TikTok, Seemingly, Suppresses Latino Conservative Creators!

This article is an observation of my findings digging into TikTok's anti-Latino bias; We'll be discussing how TikTok manipulates and suppresses videos with a certain hashtag in the Latino community. TikTok has gotten the attention of many youthful users, but it seems that the development team may allegedly be silencing Latino creators who use the hashtag '#Latino'. This comes from something that I found when I was making a video on TikTok about Latinos and Latinx.

On TikTok, you can add a caption when you finish recording and editing a video. The caption box allows you to use hashtags and lists the number of posts that that hashtag has garnered within an unspecified time. However, when I use the hashtag 'Latino', it reveals to me that there are "0 posts" when I regularly use the hashtag. Compared to the other variations of Latino and the insulting term, Latinx, they all are registered and have a post count. Now, this coincides with something else I found interesting.

When I use the hashtag "Latino" in any of my videos, those videos get significantly fewer viewers than the others. I've noticed this on multiple previous accounts that were banned by TikTok's pro-censorship community guideline moderators that clearly have an anti-Latino and an anti-Catholic or Christian bias; these accounts include LuchiCholito and Esecholito. To add, when I don't use the hashtag Latino, but use any other Latino-related hashtag, the videos perform much better by a ratio of 3:1 to 5:1 views. 

I will continue to observe these seemingly deliberate acts to suppress Latino and Latino conservatives. What do you think about my findings regarding this troublesome ordeal? Should TikTok publicly announce why they have #Latino at zero posts and why people who use the hashtag #Latino are being suppressed?

Elon Musk To Release "Tesla Phone" To Compete With Apple and Google App Stores?

Elon Musk has hinted yesterday that he may have "no other choice" but to release a new phone and possibly an accompanying application store to compete against the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.

With Elon Musk turning heads after his major firings at Twitter to make the company more efficient, people are speculating that with his recent decisions to bring back people who were banned from Twitter, Apple and Google (Alphabet) may soon limit or outright block Twitter off of their app stores. If they do decide to block Twitter, this may be a direct hit to the growth of Twitter on their platforms. iOS users will have the hardest difficulty as iPhone's iOS is one of the most restrictive app stores already. Android users, on the other hand, have significantly far more options with third-party app stores that they can download.

If this does come to pass, Elon Musk will be hit hard,  but with a driving force of many fans and political dissidents who are tired of Apple and Google, along with mainstream propaganda, there are many that are hoping for Elon Musk to release a phone anyways. 

There is a primary option that Elon Musk can take if he does release a phone. He may use the Tesla brand to release a phone using Android OS (an open-source operating system), which instantly makes his phone compatible with all the apps created on the Google Play Store. Along with the "Tesla Phone", he can create a digital app store that competes directly with the Google Play Store and may offer even more competitive profit-sharing opportunities. 

Elon Musk must be careful, Jeff Bezos Amazon has also tried to enter the fray with the Amazon Fire Phone which didn't perform to expectations, but the Amazon Fire HD Tablet still is available for sale today.

How do you feel about the possibility of seeing a "Tesla Phone" with its own application store reaching the market?

Liberty Is Under Attack

Liberty is under attack in the United States as many people are calling for vaccine passports and other authoritarian mandates for the Covid-19 virus and its variants. Sometimes under pressure, the public is prone to giving up their liberties for some level of feeling secure, which can lead to tyranny in the end. 

People took the opportunity during the pandemic to learn to become self-sufficient. Yet, the government wants to limit your growth with lockdowns. The powers that control this nation want to fundamentally change what we view as normal and acceptable in society. 

Mainstream narratives would convince the public to discriminate against the unvaccinated people and deem it acceptable to push legislation that segregates these people for the sake of public safety. It has been in practice in history with other harmful diseases, except the level of government control will likely become progressively more severe. We take a stand to protect our communities from strict government overreach and support people who have the right to choose to wear a mask or get vaccinated. We continue to defend liberty.

Black Lives Matter Isn't About Social Justice

OPINION - Black Lives Matter, as a movement, has been notorious for claiming to be the fighters for social justice in the black community, however, these groups are demanding far more than what they deserve, while also bringing havoc to some communities across this great nation.

