Free Speech & Cancel Culture

Captain Underpants author Dav Pilkey has apologised for suuposed harmful racial stereotypes and passively racist imagery in one of his graphic novels for children, which has now been withdrawn by his publisher.

The Adventures of Ook and Gluk: Kung-Fu Cavemen from the Future , first published in 2010, follows two cavemen who travel to the year 2222 and meet Master Wong, a martial arts instructor.

The book's publisher Scholastic announced that it would stop distributing the book and remove all mention of it from its website. Scholastic said:

Together, we recognise that this book perpetuates passive racism. We are deeply sorry for this serious mistake.

In a letter, Pilkey apologised:

But this week it was brought to my attention that this book also contains harmful racial stereotypes and passively racist imagery. I wanted to take this opportunity to publicly apologise for this. It was and is wrong and harmful to my Asian readers, friends, and family, and to all Asian people.

I hope that you, my readers, will forgive me, and learn from my mistake that even unintentional and passive stereotypes and racism are harmful to everyone. I apologise, and I pledge to do better.

One of the most illogical, unjust and unreasonable of the rules of PC culture is that muslims are granted the privilege of the authorities turning a blind eye to violence and threats of violence. Credible fear of violence is very much a trump card in governing people's behaviour, and so an informal modern day blasphemy prohibition has been allowed to trump historic rights to free speech.

The latest example from Batley in York is described by campaigners petitioning in support of a well meaning teacher who was caught up in a supposed transgression of the UK's de facto blasphemy law. The petitioners explain:

Keep the Religious Studies Teacher at Batley Grammar School.

The teacher was trying to educate students about racism and blasphemy. He warned the students before showing the images and he had the intent to educate them. He does not deserve such large repercussions. He is not racist and did not support the Islamiphobic cartoons in any manner.

This has got out of hand and due to this, students have missed out on lessons because of peaceful protestors . Them blocking off entrances did not allow teachers to work or enter the school. Think of those who would be affected due to this lesson spiralled out of hand? Teachers, The School, The Community, Children, the RS Teacher's family and his own financial stability since he will no longer be able to land a job due to the fact that his reputation has been tarnished.

See petition from change.org

Lee Hurst was briefly suspended from Twitter over a tweeted joke about Greta Thunberg.

The comedian wound up the easily after posting his joke about the 18-year-old environmental activist. He tweeted:

As soon as Greta discovers cock, she'll stop complaining about the single use plastic it's wrapped in.

But his account - which he headlines desperately trying to be relevant is now back up and running again.

Displaying the Nazi swastika would be a criminal offence in Victoria if the government implements a recommendation of a cross-party parliamentary inquiry into anti-vilification laws.

After a year-long investigation the final report from the legal and social issues committee urges the government to legislate tougher laws against hate speech and racist insignia.

Premier Daniel Andrews said that the government was open to criminalising Nazi symbols. It would be the first jurisdiction in Australia to impose such a ban.

The committee said it believed limitations on freedom of speech were justified when it impinged on the human rights of others, citing recent events, including the storming of the US Capitol by far-right groups and social media giants banning former US president Donald Trump's accounts.

One of the recent targets of the cancel culture lynch mobs is to ban derogatory terms for women from dictionaries.

However Oxford University Press [OUP], publishers of the Oxford English Dictionary have said that terms such as bint and bitch, will remain in the Oxford Dictionary of English because to remove them would amount to censorship. Speaking at an event to mark International Women's Day, Katherine Martin, head of product for Oxford Languages,said:

'Bitch' is quite a common word in English. Part of what we do as lexicographers is to show the full range of meanings that it has.

To not show any aspect of a word's use would be akin to censorship. Lexicographers want to make facts available to the public, and the more synonyms and information [a word] has, the better.

Eleanor Maier, OUP's executive editor, said context was all-important:

As dictionary makers, we have a responsibility to accurately describe how language is used and that means we should include sexist and racist terms. But it's really important for us to contextualise them. So if a term is derogatory or highly offensive, we should say it.

The Non-Crime Hate Incident (NCHI) is a recent and chilling restriction to free speech. An NCHI means any non-crime incident which is perceived by the victim or any other person to be motivated by hostility or prejudice. NCHIs can be recorded against someone's name without their knowledge. NCHIs were never created by government, but by a limited company called the College of Policing (CoP), a quango which provides guidance to police forces. Parliament has never passed legislation calling for NCHIs. This is speech-control and surveillance created away from democratic oversight.

See An Orwellian Society. report [pdf] from freespeechunion.org

The cable TV channel Turner Classic Movies has kicked off Reframed: Classic Films in the Rearview Mirror , a series where it says it examines the troubling and problematic aspects of the classics, which were released from the 1920s to the 1960s.

18 selected movies include Breakfast at Tiffany's, Psycho, Gone With the Wind, My Fair Lady, Stagecoach, The Jazz Singer, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. 

Several hosts will take turns holding roundtable introductions before the start of each movie where they will discuss the history and cultural context of the movie. They will also provide trigger warnings about depictions of racism, sexism, and LGBTQ issues.

Among the 'issues will be white actors portraying non-white roles or blackface. This includes Mickey Rooney's performance as Mr Yunioshi in Breakfast at Tiffany's, Sam Jaffe playing the title role of Gunga Din, Al Jolson donning blackface for The Jazz Singer.

For Psycho, the hosts talk about transgender identity in the film and the implications of equating gender fluidity and dressing in women's clothes with mental illness and violence.

During the My Fair Lady conversation, they talk about why the film adaptation has a less feminist ending than the stage play, and Henry Higgins' physical and psychological abuse of Eliza Dolittle.

For the discussion of Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, the hosts will look at aspects of black actor Sidney Poitier's films that are oriented primarily to white audiences.

The movie list is:

• Gone With the Wind - Romanticized portrayal of antebellum life before the Civil War and portrayal of slaves as happy and content
• Seven Brides for Seven Brothers - Sexism controversy over plot of the film of kidnapping women and forcibly confining them to marry
• Rope - Portrayal of two queer characters who have just committed a murder
• The Four Feathers - Racist views including the term Fuzzy Wuzzies to denote Arabs and take on British imperialism in Arabia
• Woman of the Year - Sexism and the idea that a woman can only be successful in the workplace if she lacks femininity
• Guess Who's Coming to Dinner - Aspects of black actor Sidney Poitier's films that are oriented primarily to white audiences
• Gunga Din - White actor Sam Jaffe playing the title role of Gunga Din, who is an Indian character
• Sinbad, the Sailor - White actor Douglas Fairbanks Jr playing the Arab role of Sinbad and portrayal of Arabs
• The Jazz Singer - Al Jolson's blackface routine
• The Searchers - White actor Henry Braydon playing Native American character and abuse of Native American woman by white character.
• Breakfast at Tiffany's - White actor Mickey Rooney's portrayal of Japanese character Mr Yunioshi
• Swing Time - Fred Astaire's blackface routine
• Stagecoach - Portrayal of Native Americans and their being seen as a threat
• Tarzan, the Ape Man - Portrayal of Africans including one attack by ;a tribe of aggressive dwarfs'
• My Fair Lady - Sexism and Henry Higgins' physical and psychological abuse of Eliza Dolittle
• The Children's Hour - Portrayal of LGBTQ issues when two female teachers are accused of sinful, sexual knowledge of each other;
• Psycho - Transgender identity and the implications of equating and dressing in women

Last week, two 'Democrat' members of Congress -- Anna Eshoo and Jerry McNerney -- sent letters to AT&T, Verizon, Roku, Amazon, Apple, Comcast, Charter, Dish, Cox, Altice, Alphabet and Disney-owned Hulu 203 all the major cable carriers. They effectively demanded the carriers explain why they host conservative news networks such as Fox News, One America News Network (OAN) and Newsmax on their platforms. They wrote:

Experts have noted that the right-wing media ecosystem is much more susceptible...to disinformation, lies, and half-truths.Right-wing media outlets, like Newsmax, One America News Network (OANN), and Fox News all aired misinformation about the November 2020 elections.For example, both Newsmax and OANN ran incendiary reports of false information following the elections and continue to support an angry and dangerous subculture [that] will continue to operate semi-openly.As a violent mob was breaching the doors of the Capitol, Newsmax's coverage called the scene a sort of a romantic idea.Fox News, meanwhile, has spent years spewing misinformation about American politics.

