, issued a statement saying: “Mr Hicks’ decision to publish antisemitic imagery is deeply offensive and he should remove it immediately.”
Kansas Senate minority leader Anthony Hensley, a Democrat, called the cartoon “appalling” and “disgusting” and said anyone connected to its posting should be fired.
Rabbi Moti Rieber, executive director of Kansas Interfaith Action, said most if not all comparisons of current events to the Holocaust are “odious” and said it was “incoherent” to equate the masks order, an action designed to save lives, with mass murder.
Finally, he said, putting the Star of David on Kelly’s mask was antisemitic because it implies “nefarious Jews” are behind her actions.
“This thing is like the trifecta of garbage,” Rieber said, calling on Republican leaders to repudiate the cartoon and Hicks.
Some Republicans have criticized Kelly’s order for infringing on personal liberties, though Kansas law allows counties to opt out and Anderson county has done so.
The governor issued the order because of a resurgence in coronavirus cases that increased the state’s total to nearly 16,000 as of Friday, when Kansas finished its worst two-week rise since the pandemic began. The state has reported 277 Covid-19-related deaths.
The number of infections is thought to be far higher because many people have not been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected without feeling sick.
State Republican chairman Mike Kuckelman was spending the Fourth of July in the Missouri Ozarks and did not immediately respond to a text seeking comment.
Hicks previously criticized Kelly in a blogpost for taking a “one-size-fits-all approach” to reopening what he called the state’s “bureaucracy-hammered” economy.
Kelly lifted statewide restrictions on businesses and public gatherings on 26 May, after weeks of criticism from the Republican-controlled state legislature. Some conservative lawmakers have accused her of being heavy handed and dictatorial.
Anderson county, with about 7,900 residents, is part of a conservative swath of eastern Kansas. Republicans outnumber Democrats two to one and Donald Trump carried it with nearly 73% of the vote in 2016.
The state health department has reported four coronavirus cases for Anderson county, all since 8 May. There have been no reported deaths there.
County commission chairman Jerry Howarter said of the more than 70 people who showed up to its meeting on the mask mandate on Friday, all but one opposed it. He said he had not seen the cartoon.


theguardian--2020-07-04--Trump claims US on way to 'tremendous victory' over Covid-19 as cases surge – as it happened

Donald Trump is charged up ahead of tonight ’ s Salute to America if the blur of activity on his Twitter feed is any indicator .
The US president has fired off no fewer than 55 tweets or retweets since noon today , including a message of congratulations from Indian prime minister Narendra Modi so nice he retweeted it twice .
The alarming nationwide trends around the coronavirus pandemic , which barely warranted a mention during Friday night ’ s Mount Rushmore speech , have not been Trump ’ s preferred subject these days .
But he ’ s chosen @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hours before tonight ’ s extravaganza , repeating the debunked claim that increased testing is responsible for the spike in cases .
“ Cases , Cases , Cases !
If we didn ’ t test so much and so successfully , we would have very few cases .
If you test 40,000,000 people , you are going to have many cases that , without the testing ( like other countries ) , would not show up every night on the Fake Evening News , ” Trump wrote .
“ In a certain way @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Fake News Media all they want , CASES .
In the meantime , Deaths and the all important Mortality Rate goes down .
You don ’ t hear about that from the Fake News , and you never will .
Anybody need any Ventilators ?
?
?
” Politifact , a Pulitzer prize-winning fact-checking organization , punctured this fallacy last month , but it hasn ’ t prevented Trump from trotting it out with bold regularity .

Bryan Armen Graham in New York (now), Tom Lutz and Martin Pengelly (earlier)

4 Jul 2020 22.31 BST Donald Trump is charged up ahead of tonight’s Salute to America if the blur of activity on his Twitter feed is any indicator. The US president has fired off no fewer than 55 tweets or retweets since noon today, including a message of congratulations from Indian prime minister Narendra Modi so nice he retweeted it twice. The alarming nationwide trends around the coronavirus pandemic, which barely warranted a mention during Friday night’s Mount Rushmore speech, have not been Trump’s preferred subject these days. But he’s chosen to address it head on in the hours before tonight’s extravaganza, repeating the debunked claim that increased testing is responsible for the spike in cases. “Cases, Cases, Cases! If we didn’t test so much and so successfully, we would have very few cases. If you test 40,000,000 people, you are going to have many cases that, without the testing (like other countries), would not show up every night on the Fake Evening News,” Trump wrote. “In a certain way, our tremendous Testing success gives the Fake News Media all they want, CASES. In the meantime, Deaths and the all important Mortality Rate goes down. You don’t hear about that from the Fake News, and you never will. Anybody need any Ventilators???” Cases, Cases, Cases! If we didn’t test so much and so successfully, we would have very few cases. If you test 40,000,000 people, you are going to have many cases that, without the testing (like other countries), would not show up every night on the Fake Evening News..... — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 4, 2020 ....In a certain way, our tremendous Testing success gives the Fake News Media all they want, CASES. In the meantime, Deaths and the all important Mortality Rate goes down. You don’t hear about that from the Fake News, and you never will. Anybody need any Ventilators??? — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 4, 2020 Politifact, a Pulitzer prize-winning fact-checking organization, punctured this fallacy last month, but it hasn’t prevented Trump from trotting it out with bold regularity.
4 Jul 2020 22.02 BST Texas has recorded 8,258 new cases in the 24 hours to Saturday, the highest single-day surge in the state since the pandemic started. The overall number of confirmed infections in Texas now stands at 191,790, the state’s health department said. Current Covid-19 hospitalizations rose by 238 in one day to a record high of 7,890. Texas governor Greg Abbott took to Twitter to wish Americans a happy Fourth of July, earning a barrage of criticism from members of the public. Thank you to those who fought and continue to fight for our great nation.

