buzzfeed--2020-09-17--“I Have Blood On My Hands”: A Whistleblower Says Facebook Ignored Global Political Manipulation

A 6,600-word internal memo from a fired Facebook data scientist details how the social network knew about specific examples of global political manipulation — and failed to act .
Facebook ignored or was slow to act on evidence that fake accounts on its platform have been undermining elections and political affairs around the world , according to an explosive memo sent by a recently fired Facebook employee and obtained by BuzzFeed News .
The 6,600-word memo , written by former Facebook data scientist Sophie Zhang , is filled with concrete examples of heads of government and political parties in Azerbaijan @ @ @ @ @ @ @ themselves to sway public opinion .
In countries including India , Ukraine , Spain , Brazil , Bolivia , and Ecuador , she found evidence of coordinated campaigns of varying sizes to boost or hinder political candidates or outcomes , though she did not always conclude who was behind them .
“ In the three years I ’ ve spent at Facebook , I ’ ve found multiple blatant attempts by foreign national governments to abuse our platform on vast scales to mislead their own citizenry , and caused international news on multiple @ @ @ @ @ @ @ declined to talk to BuzzFeed News .
Her LinkedIn profile said she “ worked as the data scientist for the Facebook Site Integrity fake engagement team ” and dealt with “ bots influencing elections and the like.
” “ I have personally made decisions that affected national presidents without oversight , and taken action to enforce against so many prominent politicians globally that I ’ ve lost count , ” she wrote .
The memo is a damning account of Facebook ’ s failures .
It ’ s the story of Facebook abdicating @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that could affect the political fate of nations outside the United States or Western Europe .
It 's also the story of a junior employee wielding extraordinary moderation powers that affected millions of people without any real institutional support , and the personal torment that followed .
“ I know that I have blood on my hands by now , ” Zhang wrote .
These are some of the biggest revelations in Zhang ’ s memo : • It took Facebook ’ s leaders nine months to act on a coordinated campaign “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ boost President Juan Orlando Hernandez of Honduras on a massive scale to mislead the Honduran people.
” Two weeks after Facebook took action against the perpetrators in July , they returned , leading to a game of “ whack-a-mole ” between Zhang and the operatives behind the fake accounts , which are still active .
• In Azerbaijan , Zhang discovered the ruling political party “ utilized thousands of inauthentic assets ... to harass the opposition en masse.
” Facebook began looking into the issue a year after Zhang reported it .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ her colleagues removed “ 10.5 million fake reactions and fans from high-profile politicians in Brazil and the US in the 2018 elections.
” • In February 2019 , a NATO researcher informed Facebook that `` he ’ d obtained Russian inauthentic activity on a high-profile U.S. political figure that we didn ’ t catch . ''
Zhang removed the activity , “ dousing the immediate fire , ” she wrote .
• In Ukraine , Zhang “ found inauthentic scripted activity ” supporting both former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko , a pro–European Union @ @ @ @ @ @ @ well as Volodymyr Groysman , a former prime minister and ally of former president Petro Poroshenko .
“ Volodymyr Zelensky and his faction was the only major group not affected , ” Zhang said of the current Ukrainian president .
• Zhang discovered inauthentic activity — a Facebook term for engagement from bot accounts and coordinated manual accounts— in Bolivia and Ecuador but chose “ not to prioritize it , ” due to her workload .
The amount of power she had as a mid-level employee to make decisions about a country ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ her health .
• After becoming aware of coordinated manipulation on the Spanish Health Ministry ’ s Facebook page during the COVID-19 pandemic , Zhang helped find and remove 672,000 fake accounts “ acting on similar targets globally ” including in the US .
• In India , she worked to remove “ a politically-sophisticated network of more than a thousand actors working to influence '' the local elections taking place in Delhi in February .
Facebook never publicly disclosed this network or that it had taken it down .
“ We ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ leading experts , to stop bad actors from abusing our systems , resulting in the removal of more than 100 networks for coordinated inauthentic behavior , '' Facebook spokesperson Liz Bourgeois said in a statement .
`` It ’ s highly involved work that these teams do as their full-time remit .
Working against coordinated inauthentic behavior is our priority , but we ’ re also addressing the problems of spam and fake engagement .
We investigate each issue carefully , including those that Ms. Zhang raises , before we take action or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a company . ''
BuzzFeed News is not publishing Zhang ’ s full memo because it contains personal information .
This story includes full excerpts when possible to provide appropriate context .
In her post , Zhang said she did not want it to go public for fear of disrupting Facebook ’ s efforts to prevent problems around the upcoming 2020 US presidential election , and due to concerns about her own safety .
BuzzFeed News is publishing parts of her memo that are clearly in the public interest .
Do you work @ @ @ @ @ @ @ We 'd love to hear from you .
Reach out at ryan.mac @ buzzfeed.com , craig.silverman @ buzzfeed.com , pranav.dixit @ buzzfeed.com , or via one of our tip line channels .
“ I consider myself to have been put in an impossible spot – caught between my loyalties to the company and my loyalties to the world as a whole , ” she said .
“ The last thing I want to do is distract from our efforts for the upcoming U.S. elections , yet I know this post will likely do @ @ @ @ @ @ @ down a $ 64,000 severance package from the company to avoid signing a nondisparagement agreement .
Doing so allowed her to speak out internally , and she used that freedom to reckon with the power that she had to police political speech .
“ There was so much violating behavior worldwide that it was left to my personal assessment of which cases to further investigate , to file tasks , and escalate for prioritization afterwards , ” she wrote .
That power contrasted with what she said seemed to be a lack of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ processes in smaller countries .
Facebook , Zhang said , prioritized regions including the US and Western Europe , and often only acted when she repeatedly pressed the issue publicly in comments on Workplace , the company ’ s internal , employee-only message board .
“ With no oversight whatsoever , I was left in a situation where I was trusted with immense influence in my spare time , ” she wrote .
“ A manager on Strategic Response mused to myself that most of the world outside the West was effectively the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dictator – he meant the statement as a compliment , but it illustrated the immense pressures upon me.
” A former Facebook engineer who knew her told BuzzFeed News that Zhang was skilled at discovering fake account networks on the platform .
“ She 's the only person in this entire field at Facebook that I ever trusted to be earnest about this work , '' said the engineer , who had seen a copy of Zhang ’ s post and asked not to be named because they no longer work at the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I learned from that post was shocking even to me as someone who 's often been disappointed at how the company treats its best people , '' they said .
Zhang ’ s memo said the lack of institutional support and heavy stakes left her unable to sleep .
She often felt responsible when civil unrest took hold in places she didn ’ t prioritize for investigation and action .
“ I have made countless decisions in this vein – from Iraq to Indonesia , from Italy to El Salvador , ” she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was likely small in each case , but the world is a vast place.
” Still , she did not believe that the failures she observed during her two and a half years at the company were the result of bad intent by Facebook ’ s employees or leadership .
It was a lack of resources , Zhang wrote , and the company ’ s tendency to focus on global activity that posed public relations risks , as opposed to electoral or civic harm .
“ Facebook projects an image of strength and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lend itself to such theories , but the reality is that many of our actions are slapdash and haphazard accidents , ” she wrote .
Zhang wrote that she was just six months into the job when she found coordinated inauthentic behavior — Facebook ’ s internal term for the use of multiple fake accounts to boost engagement or spread content — benefiting Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández .
The connection to the Honduran leader was made , Zhang said , because an administrator for the president ’ s Facebook page had been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ assets without any obfuscation whatsoever in a show of extreme chutzpah.
” The data scientist said she reported the operation , which involved thousands of fake accounts , to Facebook ’ s threat intelligence and policy review teams , both of which took months to act .
“ Local policy teams confirmed that President JOH ’ s marketing team had openly admitted to organizing the activity on his behalf , ” she wrote .
“ Yet despite the blatantly violating nature of this activity , it took me almost a year to take @ @ @ @ @ @ @ announced by Facebook in July 2019 , but proved futile .
Soon , the operation was soon back up and running , a fact Facebook has never disclosed .
“ They had returned within two weeks of our takedown and were back in a similar volume of users , ” Zhang wrote , adding that she did a final sweep for the fake accounts on her last day at Facebook .
“ A year after our takedown , the activity is still live and well.
” In Azerbaijan , she found a large @ @ @ @ @ @ @ opponents of President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan and his ruling New Azerbaijan Party , which uses the acronym YAP .
Facebook still has not disclosed the influence campaign , according to Zhang .
The operation detailed in the memo is reminiscent of those of Russia ’ s Internet Research Agency , a private troll farm that tried to influence the 2016 US elections , because it involved “ dedicated employees who worked 9-6 Monday-Friday work weeks to create millions of comments ” targeting members of the opposition and media reports seen as negative @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for district-level divisions of the ruling YAP political party directly controlled numerous of these fake assets without any obfuscation whatsoever in another display of arrogance , ” she wrote .
“ Perhaps they thought they were clever ; the truth was , we simply didn ’ t care enough to stop them.
” Katy Pearce , an associate professor at the University of Washington who studies social media and communication technology in Azerbaijan , told BuzzFeed News that fake Facebook accounts have been used to undermine the opposition and independent media in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the big tools of authoritarian regimes is to humiliate the opposition in the mind of the public so that they 're not viewed as a credible or legitimate alternative , ” she told BuzzFeed News .
“ There 's a chilling effect .
Why would I post something if I know that I 'm going to deal with thousands or hundreds of these comments , that I 'm going to be targeted ?
” Pearce said Zhang ’ s comment in the memo that Facebook “ didn ’ t care enough to stop @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with her experience .
“ They have bigger fish to fry , ” she said .
A person who managed social media accounts for news organizations in Azerbaijan told BuzzFeed News that their pages were inundated with inauthentic Facebook comments .
“ We used to delete and ban them because we didn ’ t want people who came to our page to be discouraged and not react or comment , ” said the person , who asked not to be named because they were not authorized to speak for their employer .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ employees , it ’ s easy for them to open new accounts.
” They said Facebook has at times made things worse by removing the accounts or pages of human rights activists and other people after trolls report them .
“ We tried to tell Facebook that this is a real person who does important work , ” but it took weeks for the page to be restored .
Zhang wrote that a Facebook investigation into fake accounts and trolling in Azerbaijan is now underway , more than a year after she first @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of her departure , she called it her “ greatest unfinished business ” to stop the fake behavior in the country .
“ Many others would think nothing of myself devoting this attention to the United States , but are shocked to see myself fighting for these small countries , ” she wrote .
“ To put it simply , my methodologies were systematic globally , and I fought for Honduras and Azerbaijan because that was where I saw the most ongoing harm.
” “ I have blood on my hands ” In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about a large-scale fake account network used to amplify and manipulate information about COVID-19 , as well as a political influence operation that used fake accounts to influence 2018 elections in the US and Brazil .
Some of these details were not previously disclosed by Facebook , suggesting the company ’ s regular takedown announcements remain selective and incomplete .
Zhang said Facebook removed 672,000 “ low-quality fake accounts ” after press reports in April that some of the accounts had been engaging with COVID-19 content on the Spanish Health Ministry ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ network also engaged with content on US pages .
Facebook did not disclose how many accounts it removed , or that those accounts engaged with content in other countries , including the US .
Zhang also shared new details about the scale of inauthentic activity during the 2018 midterm elections in the US , and from Brazilian politicians that same year .
“ We ended up removing 10.5 million fake reactions and fans from high-profile politicians in Brazil and the U.S. in the 2018 elections – major politicians of all persuasions in Brazil @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the United States , ” she wrote .
A September 2018 briefing about Facebook ’ s election work in the US and Brazil disclosed that it had acted against a network in Brazil that used “ fake accounts to sow division and share disinformation , ” as well as a set of groups , pages , and accounts that were “ falsely amplifying engagement for financial gain.
” It did not fully mention Zhang 's findings .
The scale of this activity — 672,000 fake accounts in one network , 10.5 million @ @ @ @ @ @ @ indicates active fake accounts are a global problem , and are used to manipulate elections and public debate around the world .
As one of the few people looking for and identifying fake accounts impacting civic activity outside of “ priority ” regions , Zhang struggled with the power she had been handed .
“ We focus upon harm and priority regions like the United States and Western Europe , ” Zhang wrote , adding that “ it became impossible to read the news and monitor world events without feeling the weight of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Zhang said she found “ inauthentic activity supporting the opposition presidential candidate in 2019 ” and chose not to prioritize it .
Months later , Bolivian politics fell into turmoil , leading to the resignation of President Evo Morales and “ mass protests leading to dozens of deaths.
” The same happened in Ecuador , according to Zhang , who “ found inauthentic activity supporting the ruling government… and made the decision not to prioritize it.
” The former Facebook employee then wondered how her decision led to downstream effects on how Ecuador @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — which has devastated the country — and if that would have been different if she 'd acted .
“ I have made countless decisions in this vein – from Iraq to Indonesia , from Italy to El Salvador .
Individually , the impact was likely small in each case , but the world is a vast place .
Although I made the best decision I could based on the knowledge available at the time , ultimately I was the one who made the decision not to push more or prioritize further in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I have blood on my hands by now.
” Zhang also uncovered issues in India , Facebook ’ s largest market , in the lead up to the local Delhi elections in February 2020 .
“ I worked through sickness to take down a politically-sophisticated network of more than a thousand actors working to influence the election , ” she wrote .
Last month , Facebook ’ s Indian operation came under scrutiny after reports in the Wall Street Journal revealed a top policy executive in the country had stopped local staffers from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ policies to ruling party politicians who posted anti-Muslim hate speech .
In her “ spare time ” in 2019 , Zhang took on tasks usually reserved for product managers and investigators , searching out countries including Ukraine , Turkey , India , Indonesia , the Philippines , Australia , the United Kingdom , Taiwan , “ and many many more.
” Zhang said she found and took down “ inauthentic scripted activity ” in Ukraine that supported Yulia Tymoshenko , a complicated political figure who has been involved in controversial gas deals with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in her later career , as well as for former prime minister Volodymyr Groysman , an ally of former president Petro Poroshenko .
“ Volodymyr Zelensky and his faction was the only major group not affected , ” she wrote .
In another part of her memo , Zhang said she wanted to push back on the idea that Facebook was run by malicious people hoping to achieve a particular outcome .
That was not the case , she wrote , attributing actions to “ slapdash and haphazard accidents.
” “ Last year @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ukraine whistleblower , we forgot to cover hashtags until I stepped in , ” she wrote .
But she also remarked on Facebook ’ s habit of prioritizing public relations over real-world problems .
“ It ’ s an open secret within the civic integrity space that Facebook ’ s short-term decisions are largely motivated by PR and the potential for negative attention , ” she wrote , noting that she was told directly at a 2020 summit that anything published in the New York Times or Washington Post would obtain elevated priority @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ ve seen priorities of escalations shoot up when others start threatening to go to the press , and why I was informed by a leader in my organization that my civic work was not impactful under the rationale that if the problems were meaningful they would have attracted attention , became a press fire , and convinced the company to devote more attention to the space.
” Zhang mentioned one example in February 2019 , when a NATO strategic communications researcher reached out to Facebook , alerting the company that he 'd @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on a high-profile U.S. political figure that we didn ’ t catch.
” That researcher said they were planning on briefing Congress the next day .
“ I quickly investigated the case , determined what was going on , and removed the activity , dousing the immediate fire , ” Zhang wrote .
“ Perhaps motivated by the experience , the same researcher tried the same experiment within a month or two , waiting half a year afterwards before sending the report to the press and finally causing the PR fire.
” Beyond @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Zhang provided insight into the inner workings at Facebook .
She criticized her team ’ s focus on issues related to “ 99 % of activity that ’ s essentially spam.
” “ Overall , the focus of my organization – and most of Facebook – was on large-scale problems , an approach which fixated us on spam , ” she said .
“ The civic aspect was discounted because of its small volume , its disproportionate impact ignored.
” Zhang outlined the political processes within Facebook itself .
She said the best @ @ @ @ @ @ @ her work was not to go through the proper reporting channels , but to post about the issues on Facebook ’ s internal employee message board to build pressure .
“ In the office , I realized that my viewpoints weren ’ t respected unless I acted like an arrogant asshole , ” Zhang said .
When she asked the company to do more in terms of finding and stopping malicious activity related to elections and political activity , she said she was told that “ human resources are limited.
” And when @ @ @ @ @ @ @ civic work , “ I was told that Facebook would no longer have further need for my services if I refused.
” Zhang was fired this month and posted her memo on her last day , even after offering to stay on through the election as an unpaid volunteer .
In her goodbye , she encouraged her colleagues to remain at Facebook and to fix the company from within .
“ But you don ’ t – and shouldn ’ t – need to do it alone , ” she wrote .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ values to work on it together .
Facebook is too big of a project for any one person to fix.
” ●

