Latest news with #Hinkle
Memri
14 hours ago
- General
- Memri
Russia-Based American Communist Activist Jackson Hinkle: I Moved to Russia for Free Speech; Western Leftists Are Just Liberals - They Don't Fully Support the Resistance Axis, Its Military, the Men Fig
Russia-Based American Communist activist Jackson Hinkle said that Hizbullah, the Russian military, and North Korean soldiers all fall into the same category, those who fight against the deep state, in an interview posted on May 25, 205 on Mayadeen English on Youtube. He argued that anyone resisting Western imperialism and hegemony is engaged in the same struggle as his comrades in America. He noted that taking such a stance as an American is dangerous, and this was one of the reasons he moved to Russia. Hinkle claimed that there is greater freedom of speech in Moscow than in the United States when it comes to speaking about how the world actually operates. 'I think it's much better to be here,' he said. He also expressed admiration for Iran and the Iranian Revolution. Hinkle criticized Western leftists for being 'liberal-leftists,' rather than true communists or Marxist-Leninists. He described himself as a Stalinist who loves Mao, and said that Western leftists support BDS and economic measures against Israel, but fail to fully back the Axis of Resistance, its military stance, and the men who are putting their lives on the line fighting against the United States. Between February 13 and February 23, 2025, Hinkle traveled with fellow ACP founder Christopher Helali and Russian-American Haz Al-Din to Beirut, where they visited the assassination site of Hizbullah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, followed by his funeral on February 22. A week earlier, on February 14, Helali and Hinkle were in Qatar, where they interviewed two senior leaders of Hamas, Basem Naim and Osama Hamdan. Hinkle attended the "Palestine: The Central Issue of the Nation" conference alongside Helali. In March, Hinkle traveled to Sana'a, Yemen, where he spoke at the opening session of a conference organized by the Iran-backed Designated terror organization Ansar Allah, a.k.a. the Houthis.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
State social media regulations return to Tallahassee after trip to U.S. Supreme Court
U.S. District Courthouse for the Northern District of Florida, Tallahassee. (Photo by Michael Moline/Florida Phoenix) Following years of legal wrangling, including a trip to the U.S. Supreme Court, a federal judge said Tuesday that he remains flummoxed about what the Legislature meant to accomplish by trying to limit social media content moderation. Northern District of Florida Judge Robert Hinkle said during proceeding in Tallahassee that he's still 'trying to figure out what the Legislature said, what it meant,' with the 2021 law. James Uthmeier inherited the case when Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed him Florida attorney general earlier this year. The legislation (SB 7072) came at DeSantis' insistence in the immediate aftermath of Donald Trump's banishment from social media platforms following the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol by some of his supporters. NetChoice and co-plaintiff Computer & Communications Industry Association represent a number of the biggest social media companies, including Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Reddit, Apple, and Pinterest. Hinkle issued an injunction against enforcing the law in 2021. Tuesday, during a hearing on the state's motion to dismiss, Hinkle said, 'I think I'm on my own' in deciding whether the law applies only to social media companies or to all websites. Even the Supreme Court couldn't figure out how to interpret the law, Hinkle said. That question became the theme of the hearing, with the judge saying he would decide what the law means and then order the parties to exchange evidence about to whom its provisions apply. CCIA said the Legislature didn't do a particularly clear job defining some elements of the law. 'We have done as much as we can to interpret this vague statute,' Stephanie Joyce, senior vice president for CCIA, told reporters following the hearing. The law prohibits social media platforms from deplatforming any candidate for statewide political office. It allows the Florida Election Commission to fine platforms (defined as companies with annual gross revenues of more than $100 million or more than 100 million monthly active users) $250,000 per day and $25,000 per day for any candidate for other offices. The state questioned whether CCIA and NetChoice were the correct plaintiffs to bring the suit, saying that neither is 'actually regulated by the law' and that they lack any cause of action. Ownership, structure, and financials of the tech companies could help the state refine its argument, its attorneys suggested. NetChoice's lawyers insisted the case is 'quintessential' in that it applies to a broad swath of its members. 'Florida stated three years ago they knew exactly or very closely who was covered by the statute. Then, when it suited their litigation tactics, they decided they didn't know what their own statute meant. As Judge Hinkle said today, it is quite remarkable that a state which is poised to lodge and impose monetary damages on companies now tells several courts they don't know who was covered by the statute,' Joyce said. When DeSantis signed the bill in 2021, he said, 'Maybe this isn't as much the bearded tyrant in the military fatigues — you know, maybe the person is in pajamas on their laptop drinking a soy latte in Silicon Valley. You know what, when they have the power to silence you, you take it seriously.' Authors of the bill included language asserting that 'social media platforms have transformed into the new public town square,' while CCIA replies that its members are private concerns. 'There is nothing more violative of the First Amendment than a government entity telling a private actor what to say,' Joyce said. Determining First Amendment protections for certain companies could come down to whether they are American or foreign-owned and what countries a company makes its executive decisions in. Joyce argued the state is avoiding key legal question in the case. 'The question that Judge Hinkle from the bench opined on today, which is that the Supreme Court stated very clearly that the state of Florida and the state of Texas may not tell a social media website, for example, Facebook, what it can post. That is a question Florida is struggling strenuously to avoid,' she said. Hinkle said he would respond to the motion to dismiss and hopes to 'get to this pretty quickly.' The matters of the case change depending on future legislative action, too, Hinkle reminded the parties. The state acknowledged First Amendment concerns with the law, but argued that the case as presented doesn't implicate those concerns. The Texas case involves a similar law but has languished since April 17. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