Have a safe and happy Fourth of July. 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/4hs1dehTCf — Gov. Greg Abbott (@GovAbbott) July 4, 2020 His critics are bitterly divided however, with one camp voicing disappointment in his leadership amid rising infections, and the other clamoring for his resignation because Abbott issued an executive order on Thursday requiring Texans to wear face coverings in public in counties with 20 or more Covid-19 cases. Local residents hold signs in protest of closed beaches on the Fourth of July amid the global outbreak of coronavirus in Galveston, Texas. Photograph: Adrees Latif/Reuters
4 Jul 2020 21.45 BST A weekly newspaper in Kansas whose publisher is a county Republican party chairman posted a cartoon on its Facebook page likening the Democratic governor Laura Kelly’s executive order mandating people wear masks in most public spaces to the murder of millions of Jews during the Holocaust. The cartoon on the Anderson County Review’s Facebook page depicts Kelly wearing a mask with a Jewish Star of David on it, next to an image of people being loaded onto train cars. The caption reads: “Lockdown Laura says: Put on your mask ... and step onto the cattle car.” Allow Facebook content? This article includes content provided by Facebook. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. To view this content, click 'Allow and continue'. Allow and continue The newspaper posted the cartoon on Friday, the day that Kelly’s mask order aimed at stemming the spread of the coronavirus took effect at 12.01am. Publisher Dane Hicks, who is also Anderson County’s GOP chairman, told the Associated Press on Saturday that he would answer emailed questions about the cartoon once he could reach a computer. His newspaper is based in the county seat of Garnett, about 65 miles (105 kilometers) southwest of Kansas City and has a circulation of about 2,100, according to the Kansas Press Association. Kelly, who is Catholic, issued a statement saying, “Mr Hicks’ decision to publish anti-Semitic imagery is deeply offensive and he should remove it immediately.” Kansas paper published by Republican posts cartoon likening masks order to Holocaust Read more
Updated at 22.47 BST
4 Jul 2020 21.22 BST Arizona reported 2,695 new coronavirus infections on Saturday, bringing its total to 94,553. The number of hospital admissions for Covid-19 by 100 to a record high of 3,113 on Friday, the state health department said. Ninety percent of all adult intensive care beds were in use as of Friday, which is one percentage point lower than the day before.
4 Jul 2020 20.55 BST A longtime anti-LGBT activist and Republican donor told Texas’ governor to have National Guard troops “shoot to kill” amid protests last month against racial injustice and police brutality. The Texas Tribune reports that Steve Hotze left that message in a voicemail to Republican governor Greg Abbott’s chief of staff on the weekend of 6 June, saying: I want you to give a message to the governor. I want to make sure that he has National Guard down here and they have the order to shoot to kill if any of these son-of-a-bitch people start rioting like they have in Dallas, start tearing down businesses – shoot to kill the son of a bitches. That’s the only way you restore order. Kill ‘em. Thank you. Hotze acknowledged the comment in a Facebook post on Saturday, writing: “It’s not about race but has everything to do with the future of America – the freest and most progressive country in the world.” Republican senator John Cornyn called the voicemail “absolutely disgusting and reprehensible”.
4 Jul 2020 20.36 BST The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Saturday that it was discontinuing its trials of the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine and combination HIV drug lopinavir/ritonavir in hospitalized patients with Covid-19 after they failed to reduce mortality. “These interim trial results show that hydroxychloroquine and lopinavir/ritonavir produce little or no reduction in the mortality of hospitalised Covid-19 patients when compared to standard of care. Solidarity trial investigators will interrupt the trials with immediate effect,” the WHO said in a statement, referring to large multi-country trials that the agency is leading. The use of hydroxychloroquine as a potential treatment for Covid-19 was an early flash point in the US response to the outbreak after Donald Trump championed it as a ‘miracle’ cure and ‘one of the biggest game-changers’ despite little scientific evidence. The UN agency said that the decision, taken on the recommendation of the trial’s international steering committee, does not affect other studies where the drugs are used for non-hospitalized patients or as a prophylaxis. Another arm of the WHO-led trial is looking at the potential effect of Gilead’s antiviral drug remdesivir on Covid-19. The WHO reported a record increase in coronavirus infections globally, which have risen by 212,326 in 24 hours. The biggest increases were from the United States, Brazil and India, according to a daily report. The previous WHO record for new cases was 189,077 on 28 June. WHO says trials show malaria and HIV drugs don't cut Covid-19 hospital deaths Read more
Updated at 20.38 BST
4 Jul 2020 20.11 BST The White House is set to host its largest event since the start of the coronavirus pandemic with tonight’s Salute to America. Hundreds of chairs and tables have been set up on the South Lawn, where Trump will deliver a speech he says will celebrate American heritage. An administration spokesperson says social distancing “will be observed” and face masks will be offered but not mandatory.
Trump was first inspired to stage a mass display of pop and power on America’s birthday when attended the Bastille Day military parade as the guest of French president Emmanuel Macron back in 2017. An initial 2018 push to stage a parade that would have seen soldiers marching and tanks rolling down the streets of Washington was scuttled amid accusations that he was politicizing an important holiday, emulating displays in authoritarian countries and wasting taxpayers’ money. Tables and chairs are set up on the South Lawn ahead of Trump’s Salute to America celebration of American independence at the White House in Washington. Photograph: Samuel Corum/EPA But a compromised vision branded Salute to America finally debuted a year ago today and tonight’s encore continues the tradition. A statement from the White House press secretary offers a teaser: President Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump, along with the Department of Interior, will host the 2020 Salute to America on the South Lawn of the White House and Ellipse on Saturday, July 4. In addition to music, military demonstrations, and flyovers to honor our Nation’s service members and veterans, the President will deliver remarks that celebrate our independence and salute our amazing heritage. The evening will culminate with a spectacular fireworks display over the National Mall. Meanwhile, a number of demonstrations are taking place across the nation’s capital, including the George Floyd Memorial March on Washington, which began Saturday morning. A Washington police officer watches demonstrators march past Lafayette Square near the White House ahead of Saturday’s Fourth of July celebration. Photograph: José Luis Magaña/AFP/Getty Images The Independence Day holiday “doesn’t really mean anything when black people weren’t free on July 4th and those same liberties weren’t afforded to us,” local organizer Kerrigan Williams, co-founder of Freedom Fighters DC, tells USA Today. “We’re still marching for the same things.”
Updated at 21.48 BST
4 Jul 2020 19.18 BST Edward Helmore A second person has been charged in the alleged Molotov cocktail attack on an NYPD van with four officers inside during an anti-racism street protest in Brooklyn on 29 May.
Federal prosecutors, who claim jurisdiction because police vehicles are in part federally funded, said in court papers that Timothy Amerman, 29, of Saugerties, New York, had admitted that he “kitted up” Samantha Shader – who allegedly threw the explosive at the vehicle – with paint cans, glass bottles, marijuana and gas money as she traveled from the Catskill region to “cause hell”. Shader, who was arrested on the night of the protest, told federal investigators that she was given the makeshift bomb from a “thicker” black man with dreads of different colors, according to the government papers and reported by New York Daily News and New York Post on Saturday. The 27-year-old added that the black man said to her that they were “going to prove a point”, and added that she it was “important” to accept the Molotov cocktail because “she was the only white person in the area”, court papers say. But investigators claimed they found a note from Amerman in in Shader’s car that read: “I found a few more glass bottles than I thought I had, though still not many.” “BE SAFE,” the note added. “Please. Really. Good luck, love Tim.” Shader also reposted a message from Amerman’s Facebook page on creating disorder: “Black people have every right to burn down a country they built for free.” Amerman is charged with federal civil disorder and conspiracy to commit civil disorder and faces to 10 years in prison if convicted.
4 Jul 2020 18.24 BST Even Covid-19 can’t stop the sporting legend that is Joey Chestnut. The champion hot-dog eater won the annual Nathan’s Fourth of July competition by gulping down 75 hot dogs in 10 minutes to win his 13th title. He also beat his own record, which had been 74. Joey Chestnut poses after winning the Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest. Photograph: Andrew Kelly/Reuters Miki Sudo won her seventh straight title in the women’s competition, with a total of 48.5. The competition, usually held in front of big crowds at Coney Island, was held inside with competitors separated by screens this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. You can now call Joey Chestnut the GOAT of GOATs! pic.twitter.com/YJGJXSzmBZ — CBS Sports (@CBSSports) July 4, 2020
4 Jul 2020 17.56 BST Richard Luscombe has taken a look at The Villages in Florida – where video last week showed a resident spewing racism, retweeted by the president. It has long been Trump country, but minds may be changing It promotes itself as “Florida’s friendliest hometown”, a retirement playground where seniors while away their golden years in a carefree world of golf and swimming, fine dining, drinking, and nightly line dances in the village square. But one reckless and controversial retweet from Donald Trump, featuring some ugly racism from a resident in a golf cart, and The Villages’ carefully crafted image as a peaceful utopia for retirees began to dissipate. As elderly white voters, one of Trump’s key voting blocs in 2016, show signs of abandoning the erratic president, some are even wondering if the door has been opened for Democrats here, an area that until now has been unashamedly “Trump country”. “He’s definitely turning off some of the older voters in The Villages,” said Chris Stanley, president of the Democratic Club in the 32-square mile retirement community of 125,000, and a resident herself for almost six years. “They’re concerned about his plans for Medicare and social security of course, but they also didn’t allow their children to behave like this, they don’t allow their grandchildren to behave like this, and they’re very much turned off by it. “This is the generation that watched Walter Cronkite, had John F Kennedy, and Eisenhower, when politics was a whole different animal. When even if your party or your chosen candidate didn’t win, you were never afraid of damage done to your family or your country. And now? Whoever thought we’d see something like it is right now?” The resident captured on the video yelling “White power! White power!” at a demonstrator was taking part in a parade of golf carts, the preferred mode of transport in The Villages, organised by Villagers for Trump, a rightwing group of residents that claims a membership of 2,000. Although the group has distanced itself from the comment and asserted the person is not a member, there are other allegations of the president’s more fervent supporters behaving badly. You can read the full article here: 'It’s a constant barrage of hate': how Trump sparks heated clashes in Florida's retirement resort Read more
4 Jul 2020 17.38 BST Two country judges in Texas have urged residents to shelter in place and wear face coverings as hospitals in their areas reach capacity. Please be safe this weekend. pic.twitter.com/DhiH7NEGXJ — Richard F. Cortez, Hidalgo County Judge (@JudgeCortez) July 3, 2020 “The local and valley hospitals are at full capacity and have no more beds available. I urge all of our residents to please shelter-in-place, wear face coverings, practice social distancing and AVOID GATHERINGS,” wrote Judge Eloy Vera of Starr county, adding that some patients had to be flown to areas with more capacity. In nearby Hidalgo county, Judge Richard Perez posted a similar warning. Earlier this week, Texas’ Republican governor, Greg Abbott, issued an executive order for masks to be work in public in counties with more than 20 Covid-19 cases.
4 Jul 2020 17.21 BST Trump says US on its way to 'tremendous victory' over Covid-19 as cases rise Donald Trump barely mentioned the Covid-19 pandemic sweeping the US in his incendiary speech at Mount Rushmore on Friday night. But in an appearance at the White House to wish Americans a happy fourth of July, the president referenced the virus, albeit to tell people how great a job he is doing. Predictably, he also recycled his old tactic of blaming the virus on China. Happy Fourth of July from President @realDonaldTrump! 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/jhOOEzN0F2 — The White House (@WhiteHouse) July 4, 2020 “We were doing better than any country had done in history ... and then we got hit with this terrible plague from China and now we’re getting closer to fighting our way out of it,” said the president as numbers show Covid-19 cases are rising in 37 states across the US, and falling significantly in only one, Vermont. Despite evidence to the contrary, the president then suggested America was on its way to beating the virus. “Our country is coming back, our jobs numbers are spectacular, a lot of things are happening that people don’t quite see yet,” he said. “We’re on our way to a tremendous victory. It’s going to happen and it’s going to happen big. Our country will be greater than ever before.”
4 Jul 2020 17.07 BST Gregory “Joey” Johnson, who won a supreme court decision in 1989 that makes burning the American flag a constitutionally protected right, has said he will stage a flag burning ceremony in LA today “in defiance of the fascist Trump’s call to re-criminalize burning the flag in protest.” The president said last month he wants the burning of the flag to be punishable by up to a year in jail. Johnson, a member of the Revolutionary Communist Party, urged people to “defy the fascist in chief, the white supremacist in chief, the misogynist, xenophobic, jingoistic, America first chauvinist imperialist in chief. We all should have nothing but contempt and revulsion for him and his fascist regime – and be determined to mobilize millions of people to drive the regime from power.”