“Multiple official accounts for district-level divisions of the ruling YAP political party directly controlled numerous of these fake assets without any obfuscation whatsoever in another display of arrogance,” she wrote. “Perhaps they thought they were clever; the truth was, we simply didn’t care enough to stop them.”
Katy Pearce, an associate professor at the University of Washington who studies social media and communication technology in Azerbaijan, told BuzzFeed News that fake Facebook accounts have been used to undermine the opposition and independent media in the country for years.
“One of the big tools of authoritarian regimes is to humiliate the opposition in the mind of the public so that they're not viewed as a credible or legitimate alternative,” she told BuzzFeed News. “There's a chilling effect. Why would I post something if I know that I'm going to deal with thousands or hundreds of these comments, that I'm going to be targeted?”
Pearce said Zhang’s comment in the memo that Facebook “didn’t care enough to stop” the fake accounts and trolling aligns with her experience. “They have bigger fish to fry,” she said.
A person who managed social media accounts for news organizations in Azerbaijan told BuzzFeed News that their pages were inundated with inauthentic Facebook comments.
“We used to delete and ban them because we didn’t want people who came to our page to be discouraged and not react or comment,” said the person, who asked not to be named because they were not authorized to speak for their employer. “But since [the trolls] are employees, it’s easy for them to open new accounts.”
They said Facebook has at times made things worse by removing the accounts or pages of human rights activists and other people after trolls report them. “We tried to tell Facebook that this is a real person who does important work,” but it took weeks for the page to be restored.
Zhang wrote that a Facebook investigation into fake accounts and trolling in Azerbaijan is now underway, more than a year after she first reported the issue. On the day of her departure, she called it her “greatest unfinished business” to stop the fake behavior in the country.
“Many others would think nothing of myself devoting this attention to the United States, but are shocked to see myself fighting for these small countries,” she wrote. “To put it simply, my methodologies were systematic globally, and I fought for Honduras and Azerbaijan because that was where I saw the most ongoing harm.”
“I have blood on my hands”
In other examples, Zhang revealed new information about a large-scale fake account network used to amplify and manipulate information about COVID-19, as well as a political influence operation that used fake accounts to influence 2018 elections in the US and Brazil. Some of these details were not previously disclosed by Facebook, suggesting the company’s regular takedown announcements remain selective and incomplete.
Zhang said Facebook removed 672,000 “low-quality fake accounts” after press reports in April that some of the accounts had been engaging with COVID-19 content on the Spanish Health Ministry’s page. She said accounts in that network also engaged with content on US pages. Facebook did not disclose how many accounts it removed, or that those accounts engaged with content in other countries, including the US.
Zhang also shared new details about the scale of inauthentic activity during the 2018 midterm elections in the US, and from Brazilian politicians that same year. “We ended up removing 10.5 million fake reactions and fans from high-profile politicians in Brazil and the U.S. in the 2018 elections – major politicians of all persuasions in Brazil, and a number of lower-level politicians in the United States,” she wrote.
A September 2018 briefing about Facebook’s election work in the US and Brazil disclosed that it had acted against a network in Brazil that used “fake accounts to sow division and share disinformation,” as well as a set of groups, pages, and accounts that were “falsely amplifying engagement for financial gain.” It did not fully mention Zhang's findings.
The scale of this activity — 672,000 fake accounts in one network, 10.5 million fake engagement and fans in others — indicates active fake accounts are a global problem, and are used to manipulate elections and public debate around the world.
As one of the few people looking for and identifying fake accounts impacting civic activity outside of “priority” regions, Zhang struggled with the power she had been handed.
“We focus upon harm and priority regions like the United States and Western Europe,” Zhang wrote, adding that “it became impossible to read the news and monitor world events without feeling the weight of my own responsibility.”
In Bolivia, Zhang said she found “inauthentic activity supporting the opposition presidential candidate in 2019” and chose not to prioritize it. Months later, Bolivian politics fell into turmoil, leading to the resignation of President Evo Morales and “mass protests leading to dozens of deaths.”


buzzfeed--2020-09-15--Young Latino Voters Say The Fight For Racial Justice Is Pushing Them To Vote In November

People hold placards at the Lincoln Memorial at a protest against racism and police brutality , on August 28 , in Washington , DC .
Young Latinos are being pushed to vote in the upcoming election by the protests that have gripped the country throughout the summer over the fight for racial justice , according to new data from a national survey of Latino voters between the ages of 18 and 34 .
The survey , conducted by Telemundo and BuzzFeed News earlier this summer , also found that young Latinos are motivated by the coronavirus pandemic 's outsize influence @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s renewed push for racial justice after the police killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor , the effects of the pandemic , and immigration reform have pushed young Latino voters to become engaged in the upcoming election , according to the survey .
The protests that have taken place across the country have become a focal point of the presidential race .
The Republican National Convention heavily featured segments against widespread demonstrations and in favor of “ law and order , ” including an address from a Missouri couple who had been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ after aiming guns at a group of protesters in their neighborhood .
President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden both visited Kenosha , Wisconsin , last week after protests erupted following the police shooting of Jacob Blake .
According to the survey , 55.8 % of young Latino voters said they ’ d actively participated in racial equality or Black Lives Matter movements by protesting or boycotting , and half of young Latino people said protests across the country have motivated them to vote in the upcoming election .
“ Racial @ @ @ @ @ @ @ % of young Latino voters , according to the survey and 57 % said reducing police brutality has pushed them to turn out for the election .
“ Racial and ethnic social equality ” was identified as the most important social or political issue for their generation by a majority of the Latino voters , with 16.6 % identifying it as the top overall issue .
The coronavirus pandemic has exposed racial inequities in how communities across the country are affected by its consequences , and it ’ s motivating Latino voters ahead @ @ @ @ @ @ @ % of young Latino voters “ somewhat or strongly approve ” of the president ’ s response to the pandemic , compared to 35.6 % of young non-Latino voters .
In the survey , 41.1 % of Latino voters indicated that the pandemic has strongly motivated them to vote in the upcoming election .
Part of that motivation comes from their own experiences : 13 % of Latino voters said they have worked in a high-risk job without enough protection over the course of the pandemic , compared to 11.3 % of non-Latino @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people said that they had lost their job because of the coronavirus , compared to 10.3 % of young non-Latino people .
The upcoming election has created conflicting feelings for many young Latino voters , with wide support for Biden matching a belief that Trump will ultimately win .
The survey found that 53 % of young Latino Biden supporters believe he ’ ll win the election , compared to the 52 % of young Latino Trump supporters who believe that Trump will win .
While 60 % of young Latino voters say @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , recent polling has shown the former vice president lagging behind with Latinos overall compared to where Hillary Clinton was in 2016 .
A recent poll from Equis Research , which surveyed 1,081 Latinos in Florida , found that while Biden led Trump 53 % to 37 % among Latino voters , Biden was still behind where Clinton performed , according to 2016 exit polling from CNN .
Despite the Biden campaign ’ s lagging performance among Latino voters in Florida compared to Clinton ’ s 2016 performance , 75.3 % of young @ @ @ @ @ @ @ poll indicated that they believe it is more important to vote in this election than the 2016 election .
The survey questioned 638 people who identified as Latino and 685 non-Latino people between the ages of 18 and 34 .
It was conducted from June 5 to June 22 .

