Big-Brother Software

Big-Brother Software

Read Wednesday’s New York Times article about how software is being developed to monitor negative opinions of the US or its leaders in overseas newspapers and other publications. It’s like an episode of The Twilight Zone written by Orwell.

It’s also creepy because it’s so reminiscent of the aborted 2002 attempt to develop a tracking system called Total Information Awareness that, as the Times points out, “was intended to detect terrorists by analyzing troves of information.”

This administration actively tries to alienate everyone through its words and actions and then it wants to measure just how much they’ve offended everyone? You couldn’t make this stuff up.

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Read Wednesday’s New York Times article about how software is being developed to monitor negative opinions of the US or its leaders in overseas newspapers and other publications. It’s like an episode of The Twilight Zone written by Orwell.

It’s also creepy because it’s so reminiscent of the aborted 2002 attempt to develop a tracking system called Total Information Awareness that, as the Times points out, “was intended to detect terrorists by analyzing troves of information.”

This administration actively tries to alienate everyone through its words and actions and then it wants to measure just how much they’ve offended everyone? You couldn’t make this stuff up.

Become a Sustaining Donor This September

Between the reemergence of right-wing red-baiting and Donald Trump’s use of the chilling National Security Presidential Memorandum–7 to criminalize left political organizing, we’re seeing McCarthyism reborn before our eyes.

This assault on democracy cannot be ignored or wished away. Resisting it requires bravery in the face of threats and repression, a steadfast commitment to the truth, and the unwavering belief that we can—and will—overcome this darkness.

We must have an independent media that sets the record straight, unearths corruption and abuses of power, and advances a politics of justice and dignity for all if we’re to win this fight.

That’s why I’m writing to you today. This September, The Nation needs to add 100 monthly donors to sustain our progressive journalism. Your contribution makes the next investigative report, the next truth-speaking column, and the next pathbreaking essay all possible. 

I hope you’ll support our work with a recurring donation today. If you donate $10 or more a month, we’ll send you a brand new “Hands Off the Free Press!” sticker to recognise your commitment to our cause. Please, donate today. 

Onward,

Katrina vanden Heuvel
Editor and Publisher, The Nation

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