...

It is for these reasons we ask that you provide us with responses to the following questions about AT&T's policies toward content carried on U-verse, DirecTV, and AT&T TV by March8, 2021:

1. What moral or ethical principles (including those related to journalistic integrity, violence, medical information, and public health) do you apply in deciding which channels to carry or when to take adverse actions against a channel?

2. Do you require, through contracts or otherwise, that the channels you carry abide by any content guidelines? If so, please provide a copy of the guidelines.

3. How many of your subscribers tuned in to Fox News, Newsmax, and OANN on U-verse, DirecTV, and AT&T TV for each of the four weeks preceding the November 4 2020 elections and the January 6, 2021 attacks on the Capitol? Please specify the number of subscribers that tuned in to each channel.

4. What steps did you take prior to, on, and following the November 3,2020 elections and the January 6, 2021 attacks to monitor, respond to, and reduce the spread of disinformation, including encouragement or incitement of violence by channels your company disseminates to millions of Americans? Please describe each step that you took and when it was taken.

5. Have you taken any adverse actions against a channel, including Fox News, Newsmax, and OANN, for using your platform to disseminate disinformation related directly or indirectly to the November 3, 2020 elections, the January 6, 2021 Capitol insurrection, or COVID-19 misinformation? If yes, please describe each action, when it was taken, and the parties involved.

6. Have you ever taken any actions against a channel for using your platform to disseminate any disinformation? If yes, please describe each action and when it was taken.

7. Are you planning to continue carrying Fox News, Newsmax, and OANN on U-verse, DirecTV, and AT&T TV both now and beyond any contract renewal date? If so, why?

Books by Dr. Seuss have flooded Amazon's U.S. bestseller list after it was announced that six of the author's publications were being cancelled over ludicrous woke claims of racist imagery.

The Cat in the Hat is currently the bestselling book on Amazon's U.S. store, closely followed by One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish and Green Eggs and Ham , along with several other titles by the late Theodor Seuss Geisel. In total, 15 Dr. Seuss publications were in Amazon's top 20 list on Friday morning.

This comes after Dr. Seuss Enterprises, the business running the late author's estate, said Tuesday it has cancelled publication and licensing of six of his books:

• And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street
• If I Ran the Zoo
• McElligot's Pool
• On Beyond Zebra!
• Scrambled Eggs Super!
• The Cat's Quizzer.

Dr. Seuss Enterprises claimed in a statement that these books portray people in ways that are hurtful and wrong.

Chief of Woke Staff Joe Biden notably left any mention of Dr. Seuss out of his Read Across America Day proclamation on Monday. Former Presidents Donald Trump and Barack Obama both mentioned Dr. Seuss in their previous speeches.

 

Comment: Why the cancellation of Dr Seuss matters

5th March 2021. See article from spiked-online.com

An example of the ludicrous claims about racism in Dr Suess:

As it happens, until recently Dr Seuss books have had a reputation for encouraging tolerance. The Sneetches and Other Stories , in particular, has been praised for its messages about overcoming differences. But today's anti-racist campaigners find even the Sneetches problematic. According to Learning for Justice , an 'education' advisory group:

As a result, they accept one another. This message of "acceptance" does not acknowledge structural power imbalances. It doesn't address the idea that historical narratives impact present-day power structures. And instead of encouraging young readers to recognise and take action against injustice, the story promotes a race-neutral approach.'

You read that right. The Sneetches are apparently racist because they look at the world in a race-neutral way, and because they learn to accept one another.

The National Secular Society has urged Scotland's justice minister not to renege on a commitment to ensure a strengthened level of protection for free speech on religion in the current hate crime bill.

A vital free speech provision around religion has yet to be determined, even though it had appeared to be settled and a final vote on the legislation is likely to be just days away.

The NSS has long warned that plans to criminalise 'stirring up hatred' on the grounds of religion within the bill pose a threat to freedom of expression.

The Scottish parliament's Justice Committee had agreed to an amendment to protect expressions of "antipathy, dislike, ridicule and insult" of religion or belief during previous consideration of the bill. However, this now appears to be under threat after the launch of a last minute consultation on freedom of expression provisions in the bill. The consultation, which closed on Monday, lasted just four days.

