But the Elections Bill perhaps most egregious of all.
This is Michael Gove. He was the co-convener of Vote Leave - found by the Electoral Commission found to have committed massive election fraud.
Michael Gove is now seeking to tear up the Electoral Commission
2/
This is not accidental. It was the Electoral Commission’s investigation into Vote Leave that has prompted this.
We have to see this for what it is. It is an act of authoritarianism.
The sleaze is one thing. But this is structural. Permanent.
3/
The bill seeks to destroy the independence of the regulator. It’s a check & balance that’s fundamental to our democracy. Instead, it’s being punished for having performed that function.
We don’t come back from this. When this has gone. What are we left with?
4/
We also need to understand this is an attack on journalism. It was journalism that revealed this abuse of power.
This was the Pope yesterday. Extraordinary that he gets it. And 2 ex-journalists- Johnson & Gove - are using their own abuse of power scandal to abuse more power
5/
And this is just *ONE* of the bills. It’s why the intervention last month by Lord Puttnam was so important.
As he says, this is systematic. It’s an assault. It’s tearing up key safeguards that protect us from the abuse of executive power. And it’s happening now. 6/
I wish I could tell you this is ironic. But earlier today, irony passed away after a massive cardiac event from which it did not recover
The whole presentation is worth watching in full for the complete mindfuck experience.
But @nickclegg is always a highlight. Here he is allaying fears that the metaverse might destroy democracy or launch nuclear missiles from your toaster which of course it can’t
‘So basically what you’re saying is that you’re going to be able to send a text message just by thinking about moving your fingers.’
Facebook is a malignant global empire destroying democracy.
Given I’m still paying a very very high personal cost for this talk (2+ years of the head-fuck & time-sink that is litigation), I hope you’ll forgive me for posting this again today of all days
Huge kudos to @FrancesHaugen & amazing work by dozens of journalists at 17 news orgs to report out these docs.
And today remember also the many many victims of Facebook, one of which is us, the British people. We still have *no idea* of what happened on its platform in EUref
Facebook is a black hole. It swallows the past. It’s a crime scene. And it refuses time & again to hand over the evidence.
What happened in Myanmar was an abomination. Yet *even last week* it was fighting legal attempts to uncover the truth
And the dam has burst. The embargo has lifted & 17 news organisations are dropping their Facebook scoops into news cycle already flooded with Facebook scoops.
Whistleblowers need all the support they can get. In the UK, we saw @shahmirUK being outed & destroyed. @chrisinsilico put himself into prolonged legal & personal jeopardy. It is HARD. It is dangerous. And I am grateful & relieved that @FrancesHaugen has the support she needs.
I've been in awe of how impactful the roll-out of @franceshaugen whistleblowing has been & hope it encourages others to follow in her footsteps. gofundme.com/f/facebook-whi…
Adding another FB whistleblower @YaelEisenstat's comments here: