Jason Aldean's 'Try That In A Small Town' video edited to clear away BLM footage

Asher Notheis

July 27, 10:50 AM July 27, 10:50 AM

Jason Aldean's "Try out That In A Tiny City" has been edited to take out tv footage of the Black Life Make a difference riots from 2020.

Studies that Aldean's music experienced been edited were very first mentioned on Wednesday evening, with approximately 6 seconds from FOX 5 Atlanta edited out of the tunes movie. It arrives soon after "Check out That In A Small Town" was taken off from Place New music Television's rotation, major to the tune attaining newfound reputation.

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The generation firm functioning on the song's tunes movie experienced asked FOX on May well 8 if it could have permission to use the six seconds of footage, to which FOX asked for extra info, including about the lyrics of the music. Even though the generation business despatched FOX a website link to the music, the protocol was to send out the lyrics in creating, which by no means happened, according to a report by TMZ.

As a final result, FOX contacted the creation corporation and asked them to eliminate the footage to stay away from any legal action.

The edited online video now merely demonstrates Aldean singing, somewhat than exhibiting the protest footage.

In the wake of Aldean's song getting taken off from CMT's rotation, the tune has received a surge in recognition, making it on the trending lists of iTunes, YouTube, and Amazon. On Friday, Aldean mentioned that in excess of the earlier week, he "saw state tunes lovers rally like I’ve hardly ever seen prior to" and that "it was fairly negative*ss."

"Thank you guys so a great deal,” claimed Aldean.

The Washington Examiner has contacted Aldean’s file label, BBR Songs Team, for comment.

Disinformation Inc: Conservative blacklist network accused in IRS complaint of violating law

Gabe Kaminsky

May 04, 02:54 PM May 04, 03:18 PM

EXCLUSIVE — A pair of U.S. nonprofit groups tied to the Global Disinformation Index, a British entity covertly blacklisting conservative media, are being slapped with an IRS complaint for allegedly violating federal law.

The charity Disinformation Index Inc., and its affiliated private AN Foundation, also known as the Disinformation Index Foundation, cited an obscure federal "harassment" exemption law in providing the Washington Examiner in late March with heavily redacted copies of its 2021 tax forms. The National Legal and Policy Center, a conservative watchdog, is now accusing both State Department-funded groups of running afoul of several federal rules and regulations, calling on the IRS to "revoke their tax-exempt status," according to a complaint filed Thursday with the agency.

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"This complaint is based on information regarding the questionable activities of these two organizations by investigative reporter Gabe Kaminsky in a series of recent news stories in the Washington Examiner and information found in their respective Form 990s and other public reports," the watchdog wrote in its complaint. "As will be demonstrated herein, both the Disinformation Index, Inc. and its related AN Foundation (formerly Disinformation Index Foundation) have violated a number of IRS rules and regulations."

GDI pocketed roughly $960,000 combined between 2020 and 2022 from both the State Department's Global Engagement Center, an interagency under fire from House Republicans for funding purported disinformation tracking initiatives, and the National Endowment for Democracy, a nonprofit group authorized by the government that is funded almost entirely through congressional appropriations. This revelation has resulted in lawmakers, including House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY), launching investigations into GDI to uncover government records.

In mid-April, the Washington Examiner reported on how the AN Foundation and its charity affiliate redacted or omitted key details from public disclosure copies of their 2021 tax forms, including the names of board members, officers, and in the case of the private group, the source of a $115,000 donation. Multiple experienced tax experts claimed this maneuver fails to comply with federal disclosure laws despite GDI alleging that it is "withholding" information due to regulations on "harassment campaigns" against tax-exempt groups.

But it remains unclear whether GDI has been approved by the government for the exemption, which tax experts say does not allow groups to redact their financial disclosures from public view. GDI has not replied to numerous Washington Examiner requests for a ruling on receiving the exemption it cited.

In its Thursday complaint, the NLPC alleged that the two GDI U.S. groups are skirting IRS disclosure rules by not listing their relationship to the British group on federal tax forms. Upon receiving complaints, the IRS mails acknowledgments to referral groups but does not provide them with updates due to confidentiality laws, according to the agency, which occasionally assesses financial penalties.

