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Category: 1A
May 21, 2025
1A
TECH

EU Funded $750M Anti-Free Speech Campaign.

PULSE POINTS:

❓What Happened: A report reveals the European Commission has spent nearly €649 million (~$736m) on projects aimed at regulating online speech under the guise of combating “hate speech” and “disinformation.”

👥 Who’s Involved: The European Commission, MCC Brussels think tank, and Dr. Norman Lewis, a digital communication and regulatory policy expert.

📍 Where & When: European Union (EU); report released recently by MCC Brussels.

💬 Key Quote: “This is a top-down, authoritarian, curated consensus, where expression is free only when it speaks the language of compliance established by the Commission,” the report warns.

⚠️ Impact: The report alleges EU-funded programs erode free expression, prioritize censorship, and promote ideological conformity through taxpayer-funded initiatives.

IN FULL:

A newly released report alleges that the European Commission, the European Union’s unelected executive, has funneled the equivalent of around $736 million of taxpayer money into hundreds of projects designed to regulate online speech under the pretext of combating “hate speech” and “disinformation.”

The document, titled Manufacturing Misinformation: The EU-Funded Propaganda War Against Free Speech, was authored by Dr. Norman Lewis, a specialist in digital communication and regulatory policy, and published by the Hungarian think tank MCC Brussels. It accuses the Commission of promoting a “soft authoritarianism” by funding 349 projects through non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and universities.

According to the report, this spending exceeds the EU’s annual budget for transnational cancer research by over 30 percent, a discrepancy the authors describe as deliberate. “The EU Commission regards stemming the cancer of free speech as more of a priority than the estimated 4.5 million new cancer cases and almost two million cancer deaths in Europe in 2022,” the report warns.

“This is a top-down, authoritarian, curated consensus, where expression is free only when it speaks the language of compliance established by the Commission,” the report states.

The report criticizes the Commission’s use of vague, euphemistic language—dubbed “NEUspeak”—to obscure its intentions. Project names like FAST LISA and VIGILANT are described as deliberately misleading, with MCC Brussels stating that such initiatives aim to suppress politically undesirable speech in real time using artificial intelligence (AI).

“VIGILANT is an AI surveillance suite aimed at monitoring, classifying, and profiling speech, users, and networks,” the report states, contradicting claims from its designers that the system is ethical and user-focused.

The report further highlights programs targeting young people, which it describes as indoctrination disguised as civic education. These initiatives allegedly train youths to act as “speech police” in a system designed to enforce narrative compliance.

Dr. Lewis argues that taxpayer-funded research is being used to affirm political orthodoxy rather than encourage genuine inquiry. “Research that systematically ‘proves’ this assumption is not research; it is the manufacturing of propaganda,” he writes.

The alarming report comes as the EU routinely regulates speech on social media platforms. Elon Musk, the billionaire owner of X, previously stated that the EU had offered him an illegal secret deal to censor posts on the platform.

Image by dimitrisvetsikas1969.

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March 29, 2025
1A
TECH
UK

UK Govt Tries to Force Foreign Companies to Curtail Free Speech.

PULSE POINTS:

❓What Happened: The United Kingdom’s (UK) government is enforcing its Online Safety Act 2023 globally, targeting foreign platforms like Gab and Kiwi Farms to comply with its online safety standards. Gab refuses to comply, facing potential penalties.

👥 Who’s Involved: The British government; U.S. social platform Gab and forum Kiwi Farms; the UK’s Office of Communications (Ofcom); Gab CEO Andrew Torba; the U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer; and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).

📍 Where & When: The enforcement has started internationally in 2023; a specific notice was sent on March 26, 2025, for Gab to reply bizarelly by March 16.

💬 Key Quote: Gab’s statement declares, “We will not pay one cent,” emphasizing the refusal to comply with UK demands.

⚠️ Impact: The UK’s law attempt sets a precedent that could affect global platforms, leading to potential international trade retaliation and impacting the future of free expression online.

IN FULL:

The British government’s Online Safety Act 2023 is extending its reach beyond the country’s borders by asserting compliance demands on foreign-based platforms. Notable among these platforms are Gab and Kiwi Farms, both vocal advocates of free speech.

Critics argue that this campaign, under the guise of “online safety,” represents a form of government control over thought. The National Pulse previously reported that U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance called out Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to his face for the “infringements on free speech” in the United Kingdom, as he pledged he would do in an exclusive interview with Raheem Kassam, Editor-in-Chief of The National Pulse, in February.

