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Tag: social media
June 19, 2025
NatSec
News
TECH

Trump Says China Can Keep Harvesting Your Data For Now.

PULSE POINTS

❓WHAT HAPPENED: President Donald J. Trump signed an executive order extending the deadline for China’s ByteDance to sell TikTok to a U.S.-based buyer by another 90 days.

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: President Trump, ByteDance, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

📍WHEN & WHERE: The executive order was signed on Thursday, with the new deadline set for September 17, 2025.

💬KEY QUOTE: “I’ve just signed the Executive Order extending the Deadline for the TikTok closing for 90 days (September 17, 2025). Thank you for your attention to this matter!” – Donald Trump.

🎯IMPACT: The extension allows TikTok to continue operating in the U.S. while ByteDance seeks an American buyer.

IN FULL

President Donald J. Trump has extended the deadline for TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, to sell the short-form video app to an American owner by another 90 days. On Thursday, Trump signed an executive order granting this extension, allowing the Chinese company more time to sell its platform and continue operating in the United States.

“I’ve just signed the Executive Order extending the Deadline for the TikTok closing for 90 days (September 17, 2025). Thank you for your attention to this matter!” Trump announced on Truth Social. While aboard Air Force One on Wednesday morning, Trump expressed optimism that Chinese President Xi Jinping would be open to a deal involving the sale of TikTok. ByteDance, based in Beijing, has not yet commented on the matter.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt stated, “As he has said many times, President Trump does not want TikTok to go dark. This extension will last 90 days, which the administration will spend working to ensure this deal is closed so that the American people can continue to use TikTok with the assurance that their data is safe and secure.”

A law was initially passed under the Biden government banning TikTok unless ByteDance, which is tied to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), divests, citing national security concerns. Since Trump’s administration signaled it would allow the app to remain operational in the U.S., TikTok resumed functioning after briefly going offline. ByteDance has denied that TikTok poses security concerns and claims American data is not stored in China. However, it was fined hundreds of millions of dollars in Europe just last month, after regulators found that, despite denials, user data was indeed being held on Chinese servers. Last year, The National Pulse reported that a supposed “firewall” preventing U.S. data from being shared with China was proving ineffective.

The Supreme Court has upheld the Biden-era law requiring TikTok to be sold to an American owner. Under the new deadline set by Trump, ByteDance must finalize a sale to a U.S.-based buyer. Potential buyers have included Amazon, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, and others.

However, ByteDance has remained quiet on whether it will make a deal, with no real evidence that one was imminent prior to this extension or a previous extension.

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June 19, 2025
1A
TECH

Vance Suspended by Bluesky After Praising SCOTUS Ruling on Transing Kids.

PULSE POINTS

❓WHAT HAPPENED: Vice President J.D. Vance’s account on Bluesky was suspended within minutes of its creation after his first post discussing the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold a Tennessee law banning the use of gender transition procedures on minors. It was later reversed.

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Vice President J.D. Vance, Bluesky platform representatives, and the Supreme Court.

📍WHEN & WHERE: Wednesday, June 18, 2025, on the Bluesky social media platform.

💬KEY QUOTE: “I found Justice Thomas’s concurrence on medical care for transgender youth quite illuminating. He argues that many of our so-called ‘experts’ have used bad arguments and substandard science to push experimental therapies on our youth.” – J.D. Vance.

🎯IMPACT: The account suspension highlights concerns that Bluesky, a popular bolthole for leftists incensed by the less censored regime on X (formerly Twitter) under Elon Musk, is radicalizing users by fostering a far-left echo chamber. However, Bluesky contends the Vice President was suspended in error, and that they “welcome” him to “join the conversation.”

IN FULL

Vice President J.D. Vance was briefly suspended from Bluesky, a social media platform regarded as an explicitly leftist alternative to X (formerly Twitter), shortly after making his first post on Wednesday. The post addressed the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold a Tennessee law banning the use of transgender medical treatments and surgeries on children.