theguardian--2020-07-04--Stop making sense: why it's time to get emotional about climate change | Rebecca Huntley

It took me much longer than it should have to realise that educating people about climate change science was not enough .
Due perhaps to my personality type ( highly rational , don ’ t talk to me about horoscopes , please ) and my background ( the well-educated daughter of a high school teacher and an academic ) , I have grown up accepting the idea that facts persuade and emotions detract from a good argument .
Then again , I ’ m a social scientist .
I study people .
I deal mostly in feelings , not facts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about myself during speeches is that I ’ m an expert in the opinions of people who don ’ t know what they ’ re talking about .
Over the 15 years I ’ ve been a social researcher , I ’ ve watched with concern the increasing effects of climate change , and also watched as significant chunks of the electorate voted for political parties with terrible climate change policies .
There is clearly a disconnect between what people say they are worried about and want action on and who , when @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lead their country .
The science behind climate change has been proven correct to the highest degree of certainty the scientific method allows .
But climate change is more than just the science .
It ’ s a social phenomenon .
And the social dimensions of climate change can make the science look simple – the laws of physics are orderly and neat but people are messy .
When social researchers like me try to analyse how a person responds to climate change messages the way they do , we ’ re measuring @ @ @ @ @ @ @ comprehension ( or not ) of the climate science .
We ’ re analysing the way they see the world , their politics , values , cultural identity , even their gender identity .
It wouldn ’ t be a stretch to say we ’ re measuring their psyche , their innermost self .
In his book Why We Disagree About Climate Change , the British professor Mike Hulme argues that this is one of the reasons we argue so much about the issue .
“ The sources of our disagreement with climate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ our values and in our sense of identity and purpose , ” he writes .
“ They do not reside ‘ out there ’ , a result of our inability to grasp knowingly some ultimate physical reality.
” It follows that to help resolve , even to some degree , the conflict and disagreement about climate change in the community , we need to understand those different belief systems and the emotional responses and social forces that shape them .
And take them into account when we communicate about climate change and what @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more important given how politicised climate change has become , especially in countries like the US and Australia .
US research from has shown that reactions to climate change as a topic were becoming increasingly polarised along partisan lines around the late 1990s .
He argues that the climate change views of Democrats and Republicans were not significantly different until the Kyoto protocol negotiations of 1997 , when policymakers started to explore possible solutions to global warming .
In an article for the academic journal Risk Analysis , the head of Yale ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Tony Leiserowitz , showed that in 2003 , when respondents were asked in surveys for their first reaction to the phrase “ global warming ” , only 7 % reacted with words like “ hoax ” or “ scam ” .
By 2010 that had risen to 23 % .
There was a parallel trend in the UK : between 2003 and 2008 , the belief that claims about climate change had been exaggerated almost doubled from 15 % to 29 % .
The huge success and positive impact of Al Gore ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ An Inconvenient Truth , had the less-than-positive side-effect of strongly associating the issue with the progressive side of politics .
Today , as Leiserowitz comments , climate change scepticism and even denial in the US have become part of a cluster of beliefs ( along with anti-abortion and anti-immigration ) that are obvious markers of Republican allegiance .
In my own social research with Australian voters , I see this politicisation all the time .
Nowadays , I don ’ t even have to ask how someone voted in the last election to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ climate change .
Sometimes all it takes is for me to ask them how they feel about the role of government ( Are you taxed too much ?
Do you feel there is too much regulation ? )
and what media they trust the most ( blogs and social media or public broadcasters ? )
.
The degree of polarisation in places like Australia and the US is not universal .
The esteemed Pew Research Center found in 2015 that in “ Canada , Germany and the United Kingdom , followers of conservative @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of liberal or green parties to believe they will be harmed by climate change ” .
But in many other countries there are much less pronounced political differences , and much less public and political interest in contesting the science .
For environmental activists in these less-polarised countries – often countries already feeling serious impacts from climate change but emitting negligible amounts of CO –the endless debate about the truth of the climate science in the big western countries is gobsmacking .
Activists have expressed their frustration and disbelief , and it ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ despair about progress at an international level .
So when it comes to talking to people about climate change , it helps enormously to think about it not just as a scientific question but as a social and political one .
But understanding how people ’ s already existing ( and often entrenched ) political allegiances influence their response to climate change is only part of the picture .
Understanding their emotional reactions is even more important , and that leads us from politics towards psychology .
Viewing the climate change issue through @ @ @ @ @ @ @ into why we are where we are .
Have a look at the must-watch 2018 Ted Talk by the meteorologist J Marshall Shepherd , on three kinds of bias that shape your worldview .
As a self-proclaimed weather geek , he often gets asked if he believes in climate change .
He finds the question odd because science isn ’ t about belief .
It ’ s about proof that things are real or not .
He is agog at the chasm between what scientists know to be true and what surveys have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ like vaccinations , evolution and , of course , climate change .
This has led the natural scientist to start thinking about psychology , namely what biases shape our perceptions of the world around us .
He picks three big ones .
The first , and probably the most obvious , is confirmation bias , namely that we zero in on evidence that supports what we already believe .
Confirmation bias is even more pronounced in a world where we can use our social media to filter out information we don ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ influencers who reinforce our existing beliefs .
The second bias is called Dunning-Kruger , which describes our human tendency to think we know more than we do as well as to underestimate what we don ’ t know .
Again , I see this happen in focus groups all the time , when participants with no scientific credentials or training pick apart the science of climate change .
The third and final bias is cognitive dissonance .
When people encounter actions or ideas they can not reconcile psychologically with their own beliefs , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to resolve their discomfort by arguing away the new evidence .
Given that climate change is such a discomforting topic , I see this cognitive dissonance all the time in focus groups , where people try to find reasons other than climate change for the events happening around them , even when faced with a strong scientific explanation .
They pick it apart because of Dunning-Kruger and then , because of confirmation bias , try to find a blog that states something other than what the scientific evidence shows .
J Marshall Shepherd @ @ @ @ @ @ @ gap between public perception and scientific fact , to create a better future and preserve life as we know it .
He challenges us to take an inventory of our biases and of the beliefs we use to prop them up .
Think about where you get your information , how reliable it is and whether you only read the things that agree with what you want to think rather than the actual truth .
Then share what you ’ ve learned – about yourself and about the world – with other people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ don ’ t matter or the scientific method should be watered down or we should communicate without facts .
What I am saying is that now the climate science has been proven to be true to the highest degree possible , we have to stop being reasonable and start being emotional .
More science isn ’ t the solution .
People are the solution .
• This is an edited extract from How to Talk About Climate Change in a Way That Makes a Difference , by Rebecca Huntley ( Murdoch Books , @ @ @