Young Latinos are being pushed to vote in the upcoming election by the protests that have gripped the country throughout the summer over the fight for racial justice, according to new data from a national survey of Latino voters between the ages of 18 and 34.
The survey, conducted by Telemundo and BuzzFeed News earlier this summer, also found that young Latinos are motivated by the coronavirus pandemic's outsize influence on their community.
The country’s renewed push for racial justice after the police killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, the effects of the pandemic, and immigration reform have pushed young Latino voters to become engaged in the upcoming election, according to the survey.
The protests that have taken place across the country have become a focal point of the presidential race. The Republican National Convention heavily featured segments against widespread demonstrations and in favor of “law and order,” including an address from a Missouri couple who had been charged with unlawful use of a weapon after aiming guns at a group of protesters in their neighborhood. President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden both visited Kenosha, Wisconsin, last week after protests erupted following the police shooting of Jacob Blake.
According to the survey, 55.8% of young Latino voters said they’d actively participated in racial equality or Black Lives Matter movements by protesting or boycotting, and half of young Latino people said protests across the country have motivated them to vote in the upcoming election. “Racial and ethnic social equality” motivates 62.7% of young Latino voters, according to the survey and 57% said reducing police brutality has pushed them to turn out for the election.
“Racial and ethnic social equality” was identified as the most important social or political issue for their generation by a majority of the Latino voters, with 16.6% identifying it as the top overall issue.
The coronavirus pandemic has exposed racial inequities in how communities across the country are affected by its consequences, and it’s motivating Latino voters ahead of the general election. Just 24.6% of young Latino voters “somewhat or strongly approve” of the president’s response to the pandemic, compared to 35.6% of young non-Latino voters.
In the survey, 41.1% of Latino voters indicated that the pandemic has strongly motivated them to vote in the upcoming election. Part of that motivation comes from their own experiences: 13% of Latino voters said they have worked in a high-risk job without enough protection over the course of the pandemic, compared to 11.3% of non-Latino voters. And 12.5% of Latino people said that they had lost their job because of the coronavirus, compared to 10.3% of young non-Latino people.
The upcoming election has created conflicting feelings for many young Latino voters, with wide support for Biden matching a belief that Trump will ultimately win. The survey found that 53% of young Latino Biden supporters believe he’ll win the election, compared to the 52% of young Latino Trump supporters who believe that Trump will win.
While 60% of young Latino voters say they are supporting Biden’s campaign, recent polling has shown the former vice president lagging behind with Latinos overall compared to where Hillary Clinton was in 2016. A recent poll from Equis Research, which surveyed 1,081 Latinos in Florida, found that while Biden led Trump 53% to 37% among Latino voters, Biden was still behind where Clinton performed, according to 2016 exit polling from CNN.
Despite the Biden campaign’s lagging performance among Latino voters in Florida compared to Clinton’s 2016 performance, 75.3% of young Latino voters surveyed in the Telemundo–BuzzFeed News poll indicated that they believe it is more important to vote in this election than the 2016 election.
The survey questioned 638 people who identified as Latino and 685 non-Latino people between the ages of 18 and 34. It was conducted from June 5 to June 22.


buzzfeed--2020-09-15--A Republican Member Of Congress Threatened To Kill Armed Demonstrators In A Facebook Post

Rep. Clay Higgins has spoken at events organized by militia groups .
When a rumor spread of a Black militia group protesting police brutality , he said their armed presence would be considered a threat and he 'd `` drop any 10 of you where you stand . ''
Facebook removed two posts from a Republican member of Congress representing Louisiana on Tuesday in which he threatened demonstrators against police violence , suggesting he would shoot and `` drop any 10 of you where you stand '' if they took to the street armed .
`` If this shows up @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a real threat , '' Rep. Clay Higgins , a former law enforcement officer , posted Tuesday on his personal , verified Captain Clay Higgins Facebook page along with a picture of an armed Black militia group that has protested the police killings of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd .
`` We do n't care what color you are .
We do n't care if you 're left or right .
If you show up like this , if We recognize threat ... you wo n't walk away . ''
Higgins , a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ elected to Congress in 2016 and who has been featured in NRA promotional videos , made no reference to protesters turning violent , but instead suggested their mere armed presence would be considered a threat .
“ I wouldn ’ t even spill my beer .
... We are SWAT .
Nothing personal .
We just eliminate the threat .
... That ’ s not a challenge , fellas .
It ’ s a promise , '' he wrote Tuesday .
Louisiana is an open-carry state , meaning a permit is not required @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in public .
Higgins has also touted himself as a strong advocate for the Second Amendment .
One of his political ads started with him wearing a SWAT vest , shooting a rifle , and telling the viewer to `` tell the world we 're American . ''
`` You 're the ones threatening , if you show yourselves , aggressively natured and armed in my presence , '' he wrote in his now-deleted post .
`` We do n't want to see your worthless ass nor do we want to make your @ @ @ @ @ @ @ explicitly threaten to shoot protesters , but seemed to make reference to it in his post by writing `` 1,450 fps '' – a reference to the speed of some ammo measured by feet per second .
A spokesperson for Facebook told BuzzFeed News Tuesday night that the lawmaker 's post had been removed for breaking its violence and incitement policies , which state that content is removed if it `` incites or facilitates serious violence . ''
Higgins ' post had featured a picture of masked protesters raising a fist in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be visibly armed , as well as a second picture of a Black militia group called the Not Fucking Around Coalition , or NFAC .
Its members have appeared heavily armed in bulletproof vests at protests against police brutality , including the killing of Taylor in Louisville .
The group has challenged white supremacist groups , including the KKK , into confrontations and has called for the removal of Confederate monuments .
The lawmaker 's post was made after a rumor began circling on social media that members of the NFAC would be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ group did not ultimately appear .
However , both KATC and the Advocate reported that at Tuesday night ’ s Black Lives Matter protest at Layfayette City Hall , it was actually a right-wing militia who showed up “ heavily armed.
” The Advocate reported that 40 to 50 members of the Louisiana Cajun Militia attended the demonstration .
The group posted pictures of its members in bulletproof vests and camouflage gear and armed with long guns outside the government building .
Higgins has made no mention of that armed group in his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not respond to multiple requests for comment about his posts or the militia 's presence at Tuesday 's protest .
But the lawmaker has shown no qualms in the past about appearing alongside and speaking at events organized by other mostly white militia groups .
On July 29 , 2017 , Higgins appeared at a DC event organized by Oath Keepers , a group that claims to have tens of thousands of members and has been described by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a radical anti-government group .
Although leaders of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the group has acted and launched `` operations '' similar to a paramilitary force .
Members of other militia groups were invited and attended the event .
The Advocate has also reported the Louisiana Republican has sold shirts at his political events with logos identical to that of the Three Percenters , another set of anti-government militia groups scattered across the country .
After his original post was taken down Tuesday night , Higgins followed up on Facebook saying he had not deleted the post himself , suggested he was being censored @ @ @ @ @ @ @ respond to protesters .
“ America is being manipulated into a new era of government control .
Your liberty is threatened from within .
Welcome to the front lines , Ladies and Gentlemen .
...
I ’ ll advise when it ’ s time gear up , mount up , and roll out , ” he wrote .
That post was removed on Wednesday evening after BuzzFeed News asked whether it also went against the platform 's policies .
The Facebook spokesperson said the second post also violated `` our policies against inciting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Democrat running against Higgins in 2020 , said in a statement that his campaign informed local , state , and federal law enforcement about Higgins ’ posts and also contacted Republican and Democratic leadership in Congress .
“ No elected official in this nation in any office should be responsible for drumming up violence where there is no violence , ” Anderson said .
“ To do so is literally to break the oath he took to preserve , protect , and defend the constitution .
… What Congressman Higgins has done with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ those who believe his words to arm themselves , and come into our district looking for war .
This is absolutely the most reckless , negligent , and irresponsible thing a public official could do .
If he had a shred of dignity , he would resign.
” Representatives for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy did not respond for requests for comment on Higgins ’ posts .
The posts come , and were removed , as protests continue across the country against the killing of Black people by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ increasingly met by opposing , sometimes armed counterprotesters with deadly results .
In Kenosha , a 17-year-old was charged with shooting and killing two people during a protest against the shooting of Jacob Blake , a Black man shot seven times in the back by a white police officer .
In Portland , Oregon , a man who appeared to be with a right-wing group was killed this weekend .
Higgins is a former law enforcement officer and was a member of a SWAT team .
He resigned from the Opelousas Police Department @ @ @ @ @ @ @ him of using unnecessary force on a suspect ( he has since denied that was the reason for his resignation ) .
Higgins later went viral for a series of “ tough on crime ” videos he made during his time at the St. Landry Parish Sheriff ’ s office for its Crime Stoppers program .
In the videos , Higgins often addressed people accused of crimes directly , mocking them and asking them to turn themselves in , or threatened to take them down himself , referring to members of a gang @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and “ thugs , ” for example .
He earned himself the nickname “ Cajun John Wayne ” for his delivery and he resigned in 2016 after the St. Landry Sheriff and the ACLU criticized his videos .
Just a few months after he resigned , Higgins announced a campaign for Congress and won .
Just six months into his first term , Higgins posted a video from inside a gas chamber at Auschwitz , saying that the US needs to be prepared because it is now “ more accessible to terror like @ @ @ @ @ @ @ took down the video after the Auschwitz Memorial Museum criticized it and said that the gas chambers are not a “ stage .
”