Black Lives Matter has been around protesting for almost a decade already. There are numerous examples from the Michael Brown incident to the recent George Floyd riots. It stemmed from accusations of police brutality where individuals, who may have done criminal activity in the past, were, in some people's eyes, mistreated by law enforcement. In some of these cases, the one they protested for ended up being killed at the hands of police officers. These individual cases are then shared throughout social media before the truth comes to the public, and protests ignite where some of them have ended in destruction and death. Quickly, Latinos, and Hispanics, with other Americans take to the streets in what they call "solidarity".

Black Lives Matter, the movement, is very impulsive with their opposition. Their calls for justice are well-intentioned but surrounded by rhetoric that makes it seem as if the police are the problem. Police and authority figures who promote unjust laws that criminalize everyday actions, yes, that's very much a problem; That is only one place where I can sympathize with Black Lives Matter. Yet the destruction that has brought Portland, Oregon to its knees is a shining example - a bright example - of "flaming passion" that I cannot support. Looking at Black Lives Matter's reign of destruction throughout the country, from my perspective here in Florida, shows me that the real threat to our society and minorities isn't the police, even though they do need improvement, it is Black Lives Matter itself and racial organizations that reject American values - libertarian values.

Many minority businesses and minority communities have been affected by Black Lives Matter violence. Although they claim to fight for these communities, mostly Black communities, they ultimately destroy the chances that people had to improve themselves locally regardless of their race, religion, or ethnicity. The Black Lives Matter organization itself has been very vocal about its opposition to American values and focuses on fighting "systemic racism" with what I perceive as more racism. They don't focus on improving the economic and social liberty of minorities as a whole. The calls to defund the police are admirable, but Black Lives Matter does not want that wealth to return to the pockets of hard-working citizens, instead, they prefer more welfare for failed social programs that hurt minority communities. Perhaps, they may want that money to make victims out of habitual violent criminals who have served as a liability not only to their communities but the country.

There's a lot to be said about improving policing in America. Yet, the riots throughout the country are not justified. Black Lives Matter, including the general community, and the organization, seem very opposed to the ideals that made this country great. They seem to be opposed to the nuclear family, and free speech - they are opposed to liberty. Black Lives Matter isn't about social justice; Black Lives Matter is about envy, jealousy, and victimization.

Cuban-Owned Restaurant 'Threatened' By Black Lives Matter Protesters

A Latino-owned restaurant of Cuban refugees in Louisville, Kentucky was harassed by Black Lives Matter supporters who made demands that the business must sign a contract to pay primarily black organizations a monthly fee and officially declare that they will increase the number of black employees to reflect the demographics of the city. They have also made numerous other demands in their 'contract'.

La Bodeguita De Mima, the Cuban-owned restaurant, received demands from local Black Lives Matter supporters such as maintaining that roughly 23% of their employees are black and they included to increase the representation of black products by the same proportional amount. The demands from Black Lives Matter have also included that the restaurant pay organizations like Black Lives Matter 1.5% of their monthly profits if they don't meet the targeted representation numbers. The protesters have set their deadline for their demands for August 17, 2020. There are also many other demands made by the protesters which include further 'protests' at the establishments who do not sign the contract.

Fernando Martinez, a partner of the Ol Restaurant Group who owns the La Bodeguita de Mima and Taco Luchador, publicly rejected the demands made by the Black Lives Matter local group. Martinez labeled the demands as "mafia tactics". Many supporters of the Latino-owned business have also voiced their concerns and also have rejected the demands from BLM activists. Fernando Martinez and associates feeling threatened by these demands have replied to protesters that "La Bodeguita is open to everybody." He stated, "How can I be called a bigot and a racist when my family is Black? When my son is gay?" Martinez, who escaped Cuba to come to the United States, could not believe that he would be under this level of scrutiny after all that he has experienced.

Sadiqa Reynolds, the CEO of the Louisville Urban League and one of many voices who have supported the protests against the restaurant, has made multiple public statements on behalf of the local BLM community and dismisses their statements.

