Bonum Certa Men Certa

The Corporate 'Cancel Culture' Industry — Part V: Hit Piece Gone Wrong?

Series parts:



Video download link | md5sum 9b385543b1b233f778bc7bd121d8a50a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 4.0



Summary: What seemed like an 'explosive' piece in the making seems to have been aborted; we urge the community to be vigilant of corporate shills with an axe to grind, even those who call themselves "journalists" (but lack professional training in journalism)

TODAY'S part, which comes a little later than originally planned (there's no schedule set in stone), is the latest which deals with Linux, the kernel, and the Linux Foundation (LF). We'd like to discuss the problem at hand in more generalised terms and caution people about media patterns suggestive of hatchet jobs 'dressed up' as an act of journalism.



The series started about a fortnight ago or a week before the introduction and some more concrete details [1, 2, 3, 4], culminating in today's video, which is a bit long but at least helps close/conclude the part about Linux. It's not the last part in this series but the last part in a peculiar tale of Linux 'journalism'.

"It's not the last part in this series but the last part in a peculiar tale of Linux 'journalism'."To give a rough gist of the video, some people present themselves as trying to or attempting to genuinely help, even if the underlying agenda is malicious/sinister. They may walk in donning some "concern troll" clothing, but don't be easily charmed, i.e. misled. One person who saw the approaching party cautioned me that they "paint you as a "crazy" person among millions". Over a year ago we saw people approaching Linus Torvalds to help prepare anti-Torvalds pieces. I gave some examples in the video above and even named the 'journalists' at hand; they first pretend to be a friend, then ask very personal questions, then spice up their hatchet jobs with a bunch of quotes, framing the subject of the hit piece as fully cooperative, consenting to the "work".

In an effort to identify the motivation, I was quickly greeted with a strident tone; "he's dodging your question(s)," one person told me, and "he looks like a phony to me..."

Throughout all the videos and this entire series I never (not even once) named the person. He would not be the first person to attempt this and I learned from experience to be a little picky who I respond to and how. In order to see what the motivations are it helps to ask some preceding questions and 'test the waters'. In this case, I quickly noticed the paradox; on the one hand he claimed to be sceptical of LF, but at the same time he justified this splintering of the community. Which side was he really on? He seemed to be trying to interrogate me, not to be in pursuit of actual facts. He decided what the conclusion was, then he started chasing for assorted "tidbits" to support this conclusion. Not hypothesis, conclusion. One can tell he has no background in science. He's not open-minded, either.

"He decided what the conclusion was, then he started chasing for assorted "tidbits" to support this conclusion.""You don't want to become a useful idiot to these people," one person advised me. "IBM and Microsoft have chosen you as their latest high-profile target after LT, RMS, Tso and others..." (Torvalds, Stallman, and a former unofficially-recognised deputy of Torvalds, whom people kept defaming).

This person took note of "ridiculous statements in his first e-mail," calling him a potential "sockbearer" rather than "sockpuppet", and his repertoire of past work was extremely limited. Yet he boasted a lot. To quote the sceptic, "look, I threw some people under the bus, I'm so powerful" (innocent people, too).

One certain gut feeling or instinct said the conclusion might be something to the effect of, "Linux Foundation Announces Plan to Become More Transparent" -- a puff piece with many quotes from "sane" Zemlin with some 'filthy hippies' who are simply jealous because of money. They can spin the reality to make it seem like it boiled down to money, envy. The publicists of Bill Gates have used this kind of spin for decades.

As he did not respond to my suggestion, which was polite, I simply assumed he didn't get me where he wanted me, then bailed out. From what one can gather, he clearly does not use GNU/Linux, nor does he understand it. He can't write code, but he has a degree in history. He sports a vanity page in Wikipedia, possibly written by himself or a peer/friend, exaggerating accomplishments and credentials. Those are red flags.

"In the next few parts we'll take a more holistic view on the issue. It's a lot broader than just a few incidents here and there."I may never know if he's running an interference for Zemlin and some companies, but it does not matter. In the more distant past, each time I responded to Microsoft boosters with a "journalist" hat my words ended up cherry-picked to my disadvantage, lost in the noise of Microsoft talking heads. People who are asking questions in E-mail but end up insisting it be done on the phone (with no transcript available to you)? Why can't a raw interview be done? Why was he trying to "friend" me in Microsoft LinkedIn? Does he not understand how I feel about Microsoft? Can he not read over there that I've not updated that account since 2006?

Either way, I seem to have dodged a bullet there. And I decided to write about it in case other people are similarly targeted. Companies like IBM and Microsoft have endless budget for these things (not even counting front groups of theirs) and the media is generally very hostile towards GNU/Linux as a community.