Gab, an American company dedicated to First Amendment rights, is directly challenging the UK’s demands. The British Office of Communications (Ofcom) has threatened significant penalties against Gab, potentially amounting to £18 million (over $23 million USD) or 10 percent of worldwide revenue, for non-compliance with British regulations. In response, Gab has approached the United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and the Department of Justice (DOJ), seeking trade-related actions against the UK.

Gab CEO Andrew Torba has made the company’s position clear by publicly rejecting the demands. “We will not comply. We will not pay one cent,” Torba wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter). He added, “We will defend our UK users’ right to speak freely and reject any law that compels censorship.”

A notice from Ofcom to Gab, issued on March 26, 2025, gave an impossible deadline of March 16, which Gab used to underscore its criticism of the oversight’s perceived arbitrary nature.

On a similar note, Kiwi Farms, known for its unmoderated content, has responded by cautioning UK visitors about the potential loss of privacy. The site warns users that British authorities could monitor their online actions without IP masking services like Cloudflare. It advises using VPNs or Tor and explicitly states its rejection of foreign censorship.

Supporters of free speech have criticized the Online Safety Act as part of broader efforts to control dissent online. Gab warns that yielding to such efforts could risk similar impacts across U.S. tech companies.

Image by Simon Dawson / No 10 Downing Street.

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March 10, 2025
1A
Religion

Catholics Push Back Against Satanic ‘Black Mass’ at State Capitol.

Kansas is set to witness a confrontation over a satanic “black mass” planned to take place at the State Capitol in Topeka on March 28. The event, organized by The Satanic Grotto, has stirred opposition from local Catholics and the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family, and Property (TFP), a national Catholic group.

TFP has launched a nationwide petition urging Kansas Governor Laura Kelly to prevent the event, highlighting that it disrespects the beliefs of millions of Catholics worldwide and other religious groups. The petition, which as of now has gathered over 28,000 signatures, asserts that sacrilege should not be considered free speech. TFP has also planned a “rally of reparation” outside the Capitol for simultaneous prayer and atonement.

Chuck Weber, executive director of the Kansas Catholic Conference, noted that bishops in the state are evaluating both spiritual and legal responses to the scheduled event. He emphasized that, if it proceeds, it signifies blatant anti-Catholic sentiment and insults people of good will. The group behind the event plans to use the grounds for satanic rites, as stated in a Facebook post.

TFP’s John Horvat publicly expressed his dismay over the use of the State Capitol Building for what he calls severe blasphemy. Horvat urged Americans to join in peaceful protest, sign the petition, and offer prayers, defending their faith against this occurrence.

Historical success in opposing similar events gives TFP hope; previous protests have led to the cancellation of a Harvard University “black mass” in 2014 and influenced a satanic conference to avoid Boston in 2024. Weber added that the Catholic Bishops of Kansas are calling for prayers for both the conversion of the event’s participants and for personal introspection during Lent.

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Kansas is set to witness a confrontation over a satanic “black mass” planned to take place at the State Capitol in Topeka on March 28. The event, organized by The Satanic Grotto, has stirred opposition from local Catholics and the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family, and Property (TFP), a national Catholic group. show more
February 27, 2025
Jack Montgomery
1A
UK

WATCH: Vance Calls Out UK PM for ‘Infringements on Free Speech’ to His Face.

Vice President J.D. Vance has called out Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer for the “infringements on free speech” in the United Kingdom to his face, as he pledged he would do in an exclusive interview with Raheem Kassam, Editor-in-Chief of The National Pulse, earlier this month.

“[W]e… know that there have been infringements of free speech that actually affect not just the British—of course, what the British do in their own country is up to them—but also affect American technology companies and by extension American citizens, so that is something that we’ll talk about today at lunch,” the Vice President said at a media event alongside Starmer and President Donald J. Trump.

“We’ve had free speech for a very, very long time in, in, the United Kingdom, and, uh, uh, it will last for a very, very long time,” Starmer stammers in response. “Certainly, we wouldn’t wanna reach across U.S. citizens, and we don’t, and that’s absolutely right,” he adds.

Britain does not, in fact, have free speech, with British citizens regularly being arrested, charged, and sometimes imprisoned for various speech crimes. These include sending “grossly offensive” messages and, in at least one case, simply sharing “a social media post containing inaccurate information.”

The country’s previous Conservative Party government explicitly rejected a petition for a Free Speech Act abolishing “hate speech” laws and bestowing First Amendment-style protections on British citizens, claiming that “The Government is committed to upholding free speech [but] this freedom cannot be an excuse to cause harm or spread hatred.”

