Bonum Certa Men Certa

For Reporting Accuracy Labels Should Not Matter as Much as Style and Track Record



"Gates's keepers" are mostly publishers that are being paid directly by Bill Gates (e.g. BBC, PBS, NPR, Guardian and hundreds if not thousands more all around the world)

"In January of 1994, Waggener Edstrom began recruiting 100 key editors, 32 analysts, and 150 third-party vendors for the Windows 95 bandwagon. Lining up the national media and the business press was easy. Edstrom had been massaging those relationships for over a decade, sending flowers and cartoons and reminding editors of their spouses' birthdays and wedding anniversaries, earning her "Gates's keeper" reputation. Not only would these people tout Windows 95, they would also be more inclined to show sympathy for Microsoft when competitors started ragging them."

--Barbarians Led by Bill Gates, a book composed
by the daughter of Microsoft's Pam Edstrom



Summary: A reminder that what you read in corporate or mainstream media is mostly paid for, not by those looking to inform the population but those striving to indoctrinate (or misinform) it for personal gain

THIRTEEN years ago I put "freelance journalist" in my E-mail signature because I was paid to contribute to an online publication, where I habitually published articles about GNU/Linux. Some of these are still formally referenced in Wikipedia.



Years later I came to realise the misuse of this label to imply that only those salaried to write -- usually by some privileged media barons -- have legitimacy. It is a form of gate-keeping (for those who aren't familiar with the concept, look it up in a credible source, not necessarily composed by a so-called 'journalist').

"All Microsoft has to do is pay the publication (e.g. for advertising) and almost immediately the editor would feel reluctant to publish anything at all that can make Microsoft grumpy."Narratives have long been guarded by a culture of censorship, which in due course begets self-censorship. If words you write aren't removed by the editor (either with reprimanding words or silence), you may write more of the same. Otherwise, you'd stop expressing particular points of view (or risk removal). When it comes to potential journalists there's an overabundance of people willing to write, even underpaid and overworked. So it's very competitive. Sooner or later people may realise that opportunities open up when one writes fluff and puff pieces praising the interests of media owners and perpetuating their wills (and ills).

Now, speaking for myself, in past years I wrote about my experiences, which included censorship for Microsoft. Other writers told me similar stories. All Microsoft has to do is pay the publication (e.g. for advertising) and almost immediately the editor would feel reluctant to publish anything at all that can make Microsoft grumpy. The editor frowns when Microsoft frowns. When safeguarding the business interests of a publication is securing one's bread and butter certain writers with particular views become undesirable. They just don't help attract advertisers. We wrote a great deal about this in relation to the Linux Foundation, which hired a Microsofter to speak for it. From Microsoft and a Microsoft-leaning tabloid he came to become the mouth of something called "Linux" Foundation. Amazing, isn't it? And who in today's "Linux" Foundation would dare say something even remotely negative about Microsoft?

One might joke that the extensive list of "Linux" Foundation members is a list of companies that paid not to be criticised (amongst other things).

"One might joke that the extensive list of "Linux" Foundation members is a list of companies that paid not to be criticised (amongst other things)."Going back to the original point, don't be mesmerised by labels like "journalist"; they're designed to belittle those not salaried by Power. They help maintain an orthodoxy that is often false, e.g. that the only choices one has for hosting is Google or Amazon or Microsoft. Or that every developer needs to have an account in GitHub (proprietary software) and only senile people will reject or refuse to 'own' (rent and carry) a so-called 'smart' phone, which as we're seeing these days is little more than a tracking/surveillance device. Google is about to force-feed the spying. For "health" and for "safety" of course!

Over the years I spoke to a lot of people who covered European Patent Office (EPO) scandals. I even met some in person. I saw some of them sort of 'canceled' for being bold enough to not be a mouthpiece of this glorified criminal, who decided to ban Techrights as far as he could (every single computer in the EPO). Of course António Campinos does the same thing; he's the best phony alive in Munich (though he's probably in Portugal right now).

We're hoping to have more writers soon. We hope to coach more sceptical/critical thinkers, who would stick around and share the sobering reality about software ethics -- an issue that corporate media has long shied away from as if ethics are only for "hippies" and "radicals" (whereas large businesses which plunder the treasury or rob the taxpayers for shareholders' buybacks aren't radical at all).

"We're also under attack, both DDOS attacks and attacks on the credibility of pertinent facts we've published."If we make good use of this whole lock-down period, then our site will be systemd-free (the databases already are), we'll have more writers, and our productivity will go up sharply. Right now we're in transition. We're also under attack, both DDOS attacks and attacks on the credibility of pertinent facts we've published.

We've meanwhile noticed that Microsoft and Gates again 'enlisted' Enderle for some modern propaganda campaigns; Microsoft and Gates throw money around at alarming rates, granting that money to various key publishers for their lies to be published (buying legitimacy) and since media companies are generally cash-strapped they'd do anything to appease such sponsors (sometimes with disclosure, sometimes without). Don't be so easily fooled. The "Linux" Foundation has just announced the next stage of its GitHub-leaning proprietary nonsense and Microsoft meanwhile pretends there's something "Free" about its proprietary prison that it loses money on. Guess to what degree media played along, especially media which by its very own admission got paid to play along...