U.S. judge denies Florida's request to dismiss suit over 2021 social media law
The lengthy suit over the 2021 state law punishing social media companies for deplatforming conservatives will continue, a U.S. judge ruled on May 22, 2025. (Photo by) A federal judge has denied Florida's motion to dismiss a lawsuit against a 2021 law punishing social media platforms for alleged censorship of conservatives. U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle of the Northern District of Florida issued an order Thursday denying the state's motions to toss the suit brought by two trade associations representing social media giants and to compel those companies to turn over information about their internal policies. The order came weeks after Hinkle held a hearing in Tallahassee in which he said he's still perplexed about what the Legislature meant to accomplish by trying to limit social media content moderation. Hinkle wrote that neither the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit nor the U.S. Supreme Court had questioned the plaintiffs' standing to sue Florida. NetChoice and co-plaintiff Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA) argue that the law violates the First Amendment and is unconstitutionally vague. The two groups represent a number of the biggest social media companies, including Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Reddit, Apple, and Pinterest. 'Once again, a judge has confirmed the importance of the First Amendment, rejecting Florida's attempts to evade review of its unconstitutional statute,' wrote Stephanie Joyce, director of CCIA's Litigation Center, in a press release Thursday. 'This law tries to force websites to speak as the state commands, which strikes at the heart of free discourse and democracy. We now move forward with demonstrating why this law must be struck down.' Hinkle is revisiting the case after the country's highest court punted it back to the Eleventh Circuit because the justices found that the appellate court had not conducted a proper analysis of the groups' First Amendment challenges, which in turn sent the case back to Hinkle. The law the Legislature passed following then-former President Donald Trump's banishment from social media platforms after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol prohibits deplatforming any candidate for statewide political office. Additionally, SB 7072 granted the Florida Election Commission authority to fine platforms with gross revenues of more than $100 million or more than 100 million monthly users $250,000 per day for banning statewide candidates and $25,000 per day for candidates for other offices. In his order Thursday, Hinkle wrote that provisions in the law, such as one banning platforms from placing candidates' posts or posts about them in a less prominent position, would give candidates a statutory right to flood users' feeds. 'The defendants have not attempted to explain what these provisions really mean or how they would be applied. Nor have the defendants offered any theory under which a state can preclude this kind of curating without violating the First Amendment,' Hinkle wrote. Still, Hinkle, who originally issued a preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of the law, leaned toward a belief that provisions of the law are unconstitutional as applied to some of the companies rather than considering the law unconstitutional on its face. He used that reasoning to deny the state's motion to force the plaintiffs to turn over more information about specific companies. 'The plaintiffs' facial challenge to SB 7072, and perhaps even to its various provisions viewed in isolation, is likely to fail — and the disputed discovery, if allowed, would almost surely make no difference,' Hinkle wrote. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
New York Post
19-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
US social media influencer spreads anti-western propaganda
A US social media influencer who spoke at a conference organized by Yemen's Houthi rebels and attended a Hezbollah leader's funeral spreads pro-Russia and Islamist propaganda, The Post has learned. Jackson Hinkle, 25, spreads anti-western conspiracies to his three million X followers and has been kicked off YouTube, Instagram and Twitch. Hinkle also gives a platform to terror group Hamas and interviewed Basem Naim, an official for the organization who is a former Minister of Health for Gaza. Advertisement Hinkle is also allegedly helping Pakistani intelligence spread 'false flag' narratives against India following a terrorist attack in the disputed territory of Kashmir last month that left 26 dead. The revelations come from a new study by the Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI), a New Jersey-based non-profit that tracks social media-inspired violence and hate. 5 Jackson Hinkle receives an award from Yemen's Houthi-run government officials in March, at the conclusion of a scientific conference in Sana'a. Getty Images Advertisement 'Jackson Hinkle has engaged in activities that raise concerns regarding his affiliations and potential alignment with foreign interests,' the NCRI study says. 'He has publicly stated that he has been vetted by Russian and Chinese intelligence and maintains close ties with both governments… His public statements and affiliations warrant further scrutiny to assess the extent of his alignment with foreign interests.' A week following Hinkle's interview with Pakistani High Commissioner to India Abdul Basit on his program 'Legitimate Targets,' he accused India of conducting a false flag operation against Pakistan in Kashmir. Thsi was propaganda spread by Inter-Services Intelligence, Pakistan's primary intelligence agency, the NCRI study claims. 