Among a swath of other demands, the watchdog seeks an investigation into whether the British group's executive director, Danny Rogers, who is listed interchangeably in Delaware corporate records with GDI CEO Clare Melford as a board member and officer for the two U.S. groups, received "excessive and unreasonable compensation."

NLPC is referring to the fact that the U.S. charity disclosed on 2021 federal disclosures paying its unnamed president, who, according to 2020 forms, is Rogers, almost $60,000, plus over $8,100 in additional compensation “from the organization and related organizations." However, the forms also say the president worked two hours per week, which, according to the watchdog, amounts to a whopping $1,300 per hour.

"It is hypocritical that a group whose mission is to censor conservative media for alleged 'disinformation' is itself guilty of hiding its funding sources and redacting the names of its officers from public view," said Paul Kamenar, counsel to the watchdog, which filed several a complaint in April 2022 against the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation for allegedly misusing donor funds.

Moreover, the watchdog took aim in the IRS complaint at the AN Foundation for not reporting the entity that gave it $115,000 in 2021. Private foundations, unlike charities, are ordinarily required to disclose their contributors, according to the IRS.

With regard to the tax form redactions, the NLPC called on the IRS to fine both the AN Foundation and Disinformation Index for not handing over an "exact copy" of their federal disclosures as filed with the IRS. Tax-exempt groups are supposed to provide the public with copies mirroring those provided to the federal government, according to the agency.

Marcus Owens, a lawyer representing GDI, claimed in an April 6 letter to the Washington Examiner that "families" of the groups, and its "personnel," have been targeted with "multiple threats and hacking attacks, including threats of violence against their children." Owens added that GDI is "working [with] appropriate law enforcement authorities, telecommunications and Internet organizations" and "has appropriately withheld information that could lead to furtherance of this behavior."

However, the watchdog's complaint further noted that GDI's stated reason for these tax form omissions "has nothing to do with the inundation of Form 990 requests in a coordinated harassment campaign, but rather the claim that its officers and children are being threatened and subject to hacking attacks."

The regulation GDI cited as evidence of a purported harassment campaign typically pertains to an instance in which hundreds, if not thousands, of parties are requesting tax forms from a group and making it difficult for the entity to stay afloat, according to tax experts. The Washington Examiner is not aware of whether other entities have also requested GDI's tax forms.

"But if that were truly the reason to redact the officers' and accountants' names, that information is publicly available in their prior disclosure reports and on GDI’s website," the complaint read. "In any event, in order to obtain the exemption, the group has to document the harassment campaign and get approval for withholding the forms, information which Mr. Owens has yet to provide."

GDI and the IRS did not return a request for comment.

Alex Berenson, who won legal fight with Twitter, given internal documents by Musk

Christopher Hutton

January 07, 04:36 PM January 07, 04:36 PM

A vaccine skeptic who won a legal battle with Twitter over his suspension has been given access to documents about the Big Tech company's content moderation and censorship practices by its new owner, Elon Musk.

Alex Berenson, an independent journalist and controversial critic of the public health establishment, is releasing the next edition of what Musk and his allies have dubbed the Twitter Files, a series of internal documents that detailed the company's past dealings and business efforts.

Berenson has criticized the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines and the government and academic response to the pandemic, making him popular among vaccine skeptics and some conservatives. Berenson was banned from Twitter but successfully sued to have his account reinstated under allegations that the ban occurred due to pressure from the White House.

"Guess who’s coming to dinner? The first meal is already plated. And it’s delicious…" Berenson tweeted Friday alongside an image teasing details about Twitter's approach to handling COVID-19 misinformation.

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He followed the tease with a post on his Substack, saying he headed to San Francisco for his "first peek" at the files at the invite of Musk to look over "Covid-related documents."

"Beyond that, I agreed to no conditions on how I will use the information from the files. I can write what I like and do not have to preclear anything with Musk or anyone else. I will redact the names of low-level Twitter employees who were not in decision-making roles - I agreed to this condition in my lawsuit discovery too."

Berenson sued Twitter in Dec. 2021 over its decision to suspend his account in August 2021 after it was mentioned directly by White House officials. He was reinstated by Twitter in July 2022 as part of a settlement between the two parties. While other conservatives have sued Twitter over being banned, Berenson's claim was unique due to the pressure by government officials to remove his account.