Facebook removed two posts from a Republican member of Congress representing Louisiana on Tuesday in which he threatened demonstrators against police violence, suggesting he would shoot and "drop any 10 of you where you stand" if they took to the street armed.
"If this shows up, we'll consider the armed presence a real threat," Rep. Clay Higgins, a former law enforcement officer, posted Tuesday on his personal, verified Captain Clay Higgins Facebook page along with a picture of an armed Black militia group that has protested the police killings of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd. "We don't care what color you are. We don't care if you're left or right. If you show up like this, if We recognize threat... you won't walk away."
Higgins, a vocal advocate for gun rights who was elected to Congress in 2016 and who has been featured in NRA promotional videos, made no reference to protesters turning violent, but instead suggested their mere armed presence would be considered a threat.
“I wouldn’t even spill my beer. ... We are SWAT. Nothing personal. We just eliminate the threat. ... That’s not a challenge, fellas. It’s a promise," he wrote Tuesday.
Louisiana is an open-carry state, meaning a permit is not required for someone to visibly carry a firearm in public.
Higgins has also touted himself as a strong advocate for the Second Amendment. One of his political ads started with him wearing a SWAT vest, shooting a rifle, and telling the viewer to "tell the world we're American."
"You're the ones threatening, if you show yourselves, aggressively natured and armed in my presence," he wrote in his now-deleted post. "We don't want to see your worthless ass nor do we want to make your Mothers cry."
Higgins did not explicitly threaten to shoot protesters, but seemed to make reference to it in his post by writing "1,450 fps" – a reference to the speed of some ammo measured by feet per second.
A spokesperson for Facebook told BuzzFeed News Tuesday night that the lawmaker's post had been removed for breaking its violence and incitement policies, which state that content is removed if it "incites or facilitates serious violence."


buzzfeed--2020-09-15--China Secretly Built A Vast New Infrastructure To Imprison Muslims

