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Thursday, October 9, 2025

Polaris of Enlightenment

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https://nordictimes.com/world/x-refuses-to-impose-censorship-now-the-eu-wants-to-punish-the-platform/

World

X refuses to impose censorship – now the EU wants to punish the platform

Published 15 July 2024
– By Editorial Staff
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Elon Musk, owner of X.
5 minute read
Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

The European Commission claims that X (formerly Twitter) is “in breach of the Digital Services Act (DSA)” – and therefore the platform is at risk of millions of euros in fines and other retaliatory measures.

However, owner Elon Musk and other commentators argue that the powers that be are out to punish X because, unlike many other social media platforms, it has refused to secretly impose extensive censorship on the platform.

The Commission’s “preliminary view” is that X is in breach of the DSA because, among other things, the blue checkmarks indicating who has a verified account “does not correspond to industry practice and deceives users”.

“Since anyone can subscribe to obtain such a “verified” status, it negatively affects users’ ability to make free and informed decisions about the authenticity of the accounts and the content they interact with”, it claims.

The Brussels powers-that-be also claim that X “does not comply with the required transparency on advertising, as it does not provide a searchable and reliable advertisement repository”, and are also appalled that X “fails to provide access to its public data to researchers”.

“In particular, X prohibits eligible researchers from independently accessing its public data, such as by scraping, as stated in its terms of service. In addition, X’s process to grant eligible researchers access to its application programming interface (API) appears to dissuade researchers from carrying out their research projects or leave them with no other choice than to pay disproportionally high fees”, it continues.

 

A retaliatory measure?

“If the Commission’s preliminary views are ultimately confirmed, the Commission would adopt a non-compliance decision finding that X is in breach of Articles 25, 39 and 40(12) of the Digital Services Directive. Such a decision could impose fines of up to 6% of the service provider’s total annual worldwide turnover and require the service provider to take measures to remedy the infringement”, it threatens, promising to “force” X to comply in such a scenario.

X owner Elon Musk, however, believes that this is an act of pure vengeance by the powers that be in Brussels, and says that the European Commission recently “offered X an illegal secret deal” to avoid heavy fines – in exchange for introducing extensive censorship.

“The other platforms took the deal. X did not”, he continues.

“Don’t be fooled”

Investigative journalist and author Michael Shellenberger agrees, saying that “the totalitarianism we warned about is now happening”.

“The European Union is at this moment forcing big tech companies to secretly engage in mass censorship. Google and Facebook are, apparently, going along with it. Only Elon Musk’s X, among the major platforms, is resisting”, he writes.

“the EU is preparing to punish X with massive fines — up to 6% of total global revenue. I can’t imagine a more egregious form of foreign interference in our domestic affairs than foreign governments demanding mass secret censorship for ideological and political purposes”, he continues.

Shellenberger says that the “most terrifying” thing is how government intelligence and security services appear to be directly involved in demanding censorship – while those same governments warn daily of Russian censorship.

“Don’t be fooled by what is happening. Governments and former intelligence officials in Europe, Australia, Israel, Brazil, and Ukraine and other nations are not only demanding censorship but also often spreading their own disinformation”, he explains.

“We have to fight back”

He argues that the EU’s claims that there is more false information on X than on other, more heavily censored platforms are simply false. Rather, X has greater and broader freedom of expression, where discussion and dialogue are used “to give context to controversial content” – rather than bans and blocks.

“What the EU wants is for its committees of experts, not Community Notes, to secretly decide what we can read and say online. This is unethical and unconstitutional. Another key part of the EU’s disinformation is that “researchers” should have access to X’s internal data, which Musk cut off when he bought Twitter. But those people who want the data aren’t researchers. They’re censorship activists, many of whom have deep relationships with governments in general and intelligence agencies in particular”, he continues.

Schellenberger warns that if the EU succeeds in censoring X and the other major Internet platforms, there will be no freedom of expression – only government-controlled speech.

“Many people rightly worry about the implications of a single man, Elon Musk, being all that stands between us and foreign governments’ totalitarian censorship plans. I worry about that, too. Our speech is inalienable. It is not something governments give to us”.

“We need to fight back. While we should be grateful to Musk for standing up to the totalitarians in Europe, Brazil, and Australia, we must build a citizen’s movement to fight back”, the journalist urges.

