Gearóid Ó Loingsigh ☭ writing in Substack on 15-January-2025.



Mark Zuckerberg, the right-wing owner of Meta caused quite a stir when he announced that he was terminating his platform’s fact checkers programme and then went even further by announcing that he would also put an end to his companies’ Diversity, Equality and Inclusivity (DEI) initiatives. The decisions were greeted by predictable shrieks of delight and howls of grief in equally predictable quarters, though the shrieking and howling was very much out of place.

Many commentators in the liberal mainstream press stood aghast at the collapse of a carefully constructed narrative that they, in the media, were the guardians and gate keepers of truth, defending civilisation from the hordes of barbarians ready to beat down the gates and put us all to the sword, metaphorically, and in some cases literally so. Amongst more right-wing types, it was claimed that a new dawn of freedom was peeking over the horizon. Neither of these narratives are correct.

The fact checking narrative was not about correcting facts as much as it was about straightening out opinions. Fact checkers became quite popular during Donald Trump’s first run for and winning of the US presidency. He was a man with a penchant for picking figures and facts out of his proverbial like a bank CEO looking for a bailout. Many of Trump’s facts were just straightforward lies, or alternative facts as his spokespeople liked to say, but easy to check. Stuff like the rate of taxation in a given year, imports from or exports to, and amazingly even whether you could drink bleach or not. But Facebook was not busy checking him or even such lies, but rather the political opinions of those the right-wing owner Zuckerberg did not like. Posts were suppressed on the basis of alleged errors of fact, with people being denied the right to opine. The real nature of this censorship was exposed on October 7th. Anti-Zionist posts were suppressed and the algorithms drove readers away from pages critical of Israel.

The idea that Zuckerberg is now in favour of free speech is laughable or that political debate will decline in quality below its already palpably low level is equally risible. It will have no effect on the quality of debate, as there has been little in the way of quality debate for a long time. So long, that reasoned discussion is a skill most do not possess. Pointing to the fact that there is little difference between Trump and his predecessors, that Obama and Biden bombed more countries, more often, than Trump or deported more migrants is ignored by the Reprobates when portraying Trump as strong and ignored by DemoRats who plead their bonafides as genuinely progressive types you can trust.

Likewise, the end of the DEI initiatives is not going to affect the lot of blacks, Hispanics, Asians or other minorities in the workplace. The DEI discourse was never about that. In most countries discrimination was already illegal, but its continuance in practice was not down to the lack of benevolence on the part of the bosses, but the atomisation of workers and weaker unions. Despite all the fanfare from the tech giants, Silicon Valley is uniquely white and male.

However, for many years now we have lived through a tyranny of thought police on the gender debate, the main concern of DEI programmes. So called misgendering has become a crime in some countries like Norway where lesbian actress Tonje Gjevjon faces up to three years in prison for saying “Men cannot be lesbians”,(1) the use of preferred pronouns became obligatory and people were even expected to “voluntarily” use them not only on their social media profiles, but were also mandated to use them in their workplace, work emails, titles and roles, from waiting staff to CEOs he/him, she/her and even ze/zim were to be seen. Those refusing to engage in validating other people’s fantasies and delusions were punished. They lost their jobs, were silenced on social media and were ostracised as the fear of retribution for not playing by the social media rules crept over into the real world, where real people suffered as part of cancel culture. JK Rowling, the billionaire, did not suffer in any material sense, though the psychological toll is another matter. Despite the best attempts of Zionists Norman Finkelstein managed to survive. Meanwhile, waiting staff, office workers, low ranking civil servants, owners of small businesses and others went to the wall.

Whilst these so-called culture wars were raging and the liberal middle and upper class was instructing and lecturing working-class people on what pronouns to use, Israel launched a genocide and the rich became richer. In 2020 Mark Zuckerberg was worth US $54.7 billion but by the end of Biden’s effective reign in 2024, his amassed wealth reached US $177 billion. Pronouns don’t come cheap and are very profitable. In the same period Elon Musk, who didn’t even make the top ten in 2020, rose to second place in 2024 and increased his wealth from US $24.6 billion to US $195 billion in 2024 and Jeff Bezos for his part increased his wealth to US $194 billion,[2] all the while his drivers were pissing into plastic bottles in their vans as they had no time to stop for toilet breaks.[3] But he/she/zee were pleased no one misgendered them as they relieved themselves hurriedly in the back of a van.

