Latest news with #politicalsupport
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Doctored image targets Lee Jae-myung's women supporters
"Even if the candidate is a criminal, dictator or thug, these people say they'll support Lee Jae-myung even if they're ripped apart," reads part of a Korean-language Facebook post shared on June 2, 2025. "Regardless of the martial law (declaration) or impeachment, we cannot hand over the country's fate to these kinds of people." The post includes an image of someone holding up a sign that reads, "Even if our genitals are ripped apart, we will support Lee Jae-myung." The language used on the purported sign appears to reference a controversy involving Lee, stemming from a leaked 2012 phone call in which he used explicit language while speaking with his sister-in-law (archived link). Lee says that while he regrets the comments, he had been quoting profanities used by his brother (archived link). The image was shared a day before South Korea's snap presidential election on June 3, which Lee won with 49.4 percent of the popular vote. According to the election results, he secured over 60 percent of the vote among women in their 20s and 30s (archived link). The same image was also repeatedly shared elsewhere in similar Facebook posts from conservative users as well as in forums, with commenters mocking Lee's women supporters. "They've really gone insane, haven't they? They'd really sacrifice their genitals for Lee?" read a comment on one of the posts. Another said: "This goes to show just how extreme his supporters are, they should be put in an asylum." The image, however, was doctored. A reverse image search on Google led to the original photo, showing a sign without any explicit language, published in an online report by labour-related news outlet Workers' Solidarity from April 12, 2022 (archived link). The sign reads, "Desperately Jae-myung". The outlet's photo editor Lee Mi-jin told AFP the image was taken from a Facebook post shared by former ruling Democratic Party lawmaker Kwon In-sook a day ahead of the previous presidential election on March 8, 2022 (archived link). Lee ran in the 2022 election as the Democratic Party's candidate, losing by a razor-thin margin to Yoon Suk Yeol (archived link). Kwon's post, which included various photos of a rally attended by Lee, called on his supporters to unite ahead of the vote. A keyword search on YouTube found Kwon's photos matched footage of a rally held at Yeouido in central Seoul on the same day (archived link). Similar signs matching those in Kwon's photos can be seen at the YouTube video's 13:38, 22:06 and 22:48 marks; no signs containing the explicit language seen in the misleading social media posts can be spotted. AFP previously debunked multiple false claims surrounding Lee's presidential campaign.
Washington Post
06-06-2025
- Business
- Washington Post
Musk used X to boost Trump. Now he's wielding it against him.
For almost a year, Elon Musk marshalled the full force of X, his $45 billion social media platform, to boost Donald Trump's political fortunes and second presidency. On Thursday, as the two men publicly fought in a flurry of furious online posts, Musk revealed X to be a double-edged sword. Musk spent hours firing off mocking memes, curt put-downs and explosive allegations to his 220 million followers, just as he did during Trump's candidacy and as a member of his administration. Only this time, the target was Trump himself, not the president's critics. The attack deployed tactics familiar from Musk's many previous online battles. He dredged up old Trump tweets to suggest hypocrisy. He amplified posts from others critical of Trump. He accused the president of 'an obvious lie' about the cause of their falling-out and blasted him for 'ingratitude' for Musk's political support, claiming that 'without me, Trump would have lost the election.' As Trump lobbed disparaging posts back from his own social media platform, Truth Social, Musk also turned to a tactic he has used against others who have crossed him: insinuations of personal scandal. 'Time to drop the really big bomb,' Musk posted. Trump 'is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public. Have a nice day, DJT!' The tech mogul's about-face sent shockwaves through X, the social network formerly known at Twitter that Musk acquired in 2022. His attack on Trump tested the loyalty of politicians and influencers active on the site, who scrambled to choose sides. And it set up a titanic political battle for the attention era: A pair of very online billionaires duking it out in public, each with his own social network and millions of acolytes ready to amplify his every post. Thursday's online drama underscored that while Musk's stewardship of X made it into a powerful tool for his allies and the conservative movement, he feels free to wrench it in whatever new direction he pleases. When he acquired Twitter, Musk drove some users and advertisers away from the platform by putting his personal views ahead of business concerns, loosening speech rules and reinstating accounts banned for harassment or spreading misinformation. His fight with Trump proved again that he is willing to risk an exodus of users — this time from the right — by using the platform as a bully pulpit. Trump commands an actual military, but Musk oversees the larger digital horde. He has 220 million X followers, while Trump has 100 million on X and another 10 million on Truth Social, where he has lately become more prolific than he ever was on Twitter. Musk also controls X's moderation policies and its algorithm, both of which he has used at times to boost his own reach and silence his critics. Musk's power to direct attention on X has helped drive the emergence of an ecosystem of pseudonymous conservative political and tech influencers. Many have built followings in the millions on X by praising Musk, denigrating his rivals and trumpeting his agenda. They've been rewarded with amplification from Musk and a cut of X ad revenue. All those advantages were arrayed in Trump's favor after Musk endorsed his candidacy on X less than an hour after Trump survived an attempted assassination in July. Musk donned a MAGA hat in his profile image, held an hourslong live audio event on X with Trump and posted fake AI-generated images of Democratic candidate Kamala Harris in communist regalia. On more than one occasion, pro-Harris accounts found themselves throttled or temporarily suspended, leading some Democrats to cry foul. As Musk's U.S. DOGE Service, or Department of Government Efficiency, swept through Washington in February at Trump's behest, X became a digital command center of the new administration. Musk used it to amplify claims of waste and corruption, some of them unfounded, at the agencies and programs he targeted for elimination. He baited critics with memes of himself as the Godfather and polled his followers on what DOGE should cut next. Now it's Trump that Musk is