Previous versions of the Twitter Files noted how both the Trump Administration and Biden Administration made efforts to quell COVID-19 misinformation, including communications with Twitter. They also detailed communications between the FBI and Twitter regarding foreign threats, the company's handling of Hunter Biden's laptop, and the decision to remove former President Donald Trump from the platform.

Twitter Files: White House pushed Twitter to censor COVID-19 'misinformation'

Misty Severi

December 26, 01:31 PM December 26, 01:31 PM

The White House pressured Twitter to suppress tweets that included "misinformation" about the COVID-19 pandemic, even when Twitter users shared information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the latest string of bombshells from the Twitter Files, the current White House "rigged the COVID debate" by censoring information that was "inconvenient to government policy," discrediting doctors and experts who disagreed with the administration's narrative, and by suppressing ordinary users, including those who shared data from the CDC, journalist David Zweig tweeted Monday.

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The campaign to suppress misinformation about the pandemic began under former President Donald Trump, Zweig said, but was continued under President Joe Biden. Biden's administration focused on removing the accounts of "anti-vaxxers," including former New York Times reporter Alex Berenson, who was banned in June of 2021.

“It doesn’t stop infection. Or transmission. Don’t think of it as a vaccine,” Berenson tweeted about the COVID-19 vaccine. “Think of it — at best — as a therapeutic with a limited window of efficacy and terrible side effect profile that must be dosed in advance of illness.”

Two doctors were among the experts banned by the platform after one claimed that children or adults who already had the virus did not need the vaccine. The other was banned for claiming that the virus was less dangerous for children than the flu, which Zweig claimed was “legitimate but inconvenient to the public health establishment’s narrative about the risks of flu versus COVID in children.”

The White House shared its discontent with Twitter's lack of "aggressive" action against those who questioned the vaccine and its critics as recently as earlier this month, according to Zweig, who cited Twitter's head of U.S. public policy.

Zweig also determined that Twitter's moderation was largely done by bots or contractors in places such as the Philippines, where their lack of medical expertise contributed to a large number of errors in its censorship. However, high levels of bias among former Twitter leadership also contributed to the censorship, according to Zweig.

The latest report comes after previous revelations showed that the CIA, FBI, and other government agencies had pressured Twitter to cave to political pressure. The report is part of the "Twitter Files," which refers to the investigation from new Twitter CEO Elon Musk into the previous happenings of the social media platform, including Twitter's handling of Hunter Biden's laptop, the blacklisting of certain conservative accounts, and the decision-making process relating to Trump's suspension.

‘People have spoken’: Musk lifts Twitter suspensions on journalists for alleged ‘doxxing'

Ryan King

December 17, 08:43 AM December 17, 08:43 AM

Billionaire mogul Elon Musk restored some of the Twitter accounts of a handful of journalists suspended from the platform he alleged disseminated information about his personal location.

Initially, Musk noted that they would be booted for about seven days, but the newly announced Twitter CEO capitulated after conducting multiple polls to gauge whether the accounts should be freed from Twitter jail and after facing fierce backlash over the suspensions.

TWITTER FILES: TECH GIANT WAS IN 'CONSTANT AND PERVASIVE' CONTACT WITH FBI

"The people have spoken. Accounts who doxxed my location will have their suspension lifted now," Musk tweeted.

The suspensions came after Musk clamped down and permanently suspended all of the accounts run by a teenager who managed @elonjet, which attempted to track the movements of Musk's private plane. He initially maintained that the main account, @elonjet, would be allowed to operate, but then claimed a "crazy stalker" was following a car transporting his son "Lil X," which prompted the apparent reversal.

Musk alleged the suspended reporters tweeted information about @elonjet that helped spread his location, but some of the suspended individuals appeared to deny that or disputed his characterization of doxxing. The suspensions drew backlash and scrutiny from officials in the European Union and media outlets such as CNN threatened to reassess their relationship with Twitter.

The suspended reporters include Ryan Mac of the New York Times, Donie O'Sullivan of CNN, Drew Harwell of the Washington Post, Matt Binder of Mashable, Micah Lee of the Intercept, Steve Herman of Voice of America, Linette Lopez of Business Insider, as well as independent journalists Aaron Rupar, Keith Olbermann, and Tony Webster.

