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Sunny Hostin detailed claims of racism from ABC in her new book and shared how the network attempted to have the narrative removed.

Read More: Maryland congressional candidate Kim Klacik accuses The Views Joy Behar of wearing blackface

In the forward for her new memoir, I Am These Truths, the lawyer opened up on the experiences at the network including a racist incident that resulted in the firing of an executive. In June, Huffpost published a report claiming Barbara Fedida, an ABC News executive in charge of talent, made multiple insensitive remarks toward Black network talent such as Robin Roberts, and was the subject of over a dozen human resource complaints.

The Los Angeles Times reported Fedida allegedly used the term low rentto describe Hostin. After an investigation, the executive lost her job, however, the damage was already done. The View co-host used her platform on the show to describe the feeling of being targeted by racist comments.

It was a tough weekend for me, and I was really disappointed and saddened and hurt when I learned about the racist comments that were made, allegedly, about me, my colleagues, and my dear friends, Hostin said. Because, if true, to reference Robin Roberts, who is one of the most respected and beloved journalists in our country, as picking cotton, to reference me, someone whos been very open about having grown up in public housing, as being low rent tells me that systemic racism touches everything and everyone in our society regardless of social stature.

Read More: Sherri Shepherd says The View was the most painful experience Ive ever gone through

Hostin expanded on these feelings in her books forward. Entertainment Tonight reports at the time of the expose, her memoir had already gone to the publisher. She called her agent and decided to add her reality deliberately to the books forward.

Ive got a book coming out. And the book had already gone to the publisher. And I called my agent and I said, Ive got to write about this and I want it to be at the very beginning of the book. Because this is my truth as I sit here today Because this is the truth that Im living right now. And if thats gonna help any woman, help anybody thats going through this during this time in our country, I gotta do it. And he said, You better do it. And I literally wrote that foreword in about 15 to 20 minutes, she said to the outlet.

According to The Daily Beast, she penned claims that she made less than her White counterparts, and initially had a dressing room on a different floor from therest of the cast.

Her proclaimed truth was not told without pushback. Hostin sought legal aid when ABC pushed back against segments of her book.

I was surprised that what was asked of me was to change the truth, to change my story, Hostin remarked on Andy Cohen Live on Monday.

I think its one thing if I got something wrong and, to be clear, they caught things that were wrong. Timing things, and direct quotes that should have been checked more closely. And I appreciated those things, but then they wanted me to change, things like things that I experienced. Discriminatory things, and I just felt that that wasnt fair because the title of the book is I Am These Truths, she continued.

Hostin revealed the racist sentiments in ABCs alleged attempted censorship in the forward.

My television agent and my book agent emailed me to express confusion that a news organization would try to censor a Puerto Rican, African American womans story while they were covering global demonstrations demanding racial equity, the forward stated.

One of them even calculated the percentages of people of color on the executive boards at Disney, ABC Entertainment, and ABC Newsaccording to him those figures ranged from 7 to 12 percent. I asked my attorneys to intervene and thankfully ABC relented. I didnt want to believe that racism played a part in their revision requestswe were just dotting some is and crossing some ts, right?

Beyond the ABC saga, I Am These Truths explores her Puerto Rican and Black upbringing in the Bronx, and her professional journey as a federal prosecutor and journalist. Hostin shared with Bustle she was nervous to pen a memoir and received encouragement from Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor.

When I had [the memoir] in front of me, I constantly had these moments when I realized, Wow, this experience was not great. That was a failure, but I turned that failure into a lesson, which is an important tool, she said to the outlet.

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Read more from the original source:
The View co-host Sunny Hostin accuses ABC of racist censorship - TheGrio

Mark Twain, John Steinbeck and Harper Lee might be three of Americas most beloved authors, but they have all made it on to a list of the countrys 100 most frequently banned and challenged books of the last decade.

Marking the start of Banned Books Week, the American Libraries Association (ALA) has reviewed all of the censorship reports it has received over the last 10 years to come up with the 100 books that readers and parents have most frequently tried to have removed from libraries and schools in the US.

