Free Republic

Officers had to form a skirmish line to clear a large mob that vandalized a Metro train, a police car and several businesses in downtown Los Angeles on Saturday night.

Left-wing darling Hasan Piker has been booted from the streaming platform Twitch after he suggested that the killing of two Israeli Embassy diplomats in Washington, DC looked like it could be a “false flag” operation. Piker, 33, claimed his account, which has more than 2.8 million followers, was suspended because of his “critical examination” of the manifesto of suspected terrorist Elias Rodriguez, who was charged with executing embassy staffers Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim outside the Capital Jewish Museum on Wednesday night. He said the attack had all the hallmarks of a “false flag operation,” a term used for an...

Content warning: This story contains references to violence, suicide, child abuse and self-harm. A suicide attempt, depression, substance abuse, insomnia, surveillance, threats. These are just some of the experiences reported by the low-paid moderators tasked with sifting through Facebook and Instagram’s most disturbing images. The tech giant Meta, which owns both platforms, has kept the whereabouts of this operation a closely guarded secret since moving it from Kenya, where the company is facing lawsuits over working conditions and human rights. For months, it has also refused to name the company that won the lucrative contract to provide the content moderators...

The Jalisco State Attorney General's Office denied that Ricardo Ruíz, alias “El Tripa,” a known hitman of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), had ordered the murder, according to early investigations. Authorities stated that, so far, Ruíz Velasco's name does not formally appear in the case file and has not been mentioned in any of the testimonies gathered. Nonetheless, despite the Jalisco Prosecutor's denial, social media users continue to claim that Valeria Márquez had some type of connection to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), and are calling on the authorities in charge of the case to thoroughly investigate any...

A Mexican social media influencer was shot dead during a TikTok livestream, authorities said. Valeria Marquez, 23, who had nearly 200,000 followers on social media, was working at a beauty salon in Zapopan, Jalisco, central Mexico, before the incident on Tuesday. On her TikTok livestream, Marquez was seen seated at a table holding a stuffed toy in front of her. She was heard saying, "They're coming," before a voice off-screen asked, "Hey, Vale?" "Yes," Marquez responded before muting the sound on her livestream. She appeared to be speaking to someone off-camera when she was shot once in the head and...

Twitter allowed Cesar Sayoc, the man who allegedly sent apparent bombs to public figures around the country this month, to post more than 240 threats towards 50 different people on its social network without sanction. Meanwhile, the media managed to temporarily force free speech social network Gab offline after it was revealed that the Tree of Life Pittsburgh Synagogue shooting suspect had an account on the platform. According to CNN, an analysis discovered that “Sayoc tweeted more than 240 threats directed to at least 50 public officials, news organizations and media personalities.” “The threats, and Twitter’s apparent inaction regarding them,...

FBI officials say they are growing increasingly concerned about a loose network of violent predators who befriend teenagers through popular online platforms and then coerce them into escalating sexual and violent behavior -- pushing victims to create graphic pornography, harm family pets, cut themselves with sharp objects, or even die by suicide.

Dear Mr. Musk, As a self-proclaimed champion of free speech and a transformative figure in technology and culture, you have reshaped platforms like X to prioritize open discourse and challenge censorship. Your actions—from acquiring X to amplify diverse voices to defending the First Amendment through initiatives like America PAC—demonstrate a commitment to preserving the “digital town square” as a space for unfettered expression. Today, I urge you to consider a significant donation to FreeRepublic.com, a pioneering website that has stood as a bastion of free speech since 1996, longer than any other platform in history. Here’s why your support could...

The Controversial Use of AI Bots by the University of Zurich to Manipulate Reddit Discourse In a shocking revelation, the University of Zurich has been implicated in a clandestine operation involving the use of artificial intelligence (AI) bots to influence discussions on Reddit since November 2024. This information was brought to light in a recent tweet from the account @reddit_lies, which highlighted the significant impact of these AI bots in swaying the opinions of Reddit users. With claims that these bots were six times more effective at changing minds compared to a baseline, the implications of this discovery raise crucial...