One thing is certain, Zuckerberg’s move is a sure sign the wheels have fallen off the trans trolley. Though, Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (AOC), removed her pronouns from her bio last July,[4] in a sure sign a rethink was underway. As gender ideology gasps its last breath, we cannot be sure what will replace it. There will no doubt, despite the claims to free speech be some new unassailable truth for which, deviance from the norm will be punished in some fashion or other. Perhaps, some “unpatriotic” comments will be punished. Not backing whatever war Trump plunges the world into. If criticism of Biden’s war in Ukraine was unacceptable up to now, Trump will have his own wars that cannot be criticised. Israel will continue to enjoy privileged status, amongst the fact checkers, who will not disappear entirely and perhaps criticism of the Zionists comrades in Germany, the AFD will not be tolerated.

This is all smoke and mirrors. Liberals and even some Marxists joined in with Zuckerberg and his woke wars on gender, Ukraine and Israel. The proper thing to do, is to wish and organise for a plague on all their houses.

To answer the question posed in the title of this article. Zuckerberg is not going for broke, this is not a gamble, there is no risk to him or his wealth. This is as sure a bet as going woke once was for him. Only turkeys voting for Xmas ever backed Zuckerberg in his woke drive. Now the same and other fools get another chance to vote for a different Xmas, but one in which they will still be stuffed and roasted to his benefit and that of the capitalist system.

References

[1] Feminist Current (07/01/2023) ‘I am a lesbian who doesn’t believe men can be lesbians: Take me to court’ 

[3] Forbes (24/05/2024) Delivery Drivers Sue Amazon For Being Forced To Pee In Bottles. Katherine Hamilton

[4] Newsweek (14/11/2024) AOC Removes Pronouns From X Bio: What We Know.

⏩ Gearóid Ó Loingsigh is a political and human rights activist with extensive experience in Latin America.

Zuckerberg 🪶 Anti-Woke Money Goes For Broke?

Gearóid Ó Loingsigh ☭ writing in Substack on 15-January-2025.



Mark Zuckerberg, the right-wing owner of Meta caused quite a stir when he announced that he was terminating his platform’s fact checkers programme and then went even further by announcing that he would also put an end to his companies’ Diversity, Equality and Inclusivity (DEI) initiatives. The decisions were greeted by predictable shrieks of delight and howls of grief in equally predictable quarters, though the shrieking and howling was very much out of place.

Many commentators in the liberal mainstream press stood aghast at the collapse of a carefully constructed narrative that they, in the media, were the guardians and gate keepers of truth, defending civilisation from the hordes of barbarians ready to beat down the gates and put us all to the sword, metaphorically, and in some cases literally so. Amongst more right-wing types, it was claimed that a new dawn of freedom was peeking over the horizon. Neither of these narratives are correct.

The fact checking narrative was not about correcting facts as much as it was about straightening out opinions. Fact checkers became quite popular during Donald Trump’s first run for and winning of the US presidency. He was a man with a penchant for picking figures and facts out of his proverbial like a bank CEO looking for a bailout. Many of Trump’s facts were just straightforward lies, or alternative facts as his spokespeople liked to say, but easy to check. Stuff like the rate of taxation in a given year, imports from or exports to, and amazingly even whether you could drink bleach or not. But Facebook was not busy checking him or even such lies, but rather the political opinions of those the right-wing owner Zuckerberg did not like. Posts were suppressed on the basis of alleged errors of fact, with people being denied the right to opine. The real nature of this censorship was exposed on October 7th. Anti-Zionist posts were suppressed and the algorithms drove readers away from pages critical of Israel.

The idea that Zuckerberg is now in favour of free speech is laughable or that political debate will decline in quality below its already palpably low level is equally risible. It will have no effect on the quality of debate, as there has been little in the way of quality debate for a long time. So long, that reasoned discussion is a skill most do not possess. Pointing to the fact that there is little difference between Trump and his predecessors, that Obama and Biden bombed more countries, more often, than Trump or deported more migrants is ignored by the Reprobates when portraying Trump as strong and ignored by DemoRats who plead their bonafides as genuinely progressive types you can trust.

