The RoundUp: BLM Co-Founder Request Biden Meeting, NonEssential Businesses Remain Closed in France, and Bill in France to Make Filming Police Illegal Receives Pushback
A roundup of global news, published every Thursday afternoon. Here’s the big stories for the week ending November 12th.
Sock Puppet Commissioner: Bot accounts are not new on Twitter. In fact, according to Vox, experts have found such accounts dating to as far back as 2016. That doesn’t make it any less odd for a government official to have one however. Dean Browning, a former commissioner in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, went viral on Twitter when he replied to his own tweet claiming to be a gay Black man who voted for President Trump. It was left up for hours before Browning finally responded that he was quoting what a supporter had told him while adding that Trump has done more for minority groups in his tenure as president than any other. In what seems to be an effort to prove the account wasn’t fake nor run by the former commissioner, the account posted a video of a Black man claiming to be Dan Purdy. Twitter users noted though the resemblance of the man claiming to be Dan Purdy to the adopted son of a legendary singer. Read Vox’s breakdown of the incident.
No Justice, No Peace, Film the Police: A proposed bill in France may threaten press freedoms according to an article from The Guardian. The legislation would make it illegal to share photos or videos that identify police on duty in an “intent to harm” them.The consequence would be up to a year in prison and a maximum fine of €45,000 ($53,000). This could make it difficult for journalists at the scene of a protest as well as protesters themselves to exercise their rights. Throughout 2020 and before, we have seen just how instrumental video footage and camera phones have been in the fight against police brutality. Bills like this could threaten the movement.
Non-Essential Businesses Stay Closed in France: According to the updated rules of France’s COVID-19 lockdown, non-essential businesses are not yet ready to open. With France registering a total of 1,829,659 confirmed cases of coronavirus on Tuesday, non-essential businesses like hair salons and bookstores must remain closed — an effort that has proven to be helpful in such countries as China, Germany, and Spain. French health officials believe the peak of the pandemic has yet to hit the country. Read more here.
Make Sure Black Votes Count: Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors has something to say to President-elect Joe Biden. In a letter written to Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, Cullors writes,“without the resounding support of Black people, we would be saddled with a very different electoral outcome." As Police reform and abolition have been a hot topic in politics, Cullors has requested a meeting with the President-elect to discuss the movement’s agenda. This move is poised to assure that Biden is held accountable for his promise to create a police oversight board to combat police brutality, particularly against Black and minority people, within his first 100 days of office. Read more about what Biden had to say about the African American community during his victory speech here.
