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Friday, January 23, 2026

Tag: social media
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.

Be sure to subscribe to the Wake Up Right newsletter! 

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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
January 6, 2025
William Upton
Media
TECH

Ousted WaPo Reporter Lobbies Instagram to Show Teens More LGBT Content.

Disgraced former Washington Post reporter Taylor Lorenz is pushing Meta‘s Instagram social media platform to expose teenagers to more LGBT content. Lorenz, who has a concerning history regarding her interactions and behavior towards minors on social media despite being around 41 years old, claims Instagram is removing content warnings on posts with LGBT-related hashtags after she complained to the company.

“Instagram blocked teens from searching LGBTQ-related content for months,” Lorenz wrote on the far-left Bluesky—a clone of X (formerly Twitter) which has become popular among progressive activists, Never Trumpers, and pedophiles following President-elect Donald J. Trump’s landslide 2024 election victory. She continues: “Posts with LGBTQ+ hashtags were hidden under Meta’s ‘sensitive content’ policy which restricts ‘sexually suggestive content’, Meta said they are fixing this ‘error’ after I reached out for comment.”


The National Pulse has previously reported that Instagram failed to prevent the promotion of child-sexualizing material—in some instances, pushed under the guise of LGBT content.

In 2023, a Wall Street Journal investigation found that test accounts used to follow young gymnasts, cheerleaders, and other active teenage influencers were quickly inundated with “salacious content” such as inappropriate footage of children as well as “overtly sexual adult videos.” Investigations conducted by Stanford University and the University of Massachusetts Amherst found similar issues with Instagram’s content promoted through its algorithm.

Meanwhile, Lorenz was forced out of our role at The Washington Post late last year after she lied regarding her own post on Instagram, calling President Joe Biden a “war criminal.” Subsequently, Lorenz was dropped by Vox Media after she promoted violence against American healthcare CEOs on Bluesky following the assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

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Disgraced former Washington Post reporter Taylor Lorenz is pushing Meta's Instagram social media platform to expose teenagers to more LGBT content. Lorenz, who has a concerning history regarding her interactions and behavior towards minors on social media despite being around 41 years old, claims Instagram is removing content warnings on posts with LGBT-related hashtags after she complained to the company. show more
December 30, 2024
Jack Montgomery
SCOTUS
TECH

Leftist ACLU Partners With Libertarians In Opposing TikTok Ban.

As the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to hear TikTok’s appeal against a ban that will go into effect on January 19, Democrat and libertarian lawmakers and civil liberties organizations, including the leftist American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), have filed amicus briefs backing the platform, owned by China’s ByteDance.

Sens. Ed Markey (D-MA) and Rand Paul (R-KY), alongside Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), want an emergency injunction against the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, which requires ByteDance to divest from TikTok if it is to continue operating in the U.S.

The lawmakers insist a ban would infringe on the First Amendment rights of millions of Americans. They claim the federal government’s goal of preventing content manipulation by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which has strong ties to ByteDance, can be addressed through less stringent regulations.

The ACLU, the Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT), and the Freedom of the Press Foundation have also filed a brief alleging there is insufficient evidence that TikTok threatens “ongoing or imminent harm.”

“This social media platform has allowed people around the world to tell their own stories in key moments of social upheaval, war, and natural disaster while reaching immense global audiences,” argues ACLU National Security Project Deputy Director Patrick Toomey, calling the divestment demand “extraordinary and unprecedented.”

TRUMP’S STANCE.

Lawyers representing President-elect Donald J. Trump, while taking “no position on the underlying merits of this dispute,” are also requesting the high court pause the ban, to afford the incoming administration “the opportunity to pursue a political resolution of the questions at issue in the case.”

Trump found success on TikTok during the presidential race and has a “warm spot” for the platform.

The Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act was upheld by a federal appeals court earlier this month, prompting the appeal to the Supreme Court.

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As the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to hear TikTok's appeal against a ban that will go into effect on January 19, Democrat and libertarian lawmakers and civil liberties organizations, including the leftist American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), have filed amicus briefs backing the platform, owned by China's ByteDance. show more
December 16, 2024
News
Politics
TECH

Trump Reveals ‘Warm Spot’ for TikTok Amid Ban Discussions.

President-elect Donald J. Trump has expressed a fondness for the Chinese-owned social media platform TikTok, which could be banned in the United States unless its parent company divests from it. Trump stated that he would look into preventing the app from being banned in the United States, saying, “I have a warm spot in my heart for TikTok.”

The President-elect referenced his strong performance among younger voters, explaining that “there are those that say that TikTok had something to do with it.”

Trump also noted that his appearance on podcasts like the Joe Rogan Experience contributed to his victory, crediting his youngest son, Barron Trump, for advising him to take part. Barron was previously praised by Democrat mega-donor John Morgan, who stated, “Barron Trump is a lot smarter than everybody in the Harris [campaign],” following Trump’s victory.

TikTok has been trying to counter the planned ban, with a spokesman saying the company planned to take the issue to the United States Supreme Court. “The voices of over 170 million Americans here in the U.S. and around the world will be silenced on January 19th, 2025 unless the TikTok ban is halted,” the spokesman said.

TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, is connected to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and its owner, Zhang Yiming, recently became the wealthiest man in China, making a $49.3 billion fortune. Though he stepped down from day-to-day operations in 2021, Yimming still owns a 20 percent share in ByteDance.

Pew Research Center estimates that as many as 39 percent of American adults aged 18 to 29 use TikTok as their primary news source.