Likewise, the end of the DEI initiatives is not going to affect the lot of blacks, Hispanics, Asians or other minorities in the workplace. The DEI discourse was never about that. In most countries discrimination was already illegal, but its continuance in practice was not down to the lack of benevolence on the part of the bosses, but the atomisation of workers and weaker unions. Despite all the fanfare from the tech giants, Silicon Valley is uniquely white and male.

However, for many years now we have lived through a tyranny of thought police on the gender debate, the main concern of DEI programmes. So called misgendering has become a crime in some countries like Norway where lesbian actress Tonje Gjevjon faces up to three years in prison for saying “Men cannot be lesbians”,(1) the use of preferred pronouns became obligatory and people were even expected to “voluntarily” use them not only on their social media profiles, but were also mandated to use them in their workplace, work emails, titles and roles, from waiting staff to CEOs he/him, she/her and even ze/zim were to be seen. Those refusing to engage in validating other people’s fantasies and delusions were punished. They lost their jobs, were silenced on social media and were ostracised as the fear of retribution for not playing by the social media rules crept over into the real world, where real people suffered as part of cancel culture. JK Rowling, the billionaire, did not suffer in any material sense, though the psychological toll is another matter. Despite the best attempts of Zionists Norman Finkelstein managed to survive. Meanwhile, waiting staff, office workers, low ranking civil servants, owners of small businesses and others went to the wall.

Whilst these so-called culture wars were raging and the liberal middle and upper class was instructing and lecturing working-class people on what pronouns to use, Israel launched a genocide and the rich became richer. In 2020 Mark Zuckerberg was worth US $54.7 billion but by the end of Biden’s effective reign in 2024, his amassed wealth reached US $177 billion. Pronouns don’t come cheap and are very profitable. In the same period Elon Musk, who didn’t even make the top ten in 2020, rose to second place in 2024 and increased his wealth from US $24.6 billion to US $195 billion in 2024 and Jeff Bezos for his part increased his wealth to US $194 billion,[2] all the while his drivers were pissing into plastic bottles in their vans as they had no time to stop for toilet breaks.[3] But he/she/zee were pleased no one misgendered them as they relieved themselves hurriedly in the back of a van.

One thing is certain, Zuckerberg’s move is a sure sign the wheels have fallen off the trans trolley. Though, Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (AOC), removed her pronouns from her bio last July,[4] in a sure sign a rethink was underway. As gender ideology gasps its last breath, we cannot be sure what will replace it. There will no doubt, despite the claims to free speech be some new unassailable truth for which, deviance from the norm will be punished in some fashion or other. Perhaps, some “unpatriotic” comments will be punished. Not backing whatever war Trump plunges the world into. If criticism of Biden’s war in Ukraine was unacceptable up to now, Trump will have his own wars that cannot be criticised. Israel will continue to enjoy privileged status, amongst the fact checkers, who will not disappear entirely and perhaps criticism of the Zionists comrades in Germany, the AFD will not be tolerated.

This is all smoke and mirrors. Liberals and even some Marxists joined in with Zuckerberg and his woke wars on gender, Ukraine and Israel. The proper thing to do, is to wish and organise for a plague on all their houses.

To answer the question posed in the title of this article. Zuckerberg is not going for broke, this is not a gamble, there is no risk to him or his wealth. This is as sure a bet as going woke once was for him. Only turkeys voting for Xmas ever backed Zuckerberg in his woke drive. Now the same and other fools get another chance to vote for a different Xmas, but one in which they will still be stuffed and roasted to his benefit and that of the capitalist system.

References

[1] Feminist Current (07/01/2023) ‘I am a lesbian who doesn’t believe men can be lesbians: Take me to court’ 

[3] Forbes (24/05/2024) Delivery Drivers Sue Amazon For Being Forced To Pee In Bottles. Katherine Hamilton

[4] Newsweek (14/11/2024) AOC Removes Pronouns From X Bio: What We Know.

⏩ Gearóid Ó Loingsigh is a political and human rights activist with extensive experience in Latin America.

2 comments:

  1. It is the Ukrainian people's war against Putin's imperialist aggression not Biden's or anyone else's war.

    ReplyDelete
  2. But he/she/zee were pleased no one misgendered them as they relieved themselves hurriedly in the back of a van.

    which sort of gets to the crux of the issue and loss of any sense of perspective

    ReplyDelete