Facebook
is hoping that a new alliance with the Atlantic Council — a leading
geopolitical strategy think-tank seen as a de facto PR agency for the
U.S. government and NATO military alliance – will not only solve
its “fake news” and “disinformation” controversy, but will
also help the social media monolith play “a positive role” in
ensuring democracy on a global level.
The new
partnership will effectively ensure that Atlantic Council will serve
as Facebook’s “eyes and ears,” according to a company press
statement. With its leadership comprised of retired military
officers, former policymakers, and top figures from the U.S. National
Security State and Western business elites, the Atlantic Council’s
role policing the social network should be viewed as a virtual
takeover of Facebook by the imperialist state and the council’s
extensive list of ultra-wealthy and corporate donors.
The
partnership is only the latest in a steady stream of announced plans
by the Menlo Park, California-based company to address controversy
surrounding its role in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. The
company has been mired in scandal stemming from the allegations of
“election interference” carried out through the social network –
usually pinned on the Russian government and ranging from the use of
independent media to the theft of Facebook user data by political
consultancy firm Cambridge Analytica.
The
announcement should sound alarm bells when one considers the Atlantic
Council’s list of sponsors – including, but not limited to,
war-profiteering defense contractors; agencies aligned with
Washington and the Pentagon; Gulf Arab tyrants; major transnational
corporations; and such well-loved Western philanthropic brands as
Carnegie, Koch, Rockefeller, and Soros. Even the name of the group
itself is meant to evoke the North Atlantic Council, the highest
political decision-making body of North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
Full
report:
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