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President-elect Donald J. Trump has expressed a fondness for the Chinese-owned social media platform TikTok, which could be banned in the United States unless its parent company divests from it. Trump stated that he would look into preventing the app from being banned in the United States, saying, "I have a warm spot in my heart for TikTok." show more
November 22, 2024
Jack Montgomery
TECH

Teens Will Soon Be Banned from Major Social Media Platforms in This Country.

Legislation prohibiting children under 16 from accessing most social media platforms is advancing in Australia. Communications Minister Michelle Rowland announced on Thursday that the platforms included in the ban are TikTok, Instagram, Reddit, X—and notably—Snapchat, which is widely used by Australian youth.

There was initial uncertainty regarding Snapchat’s inclusion due to its classification as a messaging platform, similar to WhatsApp, which is exempt from the ban. However, Rowland confirmed that Snapchat will be restricted.

Supporters of the ban argue that platforms like Snapchat have a detrimental influence on children. However, critics fear that, like a proposed Misinformation Bill, it will force all Internet users to submit photographic and possibly biometric identification in order to use social media, paving the way for the implementation of Internet “passports” and the elimination of online anonymity.

Australia’s left-wing Labor government says it is seeking to “create a strong incentive for compliance and increasing the maximum penalties for online safety breaches to up to $49.5 million brings our penalty framework into line with other laws.”

The Australian Human Rights Commission, a statutory body, is objecting to the bill, warning: “Where rights are limited to protect children from online harms, any limitations must be lawful, necessary and proportionate.”

“This means using the least restrictive option available to achieve the intended purpose,” the objection adds.

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Legislation prohibiting children under 16 from accessing most social media platforms is advancing in Australia. Communications Minister Michelle Rowland announced on Thursday that the platforms included in the ban are TikTok, Instagram, Reddit, X—and notably—Snapchat, which is widely used by Australian youth. show more
November 22, 2024
1A
UK

British Police Arrest Jew for Calling Another Jew a ‘Kapo’ on Social Media.

Police arrested a Jewish man in the United Kingdom for labeling a Rabbi a “kapo” on social media, in just the latest arrest in the country over free speech online. Rupert Nathan, a 63-year-old living in England, was arrested by police and kept in custody for 12 hours over the comments he made on Facebook that were directed at Rabbi Gabriel Kanter-Webber.

Nathan called the Rabbi a “fake” and used the term “kapo,” which refers to Jews who helped the Nazis during the Holocaust and is seen as a by-word for betrayer or traitor among the Jewish community. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has yet to formally charge Nathan for his remarks, which could potentially see him charged with “malicious communications.”

“I admit that calling someone a ‘kapo’ is not a nice thing to do, but it is not a crime,” Nathan told British media.

He also highlighted another recent case involving journalist Allison Pearson, who was visited by police earlier this month after an allegedly offensive tweet made last year.

Pearson, who writes for the Telegraph, said Essex police came to her home regarding a “non-crime hate incident” and highlighted it as an example of two-tier policing in the United Kingdom.

“We are living through an epidemic of stabbings, burglaries, and violent crime… which is not being adequately investigated by the police, yet they had somehow found time to come to my house and intimidate me,” she said.

Following the riots sparked by the Southport murders of three young girls, allegedly by a migration-background teen found in possession of al-Qaeda terror manuals, several Britons have been arrested for speech crimes.

Among them was a woman who posted “misinformation” about the identity of the alleged killer.

Image by Joshua Hayes.

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Police arrested a Jewish man in the United Kingdom for labeling a Rabbi a "kapo" on social media, in just the latest arrest in the country over free speech online. Rupert Nathan, a 63-year-old living in England, was arrested by police and kept in custody for 12 hours over the comments he made on Facebook that were directed at Rabbi Gabriel Kanter-Webber. show more
November 14, 2024
William Upton
Election 2024
Politics

Another One Bites the Dust! Resistance Lib & Author Stephen King Leaves X.

Author Stephen King, recently more notable for his asinine anti-Trump social media posts than his fictional accounts of child orgies, says he is leaving Elon Musk’s social media platform X (formerly Twitter). The prolific writer—known for his novels It, The Shining, Salem’s Lot, and others—made the announcement, ironically, through a post on X.

“I’m leaving Twitter. Tried to stay, but the atmosphere has just become too toxic,” King wrote on Thursday. He added: “Follow me on Threads, if you like.” Threads is Facebook parent company Meta’s knock-off of Musk’s platform.

King is just the latest celebrity to flee the X social media platform following President-elect Donald J. Trump’s landslide election victory last week over Vice President Kamala Harris. Musk funded a Super PAC that was instrumental in aiding Trump’s victory, and will helm a Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) for Trump alongside Vivek Ramaswamy.

The National Pulse reported earlier today that MSNBC host and BlueAnon conspiracy theorist Joy Reid deleted her X account entirely. This followed a video and letter by former CNN anchor Don Lemon saying he is leaving the platform. Meanwhile, actress and mass immigration enthusiast Eva Longoria has departed the United States outright, with her family now splitting time between Mexico and Spain.

Adding to the exodus of far-left celebrities, writers, and activists is the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), a United Kingdom-based nonprofit group that purports to combat online hate and misinformation. The group and its CEO, Imram Ahmed, deleted their X accounts on Thursday as well.

In one of the more bizarre responses to the 2024 election and the political alliance between Trump and Musk, former Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf is accusing the latter of spying on his direct messages on the X platform.

Image by Mike Clifton for USO.

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Author Stephen King, recently more notable for his asinine anti-Trump social media posts than his fictional accounts of child orgies, says he is leaving Elon Musk's social media platform X (formerly Twitter). The prolific writer—known for his novels It, The Shining, Salem's Lot, and others—made the announcement, ironically, through a post on X. show more