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The simple answer is no.

Easiest analogy;

You are the host of a party. You then invite 11 other people, for a party of 12 people. One member of your party (let's call them W) is not liked by 3 other members (we will call them 'the clique'). During the party, 2 members of 'the clique' talk about W to every other member of the party to the point where some of the other guests dissociate from W. Can blame W blame you for defamation?

I would say yes if any one of these conditions could be met:

(A) You would have to have known about the nature of the relationship between W and 'the clique' prior to inviting all of them to the same party.

(B) You would have to have knowledge of and ignored the actions of 'the clique' during the party.

(C) You would have to have knowledge of and ignored any request W made to limit 'the cliques' actions.

In this situation you are social media, W is a public figure, 'the clique' are bad actors, and the other guests are random users.

Condition A requires websites confirm identities with background checks (Think Chinese internet). This is possible, but expensive for small private sites (like JapanToday) and could be seen as invasive for those who could pull it off (like Alphabet/Google or Meta/Facebook).

Condition B requires that the websites not moderate or monitor what discussions happen between it users. Users are not free to share any kind of content between other users (hi moderators, watch this get edited) on any website. Facebook will take down content it does not like, JapanToday will lock comment sections and delete posts deemed inappropriate.

Condition C requires websites to receive complaints and not act on them. Facebook has historically had no direct phone number but there is a reporting system and again they will delete content. JapanToday has a reporting system in place and does delete comments.

While there is an argument to be made about the decision-making process and timing of editing, moderating, and presenting content, it is hard to argue that a third party can act in a way that exposes a media company to defamation.

More:
Do you think media companies should be held liable for defamatory third-party comments on their Facebook pages or discussion boards? - Japan Today

Over the weekend, emboldened by a cowardly mainstream media and a slow-moving January 6 House Select committee, Donald Trump escalated his efforts to seize control of the story of the violent insurrection at the Capitol he incited last year. At a rally held in Conroe, Texas, on Saturday, Trump painted the insurrectionists as martyrs and heroes, claiming those who have been arrested and charged more than 700 "are being treated so unfairly" and promised, "if it requires pardons, we will give them pardons."On Sunday, Trump doubled down, releasing a statement all but confessinghe had wished for then-Vice President Mike Pence to overturn the election on January 6.

"Mike Pence did have the right to change the outcome," his statement claimed. "Unfortunately, he didn't exercise that power, he could have overturned the Election!"

RELATED:Why voters don't blame Republicans for the Capitol riot no GOP leaders have been arrested yet

The statement makes clear what Trump's intentions were when he incited the people to storm the Capitol on January 6, some of whom were recorded chanting "hang Mike Pence." (Trump has previously defended the chanters.) On Monday,Asawin Suebsaeng of the Daily Beast reported that Trump has been conspiring for months with GOP lawmakers, should they regain control of Congress in the midterm elections, to abuse their power to launch fake "investigations" into January 6 aimed at further confusing public understanding of the riot and painting the insurrectionists as martyrs.

Want more Amanda Marcotte on politics? Subscribe to her newsletter Standing Room Only.

Trump's boldness in trying to rewrite the history of January 6 is horrific, but not shocking. The man has never failed to press an advantage. He has a huge one when it comes to gaining control of the narrative of January 6: There's no one really out there stopping him. The mainstream media is falling behind on the job, failing to treat Trump's downright criminal aggression on this front with the gravity it deserves. Meanwhile, Democrats who ostensibly control Congress and the White House are too slow-moving and cautious in their response, giving Trump the opening to go all-out with his valorization of January 6 and efforts to stoke further attacks on democracy.

The one-year anniversary of January 6 came and went. President Joe Biden marked the occasion with a speech, and plenty of information was leaked to the press, but overall, it simply didn't garner the attention needed to counter Trump's revisionist history. Promises were made that "televised hearings and reports that will bring their findings out into the open," and yet this entire month went by without a single hearing.

Last week, committee member Rep. Jamie Raskin told Dean Obeidallah in a Salon Talks interviewthat the planned hearings have been pushed back to "later in the spring, April or May more likely." Raskin blamed the delay on people like Trump's former chief of staff Mark Meadows for doing the "hokey pokey." Meadows, who has been refusing to cooperate,received a referral for contempt of Congress in December. Democrats are not rising to the moment. It's been seven weeks and Meadows still has not been arrested by Biden's Department of Justice.

