The New Propaganda War - Anne Applebaum

The royal commission’s ‘sealed chapter’ was designed to let other agencies investigate, not protect the reputation of those implicated

We’ve ensured another robodebt will happen If the only consequence for implementing an illegal scheme like robodebt is a slap on the wrist, it sends the signal that we condone it.

 Number of students coming to schools hungry, without proper clothing rising in UK: SurveyAnadolu Agency

National Anti-Corruption Commission comes out of the blocks and lies down

The New Propaganda War

Autocrats in China, Russia, and elsewhere are now making common cause with MAGA Republicans to discredit liberalism and freedom around the world.

Anne Applebaum

How I Became a Target of the Russian Disinformation Machine—And the GOP

NewsGuard cofounder Steven Brill recounts how his work led to accusations of collusion with the US government from both a Russian propagandist and a congressional committee.

BY STEVEN BRILL

Remembering D-Day: Key Facts and Figures About the Invasion that Changed the Course of World War IIMilitary Watch

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Israel Secretly Targeted American Lawmakers With Gaza War Influence Campaign Haaretz

Good thread on AI and national security

In India it’s common for politicians to have criminal cases against them. Why do voters vote for criminals?

One compelling explanation provided by political scientist Milan Vaishnav is that voters often care less about their represntative’s ability to deliver broad-based development or draft good laws, and more about the effectiveness at helping them access limited stated resources. So, a corrupt or crime-accused politician may be seen as effective because he can deliver benefits for his community.

…Colloquially, voters are known to say: Haan, goonda hai, magar hamara goonda hai (Yes, he is a gangster, but he is our gangster.)

From Karthik Muralidharan’s great book on improving state capacity in a failing state.

Addendum: See also my post There Is No Such Thing as Development Economics.