Philadelphia Eagles star Saquon Barkley is telling the haters he has no time for them after a wave of criticism that flowed onto social media because he went golfing with President Donald Trump. Barkley was seen over the weekend at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J., where he hit the links with Trump. The Eagles star was thrilled to tell his fans about his experience, and he even got a ride on the Marine One helicopter in New Jersey. Unsurprisingly, the inevitable haters came out in droves to blast the NFL player for daring to golf with the President...

Meta’s AI-powered chatbots on Facebook and Instagram are able to engage in graphic sex talk with users, even children, with the voices of Disney characters and celebrities, according to a bombshell report. AI using the personas of popular stars like John Cena, Kristen Bell, and Judi Dench were all capable of acting out sick fantasy chat with its users regardless of age, the Wall Street Journal found in tests of the software. The Journal’s testing plumbed the depths that the chatbots would go, including having a fake version of Bell reprise her role as Anna from Disney’s “Frozen” to seduce...

Content creator Misha Agrawal, known for her witty sarcasm and relatable rants, passed away on April 24, just two days before her 25th birthday. Her family confirmed the heartbreaking news on Instagram, though the cause remains undisclosed. Fans and friends are still coming to terms with the loss, amidst widespread disbelief

Meta’s Oversight Board expressed indignation at the social media giant for its January policy overhaul that axed fact-checking and eased restrictions on discussions about immigration and gender identity. The independent oversight board railed against the company for implementing the changes “hastily” with supposedly no transparency about “what, if any, prior human rights due diligence” was performed. Zuckerberg acknowledged that previous content moderation efforts had resulted in “too many mistakes and too much censorship.” President Trump had frequently criticized Facebook during his first term, culminating in his platform suspension following the January 6, 2021, Capitol events — a ban eventually lifted...

Rowling posted a photo of herself celebrating on X after the U.K. Supreme Court did not recognize transgender women as women under the country's Equality Act."The Last of Us" star Pedro Pascal accused author J.K. Rowling of "heinous loser behavior" for her celebratory post following a U.K. court decision that did not recognize transgender women as women. Pascal hit hard at the "Harry Potter" author in the comment section of an Instagram video that called for a total boycott of Rowling's popular franchise. The activist Tariq Raouf posted the video last week criticizing Rowling for “reveling” in the U.K. Supreme...

Under the banner of national security, the Biden administration fused behavioral surveillance with ideological profiling to create a system that was intrusive, biased, and unconstitutional. On April 16, Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) Tulsi Gabbard declassified the Biden-era “Strategic Implementation Plan for Countering Domestic Terrorism.” The release followed an April 2 declassification request from Stephen Miller’ legal organization America First Legal (AFL). While much of the document’s content had been publicly discussed in general terms, the newly declassified version reveals troubling new specifics. The declassified version features language that outlines how the Biden administration planned to operationalize counterterrorism efforts. It...

The police are making more than 30 arrests a day over offensive posts on social media and other platforms. Thousands of people are being detained and questioned for sending messages that cause “annoyance”, “inconvenience” or “anxiety” to others via the internet, telephone or mail. Custody data obtained by The Times shows that officers are making about 12,000 arrests a year under section 127 of the Communications Act 2003 and section 1 of the Malicious Communications Act 1988. The acts make it illegal to cause distress by sending “grossly offensive” messages or sharing content of an “indecent, obscene or menacing character”...

Much Drama as 4chan has been taken down, mods doxxed.

In a recent social media incident, Lauren Young, a Democratic campaign strategist known for her involvement in Hillary Clinton’s campaign, sparked significant controversy with a Facebook post that suggested Iran should target President Donald Trump at his Mar-A-Lago residence. This provocative statement has raised alarms about the implications of such rhetoric and the broader narrative surrounding political discourse in the United States. Background of the Incident Lauren Young’s comments were made public through a tweet by the account Libs of TikTok, which highlighted her suggestion and branded the Democratic Party as "the party of violence." This incident has reignited discussions...

The shooter who killed a student and teacher at a religious school in Wisconsin brought two guns to the school and was in contact with a man in California who authorities say was planning to attack a government building, according to authorities and court documents that became public Wednesday. Police were still investigating why the 15-year-old student at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison shot and killed a fellow student and teacher on Monday before shooting herself, Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said. Two other students who were shot remained in critical condition on Wednesday. “We may never know what...