The list is topped by Sherman Alexies The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, which won the Native American author the National Book Award in 2007. About a boy who leaves his school on the Spokane Indian Reservation to attend an all-white high school, Alexies young adult novel has been attacked for reasons including sexual references, profanity, violence, gambling, and underage drinking, and for its religious viewpoint.

EL Jamess Fifty Shades of Grey series, Toni Morrisons The Bluest Eye, Dav Pilkeys Captain Underpants series and Justin Richardson and Peter Parnells picture book about two male penguins raising a chick together, And Tango Makes Three, also make the top 10.

Lees To Kill a Mockingbird is in 15th place, Steinbecks Of Mice and Men 28th, and Twains The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn 33rd. Lees Pulitzer prize-winning novel was challenged over the violence it contains and its use of the N-word; Of Mice and Men drew protests over offensive language, racism [and] violence, and Twains story has long been criticised over its use of racial slurs.

Alison Bechdels Fun Home is in 31st place. The acclaimed graphic memoir about the authors coming out has recently been removed from a Nevada high schools reading list, with free-speech organisations currently calling for it to be reinstated.

The ALA said that the list included books challenged for reasons such as LGBTQ+ content, sexual references, religious viewpoints, content that addresses racism and police brutality, and profanity.

Although the reasons differ, the censorship of literature in libraries shares a common result: the violation of our first amendment rights, said the organisation, whose Office for Intellectual Freedom has been documenting attempts to ban books in libraries and schools for the last 30 years. The OIF estimates that about 82-97% of challenges remain unreported, meaning the list only provides a snapshot of book challenges.

Banned Books Week was launched in the US in 1982, with libraries and bookshops holding a series of events celebrating the right to read mostly virtually this year over the next seven days. Events are also being held in the UK, from a British Library discussion featuring authors including Elif Shafak and Jacqueline Woodson taking on what freedom means in the culture of traditional publishing, and how writers today can change the future of literature, to a Royal Society of Literature look at whose voices are still being censored today.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

Captain Underpants (series) by Dav Pilkey

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

Looking for Alaska by John Green

George by Alex Gino

And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell

Drama by Raina Telgemeier

Fifty Shades of Grey by EL James

Internet Girls (series) by Lauren Myracle

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

I Am Jazz by Jazz Jennings and Jessica Herthel

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Bone (series) by Jeff Smith

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan

A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo by Jill Twiss

Sex Is a Funny Word by Cory Silverberg

Read the original:
American classics among most challenged books of the decade in US - The Guardian

Wilmington StarNews

Is America losing its democracy?

EDITOR: Vote, my friends! Our very lives depend upon it in ways most of us never thought possible. Unless citizens send a resounding "no" to the evil manifest in our current political uproar, American democracy will be gone.Suffocated.Annihilated by an Administration of pervasive, flagrant corruption unlike anything any of us has experienced before.Ever.

The list of injustices, in-your-face lawlessness, irreverence, unmitigated self-seeking, ignorance, and scornful derision, directed both toward individuals and to greater humanity, is far too lengthy for this message.

As a nation, we have lost all global respect. The economic disparity in our nation is severe. Lifestyles have changed during our fight with COVID-19, and we are not winning. Society is splintered and faltering under an egregious lack of responsible leadership.Folks, this is notpatriotism! This is pure power mongering. This is a self-seeking, divisive depravity at the lowest, most unspeakable level.

Today in America, whether you are a Republican, Democrat, or whatever else,for our very survival,we must vote this president outof office.We can work out the details later with civility and integrity.

Katherine R. Moore, Ocean Isle Beach

Who benefits from tax cuts?

In his September 8 column, Cal Thomas writes, The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office reports the Americangovernment will soon reach a debt level equaling its entire gross domestic product. Thomas blames Democrats for the increase, but he fails to mention one major cause: the2017Republican tax cuts. Its not like we didnt see it coming. TheCBOpredicted the cuts would balloon the deficit, and they have.

Why did Thomas fail to mention the tax bill when lamenting our country's dire debt situation?Maybe because he and his Republican friends enthusiastically supported cutting taxes for the wealthiest Americans, asserting the cuts would pay for themselves through trickle-down magic. Thomas says that Democratic President John Kennedy advocated for lower taxes, but when Kennedy was president the rich were taxed at a maximum rate of 91%, which had been the marginal tax rate since 1951 (except for two years when the rate was 92%). Today its 37%. Republicans like Thomas wont be happy until its near zero.