This business stood up against the protesters as other local businesses agree to the demands. Talesha Wilson, a local activist who also assisted in writing the list of demands, says she believes that it was a "temper tantrum that could have been solved by a conversation." It is expected that they will be boycotting the organization as protests pick up against the restaurant owner. 

China Leaks US Diplomat's Private Information Amid Hong Kong Protests

As protests in Hong Kong persists over China slowly encroaching on Hong Kong's relative sovereignty, which will last until 2047, Pro-Beijing media outlets leaning with the Communist Party of China have recently disclosed private information of a US Diplomat, Julie Eadeh, amid tensions coming from the trade war and accusations of foreign manipulation regarding these protests.

Ta Kung Pao, a pro-Beijing newspaper, published images of protesters meeting with Julie Eadeh in a hotel on Thursday (August 8th, 2019), while also disclosing Eadeh's private information such as information of her personal career, and the names of her husband and her children, which triggered a strong response from the US State Department claiming that China is engaging in "thuggish" behavior. Julie Eadeh is a political section chief working for the US Consulate in Hong Kong.  The report by Ta Kung Pao circulated throughout Chinese state media as China continues to accuse the United States and the CIA of encouraging a "color revolution" to destabilize relations between Hong Kong's people and Beijing's rule. China's foreign ministry has accused the US of direct involvement in the Hong Kong protests calling it a "creation of the United States".

Chinese state media has also targeted Joshua Wong, a known protestor who was released from jail after he was arrested back in 2014 for participating in pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, while also accusing him of foreign manipulation. On Facebook, Wong has disclosed that he did meet with US officials but has dismissed accusations of foreign manipulation regarding the recent leaks. He said within a post on Facebook, "In the past, I've also visited Washington and communicated directly with U.S. Lawmakers," he continues, "This meeting is nothing special."

The protests in Hong Kong have gone on for 9 consecutive weeks with no sign of dissolving. Trump has also made a recent announcement that "We are not ready to make a deal" regarding trade with China and Huawei.

Social Media Is The Savior and Destroyer of Free Speech

OPINION - Social media is engraved in most of our lives here in the west. It serves to share valuable information across the globe and helps inform others of movements, or disasters occurring even in remote places in the world, but now it seems that social media companies have taken a step back and are willing to suppress certain forms of speech to protect their "image".

Social media can be seen as the savior of free speech in places where governments heavily restrict internet access and where residents break the law to circumvent any censorship their government pushes. In the 'west' we have benefited greatly from the ease of transfer of information but it seems now that many social media companies like Twitter and Facebook have their own agenda when they enforce their terms of service. Of course, individual companies are free and should be free to maintain their website as they please and they have every right to restrict any of us from accessing and posting on their site, however, I would like to bring into question the practices that some of these companies commit to.

Social Media Targeting Conservatives

Over the past few years we've had conservative groups complaining that they have been censored on social media; I too have been suspended before (some were justified suspensions and others have me scratching my head) and I'm nothing compared to a typical conservative American. Some on the left have made complaints as well but overwhelmingly it seems that Republicans or right-wing social media influencers have been targeted by Facebook and Twitter. Both of these companies maintain that they are just trying to control the amount of hate speech on the platform but they eagerly are willing to silence conservative voices or voices who don't follow the post-modern 'progressive' idealism. They push for policies that directly confront traditional ideals such as two-genderism and national identity where people can be accused of being bigots or racists just for simply having an opposing opinion. It's a dangerous slippery slope and it has caused an exodus of free-thinking individuals, and right-wingers to flee traditional media sites.

The accusations by the left of Trump-Russian collusion has flooded the mainstream political field when it was a hot topic but still, to this day the treatment and censorship of conservative voices on these sites have yet to be condemned by the left. Some social media influencers like Timcast and Joe Rogan have confronted Twitter officials (Vijaya Gadde and Jack Dorsey) on this very issue, but many within the community were not satisfied with the executive's disconnected comments about how they manage their site. Social media has served a purpose in the election cycle, but this brings into question the possible motives individual corporations have when sharing valuable information. Facebook and Twitter are acting and pretending as if they are the arbiters of truth and that they should be trusted by the community at large, but so far they have defended social media accounts who consistently get things wrong or who actively break their own TOS, like Carlos Maza (who has called for political violence against conservatives). Social media is the savior for most people but now it seems that social media is going to destroy the very thing we cherish the most, our right to free speech.

