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As coronavirus lockdowns enter their third month, social media giants are tightening censorship against people who protest lockdowns and raise evidence the virus may be less risky than initially thought.

YouTube has pulled videos from scientists and physicians, even those with top-tier credentials. Meanwhile, Facebook has blocked efforts to organize protests against lockdowns.

Facebooks stance is particularly problematic because as the largest social media network, it may gain from lockdowns, which force friends or community groups to rely on virtual gatherings instead of real-life meetings.

ALEX BERENSON: CORONAVIRUS TRUTH AND WHY THE MEDIA ESTABLISHMENT HATES ME SO MUCH

Investors certainly seem to believe the lockdowns have not hurt Facebook. Its stock rose 5 percent to an all-time high on Wednesday. Shares in Googles parent company, which also owns YouTube, also are near an all-time high.

Twitter, the third major social media company, is taking a more open and pro-free speech stance.Twitter allows debate about whether the societal risks of lockdowns might be worse than the dangers of coronavirus. (My own Twitter following @alexberenson has grown 15-fold since March, and Twitter does not appear to be censoring me.)

As private corporations, social media outlets are not bound by the First Amendment and can remove speech that violates their guidelines. However, given their reach and the growing political battle over lockdowns amid questions about their efficacy, their censorship actions leave them at risk of backlash.

Further, combined with the conventional medias reluctance to question lockdowns and the failure of predictive models from public health experts, social media censorship may actually backfire, leading many people to believe they cannot trust the media at all and encouraging them to consider outright conspiracy theories.

Facebook, which more than half of all Americans use, has repeatedly censored groups trying to organize anti-lockdown protests. Events that defy governments guidance on social distancing arent allowed on Facebook, a Facebook spokesman said on April 20.

Coronavirus censorship first became an issue when Susan Wojcicki, the chief executive of YouTube, told CNN on April 19 that YouTube would ban videos contradicting World Health Organization guidelines about coronavirus. Instead, YouTube had focused on the stay at home messages and would be raising authoritative information, Wojcicki said.

Of course, the WHO has repeatedly changed its own statements on coronavirus for example, tweeting that antibodies to coronavirus do not confer immunity to the virus, then hours later deleting that message and reporting antibodies likely provide some level of protection. Wojcicki didnt mention how YouTube might treat changes in WHO messaging.

On April 27, YouTube followed through on Wojcickis threats, removing video of a press conference from two California physicians. The physicians argued COVID fatality rates were lower than commonly reported and that forcing people to stay inside for prolonged periods of time might actually damage their immune systems.

At the time YouTube removed it, the press conference had been viewed more than 5 million times.

In a statement, YouTube said it censored content that explicitly disputes the efficacy of local health authority recommended guidance on social distancing a stance that if repeated on other issues could lead YouTube to block content that disputes any government statement.

Since then, YouTubes censorship has continued. Less than a week ago, the site removed a video from Knut Wittkowski, the former head of epidemiology at Rockefeller Universitys Center for Clinical and Translational Science, criticizing lockdowns.

Wittkowskis video had been viewed about 1.5 million times before YouTube removed it.

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Meanwhile, Facebook, which more than half of all Americans use, has repeatedly censored groups trying to organize anti-lockdown protests. Events that defy governments guidance on social distancing arent allowed on Facebook, a Facebook spokesman said on April 20.

On May 13, Facebook took its most aggressive action yet, removing the 380,000-member group Michiganders Against Excessive Quarantine, one of the original anti-lockdown groups. It then quickly removed a replacement group called Stand Up Michigan.

Ironically, the censorship efforts may be backfiring, by leading people to conclude that they cannot trust media outlets to give them honest information about the coronavirus and driving them to conspiracy theorists such as Judy Mikovits whose short film Plandemic contains several bizarre theories, including that a flu vaccine may be responsible for the high death toll in Italy. Though YouTube and Facebook have removed Plandemic repeatedly, it has been viewed millions of times.

In contrast, Twitter is avoiding outright bans on content. We are trying to nuanced approach to this that recognizes there is a huge amount of emotion and vitriol and all sides of the issue, a Twitter executive wrote me last week. Were trying to make sure that factual debate finds a way through.

