April 2018 attack on dissent

The War

 * The War on Dissent, CJ Hopkins, January 26, 2018
 * The War on Dissent 2: The Specter of Divisiveness, CJ Hopkins, February 16, 2018

The Attack
See also Integrity Initiative: talk

Before the launching of the April 2018 attack, dissenting voices about the official versions of both the Poisoning of Sergei Skripal‎ and the Alleged Chemical Attack, April 7, 2018‎ in Syria, followed by the FUKUS April 14th missile attack, had made it even into some edges of the corporate media.


 * Russian Trolls Denied Syrian Gas Attack—Before It Happened - Adam Rawnsley, Daily Beast, April 12, 2018
 * Assad’s Useful Idiots - The Times, April 14, 2018 (paywall)
 * ''The chemical attack on the Syrian city of Douma last weekend was a monstrous crime in which scores of civilians died. It was a violation of the most basic humanitarian norm of warfare, dating back to The Hague Convention of 1899, that outlaws the use of “poison or poisoned weapons”. Given all that is known of President Assad’s willingness and capacity to inflict harm on a captive population, it would take an extraordinary degree of credulity, sophistry and ignorance to exculpate him of this atrocity.
 * ''Exactly those characteristics are exemplified by a small group of academics, on whom we report today, at respectable institutions that include the universities of Sheffield and Edinburgh. The organisation calls itself the Working Group on Syria, Propaganda and Media (SPM), and in an unintendedly perverse way it lives up to the “propaganda” part of its name. Some of the academics involved disseminate material that is wrong, unscholarly and morally odious. Their output is no more reputable than the conspiracy theories of the Kremlin and its online trolls. Such material is an insult to the victims of a depraved regime and a stain on the reputation of the institutions which host its authors. The leading figures of SPM’s steering committee include three professors. None has expertise in Middle Eastern affairs and all display an exaggerated willingness to entertain any idea, however improbable, that acquits the regime of Vladimir Putin and its client in Damascus of abominable acts.
 * Professors ‘shut down debate’ over Assad’s chemical attacks - Georgie Keate, The Times, April 14, 2018
 * Senior UK boffins accused of ‘spreading pro-Assad conspiracy theories' - Daily Mail, April 14, 2018
 * How Assad's War Crimes Bring Far Left and Right Together - Under Putin's Benevolent Gaze - Alexander Reid Ross, Haaretz, April 17, 2018
 * Syria war: The online activists pushing conspiracy theories - BBC, April 19, 2018
 * How An Obscure British Blogger Became Russia's Key Witness Against The White Helmets - Chris York, Huffington Post, April 23, 2018
 * Logical Fallacies Fuel Kremlin Disinfo - Atlantic Council, April 23, 2018
 * Noted: Ad Hominem Fallacy, on top of the list here, appears to negate the gist of the attack in the previous entry on Vanessa Beeley ?
 * The Left, Syria and Fake News, Sonali Kolhatkar, counterpunch, April 24, 2018
 * Exposed: Russian Twitter bots tried to swing general election for Jeremy Corbyn - The Sunday Times, April 29, 2018 (more...)
 * After a week of Russian propaganda, I was questioning everything - Elizabeth Flock, PBS, May 2, 2018
 * We Need a NATO for Infowar - Elizabeth Braw, Defense One, May 3, 2018
 * Revealed: UK’s push to strengthen anti-Russia alliance - The Guardian, May 3, 2018
 * Who, us? Russia is gaslighting the world on the Skripal poisonings - Alexey Kovalev, The Guardian, May 25, 2018
 * How anti-Western dogma drives odious conspiracy theorists - Oliver Kamm, May 30, 2018
 * The pro-Assad academics’ sources are neither scholars in the relevant fields nor genuine reporters who are trained to distinguish fact from propaganda, but obscure bloggers whose only qualification is obsequiousness to the regime in Damascus


 * TO DO:
 * Atlantic Council
 * The Times
 * Sunday Times: Anti-semites lurking in...
 * BBC
 * 2 x The Guardian
 * Sky News
 * etc.

Subsequent attacks

 * This Professor Teaches Journalism At A Top UK University. He’s Also A 9/11 Truther -Huffington post, December 4, 2018
 * Noted, I disagree with some of Robinson views incl. the 9/11, but...  --Resup (talk) 13:25, 4 December 2018 (UTC) (UTC)
 * Dr. Tim Anderson is 'suspended' by the University of Sydney. His version of the event, displaying the teaching materials in question is here.
 * Those materials clearly violate what is known as the 'working definition of Antisemitisim'.
 * Also, in my view, those are unbalanced (if any armed force performs an expedition into densely populated area, majority of armed force losses will be military--namely among those soldiers involved, while heavy weapons use unavoidably will lead to civilians killed, not intentionally so. However the way question is posed, + suggestive graphics, indicates that to get a good grade, it may be beneficial to choose a particular partisan standing in delivering the answer).
 * However, those facts need to be considered in broader perspective, taking into account, in particular, Dr. Tim Anderson research on Syria (sample), his other work at the University, possible differences of opinions involved, and issues of 'free speech', 'open debate' 'academic freedom', and the Academic Freedom. --Resup (talk) 20:16, 6 December 2018 (UTC)