Vance’s post included images of the 6-3 majority opinion, which stated that the regulation and legality of transgender treatments should be left to the individual states and not the federal government. He wrote, “I found Justice Thomas’s concurrence on medical care for transgender youth quite illuminating. He argues that many of our so-called ‘experts’ have used bad arguments and substandard science to push experimental therapies on our youth.”

Bluesky representatives claim that the suspension, which was eventually reversed, occurred due to automated systems mistakenly flagging Vance’s account as an impersonation attempt. Once reinstated, the account was given a verified badge to confirm its authenticity. A spokesman stated, “The account was quickly restored and verified so people can easily confirm its authenticity. We welcome the Vice President to join the conversation on Bluesky.”

The Supreme Court’s decision is expected to impact similar laws in other states, with 25 states either enacting or proposing comparable legislation. Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the majority, stated, “The Court’s role is not ‘to judge the wisdom, fairness, or logic’ of [the Tennessee law], but only to ensure that the law does not violate equal protection guarantees. It does not.”

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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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May 12, 2025
Christopher Tomlinson
UK

Retired Cop Arrested Over Tweet in Stasi-Style Raid.

PULSE POINTS:

❓What Happened: Police in the United Kingdom arrested a retired police officer for posts on X (formerly Twitter), held him for eight hours, but admitted later he had not committed a crime.

👥 Who’s Involved: British police, former special constable Julian Foulkes, the British government.

📍 Where & When: The raid and arrest occurred in November 2023, but bodycam footage of the raid was released on May 10.

💬 Key Quote:  “Nobody is really safe… the public needs to see what’s happening, and be shocked.” — Julian Foulkes.

⚠️ Impact: The case is just one of many alleged speech crimes or so-called non-crime hate incidents that have seen British police raid or arrest people based on social media posts.

IN FULL:

A retired British police officer was arrested over a social media post on X (formerly Twitter) and had his home raided by police, who questioned his pro-Brexit books. The former special constable was then taken to a police station, where he was held for eight hours.

Julian Foulkes, from Kent in England, was arrested in November 2023, but body camera footage from the police who raided his home was only published on May 10. The footage shows officers criticising Foulkes’s book collection, which contains pro-Brexit material.

The post that prompted the raid was a tacit defense of then-Home Secretary Suella Braverman’s description of anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian demonstrations in London as “hate marches.” Foulkes said the marchers were “One step away from storming Heathrow [Airport] looking for Jewish arrivals,” in reference to Muslims storming an airport in Russia’s Dagestan region looking for arriving Israelis.

“Free speech is clearly under attack,” Foulkes told British media, adding, “Nobody is really safe… the public needs to see what’s happening, and be shocked.” Along with being raided, police also seized Foulkes’s electronic devices and went through many of his personal belongings.

Despite locking Foulkes in a cell for eight hours, police later admitted he had done nothing wrong and even stated that the caution they gave him had been a mistake.

Mr Foulkes commented on Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer telling President Donald J. Trump that the United Kingdom has had free speech for a long time, saying, “I saw Starmer in the White House telling Trump we’ve had it in the UK for a very long time, and I thought, ‘Yeah, right.’ We can see what’s really going on.”

The case is just the latest example of British police showing up at people’s homes or even arresting them over social media posts. A similar incident happened to Telegraph newspaper writer Allison Pearson over a social media post that was declared a “non-crime hate incident.” Police turned up at her home last November to ask about her posts.

As many as 250,000 non-crime hate incidents are reported to police every year in Britain.

Jack Montgomery contributed to this report. 

Image by Bob Bob.

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April 7, 2025
Media

Taylor Lorenz Disappointed by False Rumors of Joe Biden’s Death.

PULSE POINTS:

❓What Happened: Taylor Lorenz shared a post expressing disappointment that a false report on former President Joe Biden’s death was untrue.

👥 Who’s Involved: Taylor Lorenz, a writer for Mehdi Hasan’s Zeteo.