Cal Thomas is just a propaganda writer for the Republican Party.Can you replace him with a conservative columnist who makes honest, thoughtful contributions to publicdiscourse? Arent there any left?

Dana Sachs, Wilmington

Did Trump keep American calm?

EDITOR: So we now know that Donald Trump knew how serious the pandemic was going to be before February 7 and didnt inform and warn the American public. His minions are saying he did what a good leader should do by keeping the public calm. But this situation was serious enough that we would have been way better off being aware and possibly panicked, as opposed to being unaware and possibly out of work, out of business, seriously ill, or dead.

Consider this: what are the chances we wont be facing another crisis in the next four years? Pretty slim. Can we trust that Trump will keep the public informed next time so that we will be better equipped to deal with it? Obviously not.

Brad Tratenberg, Leland

Is StarNews bias to Trump?

EDITOR: I moved back hereafter being gone 10 years and am appalled at what our local media has become. Totally biased and one sided with a few different opinions thrown in.

First, unlike Facebook you dont fact check your writers.Celia Rivenbark lied in her article about President Trump putting kids in cages. At least when Michele Obama said itat the Democratic National Convention AP fact checked it as wrong.

Next, there were 1000s ofpeople at the boat parade for Trump, not one mention in this trash.

Third, President Trump was nominated for The Nobel Peace prize and this so called newspaper did not feel it was newsworthy.

Your bias is showing and it isnt pretty.

Denice Fipps,Wimlington

Censoring the comics

EDITOR:I applaud two recent letters that stood up for the censorship the StarNews seems to be invoking of late (in the comic strips). Who knows what else they are censoring without us knowing. We as Americans have freedom of speech, correct? So why don't we have the freedom to choose what we read and don't read?

Why do you, the StarNews, get to choose what we read and don't read? (peer pressure). Will you take Celia Rivenbark away from us soon because she is not "politically correct?"Come on, weare adults and deserve to choose what we want to read, or not!

Karen Jacobson, Wilmington

Read more:
Letters to the editor: Americans needs to vote the right person in office - StarNewsOnline.com

Top podcaster Joe Rogan has all but capitulated to media establishment bullies with an uncharacteristic apology, after claiming leftist activists were starting wildfires. He can expect a lot more apologizing and no absolution.

Rogan issued a groveling apology via Instagram last week for claiming during a conversation with British conservative commentator Douglas Murray that left-wing people had been arrested for lighting forest fires in Portland. Amplifying the rumor already circulating among conservative outlets was definitely a mistake and very irresponsible, a downcast Rogan stated.

I will take this into consideration, certainly, when I say things in the future, the podcast host intoned as he delivered his stilted-sounding apology and retraction.

It wasnt enough, of course such apologies never are. Calls for his cancellation have continued, and the hostage-video tone of the Instagram post didnt escape notice. Several Rogan fans expressed their displeasure over his decision to walk back the claim left-wing activists were setting wildfires, opining hed only done it because they [told] you to.

Dont apologize to these LIBTARDS, one Instagram commenter pleaded.

The mea culpa did nothing to pacify the coterie of Spotify employees whose demands for direct editorial oversight of Rogans content were recently made public, either. The company has reportedly held more than 10 internal meetings to complain about his alleged transphobia since paying a rumored $100 million for an exclusive deal with the popular podcaster.

Rogans unapologetic opposition to male-born athletes competing in womens sports is well known and reliably comes under attack from crusading social justice warriors every time his name surfaces in the news most recently for his offer to host a marathon debate between President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden. But the recent apology was limited to the wildfire comment not transgender issues.

For the media establishment to excoriate Rogan for rumormongering about leftist arsonists makes even less sense, given the freewheeling tone of his podcasts. As fans pointed out, he has repeatedly warned his show is not a news source. One or both participants is frequently drinking or smoking something, and the three-hour conversations often veer into fanciful musings on extraterrestrial life, conspiracy theories, and the realms of the imagination. Hammering him for not fact-checking an offhand comment echoing a rumor already circulating all over the conservative infosphere belies a severe misunderstanding of his content.