RELATED:Trump is feeling the heat from investigations and wants his mob to save him

It's tempting to shrug off these delays. One could even argue that maybe it's better to have hearings closer it is to the midterm elections. But this failure to move faster is bad news for democracy. It was entirely predictable that Trump would successfully pressure his lackeys into not cooperating. The failure of the January 6 committee to anticipate that and prepare for it means that they will likely be snookered again and that "April or May" may come and go with more hearing delays caused by Trump, who now has good reason to believe he will avoid answering for his crimes for the rest of year, to the committee or anyone else. The failure to arrest Meadows, and to get more charges flowing for other non-cooperators, is clearly emboldening Trump even further.

Trump has a very good reason to delay things as much as possible: It gives him an incredible opportunity to shape the narrative. As usual, it's an opportunity he is taking full advantage of. While loyal Democratic voters won't be fooled, low information voters who also tend to be the swing voters who decide elections can and already are being manipulated by Trump's disinformation. Both focus group and polling data show that these kinds of voters have no idea how serious January 6 was, or how much the GOP is covering up for Trump's crimes while conspiring to make sure the next coup is successful. Troublingly, even Democratic voters routinely underrate the ongoing risks. The longer Democrats fail to educate voters, the more time Trump has to make sure his lies stick.

Want more Amanda Marcotte on politics? Subscribe to her newsletter Standing Room Only.

But it's not just Democrats. The mainstream media paid very little attention to Trump's escalation over the weekend. When there was front page coverage, the focus was not on the danger of Trump's open and ongoing coup. Instead it was filtered through the "horse race" style of covering politics. The Washington Post ran with "Trump's Texas trip illustrates his upsides and downsides for Republicans and their midterm hopes" while the New York Times had"Trump's Grip on G.O.P. Faces New Strains." Given those headlines, readers might imagine Trump's behavior is mainly a problem for the GOP's midterm prospects, not an open threat to national security and our democracy.

Peter Baker, a preeminent political reporter for the New York Times, acted baffled in a Sunday night tweet as to why there wasn't a bigger public reaction to Trump's statements."Old enough to remember when it would have been shocking to see a former president admit that his goal was to have 'overturned the Election.'," Baker tweeted.

As many pointed out in reply, a main reason the public seems unaware is that Baker and his colleagues are failing to make them aware. As one Twitter user noted, "Then make it a 96 pt headline on the paper where you work and have influence. The media decides how shocking something is and you know that." Others pointed out that the press was able to make a scandal over the non-story of Hillary Clinton using a private email server, and all but yawn and shrug it off when Trump publicly admits his fascistic intentions. As anyone at a progressive publication can attest, reader interest is there. There might even be more if mainstream media treated it as a scandal instead of a page A24 oddity.

RELATED:Republican voters don't actually "believe" the Big Lie about January 6 they're in on the con

Neither the Democrats nor the media are helpless in the face of Trump's continued provocations. The January 6 committee needs to be smarter about anticipating Trump's tactics, and moving faster to gain control of the narrative. Biden's Department of Justice needs to arrest Meadows.The media could choose to treat Trump's continuing efforts to end democracy with the same five-alarm coverage they gave to Clinton's mundane use of a personal email account.

The public takes its cues about what is important and what is not from leaders and media figures. If journalists and Democrats don't step up more aggressively, then Trump's lies about January 6 will keep gaining more traction. It will get even worse if Republicans control Congress next year, and use their own hearing power to offer Trump's lies an even bigger gloss of mainstream respectability. Every day Trump is allowed to control the narrative, his power only grows stronger.

Continue reading here:
Trump takes control of the Jan. 6 story while the media and Congress sleep on it - Salon

It wasnt more than a year ago that Knicks All-Star power forward Julius Randle was averaging 24+ points per night on average. Enjoying his best season to date, Randle justified a four-year, $117 million extension, but his fall-off this season has been dramatic.

Ranging from hostile remarks toward the media to a downward pointing thumb as fans questioned his passion for the team, Randles pedestal has shrunk to a mere tree-stump.