The NSS and Edinburgh Secular Society have now jointly written to Humza Yousaf, Scotland's cabinet secretary for justice, over the issue.

The NSS said a free speech clause covering religion that only protected "discussion or criticism" would be "too imprecise" and go "nowhere near far enough to protect robust debate, satire, comedy and commentary about religions or beliefs".

It added that the law should "in no way serve to criminalise people for their opposition to ideas or protect people's beliefs from antipathy, dislike, ridicule and insult".

The letter argued that the "wide consensus and strong support" for the additional protection for speech about religion or belief should be reflected in the legislation. And it says it would be "unconscionable at this late stage to renege on additional free speech protections already agreed to".

The trans debate has become one of the most bitter and toxic confrontation across the whole of the social justice sphere. Maybe it is hardly surprising that some the most outspoken contributions will cross lines amongst the internet giants who are proving to be the prison warders of modern culture.

As an example Amazon has removed the bestselling book When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Moment without giving its author, Ryan T. Anderson, any notice or explanation.

Anderson is the President of the Ethics & Public Policy Center which describes itself as D.C.'s premier think tank dedicated to applying the Judeo-Christian moral tradition to critical issues of public policy. Anderson told the Daily Caller that he noticed the book was unavailable on Sunday. He said:

No one from Amazon notified me or my publisher, Anderson said. My publisher has reached out, but still no response.

It's not about how you say it, it's not about how rigorously you argue it, it's not about how charitably you present it, he said. It's about whether you dissent from a new orthodoxy.

Offsite Comment: Amazon: from book-selling to book-burning

10th March 2021. See article from spiked-online.com by Tim Black

Its decision to stop selling a book criticising transgenderism is part of an alarming trend. 

The Muppet Show is the latest victim of political correctness gone mad with new trigger warnings over its historic content.

When airing on  Disney+ the show now come with an alert about supposedly offensive content and can only be seen on an adult account. Viewers are greeted with the disclaimer:

This programme includes negative depictions and/or mistreatment of people or cultures. These stereotypes were wrong then and are wrong now.

Rather than remove this content, we want to acknowledge its harmful impact, learn from it and spark conversation to create a more inclusive future together.

The warning is believed to refer to Muppet characters designed as stereotypes of Native Americans, Arabs and East Asians. In another episode, the singer Johnny Cash plays on a stage adorned with the Confederate flag.

Tory MP Andrew Bridgen said:

I would like to know which bunch of muppets thought this one up. It would appear if this continues kids won't be able to watch any TV programmes which are not newly made. Is nothing safe?

Captain Sir Tom Moore is a retired British soldier who has been canonised by the British media for good work in fundraising for the NHS' coronavirus campaign.

Of course the over the top praise has led to the occasion ironic comment, joke or even the occasional insult. But be warned contrary views do not go down well with the police.

Now a man has been charged in Lanarkshire in connection with an offensive social media tweet about Captain Sir Tom Moore. A Police Scotland spokeswoman said:

On Friday 5 February 2021, we received a report of an offensive tweet about Captain Sir Tom Moore who died on Tuesday 2 February. A 35-year-old man has subsequently been arrested and charged in connection with communication offences and is due to appear at Lanark Sheriff Court on Wednesday 17 February.

And BoingBoing notes the irony. Of course the police boasted about their arrest to the press, so now millions of people worldwide have read the illegal tweet:

The only good Brit soldier is a deed one, burn auld fella, buuuuurn.

Update: Charged

20th February 2021. See article from reclaimthenet.org

A Scottish man from Glasgow has been charged over a tweet against Sir Tom Moore. The man pleaded not guilty in court.

On February 3, a day after Moore's death, the man tweeted:

The only good Brit soldier is a deed one, burn auld fella, buuuuurn.

A few days later, Kelly was charged under the Communications Act of 2003 , which prohibits the sending of electronic communications that could be deemed grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene or menacing, nature.

The decision to charge Kelly caused a stir on social media. Actor and political activist Laurence Fox tweeted:

The police should do their jobs, which is to investigate actual crime, not arresting idiots who tweet idiotic things. Freedom of speech is the cornerstone of any open society. Protect it, even if you don't like or agree with it.