TikTok can also be punished

It should also be noted that X is not the only platform that EU leaders want to punish and “bring into line”. China’s TikTok has long been accused of being a platform for spreading “disinformation” and “hate” and is being investigated to see if it too is in violation of the DSA – if so, it too risks being fined 6% of its global revenue.

In the past, governments in the US and EU have mainly relied on the major platforms to censor controversial and politically incorrect content – such as criticism of mass immigration, feminism, or the LGBTQ movement – on their own initiative, which has happened on a large scale on YouTube and Facebook, among others.

Recently, however, there seems to have been a partial shift in focus, with platforms being more explicitly forced to implement various forms of censorship – and threatened with penalties and fines if they refuse.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

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https://nordictimes.com/world/kirks-final-words-about-israel-lobby-i-cannot-and-will-not-be-bullied/

World

Kirk’s final words about Israel lobby: “I cannot and will not be bullied”

Assassination of Charlie Kirk

Published yesterday 21:19
– By Editorial Staff
Released text messages reveal that the conservative commentator was under strong pressure from Jewish donors.
4 minute read
Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

Two days before his death, conservative commentator Charlie Kirk expressed strong frustration over pressure from Jewish donors in a group chat. This is shown by text messages now made public by former colleague and commentator Candace Owens.

“Jewish donors play into all of the stereotypes. I cannot and will not be bullied like this, leaving me no choice but to leave the pro-Israel cause.”

The messages have been confirmed as authentic by Turning Point USA.

Conservative commentator Charlie Kirk’s final weeks were marked by intense pressure from major Jewish donors, according to text messages published by former Turning Point colleague Candace Owens in a video analysis on her X channel. The messages, sent in a group chat with nine people just 48 hours before Kirk’s death on September 10, 2025, provide insight into the political and financial dilemmas Kirk was grappling with.

Turning Point USA spokesperson Andrew Kolvet has confirmed the authenticity of the text messages and stated that he himself originally took the screenshot of the conversation.

Lost millions after refusing to “cancel Tucker”

In the text conversation, which included pastor Rob McCoy – who leads Turning Point USA’s religious branch TPUSA Faith – and conservative author Josh Hammer, Kirk writes: “Just lost another huge Jewish donor. $2 million a year because we won’t cancel Tucker. I’m thinking of inviting Candace.”

Kirk continues to express his frustration: “Jewish donors play into all of the stereotypes. I cannot and will not be bullied like this, leaving me no choice but to leave the pro-Israel cause.”

According to Owens’ video analysis, the messages show that Kirk was under significant financial pressure due to his refusal to disinvite Tucker Carlson, known for his critical stance on Israel, from Turning Point USA events.

Another person in the chat, identified as Sedona, responds and advises against it: “Please do not invite Candace. That might feel good short term, but it’s not good long term.”

“He was done with Israel bullying him”

In her video analysis, Owens describes a long-running conversation she had with Kirk about his changing views on religion and politics. She recounts that Kirk contacted her as early as February 2024 with the words: “Catholicism is sounding better and better.”

— We talked a lot about the political pressure, about how I felt it functioned more like a cult than a true theology or religion, Owens says in the video.

She is particularly critical of pastor Rob McCoy’s handling of the situation after Kirk’s death. McCoy, whose son and daughter-in-law work for Turning Point USA, published a post on Instagram urging Owens to pause her investigation into the events before the murder.

— Rob McCoy knew for an absolute fact that Charlie was done with Israel bullying him. That’s what bothers me so much about this man, Owens says and continues:

— If Charlie was a friend of mine, I really hope he would raise hell to figure out what actually happened that day if I was assassinated. It’s not being a friend to stay silent when lies are being told.

Confirmation from Turning Point USA

Andrew Kolvet from Turning Point USA confirmed the authenticity of the text messages on Tuesday in an episode of “The Charlie Kirk Show”.

“That was a text grab, a screen grab, that I had shared with people, so it is authentic,” said Kolvet, who explained that he shared the screenshot with authorities after the murder to ensure a thorough investigation.

Kolvet described Kirk’s relationship with Israel as “complicated” and referred to a previous podcast episode with Megyn Kelly where Kirk openly discussed his frustration: “I don’t want to judge an entire group, because there’s been many people in the pro-Israel group that have been very sweet, very kind, very nuanced… however, the behavior by a lot—both privately and publicly—are pushing people like you and me away.”

