Bonum Certa Men Certa

Microsoft's Takedown Plot - Part I: When Linux Actually Means Microsoft

Revisionism is a powerful PR tactic

History



Summary: Media manipulation seems to be part of a longterm strategy of Microsoft, with brand dilution at the core of it

THIS mini series deals with a subject covered in two previous posts [1, 2] and this guest post. It's motivated in part by Richard Stallman's (RMS) visit to Microsoft -- an incident which we're sure will be taken out of context and misinterpreted in order to harm Software Freedom.



"It's motivated in part by Richard Stallman's (RMS) visit to Microsoft -- an incident which we're sure will be taken out of context and misinterpreted in order to harm Software Freedom."We decided to give RMS a bit more than one day to respond to our query before going ahead with this long series. It's not just about a Microsoft lecture; but it starts with it. RMS has not responded to me yet (he always does), but I imagine he received a lot of mail over the past couple of days. The FSF hasn't made a statement, either. There's a legitimate concern about lack of transparency surrounding his talk (RMS/FSF usually advertises these in advance). We'll come to this in a moment.

Readers of Techrights, both new ones and longterm/longtime ones (some people have read the site since its birth), have hotly debated the subject, mostly in our IRC channels. The atmosphere surrounding it isn't positive; it's mostly negative. People are not happy. One Techrights reader said he was "very concerned about [issues] such as MS/LF [Linux Foundation] affecting Linux badly. I've just seen on the Trisquel forum that GregKH added Sasha Levin [Microsoft] to the active kernel list then there's another link showing GregKH adding Ben and Sasha's GPG keys."

"We decided to give RMS a bit more than one day to respond to our query before going ahead with this long series."Speaking of the Linux Foundation, and looking at the past ~12 hours' "news", we're seeing more of the same pro-Microsoft agenda. Swapnil's site is still cheering for Microsoft and its abduction of Linux to make proprietary products (example from less than a day ago, akin to this Microsoft surveillance with 'linuxwashing' -- making proprietary software on Azure seem "open" or "cool" or "Linux"). Days ago he spoke about using Xbox and installing Vista 10; this is the sole editor of Linux.com! That's a problem. Swapnil and I used to be friends when he actually promoted Free software. He also did an interview with me for his site (which has changed domain names at least four times). He 'defected' some years back after Microsoft had brainwashed him, perhaps along with some other influences (being associated with the Linux Foundation won't help, will it?). This site used to be called Muktware (Free software), The Mukt and Linux Veda among other names. Now it's pushing proprietary stuff (three examples from yesterday [1, 2, 3]).

Several hours ago Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols published an 'ad' for Microsoft (at ZDNet): "Microsoft hosts first Windows Subsystem for Linux conference"

"Microsoft gleefully distorts the meaning of "Linux" and there are those eager to help it.""Microsoft will be hosting a community conference on the Windows Subsystem for Linux and related technologies in March 2020," he said.

So what?

Microsoft gleefully distorts the meaning of "Linux" and there are those eager to help it. A very short time later this article was promoted by Swapnil in Linux.com. The top of the page now promotes "Linux" as a Microsoft asset (if only they got excited about it not when Microsoft controls it; Swapnil uses Windows).

But it gets worse. This weekend (so far) when you look for "Linux" news you get only Microsoft and Vista 10 news instead (this one shows up too). This is promoted by Linux Foundation associates. Very disturbing.

Hours ago someone asked in our IRC channels: "Why is this the only place that talks about Microsoft being the same."

"This weekend (so far) when you look for "Linux" news you get only Microsoft and Vista 10 news instead..."Notice how nobody in the media (except Techrights) wrote about the Linux.com layoffs! Nobody. Unlike Linux Journal layoffs...

Why are the layoffs of many writers and several editors not newsworthy? They sacked everyone before giving Swapnil the 'keys to the castle' (as sole editor of Linux.com).

This media silence (about Linux.com layoffs) alone makes one wonder...

This isn't normal. It's similar at the EPO by the way. The media refuses to cover the scandals and in some cases the EPO bribed key publishers for it (especially publishers that used to cover some EPO scandals).

Some people's job is to control the story media -- collectively -- tells; a decade back we named the PR agencies that do this for Microsoft. They push puff pieces and pay off those who tell what the clients don't want told. Think of "Microsoft loves Linux". We saw that at the EPO; They singled out 'unwanted' voices and crushed critics, sometimes by intimidation and retribution.

"Some people's job is to control the story media -- collectively -- tells; a decade back we named the PR agencies that do this for Microsoft.""The media is not to be trusted," one person said in IRC a few hours ago (in the context of the Linux Foundation). "It's somebody's agenda they are pushing...for money or other gains."

And "that wasn't always their business model," I responded. "Things changed."

"I have noticed that since the Linus break he took, we don't hear from him," that person continued. "I think they got to him."

We wrote about that many times, e.g. in [1, 2].