China rounded up so many Muslims in Xinjiang that there wasn ’ t enough space to hold them .
Then the government started building .
This is Part 1 of a BuzzFeed News investigation .
For Part 2 , click here .
This project was supported by the Open Technology Fund , the Pulitzer Center , and the Eyebeam Center for the Future of Journalism .
China has secretly built scores of massive new prison and internment camps in the past three years , dramatically escalating its campaign against Muslim minorities even as it publicly claimed the detainees had all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ these purpose-built , high-security camps — some capable of housing tens of thousands of people — signals a radical shift away from the country ’ s previous makeshift use of public buildings , like schools and retirement homes , to a vast and permanent infrastructure for mass detention .
In the most extensive investigation of China ’ s internment camp system ever done using publicly available satellite images , coupled with dozens of interviews with former detainees , BuzzFeed News identified more than 260 structures built since 2017 and bearing the hallmarks of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ least one in nearly every county in the far-west region of Xinjiang .
During that time , the investigation shows , China has established a sprawling system to detain and incarcerate hundreds of thousands of Uighurs , Kazakhs , and other Muslim minorities , in what is already the largest-scale detention of ethnic and religious minorities since World War II .
These forbidding facilities — including several built or significantly expanded within the last year — are part of the government ’ s unprecedented campaign of mass detention of more than a million @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
That year Chen Quanguo , the region ’ s top official and Communist Party boss , whom the US recently sanctioned over human rights abuses , also put Muslim minorities — more than half the region ’ s population of about 25 million — under perpetual surveillance via facial recognition cameras , cellphone tracking , checkpoints , and heavy-handed human policing .
They are also subject to many other abuses , ranging from sterilization to forced labor .
To detain thousands of people in short order , the government repurposed old schools @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the number of detainees swelled , in 2018 the government began building new facilities with far greater security measures and more permanent architectural features , such as heavy concrete walls and guard towers , the BuzzFeed News analysis shows .
Prisons often take years to build , but some of these new compounds took less than six months , according to historical satellite data .
The government has also added more factories within camp and prison compounds during that time , suggesting the expansion of forced labor within the region .
Construction was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ People are living in horror in these places , ” said 49-year-old Zhenishan Berdibek , who was detained in a camp in the Tacheng region for much of 2018 .
“ Some of the younger people were not as tolerant as us — they cried and screamed and shouted.
” But Berdibek , a cancer survivor , couldn ’ t muster the energy .
As she watched the younger women get dragged away to solitary confinement , “ I lost my hope , ” she said .
“ I wanted to die @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 268 newly built compounds by cross-referencing blanked-out areas on Baidu Maps — a Google Maps–like tool that ’ s widely used in China — with images from external satellite data providers .
These compounds often contained multiple detention facilities .
Ninety-two of these facilities have been identified or verified as detention centers by other sources , such as government procurement documents , academic research , or , in 19 cases , visits by journalists .
Another 176 facilities have been established by satellite imagery alone .
The images frequently show thick walls at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wire fencing that creates pens and corridors in the courtyards .
Many compounds in the region are walled , but the facilities identified by BuzzFeed News have much heavier fortifications .
At 121 of these compounds , they also show guard towers , often built into the perimeter wall .
In response to a detailed list of questions about this article as well as a list of GPS coordinates of facilities identified in this article , the Chinese Consulate in New York said “ the issue concerning Xinjiang is by no means about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but about combating violent terrorism and separatism , ” adding that it was a “ groundless lie ” that a million Uighurs have been detained in the region .
“ Xinjiang has set up vocational education and training centers in order to root out extreme thoughts , enhance the rule of law awareness through education , improve vocational skills and create employment opportunities for them , so that those affected by extreme and violent ideas can return to society as soon as possible , ” the consulate added , saying human rights are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ trainees have freedom of movement.
” But it also compared its program to “ compulsory programs for terrorist criminals ” it said are taking place in other countries including the US and UK .
China 's Foreign Ministry and Baidu did not respond to repeated requests for comment .
The new facilities are scattered across every populated area of the region , and several are large enough to accommodate 10,000 prisoners at a minimum , based on their size and architectural features .
( One of the reporters on this story is a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the new facilities appear more permanent and prisonlike , similar in construction to high-security prisons in other parts of China .
The most highly fortified compounds offer little space between buildings , tiny concrete-walled yards , heavy masonry construction , and long networks of corridors with cells down either side .
Their layouts are cavernous , allowing little natural light to the interior of the buildings .
BuzzFeed News could see how rooms were laid out at some high-security facilities by examining historical satellite photos taken as they were being constructed , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ With at least tens of thousands of detainees crowded into government buildings repurposed as camps by the end of 2017 , the government began building the largest new facilities in the spring of 2018 .
Several were complete by October 2018 , with further facilities built through 2019 and construction of a handful more continuing even now .
The government has said its camps are schools and vocational training centers where detainees are “ deradicalized.
” The government ’ s own internal documentation about its policies in Xinjiang has used the term “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ describe “ educational schools.
” The government claims that its campaign combats extremism in the region .
But most who end up in these facilities are not extremists of any sort .
Downloading WhatsApp , which is banned in China , maintaining ties with family abroad , engaging in prayer , and visiting a foreign website are all offenses for which Muslims have been sent to camps , according to previously leaked documents and interviews with former detainees .
Because the government does not consider internment camps to be part of the criminal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are crimes under Chinese law , no detainees have been formally arrested or charged with a crime , let alone seen a day in court .
The compounds BuzzFeed News identified likely include extrajudicial internment camps — which hold people who are not suspected of any crime — as well as prisons .
Both types of facilities have security features that closely resemble each other .
Xinjiang ’ s prison population has grown massively during the government ’ s campaign : In 2017 , the region had 21 % of all arrests in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2 % of the national population — an eightfold increase from the year before , according to a New York Times analysis of government data .
Because China ’ s Communist Party–controlled courts have a more than 99 % conviction rate , the overwhelming majority of those arrests likely resulted in convictions .
People detained in the camps told BuzzFeed News they were subjected to torture , hunger , overcrowding , solitary confinement , forced birth control , and a range of other abuses .
They said they were put through brainwashing programs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to speak only in the Chinese language .
Some former detainees said they were forced to labor without pay in factories .
The government heavily restricts the movements of independent journalists and researchers in the region , and heavily censors the internet and its own domestic media .
Muslim minorities can be punished for posts on social media .
But satellite images that are collected from independent providers remain outside the scope of Chinese government censorship .
Other kinds of evidence have also occasionally leaked out .
In September , a drone video @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their heads shaven and their arms tied behind their backs , wearing vests that say “ Kashgar Detention Center.
” Nathan Ruser , a researcher at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute who has done extensive satellite imagery analysis of the detention and prison systems in Xinjiang , said the video shows a prisoner transfer that took place in April 2019 — months after the government first said the system was for vocational training .
Previous analyses , including by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute in November 2018 , identified several dozen early camps @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Xinjiang has the overall logic of colonial genocides in North America , the formalized racism of apartheid , the industrial-scale internment of Germany 's concentration camps , and the police-state penetration into everyday life of North Korea , ” said Rian Thum , a scholar of the history of Islam in China at the University of Nottingham .
The campaign has done deep damage to many Muslim minority groups — but especially Uighurs , who are by far the most populous ethnic minority group in Xinjiang and do not have ties to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has heavily penalized expressions of Turkic minority culture , from Kazakh- and Uighur-language education to the practice of Islam outside of state-controlled mosques .
This , combined with forced sterilizations , has led some critics to say that the campaign qualifies as genocide under international law .
The Trump administration is reportedly discussing whether to formally call it a genocide , and a spokesperson for Joe Biden , the Democratic nominee for president , said on Tuesday that Biden supports the label .
“ These are peaceful people in concentration camps , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who was jailed and later exiled from Xinjiang after opening kindergartens that taught Uighur children in their own language .
“ They are businessmen and scholars and engineers .
They are our musicians .
They are doctors .
They are shopkeepers , restaurant owners , teachers who used Uighur textbooks .
“ These are the pillars of our society .
Without them , we can not exist.
” Early on , the government remade schools , retirement homes , hospitals , and other public buildings into internment camps .
There were other , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ News identified 47 built before 2017 that have been used to lock people up in the region .
Some detention facilities are geared toward releasing detainees after several months ; in others , detainees may be sentenced to prison terms , said Adrian Zenz , a leading researcher on the abuses in Xinjiang .
Three former detainees interviewed by BuzzFeed News said they were held for months in detention without any charges against them — far longer than is allowed by law — before they were transferred to internment camps .
The detentions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ numbers in the camps quickly swelled until the inmates were living on top of each other .