“Why are you hearing it from me and Tucker Carlson?”

In her analysis, Owens questions why so few other voices within the conservative movement have spoken openly about the pressure Kirk experienced.

— You have people hosting a show. Have they done one honorable thing and come out and said something like: you know what, F a couple of these donors who made his life a living hell in the last couple of weeks? Why haven’t they done that? she says.

She points out that she herself, Tucker Carlson, and Megyn Kelly have tried to tell the truth about Kirk’s situation, while others have remained silent.

— That registers to me as very suspicious. It makes me think that in the same way Charlie was being pressured by money, that you might now be run by that same money, Owens says.

Criticism of pastors’ handling

Owens also expresses broader concern about how pastors and others within the conservative movement have handled the situation after Kirk’s death.

— I feel like a lot this year I have been feeling as though these pastors are just not as honest as they should be. A lot of pastors are not really so concerned with the truth is what I would say, she notes.

She concludes her analysis with an appeal:

— You should not grieve by lying or by gaslighting. Is that fair? Can we all agree? You should not grieve by lying and gaslighting the public.

Charlie Kirk, 31, was shot to death on September 10, 2025, at Utah Valley University. Tyler Robinson, 22, has been arrested and charged with the murder.

Journalist Kim Iversen has previously pointed out that the murder may have connections to the Israeli government.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/world/israel-pays-influencers-7000-per-post-in-secret-propaganda-campaign/

World

Israel pays influencers $7,000 per post in secret propaganda campaign

The genocide in Gaza

Published yesterday 17:26
– By Editorial Staff
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has previously stated that social media is a very important weapon in Israel's information warfare.
6 minute read
Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

While the genocide in Gaza continues, the Israeli government is running an extensive influence campaign on social media. Millions of Americans are exposed to political propaganda without knowing that the content is financed by a foreign warring state.

None of the involved influencers have registered as foreign agents – a likely violation of the United States’ primary law against covert foreign influence.

When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with a group of pro-Israeli influencers last Friday, the message was clear:

— We have to fight back. How do we fight back? Our influencers. I think you should also talk to them if you have a chance, to that community, they are very important, he stated.

What Netanyahu didn’t mention was how lucrative it is to be one of “our influencers” – or that these influence campaigns are systematically hidden from the American public.

Documents reviewed and analyzed by Nick Cleveland-Stout at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft think tank show that a group of 14-18 influencers receive around $7,000 per post on platforms like TikTok and Instagram to shape American citizens’ opinions about Israel and the war in Gaza.

Secret propaganda campaign

The campaign, codenamed “Esther Project,” is coordinated by the company Bridges Partners on behalf of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Between June and November this year, Israel pumped a total of $900,000 into the project during the ongoing genocide in Gaza.

Invoices that the company sent to media conglomerate Havas Media Group Germany show that an estimated $553,000 has been paid directly to the influencers for the period June to September. With an expected production of 75-90 posts, this means between $6,143 and $7,372 per post that reaches thousands or millions of American followers.

But despite the influencers being contractually obligated to start publishing in July, none of them have registered as foreign agents. They have also not labeled their posts with information that the content is financed by the Israeli government. This is a likely violation of the United States’ Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) – the country’s primary law against covert foreign influence.

“If they do it knowingly, it’s punishable”

— If you’re being paid by a foreign government to influence the American public on that government’s behalf you should register under FARA, says Ben Freeman, director of the Democratizing Foreign Policy program at the Quincy Institute.

— If these influencers are knowingly accepting money from the Israeli government to produce content for the Israeli government that’s being viewed by thousands or millions of their followers in the US, it’s not at all clear why they would not be required to register.

According to the law, FARA violations must be done “knowingly” to lead to criminal penalties. In other words: if the influencers are aware that they are receiving Israeli state funds to influence American citizens, they are committing a crime.

A lawyer who specializes in FARA and who requested anonymity to discuss the sensitive issue is clear:

— Anyone who is distributing material propaganda and other informational materials aimed at the United States audience on behalf of a foreign government agency would need to be disclosed somewhere, including potentially by filing a short form registration.

Systematic concealment

In addition to not registering as foreign agents, the influencers are violating another basic requirement: they must clearly label their posts so that viewers understand that the content is financed by the Israeli government – either in the post itself or on their profile.

A search on X, TikTok and Instagram yields no results showing that any of the 14-18 influencers working for Bridges Partners have included such labeling. This is despite the labeling requirement being standard practice for all registered foreign agents on social media.