Britons’ theoretical right to free speech is based on the European Convention on Human Rights. Article 10 of the Convention bestows a theoretical right to “freedom of expression” but notes that this right can be abridged “in the interests of national security, territorial integrity or public safety, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, for the protection of the reputation or rights of others, for preventing the disclosure of information received in confidence, or for maintaining the authority and impartiality of the judiciary.”

Contrary to Starmer’s claim that British speech restrictions do not extend to American citizens, England’s Director of Public Prosecutions, Stephen Parkinson, threatened to try to extradite foreign nationals for online speech crimes in 2024.

WATCH:

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Vice President J.D. Vance has called out Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer for the "infringements on free speech" in the United Kingdom to his face, as he pledged he would do in an exclusive interview with Raheem Kassam, Editor-in-Chief of The National Pulse, earlier this month. show more
February 20, 2025
Jack Montgomery
1A
World

Vance Warns Europe: American Taxpayers Will Not Subsidize the Defense of Countries That Jail People for ‘Mean Tweets.’

Vice President J.D. Vance has warned that American taxpayers and military servicemen may not continue to underwrite Europe’s defense if European governments continue pushing censorship. Speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Thursday, he said, “Think about this: Germany’s entire defense is subsidized by the American taxpayer. There are thousands upon thousands of American troops in Germany today. Do you think that the American taxpayer is going to stand for that if you get thrown in jail in Germany for posting a mean tweet? Of course they’re not.”

Referring to his recent speech at the Munich Security Conference in Germany, the Vice President explained that “the point that I tried to make to our European friends… is that [our] friendship is based on shared values. You do not have shared values if you’re jailing people for saying we should close down our border; you don’t have shared values if you cancel elections because you don’t like the result—and that happened in Romania—[and] you do not have shared values if you’re so afraid of your own people that you silence them and shut them up.”

“So, let’s have shared values. Let’s defend democracy; let’s have free expression, not just in the United States but all over the Western world. That is the path to strong alliances in Europe.” he concluded.

Vice President Vance made a similar point in an exclusive interview with Raheem Kassam, Editor-in-Chief of The National Pulse, on Wednesday, saying, “American troops do not sacrifice to protect censorship. They do not sacrifice in order to create a world where you get thrown in prison for posting an Internet meme. If you want American hard power to continue to support the so-called rules-based order, then you actually have to respect the values of the people who are sacrificing for that hard power.”

Image by Gage Skidmore.

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Vice President J.D. Vance has warned that American taxpayers and military servicemen may not continue to underwrite Europe's defense if European governments continue pushing censorship. Speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Thursday, he said, "Think about this: Germany's entire defense is subsidized by the American taxpayer. There are thousands upon thousands of American troops in Germany today. Do you think that the American taxpayer is going to stand for that if you get thrown in jail in Germany for posting a mean tweet? Of course they're not." show more
February 19, 2025
Jack Montgomery
1A
Exclusive
UK

EXC: VP Vance *WILL* Raise Free Speech Issues with UK Govt During Official Visit Next Week.

Vice President J.D. Vance told Raheem Kassam, Editor-in-Chief of The National Pulse, that he will reiterate the Trump administration’s commitment to freedom of speech when Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer visits the U.S. next week. This follows Vice President Vance’s speech at the Munich Security Conference in Germany, in which he warned against the erosion of free speech in Europe, and the subsequent imprisonment of a British man for sending emails intended to “insult and offend” London Mayor Sadiq Khan and government minister Jess Phillips, from Starmer’s Labour Party.

Asked by Kassam if he planned to reiterate his comments t Starmer and his team next week in person, Vance responded, “We certainly will,” adding, “[T]his is not hard, Raheem. We’re simply telling them to respect the values on which our civilization was founded, that you ought to debate with one another, you ought to, you know, your government should respect when the people have a dissenting viewpoint. It’s very simple, and it’s very obvious.”

“And I think that, when we talk about shared values, I think one of the most important shared values is that we, again, ought to listen to our people and not try to throw them in prison when they disagree with what the government’s doing,” he stressed.

Vance said the strong, adverse reaction to his Munich speech “from some of our European friends” indicates that “frankly, they’ve taken too much leadership from the Biden administration” and “leaned too much into the censorship regime.”

Earlier in his interview with Kassam, the Vice President highlighted that the purpose of his speech in Munich was not to “wag my finger at Europe and say, ‘You guys have become too censorious,'” but to note that the U.S. and its transatlantic partners together had developed a censorship problem, led by the Biden-Harris government.

“[A]s I said in Europe, President Trump is going to take a much different view on this stuff,” Vance emphasized.