It took me much longer than it should have to realise that educating people about climate change science was not enough. Due perhaps to my personality type (highly rational, don’t talk to me about horoscopes, please) and my background (the well-educated daughter of a high school teacher and an academic), I have grown up accepting the idea that facts persuade and emotions detract from a good argument.
Then again, I’m a social scientist. I study people. I deal mostly in feelings, not facts. A joke I like to tell about myself during speeches is that I’m an expert in the opinions of people who don’t know what they’re talking about. Over the 15 years I’ve been a social researcher, I’ve watched with concern the increasing effects of climate change, and also watched as significant chunks of the electorate voted for political parties with terrible climate change policies.
There is clearly a disconnect between what people say they are worried about and want action on and who, when given the chance, they pick to lead their country.
The science behind climate change has been proven correct to the highest degree of certainty the scientific method allows. But climate change is more than just the science. It’s a social phenomenon. And the social dimensions of climate change can make the science look simple – the laws of physics are orderly and neat but people are messy.
A climate protest painted on a bridge over the Avon River in the Gippsland town of Stratford in Victoria. Photograph: Andrew Kelly/Reuters
When social researchers like me try to analyse how a person responds to climate change messages the way they do, we’re measuring much, much more than just their comprehension (or not) of the climate science. We’re analysing the way they see the world, their politics, values, cultural identity, even their gender identity. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say we’re measuring their psyche, their innermost self.
In his book Why We Disagree About Climate Change, the British professor Mike Hulme argues that this is one of the reasons we argue so much about the issue. “The sources of our disagreement with climate change lie deep within us, in our values and in our sense of identity and purpose,” he writes. “They do not reside ‘out there’, a result of our inability to grasp knowingly some ultimate physical reality.”
It follows that to help resolve, even to some degree, the conflict and disagreement about climate change in the community, we need to understand those different belief systems and the emotional responses and social forces that shape them. And take them into account when we communicate about climate change and what should be done.
This is even more important given how politicised climate change has become, especially in countries like the US and Australia. US research from has shown that reactions to climate change as a topic were becoming increasingly polarised along partisan lines around the late 1990s. He argues that the climate change views of Democrats and Republicans were not significantly different until the Kyoto protocol negotiations of 1997, when policymakers started to explore possible solutions to global warming.
‘Think about where you get your information, how reliable it is and whether you only read the things that agree with what you want to think rather than the actual truth.’ Photograph: Carly Earl/The Guardian
In an article for the academic journal Risk Analysis, the head of Yale’s program on climate change communications, Tony Leiserowitz, showed that in 2003, when respondents were asked in surveys for their first reaction to the phrase “global warming”, only 7% reacted with words like “hoax” or “scam”. By 2010 that had risen to 23%. There was a parallel trend in the UK: between 2003 and 2008, the belief that claims about climate change had been exaggerated almost doubled from 15% to 29%.
The huge success and positive impact of Al Gore’s first documentary, 2006’s An Inconvenient Truth, had the less-than-positive side-effect of strongly associating the issue with the progressive side of politics. Today, as Leiserowitz comments, climate change scepticism and even denial in the US have become part of a cluster of beliefs (along with anti-abortion and anti-immigration) that are obvious markers of Republican allegiance.
In my own social research with Australian voters, I see this politicisation all the time. Nowadays, I don’t even have to ask how someone voted in the last election to hazard a guess about their views on climate change. Sometimes all it takes is for me to ask them how they feel about the role of government (Are you taxed too much? Do you feel there is too much regulation?) and what media they trust the most (blogs and social media or public broadcasters?).
The degree of polarisation in places like Australia and the US is not universal. The esteemed Pew Research Center found in 2015 that in “Canada, Germany and the United Kingdom, followers of conservative parties are much less likely than followers of liberal or green parties to believe they will be harmed by climate change”. But in many other countries there are much less pronounced political differences, and much less public and political interest in contesting the science.
For environmental activists in these less-polarised countries – often countries already feeling serious impacts from climate change but emitting negligible amounts of CO 2 –the endless debate about the truth of the climate science in the big western countries is gobsmacking. Activists have expressed their frustration and disbelief, and it’s contributed not a little to their despair about progress at an international level.
Thousands of school students from across Sydney attend the global Climate Strike rally at Town Hall in March last year. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP
So when it comes to talking to people about climate change, it helps enormously to think about it not just as a scientific question but as a social and political one. But understanding how people’s already existing (and often entrenched) political allegiances influence their response to climate change is only part of the picture. Understanding their emotional reactions is even more important, and that leads us from politics towards psychology.
Viewing the climate change issue through a psychological lens yields endless important insights into why we are where we are. Have a look at the must-watch 2018 Ted Talk by the meteorologist J Marshall Shepherd, on three kinds of bias that shape your worldview. As a self-proclaimed weather geek, he often gets asked if he believes in climate change. He finds the question odd because science isn’t about belief. It’s about proof that things are real or not. He is agog at the chasm between what scientists know to be true and what surveys have shown the US public believes about issues like vaccinations, evolution and, of course, climate change.
This has led the natural scientist to start thinking about psychology, namely what biases shape our perceptions of the world around us. He picks three big ones. The first, and probably the most obvious, is confirmation bias, namely that we zero in on evidence that supports what we already believe. Confirmation bias is even more pronounced in a world where we can use our social media to filter out information we don’t want to absorb and where we follow influencers who reinforce our existing beliefs.
J Marshall Shepherd on stage. Photograph: Ted
The second bias is called Dunning-Kruger, which describes our human tendency to think we know more than we do as well as to underestimate what we don’t know. Again, I see this happen in focus groups all the time, when participants with no scientific credentials or training pick apart the science of climate change.
The third and final bias is cognitive dissonance. When people encounter actions or ideas they cannot reconcile psychologically with their own beliefs, they experience discomfort. They then try to resolve their discomfort by arguing away the new evidence.
Given that climate change is such a discomforting topic, I see this cognitive dissonance all the time in focus groups, where people try to find reasons other than climate change for the events happening around them, even when faced with a strong scientific explanation. They pick it apart because of Dunning-Kruger and then, because of confirmation bias, try to find a blog that states something other than what the scientific evidence shows.
J Marshall Shepherd argues that we need to close the gap between public perception and scientific fact, to create a better future and preserve life as we know it. He challenges us to take an inventory of our biases and of the beliefs we use to prop them up. Think about where you get your information, how reliable it is and whether you only read the things that agree with what you want to think rather than the actual truth. Then share what you’ve learned – about yourself and about the world – with other people.
I’m not saying facts don’t matter or the scientific method should be watered down or we should communicate without facts. What I am saying is that now the climate science has been proven to be true to the highest degree possible, we have to stop being reasonable and start being emotional.
More science isn’t the solution. People are the solution.


theguardian--2020-07-04--Neil Young says Trump's use of songs at Mount Rushmore 'not OK with me'

After two of his songs were used by Donald Trump at Mount Rushmore on Friday , Neil Young had a simple message for the president : “ This is not OK with me.
” Like a Hurricane and Rockin ’ in the Free World were played before the president appeared in South Dakota , for an incendiary speech in which Trump claimed US history was under siege from “ far-left fascism ” .
Shortly afterwards , the official Neil Young Archives account tweeted a message of defiance : “ I stand in solidarity with the Lakota Sioux & this is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a longstanding supporter of Native American rights .
The land around Mount Rushmore is sacred to the Lakota Sioux , who lived in the area before gold was discovered by prospectors .
On Friday , protesters blocked roads near the rally and held signs reading “ You ’ re trespassing on our land ” .
Local tribes were also worried that fireworks at the event could cause wildfires and contaminate water supplies .
This week , the Oglala Sioux tribal president , Julian Bear Runner , told the Guardian the land in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the United States .
“ The lands on which that mountain is carved and the lands [ Trump was about to visit ] belong to the Great Sioux nation under a treaty signed in 1851 and the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868 , ” he said , “ and I have to tell him he doesn ’ t have permission from its original sovereign owners to enter the territory at this time.
” Harold Frazier , chairman of the Cheyenne River Sioux tribe , said in a statement on Friday that the sculpture @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Native Americans .
“ Nothing stands as a greater reminder to the Great Sioux Nation of a country that can not keep a promise or treaty than the faces carved into our sacred land on what the United States calls Mount Rushmore , ” Frazier said .
The mountain is carved with faces of former presidents George Washington , Thomas Jefferson , Abraham Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt .
Trump ’ s use of Rockin ’ in the Free World , which he first played on announcing his run for president in 2015 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In 2015 Young ’ s longtime manager , Elliot Roberts , told Mother Jones Trump ’ s use of the song “ was not authorised .
Mr Young is a longtime supporter of Bernie Sanders.
” Trump ’ s campaign responded that it had purchased the right to use the song , though a spokesman said it would not do so again , telling the New York Post : “ There are plenty of songs to choose from .
Despite Neil ’ s differing political views , Mr Trump likes Neil very much.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ published an open letter to the president .
“ Every time ... one of my songs is played at one of your rallies , I hope you hear my voice , ” the singer wrote .
“ Remember it is the voice of a tax-paying US citizen who does not support you .
Me.
” Young is not alone in opposing Trump ’ s use of his music .
The Rolling Stones have threatened legal action against the president ’ s campaign if it continues to use their songs at rallies .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump in the past , the Rolling Stones are taking further steps to exclude him using their songs at any of his future political campaigning , ” a spokesman said last month .
Other musicians who have expressed anger over Trump using their music include Queen , Adele , Rihanna and REM , although general licensing agreements covering most venues mean they have little legal recourse .
Still , few have been more forceful in their condemnation of Trump than Young , who was born in Canada but is now a naturalized US @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the president , he said : “ You are disgrace to my country … Your mindless destruction of our shared natural resources , our resources and our relationships with friends around the world is unforgivable .
”