CitizenGO is a religious morality campaign group. They have taken issue for a rather aggressively woke Cadbury's Creme advert that features two gay men being very sexual about sharing a chocolate egg.

CitizenGO has organised a petition against the advert currently signed by about 30,000 people. The group writes:

Petition to Guy Parker, Chief Executive of the Advertising Standards Agency and Louise Stigant, Managing Director of Cadbury's UK:

I wish to register a complaint about the Cadbury's Creme Egg advertising campaign currently being distributed across mainstream media which features a gay couple engaged in a sexually intimate act.

Cadburys are a well-established household name who deliberately market their products towards families and children; therefore, it is unacceptable that they should seek to expose children to an image which is so clearly hyper-sexualised.

Given that children often copy what they see on screen, the advert constitutes a form of grooming, exposing children to inappropriate and graphic sexual content.

By featuring a gay couple, Cadbury's are aiming to escape criticism by using the cover of inclusiveness and diversity. Still, this sexually graphic advertisement has no place being shown on mainstream media where children can view it.

Such sexual objectification is against the ASA's code of conduct.

I urge you to take immediate action and immediately withdraw the advert from mainstream circulation

Students and academics will be able to sue their universities for suffocating their free speech on campus under new Government plans to tackle declining free speech.

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson has warned of a cancel culture and a rising intolerance within universities across the country.  In response he has unveiled plans for a free speech champion who will have the power to defend academics amid rising fears institutions are trying to cancel people with differing views. Williamson wrote in The Daily Telegraph :

Last year, I warned our vice-chancellors and leaders of the very real and alarming threat of censorship and a 'cancel culture# within our universities.

I made very clear where I, and the rest of the Government, stood on the matter; that we were on the side of lawful free speech and academic freedom, and that we would back this commitment in law if we had to.

The Education Secretary went on to describe how despite repeated warnings, there were a growing number of cases whereby academics were being silenced and students wrongfully expelled. He added:

Under this rising intolerance, students have found themselves wrongfully expelled from their courses academics fired and others forced to live under a threat of violence.

Parler, the self-proclaimed free-speech platform taken offline after the riot at the U.S. Capitol last month, says it has relaunched.

Mark Meckler is serving as interim CEO of Parler after its previous top executive was fired by the social media platform.

Parler had been pulled from app stores run by Apple and Google and dropped by Amazon's web hosting services after the incident at the US Capitol. Parler was one of the platforms used by supporters of former President Donald Trump to coordinate and chronicle the event.

Dinner table comments made in private that are deemed offensive by the easily offended will not now be classed as hate crimes, with law reform chiefs abandoning disgraceful plans to extend the offence into homes.

The Law Commission had proposed that the crime of stirring up division over race, religion or sexual orientation should extend to private dwellings. That would have meant controversial dinner table conversations could have led to the hosts or guests facing a police probe and a potential prison sentence.

Lord Injustice Green, the commission's chairman, acknowledged critics' concerns that the original plan to ditch the hate crime exemption for private dwellings could lead to people being prosecuted for comments made in the home for the mere giving of offence.

The criminal team is looking at alternative ways in which the law might be reformed, seemingly to pander to the easily offended.

 

Offsite Comment: The Law Commission is watching you

13th February 2021. See article from spiked-online.com by Joanna Williams

That it even considered criminalising dinner-table conversations is remarkable.

Twitter has permanently banned the investigative reporting outlet Project Veritas which recently published several leaked videos exposing executives from Big Tech companies discussing censorship, hate speech, and more. Project Veritas had over 735,000 followers when it was suspended.

The suspension follows Project Veritas's Twitter account being locked earlier today after it posted a video clip featuring a Project Veritas journalist confronting Facebook's Vice President (VP) of Integrity Guy Rosen over comments that he made about Facebook's hate speech detection technology in a leaked video.

Before publishing the leaked Facebook video, Project Veritas had also published several leaked videos from internal Twitter meetings including one video where CEO Jack Dorsey discussed much bigger Twitter censorship measures after Trump's ban from the platform.