BuzzFeed News interviewed 28 former detainees from the region , many of whom described being blindfolded and handcuffed , much like the men shown in the video .
Many spoke through an interpreter .
They are among a tiny minority of former detainees who were released and left the country — but they described a brutal system that they saw growing and changing with their own eyes .
Most recalled being frequently moved from camp to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was meant to combat overcrowding in the first generation of makeshift facilities .
At the beginning of the campaign , hundreds of people were arriving on a daily basis .
New batches of detainees always seemed to be coming and going .
Some former detainees described sleeping two to a twin bed , or even sleeping in shifts when there was not enough room to house all the detainees .
Almost all said they received meager quantities of rice , steamed buns , and porridge , and little or no meat or other @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ethnic Kazakh , was first detained relatively early in the campaign , around the end of 2017 .
At first , he slept in a room with seven other men , and everyone had a bed to themselves .
But within a few months , he began to notice more and more people arriving .
“ One day I saw a pregnant woman in shackles , ” he said .
“ Another woman had a baby in her arms , she was breastfeeding.
” By February 2018 , there were 15 men in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Some of us had to share blankets or sleep on the floor , ” he said .
“ They told us later that some of us would be given prison sentences or transferred to other camps.
” Camp officials regularly forced detainees to memorize Communist Party propaganda and Chinese characters in classrooms .
But some former detainees said their facilities were too crowded for even this — instead , they had to sit on plastic stools next to their beds and stare at textbooks , sitting with their backs perfectly straight while cameras @ @ @ @ @ @ @ there were too many people to fit in classrooms .
For Koksebek , the claustrophobia was unbearable .
“ There was a window in our room , but it was so high I couldn ’ t see much other than a patch of sky , ” he said .
“ I used to wish I were a bird so I could have the freedom to fly.
” On a frigid , overcast morning last December , Shohrat Zakir , the region ’ s governor and second-most-powerful official , gave a rare press conference @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Office , located in a closed compound in central Beijing .
The office is one of only a handful of government bodies in China that regularly briefs both local and international journalists , and Zakir sat with four other officials at a long podium at the front of the small room .
The officials took the opportunity to tout the region ’ s economic growth and claim China ’ s campaign against terrorism in Xinjiang has been a success , calling the US government hypocritical for its criticism of China ’ s human @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one who made international headlines .
Of those held in the camps as “ trainees , ” Zakir painted a rosy picture .
They “ have all graduated , and have realized stable employment with the government ’ s help , improved their quality of life , and are enjoying a happy life , ” he said .
Even as reporters were scribbling down his remarks , about 2,500 miles away in Xinjiang , construction was wrapping up on a massive high-security compound near the Uighur heartland county of Shufu , just south @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a countryside dotted by livestock farms .
Shufu is small by Chinese standards , with a population of about 300,000 people .
It has a main drag with a post office , a lottery ticket vendor , and eateries selling steamed buns and beef noodle soup .
The camp was built on farmland less than a 20-minute drive away .
Before workers started construction last March , the land beneath the Shufu site was farmland too , blanketed with green vegetation .
By August , workers had built a thick perimeter enclosure , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and in the center of walls that rise nearly 6 meters , or more than 19 feet , satellite images show .
Next came the buildings inside , organized in U-shaped groups , with two five-story structures alongside a two-story one forming the base of the U .
By October , two rows of barbed wire fencing appeared on either side of the main concrete-walled compound , its shadow visible in satellite images .
Just outside the walls , on the western side of the compound , two guard buildings were built — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from them up to the wall that would allow guards to access the guard towers and the tops of the walls for patrols .
In front of the entrance , a series of buildings provided space for prison offices and police buildings .
In total BuzzFeed News estimates that there is room for approximately 10,500 prisoners at this compound — which would help provide a long-term solution to overcrowding .
Ruser reviewed satellite images of the compound and said it was a newly built detention camp .
“ The vast majority of camps @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a strong external wall entranceway or exit , ” he said .
Unlike the old , repurposed camps , new prisons and camps such as this one have higher security , with gates up to four stories tall and thicker walls along their borders , often with further layers of barbed wire on either side of the main walls .
These features suggest they are capable of holding much larger groups of people in long-term detention .
The camps can contain not only cells where detainees sleep , but also classrooms , clinics @ @ @ @ @ @ @ solitary confinement rooms , police buildings , administrative offices , and small visitor centers , former detainees told BuzzFeed News .
Many of the compounds also contain factories , distinguished by their blue , powder-coated metal roofs and steel frames , which are visible in satellite photos taken while they were being constructed .
The police buildings , including for guards and administrative personnel , are usually located by the entrances of the compounds .
The locations of these camps and prisons in Xinjiang are not readily available .
However , blanked-out portions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it possible to use satellite imagery to find and analyze them .
Satellite maps , like Google Earth , are made up of a grid of rectangular tiles .
On Baidu , the Chinese search giant that has a map service much like Google ’ s , BuzzFeed News discovered that spaces containing camps , military bases , or other politically sensitive facilities were overlaid with plain light gray tiles .
These “ mask ” tiles appeared upon zooming in on the location .
These look different from the darker gray , watermarked @ @ @ @ @ @ @ load something .
The “ mask ” tiles were also present at other locations where camps had been visited and verified by journalists , though they have since been removed .
BuzzFeed News identified the compounds using other satellite maps — provided by Google Earth , Planet Labs , and the European Space Agency ’ s Sentinel Hub — which do not mask those images .
For some locations where high-resolution images were not publicly available , Planet Labs used its own satellite to take new pictures , then provided them to BuzzFeed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this investigation was conducted .
The images showed the facilities being built over a period of months .
Details from the images offer a sense of size and scale : Counting the number of windows in building facades , for example , shows how many stories they contain .
Often , these compounds were built next door to an older prison , sharing parking lots , administrative facilities , and police barracks with the older facility , satellite images show .
BuzzFeed News found an additional 50 more compounds that were likely used @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lost some security features , including barbed wire fencing within compounds used to create rectangular pens , closed passages between buildings , and guard towers , with a small number having been demolished .
Ruser and other experts said this does not suggest the Chinese government is pulling back from its campaign .
Many of those facilities likely still operate as low-security camps , he said .
The far more important trend in Xinjiang , he said , is the government ’ s increased use of higher-security prisons and detention facilities .
In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in New York echoed Zakir 's December statement .
`` All trainees who received courses in standard spoken and written Chinese , understanding of the law , vocational skills , and deradicalization have completed their training , secured stable employment in the society , and are living a normal life , '' it said .
Smile lines appear on Kokteubai ’ s deeply wrinkled face when he talks about his daughter , who was born in 1992 .
She later moved to Kazakhstan , where many ethnic Kazakhs from China emigrate because of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for people of Kazakh descent .
There , she and her husband campaigned relentlessly for Kokteubai ’ s release in YouTube videos and long letters to human rights groups .
He believes his eventual release in March 2018 was due to her campaign .
Inside the camp , instead of classrooms where students like his daughter might have studied math or history , Kokteubai saw dorm rooms overcrowded with as many as 40 or 50 men each sleeping on too few bunk beds .
Though the compound itself wasn ’ t new , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as high walls and barbed wire around the compound .
And the camp was now dotted with CCTV cameras , which a guard told him could film objects as far as 200 meters away .
Another thing that was new : When you entered the gate , a huge red plaque greeted you .
“ Let ’ s learn the spirit of the 19th Communist Party Congress , ” it said .
Like Kokteubai , several former detainees interviewed by BuzzFeed News said after arriving , they recognized the facilities in which they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ driven past them , or even visited them in their previous incarnations .
But these repurposed facilities were never meant to house prisoners and were not big enough to hold all the Muslim minorities the Chinese government intended to detain .
In early 2019 , workers started clearing land to expand a camp south of Ürümqi , in a town called Dabancheng , that had become infamous after reporters from BBC and Reuters visited the year before .
The camp at Dabancheng was already one of the largest internment facilities in the region @ @ @ @ @ @ @ up to 32,500 people , according to an architectural analysis by BuzzFeed News .
Since the expansion , it is now capable of housing some 10,000 more people .
By November of last year another , separate compound had been completed , this one capable of holding a further 10,000 people — for a total capacity of more than 40,000 , comparable to the size of the town of Niagara Falls .
`` These facilities display characteristics consistent with extrajudicial detention facilities in the Xinjiang region that CSIS has previously analyzed , '' @ @ @ @ @ @ @ human rights program at Washington DC-based think tank CSIS after examining the three camps referenced in this article .
The camp at Dabancheng , Ruser said , “ is the main catchment camp for Ürümqi .
It ’ s 2 km ( 1.2 miles ) long and was expanded late last year an extra kilometer with a new facility across the road to the west.
” By comparison , the camp is about half the length of Central Park .
Kokteubai never found out precisely why he was detained .
Because he ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ able to settle in Kazakhstan .
On the day he was released , he expected to feel joy , relief , something .
Instead he felt nothing at all .
“ I wasn ’ t happy or sad .
I couldn ’ t feel anything , ” he said .
“ Even when I was reunited with my relatives in Kazakhstan , they asked me why I didn ’ t seem happy to see them after so long.
” “ It ’ s something I can ’ t explain , ” he said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ feelings died while I was in there.
” ●