Someone needs to speak out. In fact, we can't fight on our own (for the truth) and we need people to spread the word while there are sites that try to suppress it, e.g. by removing links (Hacker News censored a link to a story of ours a few days ago after it had made their front page; it didn't matter that nobody complained about it, which in itself was rather odd). Sure, we don't have money on our side, but truth too is powerful and it ought to be told. We can't fight on our own against all the lies. We try.

As one reader put it a short while ago, "not hearing from Linus makes me uneasy for the Linux Kernel."

Torvalds has done OK for himself, but what started before him in the 1980s is at risk. Sooner or later, unless we do more, people won't be able to use Free/libre operating systems but some awful 'cloud' trap controlled by government/military-connected private sector. ChromeOS is OK by their criteria/standards; it's not about freedom, it's primarily about spying.

"Torvalds has done OK for himself, but what started before him in the 1980s is at risk.""The great thing about Linux is that it's a moving target," one reader said. "Microsoft true colors will soon show."

Microsoft "are really having a department to remove the bad stuff about them," one reader said. Well, they also tried to get me fired -- a subject I mentioned here in the past. They mentioned things that I wrote about them in Techrights (to my boss at work, which is unrelated to Techrights).

"The industry is now after Google in the present and Facebook also," one person noted. "They don't talk about Microsoft. I find that peculiar."

"There's a PR campaign," I responded, and "it's promoted by sites funded by Bill Gates..."

"Microsoft pays people to discredit the privacy of Google," a person said in IRC, whereupon I noted that also professors are paid by Microsoft to do this. It pays them for "letters", for "papers" and so on and that goes back a long way; look up their "Scroogled" PR campaign and various articles we published here a decade ago. A couple of decades ago mainstream media exposed Microsoft as having paid university professors to mention Microsoft trademarks in their lectures.

"A couple of decades ago mainstream media exposed Microsoft as having paid university professors to mention Microsoft trademarks in their lectures."We're sadly moving into a bizarre (not brave) "new world" where Microsoft pops up even in its main competition's sites. Hours ago we stumbled upon this from Linux Academy (scan the page for Microsoft and Azure; this is just wrong... and it's the second time in a few days), this from Mozilla (wasting energy helping to prop up Microsoft's universe of proprietary software... openwashing the 'open core' way) and this from RedHat.com (you expect GNU/Linux news and they give you .NET). These are all examples from the past 24 hours alone! We see more such examples every day.

The next part will deal with how Microsoft now associates itself with Stallman and the FSF (by extension).

Recent Techrights' Posts

There Were Several Waves of Microsoft Shanghai Layoffs in 2025, Western Media Continues to Turn a Blind Eye to Chinese Layoffs of an Epic Scale
Sometimes select Taiwanese news sites (published in English) or automated translations are all we have
Brett Wilson LLP Spreads Trumpism to the United Kingdom, Looking to Profit From 'Legal Colonialism' (Overriding Sovereignty)
There's growing recognition of this conundrum worldwide
Distinguished Lecture by Richard Stallman This Coming Monday in Rome
After "Free software, Crucial for Freedom in a Digital World"
The Lawsuit by Clients of Brett Wilson LLP Against Brett Wilson LLP is Officially On, It is Progressing, The 'Experts' Pick Outside Law Firms (RPC and Mills & Reeve) to Spare Them From Litigants in Person
So it is probably quite potent
The 'Culture Wars' in Free Software Have Gone Out of Control
Social control media amplifies such utterly infantile discourse
Teaser: To Compensate for the Fact Our Clients Are Terrible Human Beings Who Strangle Women (While on Microsoft's Payroll) and We Get Paid by Mystery Parties We Bombard You and Your Wife With Almost 10 Kilograms of Legal Papers
If you can't win an argument, then drown the other side with papers?
Now Confirmed in Western Media: Microsoft Azure Layoffs This Month
Affirmed by more sources moments ago
 