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Vice President J.D. Vance told Raheem Kassam, Editor-in-Chief of The National Pulse, that he will reiterate the Trump administration's commitment to freedom of speech when Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer visits the U.S. next week. This follows Vice President Vance's speech at the Munich Security Conference in Germany, in which he warned against the erosion of free speech in Europe, and the subsequent imprisonment of a British man for sending emails intended to "insult and offend" London Mayor Sadiq Khan and government minister Jess Phillips, from Starmer's Labour Party. show more
January 30, 2025
Christopher Tomlinson
1A
Media

Over 7,400 Request ‘New Media’ Press Credentials for Trump White House in Just 24 Hours.

The White House press office claims to have received over 7,400 requests for press credentials after announcing its “new media” seat in the briefing room, which is open to alternative media, podcasters, and online influencers. The swarm of applications came within the first 24 hours of the announcement, which was made during the first press briefing given by President Donald J. Trump’s press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, on January 27.

Leavitt described the new seat, saying it would be open to those who do not have permanent press credentials for the White House and would be rotated among applicants who qualify to attend White House briefings.

Under previous administrations, the White House Correspondents’ Association traditionally acted as gatekeepers for briefings, holding 49 permanent seats in the briefing room. Trump’s move is a reversal of the Biden-Harris regime-era policy that revoked press passes to journalists who did not meet various credential requirements.

“This White House believes strongly in the First Amendment, so it’s why our team will work diligently to restore the press passes of the 440 journalists whose passes were wrongly revoked by the previous administration,” Leavitt said during her briefing.

Leavitt served as national press secretary for Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign and is the youngest White House press secretary in history at just 27 years old.

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The White House press office claims to have received over 7,400 requests for press credentials after announcing its "new media" seat in the briefing room, which is open to alternative media, podcasters, and online influencers. The swarm of applications came within the first 24 hours of the announcement, which was made during the first press briefing given by President Donald J. Trump's press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, on January 27. show more
January 10, 2025
William Upton
1A
NatSec
TECH

TikTok Struggles to Make Its Case Against Anti-CCP Law at SCOTUS.

TikTok, the video social media platform owned by Chinese-controlled ByteDance, argued against its impending ban in the United States before the Supreme Court on Friday. However, the social media company appears to have found little enthusiasm in their defense among the high court’s justices.

The oral arguments—stemming from an emergency appeal of a law requiring the Chinese-owned ByteDance to divest from TikTok or face a ban of the platform in the U.S.—mostly circled around the constitutional question of viewpoint and content restrictions enacted by Congress. Despite TikTok insisting the case was a simple matter of First Amendment speech rights, the justices pushed the case into the realm of the constitutional question of association—specifically with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)-controlled ByteDance—as well.

TikTok’s counsel Noel Francisco insisted that the video social media platform is not ‘ultimately’ controlled by ByteDance and that Congress’s divestiture law clearly violates the company’s—and its users’— free speech rights. Currently, TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, must divest from the company by January 19. If this divestiture does not occur, the social media platform will be barred from being downloaded to U.S. social media app stores. Thus far, ByteDance has insisted it will not divest from its American social media company.

ASSOCIATION NOT CONTENT.

The U.S. government, defending the law, emphasized it does not discriminate against specific content or viewpoints but merely seeks to cut the CCP and ByteDance out of being able to influence the TikTok platform. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar noted to the justices that the ban—which serves as the crux of TikTok’s argument against the law—is a secondary effect and that the content shown on TikTok would not need to change if the platform was divested from ByteDance. The latter is key to the government’s defense of the law as it illustrates the law does not seek to regulate speech but rather association.

Ultimately, the justices appear wary of preventing Congress from asserting its ability to regulate the foreign ownership of American companies. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson went so far as to question whether TikTok was essentially arguing that Congress could not prevent companies from associating with terrorist organizations.

Importantly, the government repeatedly stressed that the law is meant to not just address U.S. data security interests but also the country’s national security interests.

With arguments concluded, the Supreme Court could decide the fate of TikTok in a matter of days by issuing a preliminary or administrative injunction which would delay the divestment law from taking effect.

Image by Domenico Convertini.

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TikTok, the video social media platform owned by Chinese-controlled ByteDance, argued against its impending ban in the United States before the Supreme Court on Friday. However, the social media company appears to have found little enthusiasm in their defense among the high court's justices. show more
January 7, 2025
1A
TECH

WATCH: Zuck Bends The Knee, Axes Facebook’s ‘Fact Check’ Regime.