Ninety-two of these facilities have been identified or verified as detention centers by other sources, such as government procurement documents, academic research, or, in 19 cases, visits by journalists.
Another 176 facilities have been established by satellite imagery alone. The images frequently show thick walls at the perimeter, and often, barbed wire fencing that creates pens and corridors in the courtyards. Many compounds in the region are walled, but the facilities identified by BuzzFeed News have much heavier fortifications. At 121 of these compounds, they also show guard towers, often built into the perimeter wall.
In response to a detailed list of questions about this article as well as a list of GPS coordinates of facilities identified in this article, the Chinese Consulate in New York said “the issue concerning Xinjiang is by no means about human rights, religion or ethnicity, but about combating violent terrorism and separatism,” adding that it was a “groundless lie” that a million Uighurs have been detained in the region.
“Xinjiang has set up vocational education and training centers in order to root out extreme thoughts, enhance the rule of law awareness through education, improve vocational skills and create employment opportunities for them, so that those affected by extreme and violent ideas can return to society as soon as possible,” the consulate added, saying human rights are protected in the centers and that “trainees have freedom of movement.” But it also compared its program to “compulsory programs for terrorist criminals” it said are taking place in other countries including the US and UK.
China's Foreign Ministry and Baidu did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
The new facilities are scattered across every populated area of the region, and several are large enough to accommodate 10,000 prisoners at a minimum, based on their size and architectural features. (One of the reporters on this story is a licensed architect.)
Unlike early sites, the new facilities appear more permanent and prisonlike, similar in construction to high-security prisons in other parts of China. The most highly fortified compounds offer little space between buildings, tiny concrete-walled yards, heavy masonry construction, and long networks of corridors with cells down either side. Their layouts are cavernous, allowing little natural light to the interior of the buildings. BuzzFeed News could see how rooms were laid out at some high-security facilities by examining historical satellite photos taken as they were being constructed, including photos of buildings without roofs.
With at least tens of thousands of detainees crowded into government buildings repurposed as camps by the end of 2017, the government began building the largest new facilities in the spring of 2018. Several were complete by October 2018, with further facilities built through 2019 and construction of a handful more continuing even now.
The government has said its camps are schools and vocational training centers where detainees are “deradicalized.” The government’s own internal documentation about its policies in Xinjiang has used the term “concentration,” or 集中, to describe “educational schools.”
The government claims that its campaign combats extremism in the region. But most who end up in these facilities are not extremists of any sort.
Downloading WhatsApp, which is banned in China, maintaining ties with family abroad, engaging in prayer, and visiting a foreign website are all offenses for which Muslims have been sent to camps, according to previously leaked documents and interviews with former detainees. Because the government does not consider internment camps to be part of the criminal justice system and none of these behaviors are crimes under Chinese law, no detainees have been formally arrested or charged with a crime, let alone seen a day in court.
The compounds BuzzFeed News identified likely include extrajudicial internment camps — which hold people who are not suspected of any crime — as well as prisons. Both types of facilities have security features that closely resemble each other. Xinjiang’s prison population has grown massively during the government’s campaign: In 2017, the region had 21% of all arrests in China, despite making up less than 2% of the national population — an eightfold increase from the year before, according to a New York Times analysis of government data. Because China’s Communist Party–controlled courts have a more than 99% conviction rate, the overwhelming majority of those arrests likely resulted in convictions.


buzzfeed--2020-09-18--Democrats Are Taking Their Case Against Donald Trump To Black Newspapers In Battleground States