Today keywords and phrases are triggers for bots created by these corporations who seem to flag users with impunity. Not only this but overzealous social media users also feel as if it is their duty to report content that they are personally offended by which continues creating a headache for major corporations. At the end of the day, we cannot rely solely on one social media website to share information and to communicate with our friends given how sensitive this digital world has gotten. It's better for us to diversify as journalists, and if we are regular users, its better to find and use social media sites that defend free speech, not suppress it.

Look For Alternatives

If people are truly concerned about being suppressed by social media actors then they should disconnect from the web, and if that's out of the question then the next best thing is to find alternative sites. Centralized alternatives are becoming more popular, sites like MeWe are examples of this, but they are still centralized businesses who likely will eventually have their own agendas or be subjected to ridiculous censorship rules. The only real alternative for people who want to protect their free speech is to depend on blockchain technology and promote that technology to their friends in order for them to fully adopt them and incorporate it into their lives.

The 'ANTIFA' Are Against Free Speech

OPINION - The Anti-Fascists, or ANTIFA, are notorious for being against free speech while claiming to be champions of decentralized democracy and liberty.

I've noticed over the years researching the ANTIFA movement, and their "decentralized" mobilization of violent attacks against opposing protestors and journalists, that they truly are against free speech. I'm not one to defend racists or ethnicists and sexists but given the circumstances and looking at this issue from a purely free speech perspective, the ANTIFA movement are adamant in shutting down opposing views, with unjustified violence. Since I am Latino with mixed blood thanks to my ancestors, and I am one who also supports the LGBTQ community, I feel as if there is a need for me to be vocal about how dangerous the ANTIFA are when they demand individuals to be deplatformed simply because they disagree with someone else. The ANTIFA don't really care about minorities and lots of times its primarily white ANTIFA members who try to speak for minorities and when a minority speaks out against their rhetoric, they (ANTIFA) smear any individual and threaten them with violence, even if they are minorities. It's pretty sickening to say the least, especially when they believe they speak for me and the Latino community, among other communities.

I am against racism, however, I am not against individuals speaking freely. If an individual wants to carry themselves as a racist then so be it, it doesn't have any effect on me until that individual gets into a seat of power where they can use their racism to attack minorities or races and ethnicities that are not of their own. This is where I and the ANTIFA don't see eye to eye, it's purely a free speech issue. I'm first and foremost not afraid to speak out but I know that eventually when ANTIFA members see this they will likely demand tech giants to deplatform me from various social networks for calling them out.

The ANTIFA are not arbiters of truth, and for certain they would be the first to demand the government to use its power to steal from and tax blacks and Latinos because of their utopian world view simply because of a disagreement. As a hyper-capitalist, the ANTIFA movement is just a band of unsuccessful people blaming the world and the "system" for their own lack of ambition. I am certain that the ANTIFA will continue attacking free speech activists and will eventually oppose me as well. The ANTIFA do not care about the rights or the freedoms of individuals, they will smear white people and belittle Latinos and blacks who oppose their views. They cannot be trusted at the end of the day.

Ocala Local Artist Jun Jun Arrested: Alleged Shooting Threat In Lyrics

Local Ocala musician, Christopher "Jun Jun" Mccallum, 27, arrested for allegedly threatening to shoot up a school in a social media still-video on Facebook. The video contained music and charged lyrics from his song.

"Jun Jun" faces a $50,000 bond after he was arrested for allegedly posting social media threats about a rival gang from Gainesville on Facebook. These threats contained a line that was highlighted by the authorities, "catch you at a Gator game and shoot the whole campus up". Suggesting that he and others would go to a University of Florida's Gators game to commit a shooting. This was considered a major concern for local authorities due to gang violence in the area. They suspect that a next major event where another rapper, Keyanta "Yungeen Ace" Bullard, will be where a major conflict may be held between these rival gangs, as there has been a conflict before.