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Twitter prefers to label posts that it views as potentially problematic rather than remove them, he wrote. We think it (labeling) will allow the conversation to continue.

Unfortunately, YouTube and Facebook seem to prefer to stop the conversation.

This op-ed first appeared on the author's websitehttp://www.alexberenson.com/.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM ALEX BERENSON

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Alex Berenson: Coronavirus crisis -- How Facebook and YouTube are trying to control information about COVID - Fox News

A customer at a Costco in Colorado filmed an employee asking him to leave for not wearing a mask. Wochit

If you don't wear a mask while shopping, Tison from Costco will ask you to leave.

That was the case for one customer in in Arvada, Colorado, when a Costco employee with a badge name "Tison" asked the man who refused to wear a face covering to leave the establishment.

The confrontation, which Twitter user @OnlyInLVNV posted online Monday, went viral Wednesday.

"I'll just put you on my 3,000-follower Instagram feed, mostly loved ones," the customer says to the Costco employee as he starts recording the interaction.

To which Tison replies, "Hi, everyone. I work for Costco and I'm asking this member to put on a mask 'cause that is our company policy."

Costco employee who asked customer to leave for not wearing a mask.(Photo: Screenshot)

Last month,Costcoannounced that, beginning May 4, it would return to regular hours and customers and employees alike would be required to wear face coverings ormasks. At the time of the announcement, some on social media voiced their opposition to wearing masks while shopping.

Nevertheless, as BuzzFeed News reported, safety guidelines from Costco have been loosened since May 1.

The customer retorted that he's not putting on a mask"because I woke up in a free country."

Costco customer who was asked to leave the establishment for not wearing a mask.(Photo: Screeshot)

Tison, the Costco employee, proceeded to take the customer's cart away, politely wishedhim a great day several times and informed him that he was "not welcome here in our warehouse" and that he needed to leave.

The customer then offered up insults to the Costco employee as he walked away and culminated the video saying, "there he goes, 'cause I'm not a (expletive) sheep."

Costco employee took the customer's cart away after asking him to leave the establishment.(Photo: Screenshot)

The Centers for Disease Control has recommended "wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain (e.g., grocery stores and pharmacies)especiallyin areas of significant community-based transmission."

After some social media backlash, the customer posted another video saying, "I've got every (expletive) right to not wear a mask anywhere because this isn't about the mask this is about control." He added, "I was one of the only people in that store not wearing a mask, which means you're protected from me and I'm protected from you."

This perspective doesn't align with what the CDC has said.

In its recommendation, the agency notes: "We now know from recent studies that a significant portion of individuals with coronavirus lack symptoms ('asymptomatic') and that even those who eventually develop symptoms ('pre-symptomatic') can transmit the virus to others before showing symptoms. This means that the virus can spread between people interacting in close proximity."

Though the CDC's guidelines refer to wearing a cloth face covering as a "voluntary public health measure," Costco has adopted face coverings as mandatory for entrance to the store.

In unrelated posts on the Costco (Arvada, CO) Facebook page, users were praising the requirement of masks for customers and employees. Support for Tison has also been pouring from Twitter, including from Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., who tweeted the video adding: "Costco has the right to require that customers wear a mask. Businesses have the right to prevent people from spewing saliva droplets in their stores. Because we live in a free country."

Costco said that management had no comment at this time when USA TODAY reached out.

In a previous statement, the retailer said: "We know some members may find this inconvenient or objectionable, but under the circumstances we believe the added safety is worth any inconvenience. This is not simply a matter of personal choice; a face covering protects not just the wearer, but others too."

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'This isn't about the mask, it's about control': Costco customer asked to leave after refusing to wear a face covering - USA TODAY

A forest fire in Barnaby, N.B. is still out of control Monday afternoon.

But, Kelly Cormier, aspokesperson for theDepartment of Natural Resources and Energy Development said the crews were making gains to contain it.

"The fire has been difficult to contain as the results of windy conditions yesterday causing numerous spot fires." she said.

Some residents in the community prepared for evacuation Sunday afternoon as air tankersand fire crews tried to bring a forest fire under control.

The community is about 40 kilometres south of Miramichi.

Gerrit Bosma said hisfamily was packed and prepared to evacuate if needed,but he hoped the fire would becontained with the help of air tankersfromForest Protection Limited.