Qualcomm and Manchester United Appear to Have Dumped Microsoft (Qualcomm Now Invests More in Linux, Apparently)
It's a relief to no longer see Microsoft logos and brands on a local football club's gear (I'm not a Manchester United fan, but not a foe either)
As Guest of Honour in Rome, Founder of the Free Software Foundation to Speak ("Distinguished Lecture") After Introduction by Leonardo Querzoni
Happy hacking...
All Things Open is Proprietary
The OSI has become a front group of proprietary software openwashers, led and sponsored by proprietary giants
When Microsoft Lays Off Lots of Workers They Say It "Invests in AI" (a Lie), Now It's "Reshuffles" or "Microsoft Tightens"
Microsoft "news" by bots
"I saw Richard Stallman give a talk in the mid 80s, which began my fear and loathing of software patents" and "Richard Stallman was always right."
"By betraying the legacy of our ancestors, we’ve set ourselves on a path toward self-destruction — moral, intellectual, economic, and ultimately biological."
The Demise of Shopping in Person
In a world like this, how valued is the customer?
We Are Safe in a Modern "Tech" Society, Right?
People are safer if they control their own computing
This Past Friday, "Nearly 700 People Came to Listen to RMS!" (Richard Stallman)
"Nearly 700 people came to listen to RMS!"
Slopwatch: UbuntuPIT Churning Out Plagiarism and the Slopfarm LinuxSecurity Turns to Pseudonyms
Our hunch is, UbuntuPIT will sooner or later realise that this toxic approach is just harming UbuntuPIT and tainting the reputation of past articles
Gemini Links 11/10/2025: Nyctography, Gerrymandering, and Lurking
Links for the day
Links 11/10/2025: World Mental Health Day 2025, Another European Legal Defeat for Microsoft 360
Links for the day
MIT Technology Review is Part-Time SPAMfarm of Billionaires and Mega-Corporations
Does MIT operate its own "b2b" SPAMfarm?
Open Source Initiative Executive Director Leaves, Replacement Sought by Monopolists, Not the Community or OSI Members
Serves to show who runs this show...
Links 11/10/2025: China-US Tensions Grow Again, "Hey Hi" More Widely Recognised as Bubble Made of Capital That Doesn't Exist
Links for the day
Peter O'Callaghan QC represented grandparents, Westernport Hotel, at Liquor Royal Commission
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Either The Register MS Divests From FOSS Coverage or Liam Proven is on Long Holiday
Publishers perish when their audience loses trust in them
Microsoft Cancelling Another Datacentre is a Sign of Financial Trouble and Lack of Growth
The debt continues to grow
Gemini Links 11/10/2025: An Evening at the Fair and Fast Fourier Friday
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, October 10, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, October 10, 2025
Geminispace is Very Large
The word continues to spread and the number of participants grows
Another Wave of Microsoft Layoffs, This Time During National Day Holiday
This time it's China again
10 Out of 10: RMS Attracts Massive Audience in Göteborg, Sweden (All Seats Occupied, Some People Standing)
a 55-second clip of his talk
Staying Happy in Times of Crackdowns on Civil Society
Optimism in this sort of "new reality" or "new normal" seems like something for the irrational person
"Nobel" Exploited Posthumously for "AI" Hype, Now They Do the Same With "Quantum"
ere have been many jokes about "Nobel" for peace (often granted to pro-war people) and a fake one for "Economics" (establishment propaganda)
Slopwatch: Plagiarism and "Linux" Articles by Bots
Sites that do this won't survive; many of them rely on slop services (suppliers) that will cease to exist after the bubble bursts
Links 10/10/2025: Putin Admits Russia Downed Azerbaijan Airlines Jet, More New Heat Records
Links for the day
Noteworthy Claim That IBM is Firing a Lot of Lawyers This Week (RAs in the Legal Department)
A lot of what they do is patent 'trolling' or lawyering up against their own staff (e.g. HR disputes)
Links 10/10/2025: US Judge Bars Attacks by ICE On Journalists and Protesters; “We Took The Freedom of Speech Away” Says the President
Links for the day
Slopwatch: Serial Sloppers, Google News Gifting Slopfarms, and Fake News/Plagiarism About "Linux"
Google itself is a slop pusher these days
Qualcomm, the New Owner of Arduino, Blasted for Its Software Patents Tax on 'Smartphones'
A lot of Qualcomm's patents are on software. We wrote about this in prior years.
XBox Layoffs Rumours, Downtime, and Criticism From XBox Co-Founder
"everyone is ditching the xbox."
Links 10/10/2025: Honoring The Legacy Of Robert Murray-Smith, Many Articles on the Hey Hi (AI) Bubble
Links for the day
Gemini Links 09/10/2025: October Gothic and Reading Middle Earth Role Playing; C and Ada
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, October 09, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, October 09, 2025
Links 09/10/2025: Farewell to Jane Goodall, California Bans Algorithmic Price-Fixing
Links for the day
Gemini Links 09/10/2025: Lost Wages and a Saga Of Continuing To Use Palm PDAs
Links for the day
Richard Stallman's Talk in Helsinki is Done. Tomorrow Göteborg.
There are scarce details in Finnish about Dr. Stallman's talk
New XBox Leaks Probably Serve to Confirm XBox's Collapse (Many More Layoffs)
It's very much consistent with what many other sites have reported lately
The Slop Song
The train wreck marches on
LLM Slop/Advanced Plagiarism Flooding the Zone With Capital That Does Not Exist
Many publishers out there still participate in this bubble instead of calling it what it is
Links 09/10/2025: Sacked Microsoft Workers Make "Sackbird", IBM Taps CockroachDB for PostgreSQL
Links for the day
"Happy Hacking Day" Richard Stallman Talk This Afternoon (From 14:00 to 16:00) at Haaga-Helia University in Pasila
Richard Stallman in Helsinki, Finland
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, October 08, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, October 08, 2025
Links 09/10/2025: Impact of Microsoft Layoffs, More Data Breaches
Links for the day
Gemini Links 09/10/2025: Autumn Blues and C IRC Bot
Links for the day