Adding insult to injury, many of the outlets that pounced on Rogan for pinning the wildfires on rampaging lefties regularly amplify unfounded claims themselves. The entire Russiagate phenomenon, for example, wouldnt exist without the media signal-boosting evidence-free, frequently anonymous claims that everything wrong with America can be traced back to the Kremlin.

Unfortunately for Rogan, showing weakness in front of ideological bullies only encourages them. Apologizing for an offhand comment about the supposed political affiliation of the arsonists caught setting fires in Oregon and Washington while under attack for unrelated wrongthink is like going swimming in shark-infested waters while bleeding from a dozen paper cuts.

Worse, Rogans new masters at Spotify seem intent on refashioning the wildly popular podcast to suit their own aims. Dozens of episodes featuring conservative figures had already disappeared when his new channel appeared on the platform earlier this month, including conversations with often-censored figures such as right-wing provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos and Proud Boys founder Gavin McInnes. One of the missing episodes, featuring fringe pundit Alex Jones, was the second-most popular podcast of Rogans career. The host hasnt publicly commented on the missing episodes.

Ironically, an earlier conversation between Rogan and Murray began with the pair expressing shock that a YouTube user had been given a community-guidelines strike for hate speech just for adding a podcast featuring Murray to his YouTube playlist. At the time, Rogan lamented how squirrelly things have gotten lately, with the way people interpret conversations about ideas. His uncharacteristic silence and apologies in 2020 suggest the $100 million paycheck he reportedly received to move to Spotify has convinced him to embrace his inner squirrel.

As censorship across social media platforms ramps up to levels that would have been considered absurd even six months ago, with YouTube vowing to ban content it believes stems from hacking and Facebook essentially hinting it will go dark if Novembers election result is uncertain, the popularity of comparatively open-minded podcasts such as Rogans is understandable. But even the most forgiving of audiences wont stick around if he continues to sand off the rough edges that got him to the top in the first place. If Spotify gets its victory, itll be left with a worthless investment.

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The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.

Original post:
Spotify employees flexing muscles to CENSOR Joe Rogan are getting their revenge, even if it means killing their cash cow - RT

TikTok has admitted to censoring LGBTQ hashtags in some countries as part of its efforts to localize content moderation.

Following a report by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, which highlighted a list of hashtags shadow-banned in Bosnia, Jordan, and Russia, TikTok has insisted it was merely complying with local laws and not actively targeting the LGBTQ community.

The Australian think-tank said restricted terms included:

While TikTok blameslimiting the exposure of LGBTQ content on local laws, it also added that it blocked some terms because they were used to discover pornographic content. It further claimed some English phrases and some compound phrases in Arabic were wrongly moderated, but the company says it has since fixed that.

TheBBC notesTikTok has also dismissed some of the supposedly blocked hashtags laid out by the Australian think-tank, arguing content didnt show up for them since no creator on the platform had ever used them.

We believe that accountability and transparency are essential to facilitating trust with our community, TikTok said in a statement, addressing the criticism. As part of this, weve committed to making our moderation policies, algorithm, and data security practices available to experts, which no other company in our space has been willing to do.

The report is the latest in a long line of censorship claims levied against TikTok. Earlier this year, the Guardian reported the company supposedly outlawed content mentioning Trump, Christianity, or LGBTQ issues in some countries. The company was also accused of suppressing content from people with disabilities and those it deemed ugly, poor, or fat.

The company continues to insist its committed to diversity and inclusion (TikTok did donate $3 million to LGBTQ-friendly causesearlier this year), but its checkered censorship record makes it tough to take its words seriously.

On the other hand, TikTok is just another technology giant that has willingly buckled to local laws in order to expand its global presence. A few years back, Google (which has its own history of suppressing content across the political spectrum)built a whole new version of YouTube just so it can seduce the government of Pakistan into letting it operate within the country.

That doesnt make TikToks actions any less reprehensible, but it does underline the only principle tech giants are guided by: growth at all costs. Diversity and inclusion? Thats just a hot publicity stunt tactic for most corporates.

Read next: Stop giving your co-workers vapid compliments

See the original post here:
TikTok says its committed to diversity its history of censorship says otherwise - The Next Web