The Daily Populous

Monday January 11st, 2021 morning edition

image for U.S. Capitol siege a 'wake-up call' for democracies, top EU diplomat says

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union’s top diplomat said on Sunday that last week’s siege of the U.S. Capitol exposed the dangers of allowing the degradation of democratic values to go unchecked and disinformation to spread on social media.

“What we saw on Wednesday was only the climax of very worrying developments happening globally in recent years.

It must be a wake-up call for all democracy advocates,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in a blog post.

“In case anyone had any doubts, the events in Washington also show that disinformation constitutes a real threat for democracies,” Borrell said.

Borrell called for better regulation on social networks, and said this could not be carried out by the companies themselves.

Trump has repeatedly used Twitter and other platforms to claim the election result was fraudulent and to share other conspiracy theories.

The EU’s executive Commission last month proposed rules to clamp down on fake news on social media. »

Feds looking at declaring Proud Boys a terrorist organization in wake of U.S. rioting

Authored by ctvnews.ca

In an interview on CTV’s Question Period, Blair said Canadian national security officials are actively gathering intelligence about groups such as the Proud Boys on an ongoing basis.

“We're very mindful of ideologically-motivated violent extremists, including groups like the Proud Boys.

Singh was quick to call on the feds to declare the Proud Boys -- a far-right organization founded by a Canadian -- a terrorist organization. »

Surprise, Surprise: Off-Duty Cops From All Over the Country Were in D.C. During Capitol Coup Attempt

Authored by theroot.com
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Several police departments across the country have opened investigations into cops among their ranks to find out if they were involved in the siege on the U.S. Capitol on Washington, D.C. on January 6th.

Some of the potentially incriminating posts were made by the MAGA-supporting officers themselves.

The officer waxed enthusiastic about the day but stated explicitly that she would not enter the Capitol. »

FBI arrests Nashville zip-tie suspect from assault on U.S. Capitol

Authored by newschannel5.com
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The Capitol invader was also wearing a cap with a patch showing an assault rifle over an American flag.

Searching images from the Capitol riot, Internet sleuths spotted the man during the march by Trump supporters to the Capitol.

Another video showed the pair joining a mob in entering the U.S. Capitol through an unlocked door, passing Capitol police who offered no resistance. »

Parler CEO Says Service Dropped By “Every Vendor” And Could End His Business

Authored by deadline.com

Parler CEO John Matze said today that his social media company has been dropped by virtually all of its business alliances after Amazon, Apple and Google ended their agreements with the social media service.

Matze conceded that the bans could put the company out of business while raising free speech issues, calling it “an assault on everybody.”.

The remarks come a day after Amazon dropped Parler from its servers, joining Apple and Google. »