In fact, rumors have floated that Randle could be on the trade block in the coming days as the deadline quickly approaches on February 10. However, head coach Tom Thibodeau still believes in his star forward, even if hes had a progressively more difficult time controlling his efficiency and extracting his true potential.

Whether Randles ego has consumed his selflessness or hes simply regressing to the mean, the veteran has been a shell of his former self, putting the Knicks in a progressively more difficult position.

Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau has admitted to associates hes had more trouble getting Randle to play with a selflessness this season than during last season, an NBA source toldMarc Bermanof theNew York Post.

Berman also noted that some believe Randle could be trying to justify his massive contract extension with more burdon regarding scoring production. The problem is that sometimes the best way to excrete value is simply playing a complementary role.

With RJ Barrett averaging over 20 points per game to start the new year, Randle has fallen to the No. 2 scoring option, which isnt necessarily a problem.

The issue lies more in his disdain for not being the top scorer but being the Robin to RJs Batman. The roles are reversing, and Randle seemingly cant handle the downgrade.

Randle is averaging a measly 16.4 points per game and shooting 24.2% from the 3-PT range to start the new year. Alternatively, Barrett is blossoming into the star New York needs him to be, which coincides directly with Juliuss regression, oddly.

If the two cant find a way to thrive together, the Knicks will have to make a big change, and it might involve sending Randle packing.

Follow this link:
Knicks Tom Thibodeau is losing control of Julius Randle on the court - Empire Sports Media

To the Editor:

Re Trump Sought Ways to Seize Vote Machines (front page, Feb. 1):

New accounts that show that former President Donald Trump was directly involved in plans to use security agencies, including the military, to seize control of voting machines in swing states some six weeks after Election Day confirm how perilously close the nation came to a burgeoning autocracy.

Were it not for some of Mr. Trumps trusted advisers, including the clownish, conspiracy-theory-peddling Rudy Giuliani, Americans might have witnessed armed military personnel rolling into their communities, crushing democracy along the way.

That Rudy Giuliani might have been a voice of reason during this moment is in itself a weird and chilling commentary on just how fragile our electoral system is.

Cody LyonBrooklyn

To the Editor:

Re Trump Suggests He May Pardon Jan. 6 Rioters if He Has Another Term (news article, Jan. 31):

If these radical, vicious, racist prosecutors do anything wrong or illegal, I hope we are going to have in this country the biggest protests we have ever had in Washington, D.C., in New York, in Atlanta and elsewhere because our country and our elections are corrupt. So spoke Donald Trump at a recent rally.

Mr. Trumps strategy to prevent his indictment is to threaten riots. Indeed, with many millions of cultlike true believers, his indictment surely would cause mass civil unrest and perhaps civil war, especially given that many of his most ardent supporters are well armed.

And one might well ask: Which side would the police and members or ex-members of the military be on? Many of them are ardent Trumpists. Would any prosecutor be willing to risk this?

Mr. Trumps strategy is clear, and those of us who want to rescue our country from this would-be autocrat need a clear strategy, too. And that, unfortunately, cannot include the liberal fantasy of Mr. Trump in the dock or jail. Trump and Trumpism must be defeated at the ballot box. Its the only way.

Gerald Lee VogelGermantown, Md.

To the Editor:

If Donald Trump runs for re-election as president, it would take me a ream of printer paper and 8-point type to list the reasons for not voting for him. And I am a registered Republican.

But now a new reason has arisen that takes its place at the top of the list. On Saturday, at a rally in Texas, Mr. Trump said that if he is re-elected as president, he would consider pardoning those prosecuted for what they did at the Capitol on Jan. 6. Somehow Mr. Trump feels that the people being charged with crimes are being treated unfairly.

I was at home on Jan. 6 and spent most of the day watching news coverage. It took our former president almost three hours to ask the crowd to disperse and go home, telling them, Go home, we love you, youre very special. Several of his aides, including his daughter Ivanka, as well as legislators and conservative media reporters, begged him earlier to ask the rioters to disperse and go home. That did no good.

It boggles my mind that anyone who watched even part of what happened on Jan. 6 and saw Mr. Trumps reaction to it could in any way support or vote for him. I certainly cannot. Mr. Trump may have thought the people who overtook the Capitol deserved our love and were very special. I did not.