"I want to thank everyone for all the support and kind words over the past day and some change. I was pretty bummed about getting suspended initially but quickly realized it’d be fine because I’m blessed to have an amazing online community. Seriously, I appreciate it a lot. Cheers," Rupar tweeted after his account was restored.

As of Saturday morning, Olbermann's and Lopez's accounts appeared to remain suspended. Olbermann has used his dog's account to circumvent the suspension. At least eight accounts that had been suspended appeared active, though not all of the reporters tweeted by Saturday morning.

The suspensions drew flack from some of Musk's allies such as journalist Bari Weiss and author Michael Shellenberger, who alongside Matt Taibbi, had been reporting on the so-called Twitter Files detailing internal company deliberations about content moderation and public controversies.

"Rather than rigorously pursuing truth, you are virtue-signaling to show that you are 'good' in the eyes of media elite to keep one foot in both worlds," Musk clapped back to a Weiss tweet critical of the suspension spree.

Critics seek evidence of government involvement in Twitter censorship decisions

Christopher Hutton

December 09, 05:46 PM December 09, 05:46 PM

A major question surrounding Elon Musk's release of internal Twitter documents about content moderation decisions is whether government officials had any role in pushing the platform to censor.

Screenshots released late Thursday of Twitter "blacklisting" conservative accounts and executives directly engaging in content moderation caused an outraged reaction from the Right. A critical question regarding possible repercussions for Twitter and the executives in question, though, is whether government officials encouraged Twitter to take down specific posts or accounts. The information released so far by Musk and his allies does not include evidence of such activity.

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"We already know the federal government had a hand in Twitter censorship, especially of those who articulated perspectives that conflicted with government messaging on Covid," New Civil Liberties Alliance Counsel Jenin Younes told the Washington Examiner in an email statement. "As Elon Musk exposes further information about Twitter's inner workings, we anticipate learning more about the extent of government involvement in blacklisting those who express disfavored views."

The blacklists "could be seen as a free speech concern if any of it is related to requests made by the U.S. government or violated Twitter's own terms of service," Irina Tsukerman, an analyst at the media and strategic advisory firm Scarab Rising, told the Washington Examiner.

The Alliance cited Surgeon General Vivek Murthy's statements in March demanding that Big Tech companies hand over all relevant information related to "COVID-19 misinformation" as evidence of cooperation between Big Tech and the Biden administration.

Conservatives have alleged that the federal government played a role in Twitter's decision to pull down a New York Post story about Hunter Biden's laptop. Journalist Matt Taibbi addressed this in the first edition of the Twitter Files, in which he reported no evidence that government officials had been involved in the decision beyond "vague warnings" provided by the FBI about foreign actors.

While the first two entries in the Twitter Files have not provided evidence of government involvement, conservatives are hopeful since Taibbi and Weiss have promised additional releases in the coming days and weeks.

Twitter had previously spoken with White House officials and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention during the pandemic to discuss "vaccine misinformation," according to communications revealed by an NCLA lawsuit. Twitter was also sued in December 2021 by journalist and vaccine critic Alex Berenson, who alleged that communications between Twitter and the White House led to his permanent suspension on the platform. Berenson settled the suit with Twitter and had his account reinstated in August.

WATCH: Sarah Westwood argues Twitter only gave excuses on Hunter Biden suppression

Steff Thomas

December 08, 02:09 PM December 08, 02:09 PM

The Washington Examiner's Sarah Westwood says Twitter gave “every excuse” about why they suppressed the Hunter Biden story, but it wasn’t enough to keep the truth from coming out.

“They gave every excuse in the book to try to suppress it and eventually they were exposed as being incredibly partisan,” Westwood said Thursday morning on Fox Business's Mornings with Maria Bartiromo.

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Twitter CEO Elon Musk made good on his promise last week to drop new information about the company’s behind-the-scenes machinations about the suppression from 2020.

As House Republicans are preparing to take legal action against former Twitter lawyer James Baker, who was fired on Tuesday for his role in the suppression, Westwood said she wasn’t surprised that material that could be damaging to the social media platform was destroyed.