After two of his songs were used by Donald Trump at Mount Rushmore on Friday, Neil Young had a simple message for the president: “This is not OK with me.”
Like a Hurricane and Rockin’ in the Free World were played before the president appeared in South Dakota, for an incendiary speech in which Trump claimed US history was under siege from “far-left fascism”.
Shortly afterwards, the official Neil Young Archives account tweeted a message of defiance: “I stand in solidarity with the Lakota Sioux & this is NOT OK with me.”
Young is a longstanding supporter of Native American rights. The land around Mount Rushmore is sacred to the Lakota Sioux, who lived in the area before gold was discovered by prospectors.
On Friday, protesters blocked roads near the rally and held signs reading “You’re trespassing on our land”. Local tribes were also worried that fireworks at the event could cause wildfires and contaminate water supplies.
This week, the Oglala Sioux tribal president, Julian Bear Runner, told the Guardian the land in the Black Hills was never legally ceded to the United States.
“The lands on which that mountain is carved and the lands [Trump was about to visit] belong to the Great Sioux nation under a treaty signed in 1851 and the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868,” he said, “and I have to tell him he doesn’t have permission from its original sovereign owners to enter the territory at this time.”
Harold Frazier, chairman of the Cheyenne River Sioux tribe, said in a statement on Friday that the sculpture on Mount Rushmore is an insult to Native Americans.
“Nothing stands as a greater reminder to the Great Sioux Nation of a country that cannot keep a promise or treaty than the faces carved into our sacred land on what the United States calls Mount Rushmore,” Frazier said.
The mountain is carved with faces of former presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt.
Trump’s use of Rockin’ in the Free World, which he first played on announcing his run for president in 2015, has long been source of grievance. In 2015 Young’s longtime manager, Elliot Roberts, told Mother Jones Trump’s use of the song “was not authorised. Mr Young is a longtime supporter of Bernie Sanders.”
Trump’s campaign responded that it had purchased the right to use the song, though a spokesman said it would not do so again, telling the New York Post: “There are plenty of songs to choose from. Despite Neil’s differing political views, Mr Trump likes Neil very much.”
In February this year, Young published an open letter to the president.
“Every time ... one of my songs is played at one of your rallies, I hope you hear my voice,” the singer wrote. “Remember it is the voice of a tax-paying US citizen who does not support you. Me.”
Young is not alone in opposing Trump’s use of his music. The Rolling Stones have threatened legal action against the president’s campaign if it continues to use their songs at rallies.
“Despite cease and desist directives to Donald Trump in the past, the Rolling Stones are taking further steps to exclude him using their songs at any of his future political campaigning,” a spokesman said last month.
Other musicians who have expressed anger over Trump using their music include Queen, Adele, Rihanna and REM, although general licensing agreements covering most venues mean they have little legal recourse.
Still, few have been more forceful in their condemnation of Trump than Young, who was born in Canada but is now a naturalized US citizen.
In his February letter to the president, he said: “You are disgrace to my country … Your mindless destruction of our shared natural resources, our resources and our relationships with friends around the world is unforgivable.”


theguardian--2020-07-04--Kellyanne Conway and her anti-Trump daughter may be the future of reality TV | Arwa Mahdawi

Sign up for the Week in Patriarchy , a newsletter on feminism and sexism sent every Saturday .
Keeping up with the Conways A leftist TikTok teen has been trolling Donald Trump supporters and encouraging people to leave one-star reviews on all of the president ’ s hotels and golf courses .
Nothing terribly surprising about that , right ?
Except this particular TikToker is called Claudia Conway and she ’ s the daughter of Kellyanne Conway , one of Trump ’ s most loyal advisers .
Claudia , 15 , found herself in the spotlight this week after New @ @ @ @ @ @ @ her anti-Trump content .
She has since given a number of interviews , describing herself as “ 100 % leftist and liberal ” and telling Insider that she had “ respectfully declined ” her mother ’ s request to delete her viral videos .
Claudia ’ s very public rebellion is not exactly unprecedented : George Conway , Kellyanne ’ s husband , has made a name for himself by tweeting snarky comments about Trump .
The relationship between George and Kellyanne has long been a subject of fascinated speculation .
Is the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they a heartwarming example of the power of love to conquer all ( even , you know , fascism ) ?
Or is it all a carefully curated act ?
Are the pair angling for a book deal or reality TV show ?
Some of the Conways ’ inner circle have assured sceptics that it is absolutely not the latter .
“ Those who think this is a 14-dimensional chess game are mistaken , ” says Rick Wilson , a Republican who , along with George Conway , is one of the founders @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to Wilson , both George and Kelly are dogged in their views towards Trump but have stayed together regardless .
“ Who knows the secrets of the human heart ?
” I have no idea what goes on in Kellyanne ’ s heart , but the woman certainly has a head for strategy .
It ’ s worth remembering that she is entirely self-made , built her own polling company from scratch and is the first woman in US history to have led a successful presidential campaign .
Kellyanne has spent her entire @ @ @ @ @ @ @ she may have no moral compass but she ’ s adept at figuring out which way the wind is blowing .
I would not be surprised if she is quietly sanctioning the Trump critics in her family and hedging her bets in case he doesn ’ t win another term .
She works , after all , for a reality TV star ; she knows how to manufacture drama .
And this is the woman , let us remember , who talks about “ alternative facts ” and invented the “ Bowling Green @ @ @ @ @ @ @ up a massacre , one imagines she can spin family conflict to her advantage .
Claudia may think she ’ s rebelling against mum now but may eventually come to realize that , as usually happens , her mother had the upper hand all along .
Don ’ t be surprised if Keeping Up With the Conways comes to a TV screen near you soon .
The ‘ rough sex ’ defence has been banned The British government has put an end to the so-called “ rough sex gone wrong defence ” ; @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with murder ( and face a lesser charge of manslaughter ) by saying their victim ( invariably a woman ) had consented to sexual gratification .
So , you know , it was her fault she died .
The new law comes after a campaign by We Can ’ t Consent To This ; the campaign group notes that the defence used to be pretty rare , but “ there was a tenfold increase in rough sex claims between 1996 and 2016 in the UK ” .
Choking and violence during sex has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pornography .
365 Days ( touted as the Polish 50 Shades of Grey ) , a film about a woman who is kidnapped and given a year to fall in love with her captor , has become a mega-hit on Netflix .
The singer Duffy has spoken out about the film , accusing of it eroticizing and glamourizing “ the brutal reality of sex trafficking , kidnapping and rape ” .
Earlier this year Duffy revealed that she had been raped , drugged and held captive for several days – an ordeal that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ eye for several years .
Brussels to name public square after Brontë sisters It ’ s part of a wider attempt to name more public spaces after women .
The president ’ s brother , Robert Trump , has been doing his best to block publication of the book but courts have now given it the all-clear .
In the Covid-19 economy , you ’ re allowed only a kid or a job “ We are being crushed by an economy that has bafflingly declared working parents inessential , ” Deb Perelman writes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s a great piece and is deservedly going viral .
However , it ’ s worth noting that childcare in America was broken long before the coronavirus came around : it just took well-off people being affected for it to be a fashionable topic of conversation .
Kids have been crashing the news recently .
Plot twist : Dan Brown ’ s wife may have come up with The Da Vinci Code Brown ’ s ex-wife has filed a lawsuit claiming she inspired much of his work and alleging the writer had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ socialite , who has been hiding for months , was finally arrested on Thursday and charged with enticement , conspiracy and perjury .
Maxwell is alleged to have played a critical role in grooming minors for Epstein and was his confidant .
One imagines a number of powerful men , including Prince Andrew , are now feeling very nervous indeed .
On Monday , Chief Justice John Roberts sided with liberal judges to rule that that Louisiana couldn ’ t impose a law that would have made getting an abortion in the state @ @ @ @ @ @ @ news , it ’ s worth noting that the ruling doesn ’ t mean Roberts has suddenly become a liberal .
As Moira Donegan explains , his objections were about procedure , not principle : “ Roberts often finds himself begrudgingly on the right side of history because the conservative legal thinking that he would prefer to side with is often sloppily and stupidly executed.
” It is generally thought that one human year is equivalent to seven dog years .
That ’ s rubbish according to a new study that posits human @ @ @ @ @ @ @ + 31 .
( Don ’ t ask me what that means . )
Going to have to break the news to my pup that he ’ s a lot older than we thought and really ought to be tidying up after himself already .

