TODAY: Bette’s ‘TECHBRO FAFO’ Happy Hour with Heidi and Dietmar
Please register for our Happy Hour today, Sept. 3, noon Pacific, as disinformation analyst Dietmar Pichler joins me in co-hosting an update on France, Brazil, and EU’s sharp moves to take on tech
***Bette members will find the registration link below the paywall. If you are not yet a member and would like to join our community events, please click the green button below. Our Tuesday Happy Hours and Sunday Speakeasy events are open to all levels of membership.***
I am reading a book titled The Gravediggers: The Last Winter of the Weimar Republic, which explains that Germany — “despite its precarious state, was by no means fated to plunge into the abyss.” It was determined by what its leaders did and did not do.
An early passage sent a chill through my bones. The parallels to our current situation could not be more stark.
In 1932, the US ambassador in Berlin wrote to the State Department that Hitler was “one of the greatest show-men since PT Barnum” and Goebbels his “silver-tongued lieutenant.” He called them “indefatigable spellbinders.”
I am glad you are this journey with me as the spell breaks and these show-men are revealed as mere cover for corruption.
TECHBRO FAFO HAPPY HOUR
Today at noon Pacific, Dietmar Pichler is joining me to offer an update on the latest developments in France, Brazil, and the EU, as their enforcement agencies start making big moves to hold tech tycoons, aka, hypemen for fascism, to account.
Here is an excerpt from my report that ran in Byline over the weekend that featured commentary from Dietmar, Jim Stewartson, High Fidelity, and Wes Clark Jr, each of whom helped debunk the lie that this is about free speech — it’s about holding criminals to account.
Byline Supplement subscribers received the full report on Saturday, and Byline’s free subscribers received the full report today.
Clearly, as multiple countries move in on these criminals, it appears they’re getting more dangerous. Musk’s memes are indistinguishable from Trump’s vile posts, and it’s important to understand why we can expect escalation and how we can prepare for it.
As Wes Clark Jr said in our Speakeasy yesterday:
“What you’re seeing is strong states reassert their authority,” he said. “Brazil and France are saying we’re not gonna allow people who will damage our state, twist our elections, and poison our people’s heads — they’re now allowing it. So they’re going after the illegal activities that occurred on Telegram or X. It doesn’t matter how much money you have. A lot of people in tech crave power, and France and Brazil can use their power to shut you down, and put you in jail, and take your money away and block your product and other companies. All the tech bro histrionics in the world is not going to make them back down.”
When I told Wes that I have come to believe the ‘free speech’ argument was always narrative warfare, he said: “That’s because it was all directed from Moscow from the start — it’s just standard Russian propaganda.”
As Dietmar said in my Byline report about the arrest of Telegram’s Russian-born founder, Pavel Durov, in France:
“Telegram has played a significant role in supporting anti-government opposition within authoritarian regimes, such as in Belarus four years ago, while simultaneously becoming one of the main distribution channels for propaganda and disinformation from these same regimes and extremist actors, including conspiracy theorists and even terrorist groups,” said Pichler.
He pointed to former Russian puppet president Dmitry Medvedev’s channel as just one example.
“On his Telegram channel, he advocates for Russia to support Kremlin-friendly parties on both the right and the left, posts maps that depict all of Ukraine as part of Russia, and has called the Olympic Games in France ‘disgusting’ and a ‘disgrace’,” said Pichler, who also noted that Russian propagandists on Telegram have already started painting Durov as an “Assange-like figure”.
He added that “pro-Russian Telegram channels function as a kind of ‘press agency,’ providing fabricated content to ‘alternative media’ and anti-Western outlets worldwide”.
I am looking forward to a vibrant chat about the latest moves to stop the digital arms race before it’s too late.
Details here:
Today, Tuesday, September 3 — Bette’s Happy Hour with Dietmar Pichler, 12 pm PT/3 pm ET
Dietmar Pichler is a Vienna-based disinformation researcher, media literacy educator, and the founder of Disinfo Resilience Network. Please have a listen to RadPod’s interview with Dietmar here.
Happy Hours are open to all levels of membership, and we look forward to meeting new members!
Here are some recent Bette podcast interviews with Dietmar:
Thank you everyone for your support of my work, and thank you to each of you helping grow this vibrant, pro-democracy network.
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REGISTER HERE
Hello Bette Members! 🤍
You are invited to Bette’s Happy Hour zoom event with special guest Dietmar Pichler!
When: Tuesday, September 3, 2024, 12 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Register here in advance for this meeting:
Or cut and paste this link in browser:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMpcOutqjsvEtwgEmYX-5bBRdwPY8kK12vI
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. Please note: Recordings and screenshots by participants are forbidden. As the host, if I choose to record video or audio, guests will be notified in advance.
Thank you so much!
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I have business but will catch up later 🙋🏻♀️