International
Trump ‘egged on’ Capitol rioters: Facebook panel co-chair
AFP/Editor
Donald Trump encouraged the Capitol rioters and so earned his Facebook ban, but the social media giant’s rules are in “shambles” and need fixing, the co-chair of the network’s oversight panel said Sunday.
The panel agreed just days ago that Facebook was right to oust the ex-president for his comments regarding the deadly January 6 rampage, though it sidestepped an overall decision on whether he will ever be allowed back.
“He issued these statements which were just egging on — with perfunctory asking for peace — but mostly he was just egging them on to continue,” oversight body co-chair Michael McConnell told Fox News Sunday.
Trump was suspended from Facebook and Instagram after posting a video during the attack by his fired-up supporters challenging his election loss, in which he told them: “We love you, you’re very special.”
“He (Trump) bears responsibility for his own situation. He put himself in this bed and he can sleep in it,” McConnell added.
However, the panel gave the company six months to justify why his ban should be permanent — leaving a grenade in Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s lap on the issue of free speech, and spotlighting weaknesses in the platform’s plan for self-regulation.
“We gave them (Facebook) a certain amount of time to get… their house in order,” McConnell said. “They needed some time because their rules are shambles… They are unclear, they are internally inconsistent.”
McConnell, a constitutional law professor at Stanford, noted that the social media giant was not violating Trump’s free speech rights.
– ‘Facebook is not a government’ –
“The simple willing answer is private companies are not bound by the First Amendment,” he said referring the US constitution. “He’s a customer. Facebook is not a government, and he is not a citizen of Facebook.”
In its ruling, the oversight board — envisioned by Zuckerberg as the equivalent of a “supreme court” for thorny content decisions — made additional recommendations on dealing with potentially harmful content from world leaders.
The panel “called on Facebook to address widespread confusion about how decisions relating to influential users are made” and said “considerations of newsworthiness should not take priority when urgent action is needed to prevent significant harm.”
Twitter has permanently suspended Trump after the Capitol riot, saying there was a risk he would further incite violence, due to his multiple tweets disputing Joe Biden’s presidential election victory.
Twitter on Thursday confirmed that it had pulled the plug on several Trump-linked accounts trying to skirt the ban.
Social media had been key to Trump’s political success, letting him fire off comments without having to explain or back claims.
At a recent hearing on Capitol Hill, US lawmakers unleashed criticism at the leaders of the top social networks, and promised new regulations.
Zuckerberg, Twitter’s Jack Dorsey, and Google’s Sundar Pichai faced questions from lawmakers who blamed their platforms for political extremism, drug abuse, teen suicides and more.
Zuckerberg reiterated his belief that private companies should not be the judges of truth when it comes to what people say.
International
Man arrested after deliberately driving into seven children in Osaka
Japanese police arrested a man on Thursday after he rammed his car into a group of seven schoolchildren in an apparent deliberate attack in the city of Osaka.
The children, who were on their way home from school, sustained injuries and were taken to the hospital. All seven remained conscious, according to local authorities.
An Osaka police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the suspect is a 28-year-old man from Tokyo. The officer shared statements the man made after his arrest: “I was fed up with everything, so I decided to kill people by driving into several elementary school children,” the suspect reportedly said.
The man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.
The injured children, aged between seven and eight, included a seven-year-old girl who suffered a fractured jaw. The six other children—all boys—suffered minor injuries such as bruises and scratches and were undergoing medical evaluation.
Witnesses described the car as “zigzagging” before hitting the children. One witness told Nippon TV that a girl was “covered in blood” and the others appeared to have scratches.
Another witness said the driver, who was wearing a face mask, looked to be in shock when school staff pulled him from the vehicle.
Violent crimes are rare in Japan, though serious incidents do occur from time to time. In 2008, Tomohiro Kato drove a two-ton truck into pedestrians in Tokyo’s Akihabara district, then fatally stabbed several victims. Seven people were killed in that attack.
Internacionales
Clashes erupt during may day protests across France amid calls for better wages
May Day protests in France were marked by a heavy police presence and clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement in several cities.
In Paris, Lyon, and Nantes, thousands took to the streets to demand better wages, fairer working conditions, and to voice their dissatisfaction with President Emmanuel Macron’s government.
While the majority of the demonstrations remained peaceful, isolated confrontations broke out in some areas. Protesters threw objects at the police, prompting the use of tear gas and resulting in several arrests.
Videos showing police crackdowns circulated widely on social media, drawing criticism from labor unions and human rights advocates, who denounced the authorities’ response to the protests.
International
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem claimed that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has deported “more than half a million” migrants due to pressure from former President Donald Trump.
During a cabinet meeting highlighting the “achievements” of Trump’s administration in its first 100 days, Noem asserted that under the Republican leader’s influence, “Mexico has finally come to the table” to negotiate on migration and fentanyl trafficking.
“The president of Mexico told me she has returned just over half a million people before they reached our border,” Noem stated, criticizing media reports that suggest the Biden administration deported more migrants than Trump’s.
“I wish those deportations were counted,” Noem added, “because those people never made it to our border—she sent them back because you made her.” She went on to thank Trump: “They never made it here because they got the message—because you were so aggressive.”
Noem has made controversial claims about Sheinbaum in the past, prompting the Mexican leader to refute them.
On April 1, Sheinbaum responded to one such statement by declaring, “The president answers to only one authority, and that is the people of Mexico,” after Noem said on Fox News that she gave Sheinbaum “a list of things Trump would like to see” and that Mexico’s actions would determine whether Trump granted tariff relief.
Man arrested after deliberately driving into seven children in Osaka
Clashes erupt during may day protests across France amid calls for better wages
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
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