Sign up for the Week in Patriarchy, a newsletter on feminism and sexism sent every Saturday.
Keeping up with the Conways
A leftist TikTok teen has been trolling Donald Trump supporters and encouraging people to leave one-star reviews on all of the president’s hotels and golf courses. Nothing terribly surprising about that, right? Except this particular TikToker is called Claudia Conway and she’s the daughter of Kellyanne Conway, one of Trump’s most loyal advisers.
Claudia, 15, found herself in the spotlight this week after New York Times journalist Taylor Lorenz tweeted about her anti-Trump content. She has since given a number of interviews, describing herself as “100% leftist and liberal” and telling Insider that she had “respectfully declined” her mother’s request to delete her viral videos.
Claudia’s very public rebellion is not exactly unprecedented: George Conway, Kellyanne’s husband, has made a name for himself by tweeting snarky comments about Trump. The relationship between George and Kellyanne has long been a subject of fascinated speculation. Is the vocal political disagreement completely genuine? Are they a heartwarming example of the power of love to conquer all (even, you know, fascism)? Or is it all a carefully curated act? Are the pair angling for a book deal or reality TV show?
Some of the Conways’ inner circle have assured sceptics that it is absolutely not the latter. “Those who think this is a 14-dimensional chess game are mistaken,” says Rick Wilson, a Republican who, along with George Conway, is one of the founders of the anti-Trump Lincoln Project. According to Wilson, both George and Kelly are dogged in their views towards Trump but have stayed together regardless. “Who knows the secrets of the human heart?”
I have no idea what goes on in Kellyanne’s heart, but the woman certainly has a head for strategy. It’s worth remembering that she is entirely self-made, built her own polling company from scratch and is the first woman in US history to have led a successful presidential campaign.
Kellyanne has spent her entire life looking at polls and trends; she may have no moral compass but she’s adept at figuring out which way the wind is blowing. I would not be surprised if she is quietly sanctioning the Trump critics in her family and hedging her bets in case he doesn’t win another term. She works, after all, for a reality TV star; she knows how to manufacture drama.
And this is the woman, let us remember, who talks about “alternative facts” and invented the “Bowling Green Massacre”. If she can conjure up a massacre, one imagines she can spin family conflict to her advantage. Claudia may think she’s rebelling against mum now but may eventually come to realize that, as usually happens, her mother had the upper hand all along. Don’t be surprised if Keeping Up With the Conways comes to a TV screen near you soon.
The ‘rough sex’ defence has been banned
The British government has put an end to the so-called “rough sex gone wrong defence”; killers were essentially allowed to get away with murder (and face a lesser charge of manslaughter) by saying their victim (invariably a woman) had consented to sexual gratification. So, you know, it was her fault she died. The new law comes after a campaign by We Can’t Consent To This; the campaign group notes that the defence used to be pretty rare, but “there was a tenfold increase in rough sex claims between 1996 and 2016 in the UK”. Choking and violence during sex has become dangerously normalized, largely thanks to pornography.
Duffy criticizes Netflix for glamourizing rape
365 Days (touted as the Polish 50 Shades of Grey), a film about a woman who is kidnapped and given a year to fall in love with her captor, has become a mega-hit on Netflix. The singer Duffy has spoken out about the film, accusing of it eroticizing and glamourizing “the brutal reality of sex trafficking, kidnapping and rape”. Earlier this year Duffy revealed that she had been raped, drugged and held captive for several days – an ordeal that led to her retreating from the public eye for several years.
Brussels to name public square after Brontë sisters
It’s part of a wider attempt to name more public spaces after women.
Mary Trump’s tell-all book cleared for publication
The president’s brother, Robert Trump, has been doing his best to block publication of the book but courts have now given it the all-clear.
In the Covid-19 economy, you’re allowed only a kid or a job
“We are being crushed by an economy that has bafflingly declared working parents inessential,” Deb Perelman writes in the New York Times. It’s a great piece and is deservedly going viral. However, it’s worth noting that childcare in America was broken long before the coronavirus came around: it just took well-off people being affected for it to be a fashionable topic of conversation.
Child-interrupted TV broadcasts ‘show reality for working parents’
Kids have been crashing the news recently.
Plot twist: Dan Brown’s wife may have come up with The Da Vinci Code
Brown’s ex-wife has filed a lawsuit claiming she inspired much of his work and alleging the writer had a secret double life.
Ghislaine Maxwell charged over role in Epstein sexual abuse
The British socialite, who has been hiding for months, was finally arrested on Thursday and charged with enticement, conspiracy and perjury. Maxwell is alleged to have played a critical role in grooming minors for Epstein and was his confidant. One imagines a number of powerful men, including Prince Andrew, are now feeling very nervous indeed.
Supreme court strikes down Louisiana abortion law
On Monday, Chief Justice John Roberts sided with liberal judges to rule that that Louisiana couldn’t impose a law that would have made getting an abortion in the state nearly impossible. While this is great news, it’s worth noting that the ruling doesn’t mean Roberts has suddenly become a liberal. As Moira Donegan explains, his objections were about procedure, not principle: “Roberts often finds himself begrudgingly on the right side of history because the conservative legal thinking that he would prefer to side with is often sloppily and stupidly executed.”
The week in pet-riarchy
It is generally thought that one human year is equivalent to seven dog years. That’s rubbish according to a new study that posits human age = 16 ln(dog_age) + 31. (Don’t ask me what that means.) Going to have to break the news to my pup that he’s a lot older than we thought and really ought to be tidying up after himself already.


theguardian--2020-07-05--Trump claims victory as US nears 130,000 coronavirus deaths – live

Donald Trump is very exercised about statues and their place in US life , and wants a “ National Garden of American Heroes ” to be erected by executive order , a slightly Blofeldian project if ever there was one .
There are all sorts of reasons why the project may never see the light of day , including Trump losing the White House in November and/or Congress refusing to pay for it .
In the meantime , the president ’ s selection of such heroes – no Native Americans , Latinos or Asian Americans among them – is causing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reports that Karen Cox , a history professor at University of North Carolina at Charlotte , “ struggled for several minutes to describe the order outlining the proposed monument ” .
“ It ’ s just so random .
It ’ s like they threw a bunch of stuff on the wall and just went with whatever stuck , ” she said .
“ Nothing about this suggests it ’ s thoughtful.
” Precedent would suggest Professor Cox might be on to something , there .
Here ’ s our Washington bureau chief @ @ @ @ @ @ @ capital is dealing with attempts to bring down statues of presidents and others :