📍 Where & When: The exchange happened on the social media platform X over the weekend.

💬 Key Quote: “This tweet got my hopes up :(” – Taylor Lorenz.

⚠️ Impact: The post sparked controversy and discussion online, with many users criticizing Lorenz.

IN FULL:

Taylor Lorenz, a former Washington Post and New York Times journalist now writing for Zeteo, a media venture launched by Mehdi Hasan, the ex-MSNBC host who previously compared non-Muslims to “animals,” triggered debate online after publishing a social media post suggesting disappointment that former President Joe Biden was not dead.

An initial post on X, formerly Twitter, reading “RIP Joe Biden 1942-2025. You were always a racist f***ing monster, and will not be missed,” appeared motivated by his policies on the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. Lorenz is known to share similar sentiments, describing the 82-year-old Democrat as a “war criminal.”

Lorenz’s response was a quote share of this post, in which she expressed her disappointment that the news was false, commenting, “This tweet got my hopes up.” She doubled down in the face of the subsequent backlash, quipping sarcastically, “You can’t even say that you hope a genocidal war monger dies peacefully in his sleep of old age anymore with cancel culture the way it is.”

Lorenz, best known for doxxing the popular Libs of TikTok social media account, has faced similar controversies in the past. Recently, she expressed sympathy towards the alleged murderer of UnitedHealthcare executive Brian Thompson, writing, “People have very justified hatred toward insurance company CEOs because these executives are responsible for an unfathomable amount of death and suffering” on the pedophile-infiltrated X alternative Bluesky. Subsequently, she shared a post about another healthcare company’s policies, remarking, “And people wonder why we want these executives dead.”

Lorenz is also a noted COVID-19 hysteric, describing how she spent “THOUSANDS of my own dollars” on anti-coronavirus measures, including “testing, outdoor space, far UV lights, and a litany of other precautions” for a book launch as recently as December 2024. She remains committed to masking in public, describing those who go maskless as “dumbf***s” who are “raw dogging the air and spewing ur disease laden breath all over ur elderly neighbors.”

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March 27, 2025
Immigration
News

Trump White House Jumps on Studio Ghibli Trend to Mock Drug Trafficker.

IN BRIEF:

❓What Happened: The White House shared a satirical image as political commentary, featuring a mock arrest poster in an anime art style.

👥 Who’s Involved: Virginia Basora-Gonzalez, an illegal immigrant accused of fentanyl trafficking; the White House.

📍 Where & When: Washington, D.C.; Thursday.

💬 Key Quote: “The apprehension of Virginia Basora-Gonzalez demonstrates our commitment to protecting our communities from criminal aliens who engage in serious illegal activities that pose a threat to public safety.” — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at the time of Basora-Gonzalez’s arrest.

⚠️ Impact: The use of pop culture art styles in political commentary by the White House is attracting significant public attention.

IN FULL:

The White House took to social media on Thursday to release a mock arrest poster resembling the art style of the prominent Japanese animation studio Studio Ghibli. The post capitalized on a trend on social media of using artificial intelligence to change famous images in the studio’s distinctive style.

The illustration portrays Virginia Basora-Gonzalez, a previously deported individual with a history of fentanyl trafficking convictions. The image coincides with the White House’s prior arrest announcement of Basora-Gonzalez last week. At the time of her arrest, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) stated: “The apprehension of Virginia Basora-Gonzalez demonstrates our commitment to protecting our communities from criminal aliens who engage in serious illegal activities that pose a threat to public safety.”


Studio Ghibli, renowned for its celebrated films such as “Howl’s Moving Castle,” “Princess Mononoke,” and “Spirited Away,” has an easily recognizable anime art style. This is not the administration’s first foray into employing cultural references in its content. Earlier this month, a video generated by the official White House account showed the deportation of gang members, set to the tune of the popular 1990s song “Closing Time” by Semisonic.