Recent Techrights' Posts

With 9 Mentions of Azure In Its Latest Blog Post, Canonical is Again Promoting Microsoft and Intel Vendor Lock-in, Surveillance, Back Doors, Considerable Power Waste, and Defects That Cannot be Fixed
Microsoft did not even have to buy Canonical (for Canonical to act like it happened)
Links 28/03/2024: GAFAM Replacing Full-Time Workers With Interns Now
Links for the day
Consent & Debian's illegitimate constitution
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
The Time Our Server Host Died in a Car Accident
If Debian has internal problems, then they need to be illuminated and then tackled, at the very least in order to ensure we do not end up with "Deadian"
China's New 'IT' Rules Are a Massive Headache for Microsoft
On the issue of China we're neutral except when it comes to human rights issues
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, March 27, 2024
IRC logs for Wednesday, March 27, 2024
WeMakeFedora.org: harassment decision, victory for volunteers and Fedora Foundations
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Links 27/03/2024: Terrorism Grows in Africa, Unemployment in Finland Rose Sharply in a Year, Chinese Aggression Escalates
Links for the day
Links 27/03/2024: Ericsson and Tencent Layoffs
Links for the day
Amid Online Reports of XBox Sales Collapsing, Mass Layoffs in More Teams, and Windows Making Things Worse (Admission of Losses, Rumours About XBox Canceled as a Hardware Unit)...
Windows has loads of issues, also as a gaming platform
Links 27/03/2024: BBC Resorts to CG Cruft, Akamai Blocking Blunders in Piracy Shield
Links for the day
Android Approaches 90% of the Operating Systems Market in Chad (Windows Down From 99.5% 15 Years Ago to Just 2.5% Right Now)
Windows is down to about 2% on the Web-connected client side as measured by statCounter
Sainsbury's: Let Them Eat Yoghurts (and Microsoft Downtimes When They Need Proper Food)
a social control media 'scandal' this week
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, March 26, 2024
IRC logs for Tuesday, March 26, 2024
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
Windows/Client at Microsoft Falling Sharply (Well Over 10% Decline Every Quarter), So For His Next Trick the Ponzi in Chief Merges Units, Spices Everything Up With "AI"
Hiding the steep decline of Windows/Client at Microsoft?
Free technology in housing and construction
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
We Need Open Standards With Free Software Implementations, Not "Interoperability" Alone
Sadly we're confronting misguided managers and a bunch of clowns trying to herd us all - sometimes without consent - into "clown computing"
Microsoft's Collapse in the Web Server Space Continued This Month
Microsoft is the "2%", just like Windows in some countries
Links 26/03/2024: Inflation Problems, Strikes in Finland
Links for the day
Gemini Links 26/03/2024: Losing Children, Carbon Tax Discussed
Links for the day
Mark Shuttleworth resigns from Debian: volunteer suicide and Albania questions unanswered, mass resignations continue
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Links 26/03/2024: 6,000 Layoffs at Dell, Microsoft “XBox is in Real Trouble as a Hardware Manufacturer”
Links for the day
Gemini Links 26/03/2024: Microsofters Still Trying to 'Extend' Gemini Protocol
Links for the day
Look What IBM's Red Hat is Turning CentOS Into
For 17 years our site ran on CentOS. Thankfully we're done with that...
The Julian Paul Assange Verdict: The High Court Has Granted Assange Leave to Appeal Extradition to the United States, Decision Adjourned to May 20th Pending Assurances
The decision is out
The Microsoft and Apple Antitrust Issues Have Some But Not Many Commonalities
gist of the comparison to Microsoft
ZDNet, Sponsored by Microsoft for Paid-for Propaganda (in 'Article' Clothing), Has Added Pop-Up or Overlay to All Pages, Saying "813 Partners Will Store and Access Information on Your Device"
Avoiding ZDNet may become imperative given what it has turned into
Julian Assange Verdict 3 Hours Away
Their decision is due to be published at 1030 GMT
People Who Cover Suicide Aren't Suicidal
Assange didn't just "deteriorate". This deterioration was involuntary and very much imposed upon him.
Overworking Kills
The body usually (but not always) knows best
Former Red Hat Chief (CEO), Who Decided to Leave the Company Earlier This Month, Talks About "Cloud Company Red Hat" to CNBC
shows a lack of foresight and dependence on buzzwords
IRC Proceedings: Monday, March 25, 2024
IRC logs for Monday, March 25, 2024
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
Discord Does Not Make Money, It's Spying on People and Selling Data/Control (38% is Allegedly Controlled by the Communist Party of China)
a considerable share exists
In At Least Two Nations Windows is Now Measured at 2% "Market Share" (Microsoft Really Does Not Want People to Notice That)
Ignore the mindless "AI"-washing
Internet Relay Chat (IRC) Still Has Hundreds of Thousands of Simultaneously-Online Unique Users
The scale of IRC