— It’s basically the foreign influence equivalent of the standard sponsorship flagged posts you see all over social media. It just lets social media users know that what they’re seeing is being paid for by the Israeli government, and then they can judge it accordingly.

The difference is crucial: when an influencer markets a commercial brand, there should always be clear labeling. But when the same influencer markets a foreign government’s political agenda in the middle of an ongoing war, there is no information at all showing how they are financed by a foreign power.

Wall of silence

The identity of the 14-18 influencers participating in the propaganda campaign has not been made public. Bridges Partners refuses to comment on the matter and Havas Media Group Germany, which oversees the entire campaign, has not responded to repeated requests from journalists about which influencers are participating or how much each one is paid. Uri Steinberg, who owns 50 percent of Bridges Partners, has also chosen not to respond to requests to comment on the influence campaign.

Currently, only Steinberg himself is registered as a foreign agent – despite it being the influencers who reach millions of Americans with the propaganda.

Bridges Partners, which is based in a townhouse on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C., has hired Nadav Shtrauchler – a former major from the IDF’s information unit. As legal counsel, the company has turned to the law firm Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, the same firm that previously represented the notorious Israeli spyware company NSO Group.

The name “Esther Project” resembles the Heritage Foundation’s “Project Esther” – a campaign that systematically labels critics of Israel as part of a network supporting “terrorists”. However, the Heritage Foundation itself claims there is no formal connection between the projects.

“It’s not just friendly relations”

Several influencers have made trips to Israel in recent months, partly financed through contracts with the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Israel365 Action organized a trip in August that cost $86,000 in state funds. After the visit, influencer Lance Johnston declared that he was now “fine with sending them weapons”.

Republican politicians have also reacted to the revelations.

“Any social media influencer, if they are getting paid by a foreign country, they have to register under FARA”, states US Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene.

Former Congressman Matt Gaetz was even clearer:

“In this particular case, the foreign government is pursuing a specific agenda, it is not just friendly relations between our countries. There is a war going on in Gaza”.

Critical timing

Millions of Americans are thus exposed daily to political content without knowing that what they see is paid propaganda from a foreign warring state. The influencers who receive $7,000 per post consciously choose to hide from their followers who pays for the words they spread.

The campaign also comes at a critical time when young Americans are becoming increasingly critical of Israel, the genocide in Gaza and the unlimited American support for the country.

When public opinion turns against Israel, driven by images of Palestinian suffering on social media, a secret influence campaign on the same platforms becomes an important strategic weapon for shaping the narrative and portraying the destruction of Gaza as a noble and necessary defensive war.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/world/islamist-leader-monitored-by-swedish-security-police-now-celebrated-drone-specialist-in-ukraine/

World

Islamist leader monitored by Swedish security police – now celebrated drone specialist in Ukraine

The war in Ukraine

Published yesterday 14:09
– By Editorial Staff
Viktor Gaziev is clear that he would never have joined the war without the involvement of Swedish authorities.
3 minute read
Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

Sweden’s security police (Säpo) considered him such a dangerous threat that he was kept under daily surveillance. But in June 2023, Viktor Gaziev disappeared – and now he has been found in Ukraine where he has become a celebrated drone expert, received awards and met President Zelensky.

He claims that Swedish authorities pressured him to go to war and escorted him there.

Viktor Gaziev was one of the so-called six imams who in 2019 were classified as a serious threat to Sweden’s national security. The Swedish government decided to deport him, but the deportation was never carried out – Gaziev was deemed at risk of torture and persecution in his homeland Russia.

Instead, the radical Islamist was kept under extensive surveillance with daily reporting requirements to police. Until he suddenly disappeared.

Swedish public television SVT’s investigative program Uppdrag granskning has now tracked him down – not in Sweden, but as a drone specialist in the Ukrainian army.

Pressured to go to war

How did an internationally wanted person without travel documents and with daily reporting requirements at Gävle police station in central Sweden end up in Ukraine?

Gaziev himself describes it as the result of pressure from Sweden’s Security Police (Säpo). He claims that Säpo arranged a private meeting with his ex-wife and urged her to persuade him to leave. The incentive was allegedly a promise that the agency would not hinder her application for Swedish citizenship.

Several other people classified as security threats confirm to Uppdrag granskning that they received similar proposals to go to Ukraine.