“Look at the lengths that Twitter executives were willing to go to suppress the Hunter Biden story. It was clear they wanted to take the story off the air,” she told host Maria Bartiromo, adding that it was Baker who was tasked with vetting information.

“This is sort of a sanitized version of the truth that we have so far,” Westwood said.

She also pointed out that Baker was closely allied with President Joe Biden and with Democrats.

They didn’t want any amplification of the story, so they went in search of justification that would allow them to suppress the story and “move the goalpost so many times,” when asked about the New York Post’s story, including making up false stories about the information being stolen, fake, or unable to be verified, Westwood explained.

The actions of Baker, who was also the person who pushed the Russia collusion “lie” during the 2020 election cycle, brought Republicans' fears to light and gave them weight.

“I think that's the frustrating thing for a lot of Republicans [and] conservatives watching this … this confirms what they had suspected all along about Twitter,” Westwood said.

“If you sort of expressed the view that Twitter was … in a partisan manner, suppressing this story to help Biden, that was sort of painted as a conspiracy theory and now we’re seeing hard evidence that that was true,” she added.

Mainstream media outlets lashed out at Musk and journalist Matt Taibbi, who was tasked with going through the so-called Twitter Files and providing analysis. When asked if it was surprising to see reporters attacking each other, Westwood said no.

“I think that a lot of the mainstream media reporters have no problem ‘eating their own’ if they cross the party line. And Matt Taibbi has been the target of that kind of criticism for a while,” she said.

“He’s someone who was a classically liberal writer for years and he sort of stayed in the center of the [liberalism],” Westwood told Fox host Joe Concha, adding that Taibbi has been a champion of freedom of speech and pushing back against the power of corporations.

“The rest of the Democratic Party sort of shifted to back elitism … [and] the consolidation of government power and corporate power in these really concerning ways like we’re seeing with Twitter,” she said.

Westwood gave examples such as Twitter colluding with the FBI and the Biden administration to suppress stories about COVID-19 and even Democrats who were unfavorable, calling the hypocrisy “unsurprising.”

“It’s not surprising to see people who hold themselves up to support free speech squashing [Taibbi’s] actual support of it,” she added.

Arizona candidate credits Elon Musk for quick Twitter suspension reversal

Ryan King

October 31, 08:31 PM October 31, 08:33 PM

Self-described "Chief Twit" Elon Musk flexed his newfound Twitter powers Monday, vowing to investigate the suspension of Arizona GOP Secretary of State hopeful Mark Finchem. Within an hour, the Republican said he was reinstated and thanked Musk for taking quick action.

Finchem, who has championed election security and questioned the results of the 2020 contest, sent out an email to supporters Monday announcing his Twitter account was suspended and urging his followers to mount a pressure campaign to convince Musk to "unban" him.

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"Twitter has blocked my account from speaking truth with one week left until the election. They are trying to put their thumb on the scales of this election. Tag Elon Musk and tell him to unban me right now. I am the Secretary of State nominee in a swing state running against the criminal Soros-funded candidate," he wrote in an email to supporters.

Trump-aligned lawyer Jenna Ellis took note of Finchem's plea and tagged Musk in a tweet, insisting that it was inappropriate for Finchem's account to be suspended about a week out from the midterm elections. That got Musk's attention.

"Looking into it," Musk said in reply.

It was not immediately clear why Finchem's account was suspended. The Washington Examiner reached out to Twitter for comment.

In declaring his return, Finchem thanked Musk and those who spread his statement about being suspended. "We are back! Thank you for stopping the commie who suspended me from Twitter a week before the election. Twitter is much better with you at the helm. Thank you," he said in his tweet.

Finchem, who is a state lawmaker, is facing off against Democrat Adrian Fontes for Arizona's Secretary of State post, and they are locked in a tight race.

Musk ascended to chief of Twitter last week after completing a $44 billion acquisition. Making his debut with a sink in the Twitter headquarters, Musk quickly moved to oust some of the top brass at the company, such as CEO Parag Agrawal, Chief Financial Officer Ned Segal, and Vijaya Gadde, head of legal policy, trust, and safety.

Prior to his takeover, Musk had voiced frustration with Twitter's content moderation policies, suggesting the company had not been even-handed in its approach — a frequent gripe among conservatives. Last week, he signaled that he may form a council to manage the company's moderation policy.