Lee Fang Profile picture
Feb 25, 2020 9 tweets 5 min read Read on X
There are so many questions for Bloomberg from recent reporting, here's a thread from of what could be asked during the #DemDebate over issues that have been raised in the press just in recent weeks.
Bloomberg has not released his tax returns & has delayed his mandatory ethics disclosure. The Intercept published documents showing some of his investments in fracking & private equity. He's been planning to run for years, why the delay? #DemDebate theintercept.com/2020/02/24/mik…
Despite radical advances in surveillance tech, there's been almost no discussion of civil liberties & tech policy during the #DemDebate. Bloomberg has said he hopes the NSA is "reading every email." Is that still the case? What about the other candidates? theintercept.com/2020/02/14/mik…
The Washington Post estimates Bloomberg LP earns up to 5% of its revenues from China. How much does Bloomberg he earn from China? Why did his company silence its own reporters attempting to report on Chinese corruption? #demdebate theintercept.com/2020/02/18/mik…
Bloomberg's pitch to voters is that he can't be bought because he's self-funded. But his campaign is run by corporate lobbyists. What role will lobbyists have in his administration? #demdebate theintercept.com/2020/01/08/mik…
New audio released this week shows Bloomberg speaking to Goldman Sachs, telling bankers he didn't sincerely endorse Obama in 2012 and that if he had run for president, he'd "defend the banks." Can he explain? #demdebate cnn.com/2020/02/24/pol…
New data released today shows the Bloomberg campaign has now spent $100m on online ads plus over $500m on broadcast ads & $3 billion in charity & political giving last year to prepare to run. How much is he truly going to spend? How is this not buying the presidency? #DebDebate
The gig economy is rapidly reshaping the service industry allowing firms to categorize full time workers as contractors w/no rights to min wage, union or healthcare. Bloomberg's top strategist Bradley Tusk is a gig industry lobbyist. What's your policy for gig workers? #DemDebate
Nearly 1 in 2 African American seniors live perilously close to abject poverty & rely on Social Security for their entire retirement income. How can Biden & Bloomberg square commitments to racial justice w/their history demanding cuts to the program? theintercept.com/2020/02/19/mik…

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More from @lhfang

Apr 30
US & NATO have 12x Russia's defense budget, yet Russia produces 3x the artillery munitions vital for the Ukraine war. How is America so easily outpaced by Russia, which has a fraction of our economy & defense spending? It's partially a story of corporate consolidation 🧵 Image
155mm artillery casings are made at the Scranton Army Ammunition Plant, which was converted during the Korean war. The plant was acquired by General Dynamics in 2006 during a mergers & acquisition spree, w/ GD buying other artillery munition firms to nearly corner the market.
General Dynamics, after buying out competitors, starting consolidating and closing plants. The Scranton plant had rounds of layoffs in 2010 and another in 2012, removing skilled machinist workers.
Read 7 tweets
Apr 11
U.S. foreign aid money is flowing into Ukraine to fund a network of anti-disinfo watchdogs and journalists, who are helping the government demonize opponents, pass censorship laws, and smear pro-peace Americans as Russian agents. New investigation🧵 Image
USAID funded Ukrainian media are helping Facebook remove alleged Russian disinfo content. The same groups, without evidence, claim Americans favoring a diplomatic solution to the conflict — Jeffrey Sachs, John Mearsheimer, Glenn Greenwald, etc — are Russian propaganda agents Image
USAID and NED, which spun off from the CIA, openly touts investments in Ukraine media w/ helping fuel the pro-NATO revolt in Ukraine in 2014 & w/ helping win the current information war against Russia today. Yet the “independent” media the US funds is highly political. Image
Read 9 tweets
Jan 26
DHS official Brian Murphy was in the news for building dossiers of critical journalists. Now he’s helping British AI firm Logically into the U.S. to identify “problematic” 2024 election narratives to scrub social media. I have a new investigation into the censorship firm: Image
Logically AI scans social media for “misinfo” like many orgs. Unlike others, they partner w/ Meta, anything they flag is automatically shadowbanned or factchecked. They operate a news-style website and are testing generative AI for bots that attack alleged misinfo posts.
In the UK, the British gov gave contracts to Logicially to fight pandemic disinfo. Instead, the group flagged academics & activists who criticized vaccine passports, lockdowns, other forms of policy dissent. Logically said the lab leak theory was a dangerous “conspiracy theory.”
Read 6 tweets
Oct 25, 2023
I talked previously to several lawmakers in Congress who explained that devotion to Israel -- including U.S. weapons and money -- is part of their religious belief, grounded in the Bible. This dynamic separates Israel-Palestine from a lot of other geopolitical concerns.
Also interviewed Robert Jeffress, the megachurch pastor who gave the official opening prayer moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem. He advises American politicians, says support for Israel is critical for bringing an end times final war, Jesus returning to slay non-believers.
Note Jeffress forced me to wear a mask to go backstage with him. Not my choice. These are clips from Praying for Armageddon, a new film that looks at the role of Christian Zionism in shaping U.S. policy towards the Israel-Palestine conflict. prayingforarmageddon.com
Read 4 tweets
Sep 21, 2023
Ibram Kendi’s anti-racist institute at Boston University promised scholarship and data, but produced virtually nothing. Now they’re laying everyone off.

“It’s pretty hard for me to imagine they blew through $30 million in 2 years,” said one scholar.
dailyfreepress.com/2023/09/21/ami…
Kendi’s contribution to the discourse is the toxic and poorly argued idea, articulated in “How to be an Antiracist,” that *every* racial disparity is inherently the byproduct of racism. He just laid off his black workforce, doesn’t that make him a racist, given the disparity?
The entire article is incredible. Kendi promised a book fair, then gave up. Promised scholarship, nothing appeared. Promised data projects, then the only one that launched, a COVID tracker, went defunct in March 2021. How do you raise that much and produce so little?
Read 4 tweets
Sep 8, 2023
1. TWITTER FILES - Saudi Arabia

Twitter Minimized Saudi Spy Infiltration, New Emails Show
Exclusive emails show Twitter executives downplayed the significance of a Saudi spy network operating within the company, an infiltration that allegedly led to the torture of dissidents.
2. After the Arab Spring brought unprecedented protest and public criticism of the Saudi Kingdom, the gov began a crackdown on social media.

The effort focused on Twitter, which is hugely popular in Saudi Arabia. SMAAT, a social media PR firm, helped bribe Twitter employees.
3. Ahmad Abouammo, a Twitter employee, accepted $300k in cash & a $40k luxury watch from Saudi agents. In exchange, he illicitly used Twitter's backend system to unmask anon accounts critical of Saudi's ruler, Mohammed bin Salman. Abouammo, records show, accessed 6,000 accounts.
Read 15 tweets

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