5 Jul 2020 22.07 BST Another of the former Minneapolis police officers charged in the killing of George Floyd has been released from jail, according to Hennepin County jail records.
The Associated Press reports: Tou Thao, age 34, is the third former officer accused in Floyd’s death to be released on bond. He posted $750,000 bond on Saturday, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported. All four officers on the scene of Floyd’s death have been fired and face criminal charges. Floyd, who was Black and handcuffed, died on 25 May while being arrested. A white police officer used his knee to pin Floyd’s neck for nearly eight minutes as Floyd begged for air and eventually stopped moving. Besides the charges against the officers, Floyd’s death led to worldwide protests over police brutality and racial injustice. Thao is set to appear in court on 11 September on charges of aiding and abetting second-degree murder and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter. Two other former officers, J Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane, face the same charges as Thao. Derek Chauvin, the officer who pressed his knee to Floyd’s neck, is charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter with culpable negligence. He remains in police custody. This combination of file handout photos provided by the Hennepin County jail shows, left to right, ex-officers Derek Chauvin, Tou Thao, J Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane. Photograph: Hennepin County Jail/AFP/Getty Images
5 Jul 2020 21.49 BST The Grim Reaper made a return appearance on Florida’s beaches over Fourth of July weekend. Daniel Uhlfelder, an attorney who made national headlines in May for dressing as Death himself in an effort to warn Floridians of the dangers of gathering in too close a proximity, brought his scythe-wielding personal to Jacksonville Beach during the holiday, where a number of colorful exchanges with Donald Trump supporters ensued. Florida man tells “grim reaper” that Joe and Hunter Biden went to China and brought the coronavirus back with them. pic.twitter.com/0NkRojoxLe — Travis Akers (@travisakers) July 4, 2020 Florida health officials said on Sunday the state has reached a grim milestone with more than 200,000 people having tested positive for Covid-19. State statistics released Sunday show about 10,000 new people tested positive. Saturday’s numbers, with more than 11,400 cases reported, marked a record new single-day high. More than 3,700 people have died statewide. About 43% of the cases are in three counties: Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach.
5 Jul 2020 21.29 BST Study: Covid-fuelled spike in gun purchases led to firearm violence increase Lois Beckett A spike in gun purchases during the early months of the coronavirus pandemic was associated with a nearly 8% increase in firearm violence in the US, according to a new estimate from researchers at the University of California, Davis. That increase translated into an estimated 776 additional shooting injuries in the US from March through May, the researchers found. The pandemic appears to have inspired Americans to make 2.1m more gun purchases than under typical circumstances. The new estimates, the first to quantify the effects of coronavirus gun-buying, come from the preprint of a study conducted by one of the leading US gun violence researchers. The results have not yet gone through peer review or been published in a research journal. “We wanted to get this research out as soon as possible, because obviously there are important implications for public health and public safety,” said Julia Schleimer, a research data analyst at the University of California Firearm Violence Research Center, and one of the study’s authors. The researchers looked at increases in gun purchases and changes in firearms violence across 48 states and the District of Columbia. They found that many demographic factors – including overall rates of firearm ownership, socioeconomic status, how urban a state was and levels of residential segregation by race – did not seem to make a difference in the relationship between increased gun purchases and firearms violence. But states that had lower levels of violent crime pre-Covid saw a stronger connection between additional gun purchases and more gun violence. The study used data from the Gun Violence Archive, which publishes information on shootings and firearms deaths based on media reports. The study did not examine the effect of firearms purchase increases on gun suicide, which represent the majority of gun deaths in the US. States that ordered gun stores to be closed at some point during the pandemic, rather than naming them as essential businesses that could stay open, on average had smaller overall increases in gun purchases.
Updated at 22.45 BST
5 Jul 2020 20.51 BST Artists and volunteers in Maryland have been putting the finishing touches on a 7,000 sq ft mural of Breonna Taylor in a historically black neighborhood in Maryland’s capital city. In an aerial view from a drone, a large-scale ground mural depicting Breonna Taylor with the text ‘Black Lives Matter’ is seen being painted at Annapolis’s Chambers Park on Sunday. Photograph: Patrick Smith/Getty Images Taylor, 26, was killed in her Louisville home in March by police who were serving a no-knock warrant. Protesters have been calling for the officers involved in her death to be charged. The sprawling depiction of Taylor, the latest work by muralist Jeff Huntington, has been organized by Future History Now in partnership with Banneker-Douglass Museum and the Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture. The mural was organized by Future History Now in partnership with Banneker-Douglass Museum and the Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture. Photograph: Patrick Smith/Getty Images Huntington told the Capital Gazette his organization chose to paint Taylor to show support for the Black Lives Matter movement and to focus on a prominent female figure in the movement.
5 Jul 2020 20.14 BST Donald Trump will reportedly hold an outdoor rally in New Hampshire on Saturday, lending support to the theory his campaign has increasingly seen the New England state as crucial in the president’s reelection bid. Hillary Clinton won the popular vote, and New Hampshire’s four electoral votes, by a narrower-than-expected 0.6% margin in the 2016 general election. One unnamed Trump adviser teased the campaign’s tactics, telling Politico that a win in New Hampshire combined with either Nevada or New Mexico (where Trump has also devoted significant resources), would create a path to victory even if Biden wins big in the Rust Belt. “We don’t need 306,” the person said. “We just need 270. We can lose Michigan and lose Pennsylvania and still win.”
5 Jul 2020 19.41 BST Austin’s Democratic mayor Steve Adler decried Donald Trump’s “ambiguous” messaging on the coronavirus pandemic on Sunday, calling on the governor to empower local governments to order residents to stay home amid an alarming surge in statewide case numbers. “It makes me angry,” Adler said on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday. “You know, I understand he has a tough job, but it is dangerous not to be sending a clear message to Americans.” “When they start hearing that kind of ambiguous message coming out of Washington, there are more and more people that won’t wear masks, that won’t social distance, that won’t do what it takes to keep a community safe,” he added. Austin Mayor Steve Adler on infection numbers in his city: "If we don't change the trajectory, then I am within two weeks of having our hospitals overrun. And in our ICU's, I could be ten days away from that" #CNNSOTU pic.twitter.com/uDOztrzX7c — State of the Union (@CNNSotu) July 5, 2020 Adler estimated the hospitals in the Texas capital are “within two weeks” of being overrun if his state doesn’t “change the trajectory”. ICUs could face the same problem even sooner, he said. The mayor’s sentiments were echoed by Harris County judge Lina Hidalgo, who has been front and center of Houston’s response and agreed a stay-at-home order is needed in the state’s largest city. Texas reported its highest daily increase in the number of confirmed coronavirus cases Saturday with 8,258.
5 Jul 2020 19.21 BST Martin Pengelly The Republican governor of Arkansas, Asa Hutchinson, may not have made many friends in the White House today, given his comment that if Donald Trump decides to hold a campaign rally in his state, attendees will need to wear masks. Appearing on NBC’s Meet the Press, Hutchinson said he would expect people to follow his state’s guidelines by practicing social distancing or wearing masks. He understood the value of having national Fourth of July celebrations such as that at Mount Rushmore in South Dakota on Friday, he said, and that some Americans may be experiencing “virus fatigue”. But people who attended Trump’s event on Friday should have been wearing face coverings to “set an example”, he said. Trump has also recently held events in Tulsa, Oklahoma; Phoenix, Arizona; and Washington DC. He and many attendees did not wear masks. Here’s Richard Luscombe’s report on Trump’s somewhat unorthodox approach to a weekend meant for national celebration: Trump celebrates Fourth of July by stoking division over pandemic and race Read more
5 Jul 2020 18.47 BST Bolton shoots down Trump claim not to have known of bounties plot Martin Pengelly Donald Trump’s claim not to have been briefed about intelligence suggesting Russia paid bounties to Taliban-linked militants to kill US soldiers is “just not the way the system works”, former national security adviser John Bolton said on Sunday. John Bolton. Photograph: Alex Brandon/AP Bolton was appearing on Face the Nation, the Sunday talk show from ViacomCBS, the communications giant which owns Simon & Schuster, the publisher which put out Bolton’s Trump White House memoir, The Room Where It Happened, over the president’s objection. Elsewhere on Sunday morning, former Obama national security adviser Susan Rice said Bolton would have known about the bounties intelligence while he was in the role, which he left in September 2019. “I don’t buy this story that he was never briefed,” Rice told NBC’s Meet The Press. “I believe that over a year ago, when the information first came to light in 2019, that my successor, John Bolton, would have walked straight into the Oval Office, as I would have, and informed the president of this intelligence.” Bolton’s book, a bombshell tell-all which sold nearly 800,000 copies in its first week in stores, is named for the Oval Office. But it does not include mention of the bounties plot.
“I’m not going to disclose classified information,” Bolton told CBS. “I’ve got the struggle with the president trying to repress my book on that score already. “I will say this. All intelligence is distributed along the spectrum of uncertainty. And this intelligence in 2020, by the administration’s own admission, was deemed credible enough to give to our allies. So the notion that you only give the really completely 100% verified intelligence to the president would mean you give him almost nothing. And that’s just not the way the system works.” Current national security adviser Robert O’Brien has said information about the Russian plot was withheld by a CIA officer, even though it was in the president’s brief. Bolton said any decision to withhold intelligence would “certainly not” be “made only by the briefer who briefs the president twice a week. That’s a decision that at least when I was there, would have been made by the director of national intelligence, the director of the CIA, myself and the briefer together.”
Though his book is an extensive anatomisation of Trump’s personality and fitness or otherwise for office, Bolton sidestepped a chance to criticise O’Brien, saying: “I don’t want to make this a matter of personalities.” Nor would he say if he had known of the bounties intelligence or not. “What was made public in 2018,” he said, “was Russian assistance to the Taliban, and that’s been known for some time. That alone is troubling. “What is particularly troubling, if true, is this latest information that they were … providing compensation for killing Americans. And that is the kind of thing that you go to the president on and say, ‘Look … we may not know everything on this, but a nuclear power is reportedly providing bounties to kill Americans.’ “That’s the kind of thing you need to have in the president’s view so that he can think about it as he develops – well, at least as normal presidents develop strategy to handle Russia, to handle Afghanistan.”
5 Jul 2020 18.26 BST Maanvi Singh has news on California’s trouble coping with the Covid-19 pandemic: For a good while, it seemed California had skirted past calamity. It was the first US state to order residents to shelter in place in March, and its early, aggressive actions paid off. Despite it being the most populous state and an international hub with the largest number of direct flights to China, where the coronavirus first appeared, California’s death rate remained relatively low. By May, Disneyland announced plans to reopen. The nation’s top health official Dr Anthony Fauci praised Governor Gavin Newsom’s leadership. And as the weather warmed, Californians flooded back to beaches and bars. “We had reason to feel confident,” said Dr Bob Wachter, who chairs the department of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. “And then, we hit some trouble.” A few outbreaks sparked an explosion, with an average of about 6,000 to 7,000 new cases each day over the past week. Los Angeles county began to count more residents sick with Covid-19 cases anywhere else in the nation and Disneyland postponed its reopening. As hospitalizations surged, the death toll climbed past 6,000, and ICU beds in some regions began filling to capacity, California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, ordered bars, restaurant dining rooms, cinemas and other indoor venues in the hardest-hit counties to close back up. Now, health officials and epidemiologists sifting through the rubble are left wondering how the Golden state lost its status as the public health golden child. You can read the full article below: ‘They feel invincible’: how California’s coronavirus plan went wrong Read more


theguardian--2020-07-05--Social media backlash forces Trump to find new ways to spread his message