 * Well, it is from a lesson about critical thinking, with one thing to learn "Be wary of moral equivalence claims, carrying in-built assumptions". So maybe the Israel flag with the part swastika over it is an in-built test for the students, with the professor not going on before the lesson is learnt and the collage talked about. This is how I could defend it, but I don't know nearly enough about Anderson to judge if this is a likely interpretation. But it is so comically contradicting to the material the lesson deals with that I think he deserves the benefit of the doubt here as a seasoned academic. I see he was asked about the intention on twitter but hasn't yet answered. --CE (talk) 21:13, 6 December 2018 (UTC)


 * He has previously been under attack e.g. after Khan Sheikhoun incident - a personal response by him, April 2018 - also for his past conviction. His book 'The 'Dirty War on Syria' is extensively referenced - probably useful for people looking at Houla, East Ghouta incidents and the wider context of the conflict's coverage - although its clear where his sympathies lie. I think he has issued corrections when he put out an inaccurate infographic (White Helmet rescue victim photos)on social media. However, an unprofessional error of judgment with regards to flag on the infographic, especially when so many keen to discredit him. --Diagonal (talk) 15:04, 8 December 2018 (UTC)

The Response

 * UK Academics Questioning Western Foreign Policy in Syria, Interview with Piers Robinson, Sputnik, April 17, 2018
 * Open Letter to The Times on Assad and Academic Freedom - Academics for Academic Freedom, April 18, 2018
 * Syria, The Times, and Free Speech, Tara McCormack, April 19, 2018
 * Academic Freedom And Setting An Example - Tim Hayward, April 20, 2018
 * SyrianGirl Bot claims she is human - April 20, 2018 (video)
 * Sky statement - why I'm not a Russian bot - Ian Shilling (Ian56), April 20, 2018
 * ‘I’ve seen the censorship’: Syrian blogger tells RT how she was labeled a ‘Russian bot’ (VIDEO) - RT, April 23, 2018
 * Another person accused of being ‘Russian troll’ by Times newspaper for non-mainstream views - RT, April 23, 2018
 * The Guardian Is Committing Journalistic Malpractice By Not Retracting This Claim - Caitlin Johnstone, April 24, 2018
 * Blocked By Facebook and the Vulnerability of New Media, Craig Murray, April 26, 2018
 * https://twitter.com/RTUKnews/status/989876824422297601

Leeds, May 2018

 * Playlist, including
 * The interface between Propaganda and War: Professor Piers Robinson; Robert Stuart, Tim Hayward, Peter Ford. Vanessa Beeley.

Response to response

 * #TrollTracker: From Tags To Trolling - @DFRLab, June 27, 2018
 * ''How tweets to a small group precede attacks on critics of the Syrian and Russian regimes

Analysis

 * Britain’s free speech crisis - David Sergeant, The Spectator Australia, March 28, 2018
 * The Guardian, “Russian bots” and the dehumanisation of dissent - Kit, OffGuardian, April 20, 2018
 * The Media War On Truthful Reporting And Legitimate Opinions - A Documentary - Moon of Alabama, April 21, 2018
 * Index on Disgrace - Craig Murray, April 22, 2018
 * MSM Is Frantically Attacking Dissenting Syria Narratives, And It Looks Really Bad - Caitlin Johnstone, April 23, 2018
 * How did the media sink this low? - MarkGB, April 23, 2018
 * Syria Controversy: Don't Believe the Official Narrative, Max Blumenthal, April 23, 2018
 * How The Media Reveal Inconvenient Truth About Syria - Tim Hayward, April 23, 2018
 * Another Failure Of MSM Propaganda: ‘Kremlin Bots’ In Twitter Appear To Be Real People - SouthFront, April 25, 2018
 * Syrian dirty war Backfires on International Media - Elijah J. Magnier, April 25, 2018
 * The League of Assad-Loving Conspiracy Theorists, CJ Hopkins, April 26, 2018
 * Operation Barbarossa II Update: The Battle Will be Everywhere Christopher Black, New Eastern Outlook, April 27, 2018
 * UK Fusion Doctrine: Britain’s USA Patriot Act - Stephen Lendman, April 29, 2018
 * Whether It’s Russiagate, Skripal or Syria, the Media Have Lost Their Grip on Reality - Paul Mansfiel, Russia Insider, May 2, 2018
 * Atlantic Council Explains Why We Need To Be Propagandized For Our Own Good - Caitlin Johnstone, May 3, 2018
 * Media Use Disinformation To Accuse Russia Of Spreading Such - Moon of Alabama, May 4, 2018
 * ''Dubious or false 'western' government claims are held up as truth. That Russia does not endorse them is proof for Russian mischievousness and its 'disinformation'.
 * ‘Coordinated Campaign’ of Smears Stifles Forum on Bias in UK’s Syria Reporting - Sputnik, May 29, 2018
 * They Work To Manufacture Consent Because They Need It. So Don’t Give It To Them - Caitlin Johnstone, August 2, 2018
 * ''There was a stretch in April of this year where the mass media machine was cranking out attack editorials on alternative media voices who’d cast doubt upon the establishment Syria narrative, because there was so much opposition to what we were being told to believe about the Assad government that the alliance of plutocrats and intelligence/defense agencies were unable to manufacture support for a large-scale invasion. All they got out of their massive MSM propaganda blitz in April was a meaningless bombing which accomplished essentially nothing, and now the Syrian government is recapturing its territory from the violent jihadists who had seized it with western backing. Had the “think of the children!” propaganda campaign succeeded in the wake of the highly suspicious Douma incident, we would likely have seen a very dangerous and costly western regime change intervention in Syria by now.
 * The Big Tech Companies are Just Contract Mercenaries for the U.S. Intelligence Agencies, Brian Kalman, SouthFront, August 10, 2018