5 Various online bots pushed the narrative that Indian authorities had conducted a 'false flag' operation in the disputed territory of Kashmir. A non-profit traced the origin of the disinformation to Pakistan's secret service. Advertisement 5 A terrorist attack in the disputed territory of Kashmir killed 25 tourists and a local guide in Pahalgam on April 22, raising tensions between India and Pakistan. AP 'In the aftermath of the Pahalgam attack, inauthentic networks used generative AI [bots] to create and circulate provocative memes pushing the false flag narrative, featuring Indian symbols, political figures and inflammatory slogans,' says the NCRI report. Those 'inauthentic' bots have been spreading Hinkle's message to millions of social media users, according to NCRI. In February, Hinkle attended the funeral of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut, and gave interviews to Hezbollah-owned Al-Manar TV and Iran's Channel 3. Advertisement He also participated in a Houthi conference in Sana'a where he met with Yahya Saree, the Houthi military spokesman, and gave a speech condemning US strikes on Yemen, according to NCRI. Hinkle did not respond to The Post's request for comment. After graduating high school in 2019, Hinkle ran in a special election for city council in San Clemente, California, in a campaign that was endorsed by Democratic Socialists of America. Among his campaign promises were opposing the legalization of prostitution and ending nuclear waste. 5 US influencer Jackson Hinkle attended the funeral of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Lebanon in February. AFP via Getty Images 5 US social media influencer Jackson Hinkle has been named to the Russophile Congress, an international support group for Vladimir Putin's war against Ukraine. POOL/AFP via Getty Images Last year, Hinkle, who now calls himself a 'MAGA communist,' was appointed an official representative to the Russophile Congress at its second international meeting, according to the NCRI. The group was set up to gather international support for Russia after the beginning of the war in Ukraine. The movement's mission is to 'dispel anti-Russia myths' and 'weaken the West,' according to reports. Members of the congress include Konstanin Malofeyev, an oligarch and key financier of Russia's 2014 invasion of Crimea in Ukraine according to the Department of Justice. One NCRI analyst said that based on his joining the Russophile congress, Hinkle 'could be considered an asset to Russian Intelligence.' Advertisement Hinkle told the New York Times in 2024 he did not accept any payments from foreign governments. In 2022, the Department of Justice indicted Malofeyev with conspiracy to violate US sanctions in connection with his hiring of a US citizen to work for him to operate television networks in Russia and Greece. The case against him is sealed. Hinkle has praised Russian philosopher Aleksandr Dugin, a far-right nationalist and confidant of Russian leader Vladimir Putin who once called for Ukraine to be 'vanished from the Earth and rebuilt from scratch.' Advertisement 'The use of generative AI, diaspora targeting, and collaboration with Western influencers marks a dangerous evolution in narrative warfare,' the NCRI study says. 'Left unchallenged, these operations risk fueling real-world violence and eroding trust in legitimate attribution on the global stage.'
Yahoo
05-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Federal judge dismisses lawsuit over medicaid oversight but allows amended complaint
A federal judge this week dismissed a lawsuit alleging the state failed to provide adequate oversight of Medicaid managed-care plans that care for people in their homes, but he gave plaintiffs three weeks to file an amended complaint. The lawsuit, filed in September on behalf of five adults with disabilities such as quadriplegia, Alzheimer's disease and debilitating genetic disorders, contends managed-care plans have not provided adequate information about decisions to reduce or deny services. Also, it contends a Florida Agency for Health Care Administration hearing process for appeals does not hold the plans accountable. But, siding with the state agency, U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle's ruling said the plaintiffs lacked legal standing because none of them alleged they are not receiving services they need or are facing a reduction or denial of services. Hinkle gave the plaintiffs until April 24 to file an amended lawsuit and instructed them to 'address head-on the lack of a concrete, imminent injury to the plaintiffs themselves that is traceable to' the state health-care agency. The lawsuit alleged that notices sent to plaintiffs about benefits did not include enough information, failed to include policies or were received late. 'But none of the plaintiffs are currently facing a reduction in benefits. It is speculative that any plaintiff will face a reduction or denial of benefits in the future. It is even more speculative that the various issues they experienced in the past related to the notices will recur. Moreover, even in the past instances where the notices were allegedly insufficient, the plaintiffs for the most part ultimately succeeded in challenging the reduction or denial either before the plan or before AHCA,' Hinkle wrote in the 18-page ruling Wednesday. In addition, the judge said 'the issues with the notices are not traceable' to the state agency, which has contracts with the managed-care providers requiring that their plans comply with federal law. The plaintiffs also alleged that benefits were reduced while the review process was ongoing, which the secretary of the agency acknowledged 'is not supposed to happen,' Hinkle wrote. 'There apparently is no nonspeculative basis to believe it will happen again,' the judge wrote, adding 'there is also no reason to believe' the issue was traceable to the agency. Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