Donald Trump ’ s campaign manager sent a warning to Twitter last month , weeks after the social media company first took steps to add labels and context to the president ’ s often inflammatory tweets .
“ Hey @ twitter , your days are numbered , ” Brad Parscale wrote in a tweet , linking to one of his posts on the much lesser-known social media site Parler .
But Twitter did not appear to think much of Parscale ’ s warning .
Less than a week later , the platform added a public interest notice to another Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ behavior .
Days after that , Reddit banned its largest pro-Trump subreddit over hate speech , and the streaming video platform Twitch temporarily suspended the president ’ s channel for violating its policy against “ hateful conduct ” .
As the president ’ s rhetoric on issues including vote by mail and the Black Lives Matter protests attracts more and more controversy , the companies ’ escalating actions have led the president and his advisers to lash out against the social media giants .
But the response is also forcing Trump and his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their message before the presidential election in November .
For a president who rose to power partly on the back of social media , it is a remarkable reversal of fortune .
Trump signed an executive order targeting social media companies in late May , days after Twitter added a fact-check to two of his tweets about voting by mail .
The order was aimed at rolling back a legal shield for online platforms contained in the Communications Decency Act of 1996 , and the justice department has since issued a recommendation urging @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
But those actions do not seem to have deterred social media companies in their effort to crack down on hate speech when it comes from the American president .
Snap , the company that makes Snapchat , announced last month that it would no longer promote Trump ’ s posts on its Discover channel because it did not want to “ amplify voices who incite racial violence and injustice by giving them free promotion on Discover ” .
Even Facebook , the social media company that has generally been most lenient with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ removing posts that incite violence or seek to suppress voting , with no exceptions for politicians .
Days before that , Facebook took down Trump campaign ads that included a symbol associated with the Nazis , saying the ads violated the company ’ s policy against “ organized hate ” .
Those decisions come as Facebook continues to face pressure from employees and advertisers to crack down on hate speech , with many critics saying the company ’ s recent steps do not go far enough to address the issue .
Facebook employees @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the company ’ s refusal to remove one of Trump ’ s posts about the recent protests against police brutality , and more than 300 companies have now joined an advertising boycott in response to the company ’ s policies on misinformation and hate speech .
The Trump campaign is looking at alternative ways to reach voters .
A number of Trump ’ s advisers and allies have now joined Parler , the Twitter rival , and the campaign has increasingly used its own smartphone app to provide supporters with news and entertainment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ We have always been worried about Twitter and Facebook taking us offline and this serves as a backup , ” Parscale said of the campaign app in an interview with Reuters .
But other platforms simply can not match the reach of social media giants like Facebook and Twitter .
The CEO of Parler , who has described the platform as “ an open town square with no censorship ” , said late last month that the number of Parler users had quickly climbed to 1.5 million .
In comparison , Facebook @ @ @ @ @ @ @ million US users respectively , according to the market research firm eMarketer .
“ There is no replacement for Facebook .
There basically is no replacement for Twitter , ” said David Karpf , a professor in the school of media and public affairs at the George Washington University .
“ If they move to these smaller sites , what they ’ re going to find is , ‘ Well , this doesn ’ t have the audience.
’ ” Gautam Hans , a professor at Vanderbilt Law School , added that social @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” policy had previously become overrun with violent and hateful rhetoric , which could quickly force Parler to develop a content moderation policy .
“ And then basically you ’ re back where you were four months ago on Twitter , ” Hans said .
“ You ’ re not going to be able to avoid these problems .
They ’ re unavoidable.
” The social media companies ’ repeated run-ins with Trump have only underscored the need for platforms to establish uniform rules around hate speech , Hans argued .
“ I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of this situation in some meaningful , principled way without having to make a hard call , ” Hans said .
“ I think the last month has demonstrated that that ’ s not going to happen.
” In the end , the recent steps taken by social media giants may be most important in terms of what they say about how those companies move forward in a world where politicians increasingly interact with voters through virtual platforms .
“ Those are meaningful steps , and it ’ s worth applauding them , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t think they ’ re going to change the outcome of the election in meaningful ways , but when social media companies start taking responsibility for the platforms they provide and the activity on those platforms and take some authority for the power that they have , that is a good thing to see .
”

Donald Trump’s campaign manager sent a warning to Twitter last month, weeks after the social media company first took steps to add labels and context to the president’s often inflammatory tweets.
“Hey @twitter, your days are numbered,” Brad Parscale wrote in a tweet, linking to one of his posts on the much lesser-known social media site Parler.
But Twitter did not appear to think much of Parscale’s warning. Less than a week later, the platform added a public interest notice to another Trump tweet for violating its policy against abusive behavior. Days after that, Reddit banned its largest pro-Trump subreddit over hate speech, and the streaming video platform Twitch temporarily suspended the president’s channel for violating its policy against “hateful conduct”.
As the president’s rhetoric on issues including vote by mail and the Black Lives Matter protests attracts more and more controversy, the companies’ escalating actions have led the president and his advisers to lash out against the social media giants. But the response is also forcing Trump and his campaign to consider alternative ways to spread their message before the presidential election in November. For a president who rose to power partly on the back of social media, it is a remarkable reversal of fortune.
Trump signed an executive order targeting social media companies in late May, days after Twitter added a fact-check to two of his tweets about voting by mail. The order was aimed at rolling back a legal shield for online platforms contained in the Communications Decency Act of 1996, and the justice department has since issued a recommendation urging Congress to repeal parts of the law.
But those actions do not seem to have deterred social media companies in their effort to crack down on hate speech when it comes from the American president.
Snap, the company that makes Snapchat, announced last month that it would no longer promote Trump’s posts on its Discover channel because it did not want to “amplify voices who incite racial violence and injustice by giving them free promotion on Discover”.
Even Facebook, the social media company that has generally been most lenient with the president, said it would start removing posts that incite violence or seek to suppress voting, with no exceptions for politicians. Days before that, Facebook took down Trump campaign ads that included a symbol associated with the Nazis, saying the ads violated the company’s policy against “organized hate”.
Those decisions come as Facebook continues to face pressure from employees and advertisers to crack down on hate speech, with many critics saying the company’s recent steps do not go far enough to address the issue.
Facebook employees staged a virtual walkout last month over the company’s refusal to remove one of Trump’s posts about the recent protests against police brutality, and more than 300 companies have now joined an advertising boycott in response to the company’s policies on misinformation and hate speech.
The Trump campaign is looking at alternative ways to reach voters. A number of Trump’s advisers and allies have now joined Parler, the Twitter rival, and the campaign has increasingly used its own smartphone app to provide supporters with news and entertainment that is favorable to the president.
“We have always been worried about Twitter and Facebook taking us offline and this serves as a backup,” Parscale said of the campaign app in an interview with Reuters.
But other platforms simply cannot match the reach of social media giants like Facebook and Twitter.
The CEO of Parler, who has described the platform as “an open town square with no censorship”, said late last month that the number of Parler users had quickly climbed to 1.5 million. In comparison, Facebook and Twitter have 175.4 million and 53.5 million US users respectively, according to the market research firm eMarketer.
“There is no replacement for Facebook. There basically is no replacement for Twitter,” said David Karpf, a professor in the school of media and public affairs at the George Washington University. “If they move to these smaller sites, what they’re going to find is, ‘Well, this doesn’t have the audience.’”
Gautam Hans, a professor at Vanderbilt Law School, added that social media companies touting a “no censorship” policy had previously become overrun with violent and hateful rhetoric, which could quickly force Parler to develop a content moderation policy. “And then basically you’re back where you were four months ago on Twitter,” Hans said. “You’re not going to be able to avoid these problems. They’re unavoidable.”
The social media companies’ repeated run-ins with Trump have only underscored the need for platforms to establish uniform rules around hate speech, Hans argued. “I think they thought they could get out of this situation in some meaningful, principled way without having to make a hard call,” Hans said. “I think the last month has demonstrated that that’s not going to happen.”
In the end, the recent steps taken by social media giants may be most important in terms of what they say about how those companies move forward in a world where politicians increasingly interact with voters through virtual platforms.
“Those are meaningful steps, and it’s worth applauding them,” Karpf said. “I don’t think they’re going to change the outcome of the election in meaningful ways, but when social media companies start taking responsibility for the platforms they provide and the activity on those platforms and take some authority for the power that they have, that is a good thing to see.”