In the next few parts we'll take a more holistic view on the issue. It's a lot broader than just a few incidents here and there.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Traf-O-Data, the Company That Jeffrey Epstein's BFF (Bill Gates) (Co)Founded 53 Years and Went Out of Business Due to Heavy Losses
Who will die first, Bill or Microsoft?
A Note on SimilarWeb
Or why SimilarWeb is meaningless for more than 99% of the sites on the Web
IBM Said to be Shutting Down Offices or Sites in the United States
the press can no longer avoid admitting that IBM moves many jobs to India
LLM Slop as Attack Vector on the Reputation of Linux
The attacks on Linux have escalated to information warfare
 
Techrights Has Dealt With More Potent SLAPPs Than Violent Microsofters Begging to Hide What They Did to Women
I became accustomed to SLAPPs
Links 04/04/2025: Fury in South Korea, Flight MH370 Remains Mystery
Links for the day
Gemini Links 04/04/2025: Anger and Raspberry Pi CM4
Links for the day
Links 04/04/2025: LLM Slop Bubble Bursting and Korea Music Copyright Association Bans Slop 'Music'
Links for the day
Why Microsoft's Shares Sank Almost 20% in Recent Months (the Bubble is Imploding)
verified press reports from the past 24 hours
GNU/Linux Rises to Almost 5% in Algeria While Windows Sinks to All-Time Low
GNU/Linux grew tenfold
Where to Get More Gags
A valued reader recommended that to us
Links 04/04/2025: Tech Stock (Inc. GAFAM) Fall, Google Pretends to Do End-to-End Encrypted Emails (With Google in Control)
Links for the day
To Participate in Fedora Diversity You Must Use Proprietary Software
Not for the first time either
Yandex About to Be Three Times Bigger Than Microsoft (Bing) in Asia
That's about 60% of the world's population
Gemini Links 04/04/2025: Decoupling Updates, Elaho as Gemini Client
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, April 03, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, April 03, 2025
Microsoft's Trouble in Africa and Asia
A new all-time high for GNU/Linux
Brett Wilson LLP Reported to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA)
The saddest thing in all this is that law firms can maintain high standards shall they wish to
Links 03/04/2025: Tariff Pains and C.D.C. Cuts
Links for the day
StatCounter: Microsoft is Masking a Disaster, It's Way Behind DeepSeek Already and Interest in LLMs Has Waned
it turns out the money "raised" for "Open" "AI" may not even exist at all
Links 03/04/2025: SoftBank Money for Microsoft "Open" "AI" Probably Doesn't Even Exist, Wikimedia Foundation Blasts LLM Nuisance While Microsoft Admits Demand Has Shrunk
Links for the day
Gemini Links 03/04/2025: Patch Panel and Pictures
Links for the day
Islamic Republic of Iran: GNU/Linux at All-time High This Month, Windows Falls to 12%
Vista 10 is up this month despite being "end of life" (EoL) soon
Indonesia: All-Time Highs for GNU/Linux
What's noteworthy right now is the growth of GNU/Linux
statCounter Says GNU/Linux Usage is Up Again (Internationally)
some preliminary April data
Only on April 1st Can the Free Software Foundation Associate With Microsoft's Open Source Initiative (OSI)
We saw some pranks that day linking the FSF to Microsoft (e.g. "endorsing" Windows)
Confirmed in the Mainstream Media: A Lot of Microsoft "Workloads" Were Just LLM Slop (Helping to Fake Growth for Years, as Microsoft Had Paid "Open" "AI" to Become a "Client") and Demand is Rapidly Waning, Datacentres Canceled and/or Shut Down
Anything to facilitate further accounting fraud
Taiwan's Media Covers Closure of Microsoft's "AI" Lab, It's Time to Talk About the Gradual Death of Windows and Implosion of the "AI" Bubble
Earlier this week we showed that mostly Asian media had the 'nerve' to mention Microsoft silently shutting down its 'AI' lab
IBM Gets Rid of Kelly Chambliss as Mass Layoffs Reported in IBM Consulting, IBM Loses Key Contracts/Graft
IBM Consulting has been in disarray lately
More Gains for GNU/Linux, Based on Web Surveys
the Steam site shows rapid growth for "Linux" this month
Slopwatch: Anti-Linux Articles, Not Even Written by Humans
Why aren't Web sites more vocal about this problem?
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, April 02, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, April 02, 2025
Links 03/04/2025: Apple Fined Over Secret Surveillance, "Elegant Writer For A More Civilized Age"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 02/04/2025: Books and Cold Tea
Links for the day
Links 02/04/2025: More Layoffs, Nokia Again Takes Advantage of Illegal and Unconstitutional Patent Court With Nokia Staff as 'Judges'
Links for the day
Links 02/04/2025: Seizures and Returns to Windows of 24 Years Ago
Links for the day
LLM Slop Helps Obscure and Distort News About Layoffs (IBM, GAFAM)
It's hard to find accurate information
Links 02/04/2025: Microsoft Developers Are Threatening to Go on Strike, World Backup Day Noted
Links for the day
Gemini Protocol Has Growing Appeal (the Web Got Too Bloated and Full of LLM Slop)
For any "data plan" with bandwidth limits or "tiers" it would be cheaper to use/browse Geminispace
The Web Can Survive LLM Slop, But Only If We Collectively Shun and Discourage Serial Sloppers
Doing nothing ought not be a possibility
Amid Secret Shut-downs and Mass Layoffs at Microsoft (4 Waves of Layoffs in 3 Months of 2025) Some Microsoft Staff Expected to Go On Strike
workers going on strike
Gemini Links 02/04/2025: No more on Mastodon and Gemini Mention Script in Go
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, April 01, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, April 01, 2025
My Motion Disbarring or “Striking Off” Brett Wilson LLP for Enabling Violent Americans Who Try to Crush Microsoft Critics in the United Kingdom by Multiple SLAPPs
"Guns for hire" (for Microsoft people who received Microsoft salaries)
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Hijacked Again by Patent Litigation Industry, as President Cheeto Prioritises Aggressors
The "mafia" has taken over the "industry" and the Federal system (justice and constitutions trampled upon)
Ubuntu Slop and FUD Manufactured With LLMs and Funded (by Oneself) 'Studies'
Slop and FUD are ruining the Web