Gerald S. TanenbaumCharleston, S.C.

To the Editor:

Re Trumps Aim: Keep Power at All Costs, by Shane Goldmacher (news analysis, front page, Feb. 2):

The prospect of Donald Trumps bid for another term as president has the media in a tizzy. The same media that allowed Mr. Trump to control the narrative during the 2016 presidential campaign may be overcompensating for its past failures by sounding the alarm bell with headlines predicting the demise of freedom as we know it. With Mr. Trumps unfitness for office well documented and his waning ability to use the media as a conduit to deceit, why such angst?

Have you forgotten how soundly Mr. Trump was defeated just 15 months ago? President Biden received the most votes ever cast for a U.S. presidential candidate and won by a margin of more than seven million votes.

The media can rest assured in the knowledge that the electorate is democracys safe harbor.

Jane LarkinTampa, Fla.

To the Editor:

Re National Debt Breaks Record at $30 Trillion (front page, Feb. 2):

Well, the national debt wouldnt be so high if big money corporations and individuals were paying its fair share of taxes.

To the Editor:

Re The Case for Writing Longhand (Inside The Times, Jan. 21):

As a retired teacher, I found that your article brought back many memories. I am from the time when the nuns converted left-handers like me into writing right-handed by some encouragement and some strapping.

Most of the first two decades of my teaching career, the 1980s and 90s, saw all of the student work handwritten and most of my notes and tests handwritten and then copied; I loved the smell of a mimeograph machine early in the morning.

The next two decades saw the increase in typing and the decrease in handwriting skills, including my own. There was a time when many people were illiterate, but now they are illegible.

Many students were surprised to know that if examiners couldnt read your answers they couldnt give them marks, and they wouldnt spend time trying to translate the scribbles into words.

Its time to bring back pen licenses that confirm that young children can write neatly enough to now use a pen, and make sure the kids deserve them.

Dennis FitzgeraldMelbourne, Australia

Visit link:
Opinion | Donald Trump and the Peril to Democracy - The New York Times

February 2, 2022

Media Contact: Beth Boutot beth.boutot@vdh.virginia.gov

VIRGINIA BEACH HEALTH DEPARTMENT TO HOST FREE COVID-19 AND FLU VACCINATION CLINIC SATURDAY FEBRUARY 5

(Virginia Beach, Va.) The Virginia Beach Department of Public Health will host a FREE COVID-19 and Flu vaccination clinic Saturday, February 5 from 10 a.m. noon at Kingdom Cathedral, 3820 Stoneshore Road.

COVID-19 vaccines remain our best defense to reduce the spread and diminish serious illness and hospitalization.

All vaccines will be available including boosters. Ages 5-17 will be offered the Pfizer vaccine and will need to be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.

Eligible individuals may choose which vaccine they receive as a booster dose. Some people may have a preference for the vaccine type that they originally received, and others may prefer to get a different booster. Centers for Disease Control Prevention (CDC) recommendations now allow for this type of mix and match dosing for booster shots, however it is recommended you discuss mixing doses with your primary care physician.

Appointments for Saturday are encouraged; however, walk-ins will be accepted. Visit the links below to schedule your appointment time.

Saturday February 5, 10 a.m. noon

Kingdom Cathedral, 3820 Stoneshore Road

Appointments:

Pfizer Vaccine 5-11

Pfizer Vaccine 12+

Moderna Vaccine

Johnson & Johnson Vaccine

No appointment needed for the Flu vaccine.

For more information on COVID-19 vaccines, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Vaccines for COVID-19 page at http://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/index.html.

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NOTE: Members of the media are not permitted inside the clinic when patients are present. Members of the media may respectfully approach clinic patients outside of the clinic and talk to them if they provide consent. Media members who do not comply may be asked to leave the site. Interview requests should be sent to beth.boutot@vdh.virginia.gov at least 24 hours in advance if possible.

Read this article:
VIRGINIA BEACH HEALTH DEPARTMENT TO HOST FREE COVID-19 AND FLU VACCINATION CLINIC SATURDAY FEBRUARY 5 - Newsroom - Virginia Department of Health