News of the World

[kyonides]

Facebook accuses Nicaraguan government of running
hundreds of fake accounts to target opposition

Nicaragua’s government has, for years, weaponized Facebook to try to discredit student protesters and boost official narratives, new findings show.

Facebook’s takedown of nearly 1,000 accounts, 140 pages, 24 groups and 363 Instagram accounts as part of an alleged troll farm run by the Nicaraguan government and the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) party represents “one of the most cross-government troll operations we’ve disrupted to date, with multiple state entities participating in this activity at once,” the company announced Monday.

The effort spanned multiple government institutions, including the Supreme Court and Nicaraguan Social Security Institute, the company said. It also involved a “complex network of media brands across Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Blogspot and Telegram,” along with websites tied to news and political blogs.

The groups, pages, and Instagram accounts were popular: Roughly 585,000 accounts followed one or more of the pages; about 74,5000 accounts joined one or more of the groups, and about 125,000 accounts followed one or more of the Instagram accounts, the company reported. The activity dated back to 2018.

The company’s report claims that “although the operators posed as regular citizens of Nicaragua,” the investigation found that “much” of the activity “was operated from government-linked entities.”

 It's weird to see Facebook fighting for some third world nation's civil liberties out of the blue. I wish they did so almost every single day. 

Jon Bon Jovi Tests Positive for Coronavirus
Cancels Concert: ‘Fully Vaccinated and Feeling Fine’

Rocker Jon Bon Jovi, who is fully vaccinated, has canceled his Halloween concert after testing positive for the Chinese coronavirus.

The 59-year-old musician canceled a concert on Saturday in Miami Beach, Florida, after testing positive for the virus in a breakthrough case. A spokesperson for Bon Jovi confirmed to Asbury Park Press that the rocker is “fully vaccinated and feeling fine.”

Before the start of the concert, Bon Jovi’s brother Matt Bongiovi told would-be audience members of the musician’s diagnosis, adding that he was unable to perform, the report adds.

“There was a lot of disappointment from the fans but understanding that Jon’s health is more important,” said fan Kerry Splitter.

A reporter for WSVN posted a video of Bon Jovi leaving what appeared to be a hotel lobby on Saturday, adding that the rocker had canceled his Miami concert after testing positive for the coronavirus.

The show was part of the Runaway Tours “Halloween Weekend Getaway,” where Bon Jovi was scheduled to perform an “acoustic storyteller performance” at the Loews South Beach venue, reports Asbury Park Press.

Moreover, the rocker is reportedly scheduled to receive an Intrepid Lifetime Achievement Award on November 10 at the Salute to Freedom Gala, which will take place on the U.S.S. Intrepid in New York City.

There was no word on whether the concert would be rescheduled.

 I guess stuff happens and it'll never asks you for permission to finally take place.

Alec Baldwin ‘Extremely Interested’ in Limiting
Use of Firearms on Film Sets

Actor Alec Baldwin told reporters Saturday he is “extremely interested” in limiting the use of firearms on movie sets in the wake of his fatal shooting while producing his latest film Rust.

New Mexico’s Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office opened an investigation when a 42-year-old cinematographer was killed on October 21, 2021, after Baldwin discharged a prop gun.

The cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins, was shot in the chest, and 48-year-old director Joe Souza was also shot and wounded.

He said, “I do know that an ongoing effort to limit the use of firearms on film sets is something I’m extremely interested in.”

Baldwin then asked reporters to remember how many guns have been fired on film sets during the past 75 years and stressed that those guns were fired “mostly without incident.”

However, he added, “We have to realize that when it does go wrong, and it’s this horrible catastrophic thing, some new measures have to take place.” He went on to suggest rubber guns or plastic guns as alternatives to functional guns that normally fire blanks.

Hollywood weapons expert Bryan Carpenter responded of the Hutchins’ death and Souza’s by suggesting Baldwin ignored the number rule of gun safety.

The New York Post quoted Carpenter stressing that the No. 1 rule as, “Loaded or unloaded, a weapon never gets pointed at another human being.”

He stressed that rules of gun safety apply even on a movie set, where “you never let the muzzle of a weapon cover something you don’t intend to destroy.”

 Does he really think it's a matter of using rubber guns?
What about the making of dozens of violent movies every year?
Really, it's not hard to just catch on camera how a fake villain threatens the victim and then cut it right there before resuming the moment it gets hit but not by a real bullet and without a real weapon pointing at any real person. A dummy should suffice, right?  Just my "one cent".