The BBC has slapped ludicrous trigger warnings on episodes of Blackadder and The Fresh Prince of Bel Air because of jokes which it claims could be seen as offensive.

iPlayer viewers will see:

Blackadder, first aired in 1983, uses a slur in its second episode which the BBC decided warrants a content warning

In the episode, Rowan Atkinson's character clashes with Dougal MacAngus who has just returned from the Crusades and is awarded Blackadder's land as a result of his good service. Blackadder says:

You come in here fresh from slaughtering a couple of Chocos when their backs were turned and you think you can upset the harmony of a whole kingdom.

Another episode of the sitcom also uses a derogatory term for a Spaniard.

The Fresh Prince of Bel Air's Reunion episode, filmed last year, also contains a warning at the start of the show. It is not clear what offended the BBC in this episode.

The Polish government has published a new draft bill on freedom of speech on social media platforms. The Minister of Justice said that freedom of speech and debate is the cornerstone of democracy and censoring statements, especially online, where most political discussions and ideological disputes take place these days, infringes on those freedoms. Therefore, Poland should have regulations in place to prevent abuse on the part of internet tycoons, which are increasingly limiting this freedom under the auspices of protecting it.

The draft act envisages the appointment of the Freedom of Speech Council, which it claims would safeguard the constitutional freedom of expression on social networking sites. The council would comprise law and new media 'experts' and it would be appointed by the lower chamber of the Polish Parliament for a six-year term of office, by a qualified (3/5) majority.

The draft act also provides that if a website blocks an account or deletes a certain entry, even though its content does not violate/infringe upon Polish law, the user will be able to lodge a complaint with the service provider. The provider must confirm that the complaint has been received and will then have 48 hours to consider it. If the provider dismisses the complaint, the user will be able to appeal that decision to the Freedom of Speech Council, which will consider the appeal within seven days. The council will proceed in closed sessions. It will not take evidence from witnesses, parties, expert opinions and visual inspections, and the evidentiary proceedings before the council will boil down to evidence submitted by the parties to the dispute.

If the council deems the appeal justified, it may order the website to immediately restore the blocked content or account. Thereafter, having received the order, the provider will have no more than 24 hours to comply. Failure to comply with the council's order may lead to large fines.

Music is a 2020 USA drama by Sia.
Starring Kate Hudson, Hector Elizondo and Maddie Ziegler.  

Zu is newly sober and finding her way in the world when she receives news that she is to become the sole guardian of her half-sister named Music, a young girl on the autism spectrum. The film explores two of Sia's favorite themes -- finding your voice and what it means to create family.

The cancel culture lynch mob has turned its sight on a well meaning movie, Music, directed by pop star Sia. Its PC crime is to not use an autistic actor to play the autistic main character of the film. The movie then relates how music helps her cope.

A particular scene seems to have wound up the activists showing the autistic character in restraints. Zoe Gross, Director of Advocacy at the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, said in a statement:

Music doesn't just promote harmful stereotypes about autistic people -- it shows restraints that have killed members of our community as necessary and loving acts. This film should never have been made, and it shouldn't be shown.

Sia acknowledged that she had heard the complaints and said that she would add a warning label before the restraint scene. She said in a statement:

I promise, have been listening. The motion picture MUSIC will, moving forward, have this warning at the head of the movie: MUSIC in no way condones or recommends the use of restraint on autistic people,. There are autistic occupational therapists that specialize in sensory processing who can be consulted to explain safe ways to provide proprioceptive, deep-pressure feedback to help with meltdown safety.

Later, she went further and said:

I plan to remove the restraint scenes from all future printing. I listened to the wrong people and that is my responsibility, my research was clearly not thorough enough, not wide enough.

A free speech protection amendment to Scotland's disgraceful hate crime bill that would have allowed some discussion or criticism of matters relating to transgender identity has been withdrawn after members of the ruling Scottish National Party (SNP) threatened to resign in protest.

People can be convicted of an offense under this bill if they're deemed to have shown malice and ill-will towards protected groups via blogs, emails, podcasts, social media posts, websites, and more. Even people who forward or repeat offending material can be convicted.

Under this amendment, which was proposed last week by Humza Yousaf, Scotland's Cabinet Secretary for Injustice, there would have been a freedom of expression protection where behaviours and materials are not to be taken as threatening or abusive solely on the basis that it involves or includes discussion or criticism of matters relating to transgender identity.