Using internet memes has been a mainstay in President Donald J. Trump’s political history and has also featured in his past political campaigns. In the last decade, both pro-Trump and anti-Trump memes have been shared millions of times on social media platforms.

In 2017, during Trump’s first term, political commentator Jack Posobiec described the 2016 Trump campaign’s online operations as the “Great Meme War.”

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IN BRIEF:

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March 20, 2025
Jack Montgomery
TECH

Anti-Trump Rick Wilson Banned from X for ‘Kill Tesla’ Call — Amid Wave of Attacks and Owner Doxxings.

Anti-Trump political strategist Rick Wilson has been banned from Elon Musk’s X platform, formerly Twitter. Wilson, a co-founder of the scandal-ridden Lincoln Project, had penned an article titled “Kill Tesla, Save the Country,” describing the Musk-owned electric vehicles business as a “bank for fascists”—at a time when Tesla facilities, vehicles, and their owners are being targeted across the country in acts of apparent political violence.

Wilson now claims the article calls only for a “social and media campaign to hit Tesla’s stock price.” However, it is illustrated with a picture of a Tesla vehicle on fire outside a Trump building, and subtitled ‘Elon Musk has a weak spot. Attack.’

He argues that Musk, who fronts President Donald J. Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), is “inseparable” from his car company, describing it as a “goose-stepping hedge fund bankrolling [Musk’s] political fever dreams… of controlling the ruins of the American government as he becomes Earth’s first trillionaire and then the Emperor of Mars.”

Best known for orchestrating highly negative political campaigns, Wilson infamously declared he had “no moral center when it comes to political ads” and would “destroy the innocent and the guilty” to win when reflecting on a campaign he ran smearing a disabled Vietnam veteran.

Wilson’s Lincoln Project group has long been criticized for the action of co-founder John Weaver, accused by dozens of young males—including a 14-year-old boy—of sexual grooming and predation.

Initially suspended from X for 30 days, Wilson’s ban now appears indefinite. Responding to Wilson’s writings, Musk called the political operative a “psycho.”

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Anti-Trump political strategist Rick Wilson has been banned from Elon Musk's X platform, formerly Twitter. Wilson, a co-founder of the scandal-ridden Lincoln Project, had penned an article titled "Kill Tesla, Save the Country," describing the Musk-owned electric vehicles business as a "bank for fascists"—at a time when Tesla facilities, vehicles, and their owners are being targeted across the country in acts of apparent political violence. show more
January 31, 2025
William Upton
Culture

Trans Actor Up for Oscar Called George Floyd ‘A Swindler’ and Praised Adolf Hitler.

Spanish transgender actor Karla Sofía Gascón—born Carlos Gascón—was widely touted by the entertainment media as a shoo-in for the first-ever transgender winner of an Oscar at the 97th Acadamy Wards on March 2. Gascón has received accolades, including at the Cannes Film Festival, for his leading role in the musical crime/comedy Emilia Pérez—for which he was widely expected to win the Best Actress Oscar. However, a history of controversial social media posts now appears poised to sink Gascón’s award chances.

In a series of old social media posts, Gascón criticized a number of minority groups in what detractors claim are racist rants. The Spanish actor has especially drawn ire for referring to George Floyd—whose death sparked violent riots across the United States in 2020—as a “swindler,” and for perceived praise of genocidal German dictator Adolf Hitler.

“I’m sorry, but I can no longer allow this campaign of hate and misinformation to affect me and my family, so at their request, I am closing my account on X,” Gascón said in a statement responding to the entertainment media firestorm. He continued: “I have been threatened with death, insulted, abused, and harassed to the point of exhaustion. I have a wonderful daughter to protect, whom I love madly and who supports me in everything.”

In addition to the comments about Floyd and Hitler, the Spanish actor is also accused of making Islamophobic statements and racially charged remarks.

Gascón concluded, attempting to deflect blame for his remarks onto critics of transgenderism, “It is clear that there is something very dark behind it.”

Image by Frank Sun.

