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If you thought you could easily be anonymous on social media, think again.
Cybersecurity expert Jeff Kosseff warned that people are losing their ability to be anonymous online. He said he thinks “everyone should be concerned about being able to be tracked by companies and by the government and want to figure out a way to avoid that outcome.” Kosseff authored The Twenty-Six Words that Created the Internet and just released a new book titled The United States of Anonymous about First Amendment protections for anonymous speech.
The new book covered the history of anonymous free speech from American colonial writings penned with pseudonyms to online usernames. Kosseff explained how the courts have upheld anonymity as a First Amendment right of speakers who otherwise may have remained silent. Kosseff also explored the challenges of protecting anonymity on social media. “[P]eople don’t realize that data points, even if they don’t contain your name, can identify you,” said Kosseff in an MRC Free Speech America exclusive.
In The United States of Anonymous , Kosseff vividly explained how social media posts can identify users. He recalled a 2015 presentation given by Navy Lt. Zac Dannelly who demonstrated software that could “build geolocation-based profiles” using public social media posts. According to Kosseff, Dannelly used a West Point cadet as an example.
“With a few clicks, Dannelly managed to trace his movements, pinpointing details such as the cadet’s hometown (and, in fact, home address thanks to geolocation tags on his social media posts) and where he visits for vacation,” Kosseff wrote. “All this came not from highly sensitive databases of confidential information, but social media posts and check-ins that the cadet voluntarily provided to the world.”
Kosseff explained to MRC Free Speech America that when users offer multiple pieces of information about themselves “there might only be one person […]
Will America-First News Outlets Make it to 2023?
Things are looking grim for conservative and populist news sites.
There’s something happening behind the scenes at several popular conservative news outlets. 2021 was bad, but 2022 is proving to be disastrous for news sites that aren’t “playing ball” with the corporate media narrative. It’s being said that advertisers are cracking down, forcing some of the biggest ad networks like Google and Yahoo to pull their inventory from conservative outlets. This has had two major effects. First, it has cooled most conservative outlets from discussing “taboo” topics like Pandemic Panic Theater, voter fraud, or The Great Reset. Second, it has isolated those ad networks that aren’t playing ball.
Certain topics are anathema for most ad networks. Speaking out against vaccines or vaccine mandates is a certain path to being demonetized. Highlighting voter fraud in the 2020 and future elections is another instant advertising death penalty. Throw in truthful stories about climate change hysteria, Critical Race Theory, and the border crisis and it’s easy to understand how difficult it is for America-First news outlets to spread the facts, share conservative opinions, and still pay the bills.
Without naming names, I have been told of several news outlets who have been forced to either consolidate with larger organizations or who have backed down on covering certain topics out of fear of being “canceled” by the ad networks. I get it. This is a business for many of us and it’s not very profitable. Those of us who do this for a living are often barely squeaking by, so loss of additional revenue can often mean being forced to make cuts. That means not being able to cover the topics properly. Its a Catch-22: Tell the truth and lose the money necessary to keep telling the truth, or avoid the truth and make enough money to survive. Those who have chosen survival simply aren’t able to spread the truth properly.
We will never avoid the truth. The Lord will provide if it is His will. Our job is simply to share the facts, spread the Gospel, and educate as many Americans as possible while exposing the forces of evil.
To those who have the means, we ask that you please donate. We have options available now, but there is no telling when those options will cancel us. We have our GivingFuel page. There have been many who have been canceled by PayPal, but for now it’s still an option. Your generosity is what keeps these sites running and allows us to get the truth to the masses. We’ve had great success in growing but we know we can do more with your assistance.
Thank you, and God Bless!
JD Rucker