"It's going away from us but I think they have it contained," Bosma said in a Facebook message.

Three homes in the area were threatened at one point, said Cormier.

By Sunday night no homes were in danger.

"Air tanker and ground attack was effective ineliminating that threat," Cormiersaid in an email.

But the fire is still out of control andsix air tankers areworking to keep it contained.

The fire isburning on the North and South Barnaby Roads. It covers 20 hectares.

The Miramichi Fire Departmenthad crews at the site helping crews from the Department of Natural Resources.

The province has been under a complete fire ban for a week.

TheUpper Kingsclear and Nashwaak Valley fire departments issued warnings on social media urging people to respect the ban. They warned of the possibility of a fine from the Department of Natural Resources and Energy Development if it is determined a wildfireis the resultof human carelessness.

"They will not be issuing warnings. Again, please be careful," theNashwaak Valley Fire Department post read.

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Forest fire in Barnaby still out of control, but crews making gains - CBC.ca

The Conservative government and its allies in the establishment media have made it clear that they dont care about the lives of ordinary people.

The UK has the highest coronavirus (Covid 19) death rate in Europe and the second-highest total number of deaths in the world; the reproduction rate (R number) hasnt consistently been reducing and horrendous daily death figures are still being announced. From refusing to lockdown while the virus could still be contained, to inadequate PPE, testing problems, and now an app run by a company that cant be trusted with data, everything about the governments response is shambolic.

Now, the media and the government are going to war with teaching unions; a war started by theDaily Mail. Teachers are being blamed for government failures and for wanting to keep staff, pupils and their families safe.

When the government fails to protect us, its down to all of us to take action. There are several ways we can resist what is happening and build alternatives to state power.

Back in March, the government was criticised for promotingthe idea of herd immunity. It later dropped this discredited idea. But now it seems herd immunity is back on the table.

All through the lockdown, part of the governments message was stay home to protect the NHS. But this messaging was also about building capacity in the NHS. During the lockdown, this happened. Nightingale hospitals were built across England but they werent used. As of 4 May, three of the new hospitals hadnt taken any patients at all. The original Nightingale at Londons hospital was put into hibernation in case of a second wave, having only treated just 54 patients.

With that capacity in place, Johnson now seems happy to lift elements of the lockdown despite the data not backing his actions and independent scientists labelling his actions potentially dangerous. The government may no longer be calling it herd immunity, but its hard to see it in any other way.

Johnson is putting working-class peoples lives at risk by encouraging manufacturing and construction workers back to work. Meanwhile, data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) shows that people from deprived areas are dying at twice the rate of those in affluent areas. Research from UCL Institute for Global Health showed that people from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds are two to three times more likely to die from coronavirus.

This is unbelievably tragic, but it shouldnt be surprising. After all, this is the party thats backed a programme of austerity that the Institute for Public Policy Research found led to 130,000 preventable deaths; a party that, according to the UN, implemented austerity measures that deliberately pushedthousands of people into poverty:

UK standards of well-being have descended precipitately in a remarkably short period of time, as a result of deliberate policy choices made when many other options were available.

Increasingly like its attitude to coronavirus, a political choice was made to implement measures that fell:

disproportionately upon the poor, women, racial and ethnic minorities, children, single parents, and people with disabilities.

The story of how the Tories bailed out the bankers by punishing ordinary people is a familiar one. But it took time. The austerity project was driven over years; some services were eroded in a piecemeal fashion; groups were targeted at different times.

But this time its different because its slapping us in the face. Were not facing a gradual decline but a sudden one imposed over weeks. The impact of coronavirus policy is like austerity on speed. Working-class and BAME communities are paying the highest possible price while the rich get back their nannies and cleaners; construction workers, in an industry known for blacklisting those who raise health and safety issues, can go back to work, while the rich can play golf and drive to the beach.

The class division in ending the lockdown couldnt be clearer.

Meanwhile, as Ive previously written forThe Canary, the government and establishment media are trying to change the narrative, and in the process are gaslighting every single one of us. Despite a catalogue of government failures, blame is being placed on individuals. Whether its those forced onto crowded public transport in order to get to work or those following government advice and enjoying the sun in beauty spots.