But after Yousaf proposed the amendment, many younger and LGBT+ SNP members threatened to resign their party membership. This prompted SNP Leader Nicola Sturgeon to step in and plead for them to remain party members. This ultimately resulted in Yousaf withdrawing his amendment and meeting with opposition parties in another attempt to write a new amendment that would give freedom of expression protection for all categories.

A policeman has been charged with a criminal offence after allegedly sending a supposedly grossly offensive image of the arrest of George Floyd to colleagues.

He will appear in court charged with sending the image by means of a public electronic communications network, contrary to the Communications Act 2003, on May 30 last year.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said the charge against the Devon and Cornwall Police sergeant came after an altered image of George Floyd's arrest in the US was shared within a WhatsApp group that included a number of other police officers and staff.

An IOPC spokesman added that they had investigated the image after it was brought to their attention by Devon and Cornwall Police. The officer is due to appear before Newton Abbot Magistrates' Court on January 28, the IOPC said.

Of course the public aren't being allowed to judge for themselves, and the joke has been kept secret.

The UK government is taking a stand against historical statues being censored or cancelled by woke militants.

The UK Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick has set forth new UK laws that would make it more difficult to remove monuments across the country. He explained:

Latterly there has been an attempt to impose a single, often negative narrative which not so much recalls our national story, as seeks to erase part of it. This has been done at the hand of the flash mob, or by the decree of a 'cultural committee' of town hall militants and woke worthies.

He then announced his plans to bring due process back to UK heritage to ensure that monuments aren't destroyed by woke militants or removed on a whim or at the behest of a baying mob. Now planning permission will be required for the removal or alteration of any public monument. Additionally, local councils will need to consult with their residents and guarantee any changes abide by council rules.

These changes will not only affect public statues, but plaques and other monuments, as well. According to a government press release, the new laws will make clear that historic monuments should be retained and explained.

In a mass censorship movement from politicians and internet companies, all sorts of measures have been adopted to silence Donald Trump, his supporters, and anyone else with right leaning views. Here are just a few of the most notable actions.

 

Right leaning Parler forum taken down by Amazon

11th January 2021. See article from bbc.co.uk

Parler has dropped offline after Amazon pulled hosting support for the right leaning free speech social network.

The platform had been reliant on the tech giant's Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud computing service to provide its alternative to Twitter.

It is popular among supporters of Donald Trump, although the president is not a user.

Google and Apple had already removed Parler from their app stores towards the end of last week.

Snapchat and Twitch cancel Trump

See article from reclaimthenet.org

Snapchat and Twitch have joined other Big Tech companies in censoring Trump. Rachel Racusen, a spokeswoman for the company, said:

We can confirm that earlier today we locked President Trump's Snapchat account.

Until Snapchat lifts the restriction, Trump will not be able to share anything with his nearly two million subscribers on the platform.

Meanwhile the games based social network Twitch has similarly cancelled Trump. A spokesperson said:

In light of yesterday's shocking attack on the Capitol, we have disabled President Trump's Twitch channel.

The company claims it will reassess Trump's account after he leaves office.

Shopify cancels Trumps merchandising outlet

See article from vox.com

Shopify, the Canada-based tech company that makes popular software tools to help merchants run online stores, shuttered the Trump Organization's TrumpStore.com on Thursday morning, as well as the e-commerce portion of the president's election website.

So one less place to buy MAGA hats from.

Facebook cancels Trump and also the #WalkAway campaign

See article from reclaimthenet.org

Facebook on Thursday said it will block President Trump on its platforms at least until the end of his term on Jan. 20, as the mainstream online world moved forcefully to limit the president after years of inaction.

Facebook has also  banned the #WalkAway Campaign -- a popular grassroots movement that encourages people to walk away from the divisive tenets endorsed and mandated by the Democratic Party of today.

The far-reaching ban has impacted the campaign's main Facebook group (which had over 500,000 followers), its main Facebook page (which had over 182,000 followers), and every member of the #WalkAway Campaign team, including its founder Brandon Straka.

Twitter cancels the US President, his close associates, and other right leaning voices

See article from nbcnews.com

After permanently cancelling the account of the USA President, Twitter moved on to cancelling Trumps associates.