However, Security Police operational chief Fredrik Hallström completely rejects the claims: “We do not conduct the type of activities alleged here”, he maintains, continuing:

— We do not suggest or try to persuade anyone to travel to a specific place. Least of all to war-torn Ukraine.

Military intelligence contact planned the trip

In chat conversations that Uppdrag granskning has accessed, it emerges how the trip to Ukraine was planned in detail. A person who identifies himself as a Swedish soldier discusses flight tickets to Poland and which border crossing they should use. Gaziev claims the person works for MUST, Sweden’s military intelligence service.

In the chat, Gaziev sends his bank details and shows military equipment he bought for the war. According to Gaziev, it was his contact person at the Security Police who gave him the contact to MUST.

— They talked to the military service in Poland. It was a man and a woman who flew with me to Warsaw without documents, without a passport, just a Swedish driver’s license.

MUST has refused to comment on the allegations at all.

Ukrainian commander confirms Swedish involvement

However, Murad Zumzo, a commander in the Ukrainian army, gives a completely different picture than Säpo. He says he spoke on the phone with a Swedish person who matched the name in the chat – and that the Swede had a central role in getting Gaziev to Ukraine.

— He made contact and took him to the Polish-Ukrainian border. I sent two of my guys there. The Swedes and Poles handed him over, says Zumzo.

Viktor Gaziev is clear that he would not have joined the war without Swedish authorities’ involvement and he took Säpo’s alleged promise about citizenship for his ex-wife very seriously.

But today he believes he was manipulated – his ex-wife was denied her citizenship application with reference to information from the Security Police itself.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/world/merz-acknowledges-the-wests-attractiveness-is-waning/

World

Merz acknowledges: The West’s attractiveness is waning

The new multipolar world order

Published 6 October 2025
– By Editorial Staff
German politician Friedrich Merz advocates for welfare cuts while simultaneously wanting to increase both Ukraine aid and military spending.
2 minute read
Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

Liberal democracy is under attack from new “autocratic alliances”, claimed German Chancellor Friedrich Merz this week. In the same breath, he acknowledged that the West’s attractiveness is “noticeably diminishing” and that the world no longer looks up to Western values in the same way as before.

Former BlackRock executive Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron painted a dark picture of the West’s crisis on Friday. Both leaders claim that liberal democracy is under attack from various directions, and according to Merz, it is an “axis of autocratic states” that now challenges the liberal world order.

— The centers of power in the world are shifting to an extent not seen since the end of the Cold War. An axis of autocratic states that challenges the liberal order around the world is directly challenging Western democracies, he claimed.

However, why this axis has formed was not explained in detail. In the same speech, he was forced to acknowledge that the West’s attractiveness is declining:

— The radiance of what we in the West call liberal democracy is noticeably diminishing. It is no longer a given that the world will orient itself towards us, that it will follow our values of liberal democracy.

Merz has also recently stated that Germany can no longer afford to finance the welfare state while advocating for investments in military rearmament and continued support for Ukraine.

Macron finds convenient scapegoat

Macron spoke of a “degeneration of democracy” in Europe and found a convenient scapegoat in social media platforms.

— We’ve been guilty of handing over our public democratic space to social networks owned by big American entrepreneurs and Chinese firms, he said.

However, the possibility that the West’s own policies contributed to this development was not addressed at all by Merz or Macron.

— Democratic debate is turning into a debate of hatred, continued the French president.

Merz, Macron, Polish Prime Minister Tusk and British Prime Minister Starmer. Photo: Number 10/CC BY 2.0

Putin sees multipolar world

Russian President Vladimir Putin presented a completely different analysis on Thursday. At the Valdai Discussion Club in Sochi, Russia, he described the development as natural.

— Multipolarity has become a direct consequence of attempts to establish and preserve global hegemony, a response to the obsessive desire to arrange everyone into a single hierarchy, with Western countries at the top, Putin said.

Putin also claimed that democracy is in decline in the West. As an example, he mentioned Romania, where the court invalidated the presidential election last year.

Merz also acknowledged that Europe has become “economically weaker” and that the social promises made are “so much harder to fulfill today than they used to be”.

The solution? Europe must “refocus on its economic competitiveness” and “oppose a new wave of protectionism in the world”. This is essentially the same mantra European leaders have repeated for decades – so far with limited success.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

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