The Democratic National Committee is launching a new advertising push against President Donald Trump in five newspapers that serve Black communities in battleground states , part of a concerted effort to ensure Black voters turn out in large numbers in states that could sway the presidential race .
“ What do we have to lose ?
” reads the ad ’ s white text — a callback to then-candidate Trump ’ s “ What the hell do you have to lose ?
” pitch to Black voters while campaigning in Michigan four years ago — set against a red-sky background @ @ @ @ @ @ @ House The full-page color ads will appear in the coming days in the Charlotte Post , the Michigan Chronicle , the Milwaukee Community Journal , the Philadelphia Tribune , and the Westside Gazette in Fort Lauderdale , Florida .
The five-figure expenditure is timed to Friday ’ s National Black Voter Day , an effort BET announced this year to combat what many Democrats see as tactics to suppress Black turnout .
The ads encourage readers to visit IWillVote.com , a DNC website that helps voters check their registration status and request ballots @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t tell Americans the truth about the coronavirus , he ’ s been totally incompetent and ineffective in responding to this crisis , and now working families — especially Black Americans — are paying the price , ” DNC Chair Tom Perez said in a statement announcing the campaign , details of which were shared first with BuzzFeed News .
“ Over the last four years , communities of color have borne the brunt of Trump ’ s broken promises , and now because of his failures the coronavirus is costing too @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Polling shows Black voters favor Joe Biden , the Democratic presidential nominee , over Trump by large margins .
And Biden ’ s solid support in the Black community — attributable in part to his service as vice president under Barack Obama — helped propel him in the primaries .
But Hillary Clinton ’ s inability to match Obama ’ s vote totals in areas such as Detroit and Milwaukee contributed to her electoral college loss against Trump in 2016 .
Democrats see winning back Michigan and Wisconsin as criticalas part of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ general election .
Biden has made criticism of Trump ’ s handling of the coronavirus crisis central to his candidacy .
The president initially downplayed the pandemic and as recently as this week said it would eventually “ go away ” even without a vaccine .
The US death toll is approaching 200,000 , and Blacks and Latinos have been disproportionately affected .
Biden also has accused Trump of fomenting violence in response to this summer ’ s anti-racism and Black Lives Matters protests .
The DNC ad does not use Trump ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ only to “ this administration.
” “ Don ’ t give them a pass , ” the text concludes , before plugging the voter assistance website .
`` This is an unprecedented election cycle where the stakes are higher than they 've ever been , so it is imperative that we 're meeting voters where they are , using every medium we can to reach them , and ensuring they know both the facts about Trump 's record — along with where they can get the information they 'll need to make their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ national press secretary Brandon Gassaway , explaining the focus on print newspapers targeting Black communities .
“ We are taking nothing for granted in these final weeks and investing in communities that are on the front lines of the GOP ’ s voter suppression tactics to ensure that they cast their ballots early or on Nov .
3 . ''

The Democratic National Committee is launching a new advertising push against President Donald Trump in five newspapers that serve Black communities in battleground states, part of a concerted effort to ensure Black voters turn out in large numbers in states that could sway the presidential race.
“What do we have to lose?” reads the ad’s white text — a callback to then-candidate Trump’s “What the hell do you have to lose?” pitch to Black voters while campaigning in Michigan four years ago — set against a red-sky background and above a picture of the White House
“A lot,” the text continues. “We’ve lost jobs. We’ve lost lives. This administration failed us.”
The full-page color ads will appear in the coming days in the Charlotte Post, the Michigan Chronicle, the Milwaukee Community Journal, the Philadelphia Tribune, and the Westside Gazette in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The five-figure expenditure is timed to Friday’s National Black Voter Day, an effort BET announced this year to combat what many Democrats see as tactics to suppress Black turnout. The ads encourage readers to visit IWillVote.com, a DNC website that helps voters check their registration status and request ballots by mail.
“Donald Trump didn’t tell Americans the truth about the coronavirus, he’s been totally incompetent and ineffective in responding to this crisis, and now working families — especially Black Americans — are paying the price,” DNC Chair Tom Perez said in a statement announcing the campaign, details of which were shared first with BuzzFeed News. “Over the last four years, communities of color have borne the brunt of Trump’s broken promises, and now because of his failures the coronavirus is costing too many Black families their lives and livelihoods.”
Polling shows Black voters favor Joe Biden, the Democratic presidential nominee, over Trump by large margins. And Biden’s solid support in the Black community — attributable in part to his service as vice president under Barack Obama — helped propel him in the primaries. But Hillary Clinton’s inability to match Obama’s vote totals in areas such as Detroit and Milwaukee contributed to her electoral college loss against Trump in 2016. Democrats see winning back Michigan and Wisconsin as critical as part of one path to defeating Trump in the general election.
Biden has made criticism of Trump’s handling of the coronavirus crisis central to his candidacy. The president initially downplayed the pandemic and as recently as this week said it would eventually “go away” even without a vaccine. The US death toll is approaching 200,000, and Black and Latino people have been disproportionately affected. Biden also has accused Trump of fomenting violence in response to this summer’s anti-racism and Black Lives Matters protests.
The DNC ad does not use Trump’s image or his name, referring only to “this administration.” “Don’t give them a pass,” the text concludes, before plugging the voter assistance website.
"This is an unprecedented election cycle where the stakes are higher than they've ever been, so it is imperative that we're meeting voters where they are, using every medium we can to reach them, and ensuring they know both the facts about Trump's record — along with where they can get the information they'll need to make their plan to vote,” said DNC national press secretary Brandon Gassaway, explaining the focus on print newspapers targeting Black communities. “We are taking nothing for granted in these final weeks and investing in communities that are on the front lines of the GOP’s voter suppression tactics to ensure that they cast their ballots early or on Nov. 3."


buzzfeed--2020-09-18--Trump Downplayed The Role Of Slavery In American History As He Vowed To Build A Statue Of An Enslave

Trump Downplayed The Role Of Slavery In American History As He Vowed To Build A Statue Of An Enslaver

President Trump speaks during the White House Conference on American History at the National Archives on Thursday .
President Trump offered an archconservative defense of American history on Thursday in a speech in which he shamed educational programs that seek to emphasize the role of slavery in the country ’ s founding as “ toxic propaganda , ” instead centering what he said was US virtue and nobility .
He also announced he planned to erect a statue of Caesar Rodney , a signer of the Declaration of Independence from Delaware who enslaved roughly 200 people .
Speaking alongside copies @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Independence at the National Archives in Washington , DC , at an event promoted as the first White House Conference on American History , the president delivered a thinly veiled election campaign speech in which he attacked liberal politicians , the media , and Joe Biden .
“ We are here today to declare that we will never submit to tyranny , ” he said , referring to protesters who demonstrated this summer for a racial reckoning in the US .
“ We will reclaim our history , and our country , for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ religion , and creed.
” As he continues to campaign for reelection by stoking racial and cultural fears , Trump vowed to set up what he described as a “ national commission to promote patriotic education ” in America ’ s schools , to be called “ the 1776 Commission ” — a rebuke of the New York Times ’ 1619 Project .
That 2019 series of stories from New York Times Magazine , which was subsequently turned into an educational curriculum designed to be taught in schools , sought to “ reframe @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the consequences of slavery and the contributions of black Americans at the very center of our national narrative.
” Like other Republicans who have attacked the project , Trump decried it as “ an ideological poison that , if not removed , will dissolve the civic bonds that tie us together.
” “ This project rewrites history to teach our children that we were founded on the principle of oppression , not freedom , ” he said .
“ Nothing could be further from the truth.
” In response , Nikole Hannah-Jones , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a Pulitzer Prize for her work on the 1619 Project , noted wryly on Twitter , “ The White House Conference on American History has not a single Black historian on it .
Strange .
”

President Trump offered an archconservative defense of American history on Thursday in a speech in which he shamed educational programs that seek to emphasize the role of slavery in the country’s founding as “toxic propaganda,” instead centering what he said was US virtue and nobility.
He also announced he planned to erect a statue of Caesar Rodney, a signer of the Declaration of Independence from Delaware who enslaved roughly 200 people.
Speaking alongside copies of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence at the National Archives in Washington, DC, at an event promoted as the first White House Conference on American History, the president delivered a thinly veiled election campaign speech in which he attacked liberal politicians, the media, and Joe Biden.
“We are here today to declare that we will never submit to tyranny,” he said, referring to protesters who demonstrated this summer for a racial reckoning in the US. “We will reclaim our history, and our country, for citizens of every race, color, religion, and creed.”
As he continues to campaign for reelection by stoking racial and cultural fears, Trump vowed to set up what he described as a “national commission to promote patriotic education” in America’s schools, to be called “the 1776 Commission” — a rebuke of the New York Times’ 1619 Project.
That 2019 series of stories from New York Times Magazine, which was subsequently turned into an educational curriculum designed to be taught in schools, sought to “reframe the country’s history by placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of black Americans at the very center of our national narrative.”
Like other Republicans who have attacked the project, Trump decried it as “an ideological poison that, if not removed, will dissolve the civic bonds that tie us together.”
“This project rewrites history to teach our children that we were founded on the principle of oppression, not freedom,” he said. “Nothing could be further from the truth.”
In response, Nikole Hannah-Jones, the New York Times reporter who won a Pulitzer Prize for her work on the 1619 Project, noted wryly on Twitter, “The White House Conference on American History has not a single Black historian on it. Strange.”


buzzfeed--2020-09-18--“I Have Blood On My Hands”: A Whistleblower Says Facebook Ignored Global Political Manipulation