Twitter on Friday removed the accounts of Michael Flynn, Sidney Powell and other high-profile supporters of Trump who promoted the conspiracy theory that the elites from the Democratic Party coordinate with the media, big tech and large corporations to override democratic processes.

Twitter also removed the account of Ron Watkins, the administrator of the website 8kun, which was formerly named 8chan and hosts posts from Q, the false digital prophet at the heart of the QAnon conspiracy theory.

In a video leaked by Project Veritas, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey discussed Trump's account and stated:

This is going to be much bigger than just one account, and it's going to go on for much longer than just this day, this week. And the next few weeks and go on beyond the Inauguration.

He also cited the platform's mass censorship of QAnon as one such example of a much broader approach that we should be looking at and going deeper on.

YouTube cancels the US Presidents channels for 7 days

14th January 2021. See article from dailymail.co.uk

YouTube has temporarily blocked Donald Trump from uploading a video from his Texas speech on Tuesday where he said he was at zero risk of 25th amendment removal and warned Democrats be careful what you wish for.

Amazon cancels 'Stop the Steal' merchandising

16th January 2021. See article from reclaimthenet.org

Thousands of pieces of merchandise containing Stop the Steal, a slogan that is used by those who believe Democrats stole the election, have been pulled from Amazon.

T-shirts, stickers, masks, hats, and other products containing this slogan that were recently available to purchase on Amazon are now gone. Many of these products are still visible in searches for stop the steal amazon.com but attempting to open any of these results now returns a Sorry we couldn't find that page message.

Comment: Angela Merkel denounces censorship by social media companies

11th January 2021. From the FT

Angela Merkel, German chancellor, has sharply criticised Twitter's decision to ban US president Donald Trump, calling it a problematic breach of the fundamental right to free speech.

Merkel said through her spokesman that the US government should follow Germany's lead in adopting laws that restrict online incitement, rather than leaving it up to platforms such as Twitter and Facebook to make up their own rules.

Comment: Australia criticises social media

11th January 2021. See article from theguardian.com

Australia's acting prime minister, Michael McCormack, has accused Twitter of censorship for permanently suspending Trump's account for the risk of further incitement of violence, and he attempted to draw comparisons between the riots and last year's Black Lives Matter protests against racial injustice.

Comment: Poland criticises social media

17th January 2021. See article from digitalmarketnews.com

Poland has come forward to voice against the social media censor imposed on Donald Trump, the President of the United States of America. The officials of the government of Poland expressed their denouncement concerning the ban of President Trump, imposed by several major companies of social media.

Following the case, the Polish officials made it known that a draft law is being readied by them to cover the matter. The law will aim to protect the people living in Poland against any form of social media censor. Such actions imposed by the technology companies will be considered to be an illegal deed.

Comment: The woke purge

11th January 2021. See article from spiked-online.com by Brendan O'Neill

Twitter's suspension of Donald Trump is a chilling sign of tyranny to come.

The Canadian government plans to introduce new internet censorship laws in the name of targeting hate speech on social media platforms. The laws will reportedly be tabled in 2021.

A briefing note on the new regulations from Canadian Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault's department stated:

We are working to introduce regulations to reduce the spread of illegal content, including hate speech, in order to promote a safer and more inclusive online environment. We want to protect Canadians online.

The briefing added that:

Social media platforms can also be used to threaten, intimidate, bully and harass people, or used to promote racist, anti-Semitic, Islamophobic, misogynist and homophobic views that target communities, put people's safety and risk and undermine Canada's social cohesion or democracy.

The BBC has added a trigger warning to the 1971 Dad's Army movie warning about offensive language.

An announcement was made before the comedy classic aired on BBC Two on Saturday night, while viewers watching on iPlayer are told the film contains discriminatory language which some may find offensive.

In the film, Clive Dunn's character L-Cpl Jones's uses the term fuzzy-wuzzies, to describe the enemies he fought in the Sudan under General Kitchener.

Arthur Lowe's Captain Mainwaring also refers to Red Indians not attacking at night.

A BBC spokesman said:

Attitudes have changed significantly and guidance was given due to a specific discriminatory remark.