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Spanish transgender actor Karla Sofía Gascón—born Carlos Gascón—was widely touted by the entertainment media as a shoo-in for the first-ever transgender winner of an Oscar at the 97th Acadamy Wards on March 2. Gascón has received accolades, including at the Cannes Film Festival, for his leading role in the musical crime/comedy Emilia Pérez—for which he was widely expected to win the Best Actress Oscar. However, a history of controversial social media posts now appears poised to sink Gascón's award chances. show more
January 17, 2025
Jack Montgomery
Breaking
SCOTUS
TECH

BREAKING: Supreme Court Upholds TikTok Ban, Citing National Security.

The Supreme Court has upheld the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, which targets TikTok‘s Chinese parent company, ByteDance. In a per curiam ruling—in which the high court speaks with one voice—the justices determined that the legislation does not violate First Amendment rights. “The challenged provisions further an important Government interest unrelated to the suppression of free expression,” the opinion explained, emphasizing the law’s focus on national security rather than content regulation.

Congress has expressed concerns about TikTok’s data practices, with a House of Representatives report highlighting “the difficulty in assessing precisely which categories of data” the platform collects. The Court deferred to this legislative judgment, acknowledging, “We must accord substantial deference to the predictive judgments of Congress.”

While concurring in the judgment, Justice Sonia Sotomayor did raise some concerns about the Act’s implications for the First Amendment. Justice Neil Gorsuch, also concurring, raised doubts about content neutrality but said the national security arguments against “[a]llowing a foreign adversary to spy on Americans” were compelling.

This ruling should set the stage for TikTok’s ban in the U.S. unless BtyteDance divests, as the Act requires. However, Biden White House sources have indicated that the administration will not enforce the Act, which comes into effect on January 19 and will leave the issue for President-elect Donald J. Trump to deal with when he is inaugurated the following day.

Trump has said he has a “warm spot” for TikTok and hopes a political resolution to any outstanding issues can avert a ban.

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The Supreme Court has upheld the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, which targets TikTok's Chinese parent company, ByteDance. In a per curiam ruling—in which the high court speaks with one voice—the justices determined that the legislation does not violate First Amendment rights. "The challenged provisions further an important Government interest unrelated to the suppression of free expression," the opinion explained, emphasizing the law's focus on national security rather than content regulation. show more
January 14, 2025
Wake Up Right
TECH

China Considers Letting Musk Buy TikTok.

The Chinese government is reportedly considering a plan to let Elon Musk buy TikTok’s U.S. business if it cannot avoid being shut down by the U.S. government.

Zoom out: TikTok has until January 19 to either sell its U.S. business or be forced to close after Joe Biden signed the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act into law last year.

Back up: Last year, Musk wrote on X: “In my opinion, TikTok should not be banned in the USA, even though such a ban may benefit the 𝕏 platform.”

But wait… A TikTok spokesman said the report of a potential sale was “pure fiction.” It’s important to note this denial came from TikTok, while the report says China [the government] is interested in the sale to Musk. In China, companies are subservient to the state.

Why would China trust Musk? Musk’s Tesla has operated a manufacturing plant in Shanghai since 2019, which accounts for half of its global car production. Perhaps China feels like they have leverage over how he would manage the company.

Chumming the waters: Shark Tank star Kevin ‘Mr. Wonderful’ O’Leary is also making a serious bid to purchase the social media app, even meeting with President-elect Donald J. Trump to discuss his plans to make it “a platform that prioritizes PEOPLE over algorithms.”

Real talk from G: I might be in the minority here, but I don’t like the idea of Musk buying TikTok for two key reasons:

  • I like competition. Monopolies stifle competition and innovation and ultimately put the user/consumer in a worse-off position if the owner makes poor decisions.
  • There’s something off-putting about China saying they trust Musk enough to take their app.

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The Chinese government is reportedly considering a plan to let Elon Musk buy TikTok’s U.S. business if it cannot avoid being shut down by the U.S. government. show more