Having seen the virus rampage through our care homes, Matt Hancock now wants us to believe that there was a protective ring placed around them. During Boris Johnsons address to the nation on 10 May, he stressed the importance of the R number and that keeping that number down was crucial to the relaxing of measures. But when it later became clear that the R rate appeared to be increasing, deputy chief medical officer Dr Jenny Harries underplayed this previously vital statistic.

This is rewriting history. And its happening on almost a daily basis.

Now the gaslighting has taken yet another turn. Were supposed to believe that were too afraid to leave our homes, that the governments earlier messaging was too successful. In order to get us back to work, the government is trying to convince us that were irrationally scared. But that anxiety is rational. We may be anxious about going out but with good reason. With the death rate and the R-number of the virus still high, not enough has changed.

And when lifting restrictions result in the tragically almost inevitable second peak, individuals will be blamed rather than a shambolic government thats handled the pandemic with devastating consequences. After all, its obvious we werent alert enough.

Under normal circumstances, wed be taking to the street. Wed have the usual channels of mass resistance open to us. But unless we have the worlds first socially distanced uprising, these options are closed.

The government has failed us and is putting thousands of our lives, and the lives of our loved ones, at risk. So we need to take matters into our own hands. We need to make our own decisions based on facts not government spin or an establishment media that appears happy to risk lives to preserve the wealth of the elite.

In doing so we also need to recognise privilege. Its easy for someone like me to advocate not going back to work when I work from home. But if my family was relying on food banks, then I know that decision could be different.

So unlike the establishment media, its important not to blame individuals and the decisions they need to make. But where possible, if work isnt essential, refuse to do it. If the government tries to force kids back to school on 1 June and you live somewhere that is obeying the government directive, support teachers and dont send your children back. Find out about rent strikes, and support and join the campaign. If youre not already a member, join a union. Join the growing voices demanding the government implement a Universal Basic Income to ensure no-one is left behind.

Finally, get involved in your local mutual aid group. Find out ways you can support people and reach out for support if you need it. As Tom Anderson reported in The Canary, mutual aid groups are setting up alternative structures across the country because:

it became clear in February and early March that the states coronavirus strategy was totally inadequate for taking care of the wellbeing of working class people

Moreover, these groups are establishing a new way of doing things that hope:

to come out of the pandemic having been able to help some people, but also having made some deeper links in the local community and feeling more prepared to keep fighting for a better world with those around us, and to have made the struggle more intersectional and inclusive as a result.

The phrase the new normal is bandied around a lot. For the government, it looks like its new normal will be business as usual with a bit of social distancing thrown in for good measure. We need to reject this and model the new normal that we want to see across our communities.

The government has failed. The establishment media has failed. Its time for the people to take charge, set the agenda, and show we can and will do things differently.

Featured image via Guardian News/YouTube

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Stop listening to the government and establishment media. Its time for ordinary people to take control. - The Canary

Microsoft is making some improvements to its Windows 10 accessibility features, specifically centered around making the text cursor easier to see and follow using the built-in Magnifier feature. Theres also new text-to-speech functionality being integrated into the Magnifier tool, as well as improvements to Narrator (the built-in Windows screen reader), all set to roll out in the May 2020 Update.

Microsoft had previously offered tools to adjust the size and color of the standard mouse cursor. Now its bringing similar options to the text cursor, allowing users with impaired vision to adjust the size, thickness, and color of the text cursor, along with adding a new, larger indication to easily find it on-screen. Similarly, the Magnifier feature will follow the text cursor in the middle of the display, just like it does with the regular mouse cursor.

Magnifier is also getting a new text-to-speech feature that will read out text in browsers or applications (Edge, Chrome, Firefox, Word, Outlook, and Powerpoint are all called out by name). To that end, there are new media control buttons in the Magnifier app, allowing users to easily control playback.

Lastly, Microsoft has made improvements to Narrator, its screen reading tool that makes it possible to use Windows without being able to see the screen. Microsoft is adding options to hear sounds instead of full phrases for toggling actions, and its adding better support for announcing capital letters and words. Narrator also offers a better experience when web browsing, adding support for Firefox, an option to automatically start reading webpages, and a feature that gives a summary of the entire page.

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Windows 10 gets accessibility improvements to cursor, screen reader, and more - The Verge