Background for Bullard, Yungeen Ace was the sole survivor of a quadruple shooting on Town Center Parkway, in Jacksonville, FL in June 2018.

The specific bar (Viewer Discretion is advised, contains strong language):

"It was some whole-shit but since you want to amp it up

catch you at a Gator game and shoot the whole campus up"

Continues...

"He aint a shooter he don't even know if his gun works
Don't let me catch you at that Yungeen Ace Concert"

The song, with no official name ("Untitled"), was prepared seemingly without many filters, giving the impression that it could have been an improvisation or a quickly prepared track. Others songs of his were of a different quality than the recording seen above. The lyrics in the video suggest a long time conflict between these groups and specific people. It includes a long struggle not just the violence, but the growing of violence between the two gangs and an alleged territory battle.  McAllum made a post on social media stating that he was in jail:

"...Gville put the police on me about a song but no worries...God got me..."

-Christopher McAllum

Social Media commenters suggested to McCallum to legally protect himself and counter sue. Most are very supportive of him, with a few exceptions. This case is highlighting major free speech concerns such as when the FCC and parents sued and fined Eminem and radios stations for sharing his controversial music that contained descriptive violence and inappropriate lyrics. Another example from when another well-known artist, Snoop Dogg, came under fire for depicting the president being shot by him with a fake gun in a live-action dramatized music video. Some Free speech advocates have come in defense of Jun Jun among other artists citing freedom of speech rights regardless of their history or the personal character of the artist.

This is another one of Jun Jun's tracks that is currently available on YouTube.

You can follow his Instagram below!

View this post on Instagram

#GangGang👌🏾🤙🏾💯

A post shared by Jun Jun Mccallum (@junjunmccallum) on Oct 3, 2017 at 6:16pm PDT

Social Media Attacking Libertarians?

Lately, there has been a lot of breaking news where libertarians, and conservative minded groups have been targeted by major social media networks such as Facebook, Twitter, and video hosting site, Youtube.

Donald Trump Threatens Shutdown Over Illegals | Read more...

Alex Jones, a prominent conservative conspiracist throughout the web, has had his Facebook page struck down, along with his YouTube account, and also his accounts at Spotify and Apple have been banned from sharing/selling content. Many of these sites are citing breaches of their Terms of Service (ToS), which many people within the community call it a farce and see that Jones' is being unjustly censored. Others believe, Jones being kicked off is justified to how he carries himself and how he fabricates lies about famous people and politicians with so called "evidence" for their 'crimes'. They claim he slanders and smears people's name for his own personal benefit, in order to sell merchandise to grow his business based off fear mongering. It should be noted that Alex Jones still has his Infowars app available on the Android App Store, and his Google+ page is still active (for now), and that this was not a total ban from Google products, but from YouTube itself and possibly for audio content (podcasts).  People have their own viewpoints in regards to Alex Jones, but some others that are affected by these mass suspensions are very much so undeserving of this punishment.

Other than the major backlash against Alex Jones on other sites, Twitter hasn't made any major particular moves other than "shadowbanning certain people". However, there seems to be a purge with lots of people being suspended in a short amount of time, which those affected are more often than not conservative, or libertarian leaning individuals. Twitter has suspended prominent libertarian speakers such as the Director of the Ron Paul Institute, Daniel McAdams. Many in the libertarian community are scratching their heads as to what McAdams could have done on Twitter, which would constitute a ban.

Overall, this entire situation goes on a case by case basis, and we all must accept and acknowledge that these social media sites have every right to regulate the news feed so that it may allow for family friendly content to be promoted within the algorithm as they see fit. Yet, we must also know that we are free to criticize these corporations for their actions, and very much so seek alternatives. Whether you view their bans or suspensions as justified or not, there are underlying questions that people may need to ponder on in the future: Should we allow powerful technocrats the power to regulate our newsfeed and control what we see on their platforms? We all make a choice with each packet we download, and our bandwidth IS our voting power in the online world. Perhaps, we should be throwing our support and time behind corporations that actually respect freedom of speech and whom are not going to silence people for their political beliefs.