Meta Platforms—the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and Threads—announced a significant shift in its content moderation strategy on Tuesday. On Tuesday morning, Mark Zuckerberg—CEO of Meta and founder of Facebook—revealed plans to discontinue the existing third-party fact-checking system, accused of rampant left-wing bias, in favor of a user-driven model akin to Community Notes on X (formerly Twitter).

In a video posted to Instagram, Zuckerberg outlined the company’s new direction, emphasizing a return to prioritizing free expression and minimizing content moderation errors. The initial roll-out of this community-driven approach will begin in the United States. He emphasized the company’s intent to simplify policies and reduce censorship.

Joel Kaplan, Meta’s Chief Global Affairs Officer, stated in a press release that the platforms aim to create an environment where individuals can express themselves freely, acknowledging the challenges this poses. Kaplan is new to the role, having replaced former Deputy Prime Minister Sir Nick Clegg of Britain’s Liberal Democrats party.

Kaplan alleges that Meta’s previous content management systems, developed under social and political pressures, became overly complex. This complexity often led to mistakes, frustrating users and hindering free expression. The new strategy will remove specific restrictions on contentious topics like immigration and gender identity while focusing automated systems on illegal content. Additionally, Meta will relocate its trust and safety team from California to Texas.

The move is likely part of Zuckerberg’s broader campaign to repair his political ties with President-elect Donald J. Trump and the Republican Party. The elevation of Kaplan and the hiring of establishment GOP mover-and-shaker Brian Baker are also part of this effort to repair the tech mogul’s image.

WATCH: 

 

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Meta Platforms—the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and Threads—announced a significant shift in its content moderation strategy on Tuesday. On Tuesday morning, Mark Zuckerberg—CEO of Meta and founder of Facebook—revealed plans to discontinue the existing third-party fact-checking system, accused of rampant left-wing bias, in favor of a user-driven model akin to Community Notes on X (formerly Twitter). show more

Editor’s Notes

Behind-the-scenes political intrigue exclusively for Pulse+ subscribers.

RAHEEM J. KASSAM Editor-in-Chief
It’s funny, isn’t it? Just a few years ago, we exposed Facebook’s fact-checking regime, fuelled by Chinese Communist Party-fluffer Alan Duke from ‘Lead Stories
for exclusive members-only insights
It’s funny, isn’t it? Just a few years ago, we exposed Facebook’s fact-checking regime, fuelled by Chinese Communist Party-fluffer Alan Duke from ‘Lead Stories show more
for exclusive members-only insights
December 3, 2024
1A
Politics
TECH

Meta Admits to Overzealous Content Moderation and Censorship.

Meta’s content moderation policies have come under scrutiny, with a senior executive admitting to excessive removal of user content across its platforms. Nick Clegg, former British deputy prime minister and Meta‘s president of global affairs, recently acknowledged the company’s high error rates in content moderation. He emphasized the need for enhanced precision and accuracy when applying their rules, stating that the current system often hampers free expression.

During a recent press briefing, Clegg expressed regret over the company’s rigorous removal of COVID-19 pandemic-related posts. “We know that when enforcing our policies, our error rates are still too high, which gets in the way of the free expression that we set out to enable,” the former leader of Britain’s Liberal Democrats said. “Too often, harmless content gets taken down or restricted, and too many people get penalized unfairly.”

He explained that decisions during the pandemic were driven by uncertainty and, in hindsight, were overly strict. Clegg pointed out that users have voiced concerns about over-enforcement, leading to the removal or restriction of innocuous content.

In recent months, Threads—another Meta-owned social media platform—has been notably affected by erroneous takedowns. For instance, Meta’s systems mistakenly suppressed a photo of President-elect Donald Trump, prompting a public apology. The company’s Oversight Board has also raised alarms about the risk of excessive removal of political speech, especially ahead of the U.S. presidential election.

Despite these issues, Meta—owned by billionaire Mark Zuckerberg and the parent company of Facebook—has not implemented significant changes to its content rules since the election.

Clegg indicated that updates might be forthcoming, referring to the rules as a “living, breathing document.” When questioned about Zuckerberg’s recent meeting with Trump and Meta’s stance on government pressure to moderate content, Clegg refrained from providing specific details.

Image by Anthony Quintano.

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Meta's content moderation policies have come under scrutiny, with a senior executive admitting to excessive removal of user content across its platforms. Nick Clegg, former British deputy prime minister and Meta's president of global affairs, recently acknowledged the company's high error rates in content moderation. He emphasized the need for enhanced precision and accuracy when applying their rules, stating that the current system often hampers free expression. show more