trolling, after ending his government service a long way short of his stated goal of cutting $2 trillion in federal spending. He sent warning shots on Tuesday, calling Trump's massive tax and immigration bill — the president's top domestic priority — a 'disgusting abomination.' The conflict escalated in a hurry on Thursday after Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that his 'great relationship' with Musk might be over. Over the following hours, Musk accused Trump and other Republican leaders of betraying their principles and approvingly reposted criticisms of them from other accounts. That can have ripple effects across X as users vie to craft posts that will win a reply or amplification from Musk that can boost their own followings. At one point Musk posted a poll asking his 220 million followers if it was time to 'create a new political party in America that actually represents the 80% in the middle.' Six hours into the 24-hour poll, the votes leaned heavily toward 'Yes.' Traffic to X surely spiked on Thursday as political and tech insiders became glued to the conflict and citizens were left to wonder what it meant for the world's richest person to be at war with its most politically powerful. How the feud will affect Musk's influence and business empire is less certain. Tesla and SpaceX, his most valuable companies, depend heavily on government regulation and contracts, making them vulnerable to attacks by Trump and his administration. Tesla stock fell Thursday as investors appeared to fear retribution. Public spats between influencers are great for engagement on social platforms. But if the acrimony continues, Musk may have to reckon again with an exodus of users repelled by his politics. His embrace of Trump sent liberals scurrying to Meta's Threads and upstart Bluesky. His split with the president could give Trump an opening to lure more conservatives to Truth Social. On Thursday, some X influencers appeared to have calculated they had better prospects by sticking with Musk. An account called DogeDesigner with 41 million followers posted that Musk 'sacrificed a lot for Trump' and deserved better treatment. Just last week, Musk had sent it a heart emoji for a post promoting his alliance with the president. Another account called Shibetoshi Nakamoto mused, 'can i finally say that trump's tariffs are super stupid.' In a battle between Musk and Trump, 'My money's on Elon,' conservative commentator Ian Miles Cheong wrote, adding that 'Trump should be impeached and Vance should replace him.' Musk reposted it to his followers, adding only: 'Yes.'
The Herald
21-05-2025
- Business
- The Herald
Health, learning, community spending scaled back
Briefing journalists before the tabling of the budget, Godongwana said fiscal consolidation was a difficult exercise which required the Treasury to get political support for its revised spending plans, which now need to accommodate the absence of a VAT hike. 'When you do fiscal consolidation, you are doing it in conditions not of your own choosing. Even looking at your own party ... it's contested, because it is a painful exercise. That's why you need political buy-in.' He said as soon as the division of revenue bill is passed by both houses of parliament, the money goes to the provinces. On whether there would be fallout due to the scaled back expenditure figures, the minister acknowledged that some state priorities could come under pressure. Godongwana said spending adjustments were limited to a few departments and the social wage remained at 61% of consolidated non-interest spending over the 2025 medium-term expenditure framework (MTEF). 'Total consolidated spending is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 5.4%, from R2.4-trillion in 2024/25 to R2.81-trillion in 2027/28. Economic development is the fastest-growing function over the MTEF period, with an average growth rate of 8.2%.' The overview said total functional allocations amounted to R6.69-trillion over the MTEF, with proposed additional spending reduced from R232.6bn to R180.1bn over the MTEF to align spending with revenue proposals while protecting frontline services. By the numbers The total social services spending programme went from R1.52-trillion in the February budget to R1.50-trillion in the latest version tabled this week. Importantly, these are rand and cents expenditure estimates where inflation is not taken into account. Expenditure targeted towards learning and culture went from R508.7bn in the February budget to R505.6bn in the May version. Basic education bore the brunt of cuts in the category, going from R332.3bn in February to R329.2bn in the May version. Spending in the remaining items under learning and culture stayed the same, in terms of rand and cents. In health, expenditure went from R298.9bn to R296.1bn, with district health services going from R131.1bn to R130.9bn, central hospital services declining from R58.3bn to R57.8bn, provincial hospital services going from R49bn to R48.5bn, and other health services decreasing from R47.5bn to R47.1bn. Only facilities and management maintenance stayed at R11.9bn in this category. In the community development category, expenditure goes from R286.6bn in the February budget to R280.4bn. While the municipal equitable share stay the same at R106.1bn and human settlement water and electrification stays at R58bn, public transport goes from R67.7bn to R63.8bn, and 'other human settlements municipal infrastructure' drops from R54.8bn to R52.6bn. Social development spending goes down from R427bn in the February budget to R420.1bn in the May version. This sees old age grant spending go from R118.8bn in February to R117.4bn, while child support grant spending declines from R93.5bn to R90.4bn. Social security funds and provincial social development spending remain unchanged at R99.5bn and R23.3bn. Spending on 'other grants' goes from R77.1bn to R77bn. The total public services expenditure goes from R78.7bn in February to R80.7bn in this week's budget overview. These reductions essentially mean the minister is reversing the provisions that the he announced in the March iteration of the budget. Public administration and fiscal affairs is the sole beneficiary of this bump in expenditure, with expenditure to go from R51.7bn as outlined in the February budget to R53.7bn in the latest overview. Peace and security go from R267.6bn in the February budget to R263.2bn, with defence and state security going from R60.8bn to R59.7bn. Law courts and prisons go from R58.1bn to R57.2bn while expenditure on home affairs drops from R15.4bn to R12.9bn. Conversely, spending on the economic development front remains at R289.8bn while spending on economic regulation, infrastructure, industrialisation, exports, agriculture, job creation and innovation all stay the same. Debt service costs go from R424.2bn in the February budget literature to R426.3bn in this week's budget overview. The contingency reserve goes from R8bn to R5bn.
