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Year: 2023

Biden camp weighs joining TikTok to sway young voters months after purging app from federal devices: report

Biden camp weighs joining TikTok to sway young voters months after purging app from federal devices: report

President Biden’s re-election campaign is reportedly weighing privately whether to join the Chinese-owned social media platform TikTok. Axios first reported on Friday that Biden’s team was considering using the platform, owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, though a spokesman for the president’s re-election downplayed the story. The president’s talks about potentially joining TikTok come after his administration banned the app from being used on federal devices earlier this year. EXPERTS RAISE ALARM AFTER BIDEN STRIKES AGREEMENT WITH CHINA TO SHUT DOWN FOSSIL FUELS The Biden administration set a 30-day deadline in late February for government agencies to purge the app from federal devices. The Chinese-owned social media platform is incredibly popular among younger Americans. Biden has joined forces with TikTok influencers amid his re-election run, and the Democratic National Committee itself joined the platform. However, the president’s campaign joining the Beijing-based social media platform could present unique security risks for Biden. Most notably, the Chinese Communist Party’s cybersecurity law allows government authorities to access companies’ data. Many Republicans resist using TikTok due to data security concerns, while an increasing number of Democrats, notably those with aspirations for higher office, have adopted the platform. The Biden campaign pointed to a social media post published by spokesperson TJ Ducklo, who appeared to confirm that the campaign had at least discussed the possibility. Responding to the report on X, Ducklo wrote, “[laugh out loud] this is not a scoop.” “Campaigns talk about a bunch of stuff and some we do and a bunch we don’t,” Ducklo wrote.  “If we have news to share we’ll let yall know!” Ducklo added. Parents Defending Education founder and president Nikki Neily connected the story to a recent revival of a terrorist’s defense of 9/11. “Two days ago: Young people on TikTok are proudly spreading Osama Bin Laden’s infamous ‘Letter to America’ that blames America for 9/11 and calls for the destruction of Israel,” Neily wrote. “Today: Biden campaign is considering joining TikTok to ‘reach more young voters,’” she continued, sharing screenshots of a pair of posts. TikTok said it will remove videos promoting bin Laden’s infamous pro-terrorism “Letter to America,” citing violations of its rules on supporting any form of terrorism. The anti-American and antisemitic letter went viral this week after being unearthed by social media users, prompting Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wisc., to call for a ban on TikTok.  “Content promoting this letter clearly violates our rules on supporting any form of terrorism. We are proactively and aggressively removing this content and investigating how it got onto our platform,” a TikTok spokesperson told Fox News Digital.  The spokesperson also said “the number of videos on TikTok is small and reports of it trending on our platform are inaccurate.” FOX Business’ Brian Flood and Joseph Wulfohn contributed to this report.

Biden admin launches investigation into top universities over antisemitism, Islamophobia

Biden admin launches investigation into top universities over antisemitism, Islamophobia

The Biden administration launched an investigation late Thursday into six top U.S. universities and one local school district over alleged antisemitic and anti-Muslim discrimination. The Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights said in an announcement that five of the complaints launched Thursday evening allege antisemitic harassment while the other two allege anti-Muslim harassment. The list of schools include three Ivy League colleges — University of Pennsylvania, Columbia University and Cornell University — in addition to Lafayette College, Wellesley College, Cooper Union and the Maize Unified School District in Kansas. “Hate has no place in our schools, period,” Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a statement. “When students are targeted because they are — or are perceived to be — Jewish, Muslim, Arab, Sikh, or any other ethnicity or shared ancestry, schools must act to ensure safe and inclusive educational environments where everyone is free to learn.”  “These investigations underscore how seriously the Biden-Harris Administration, including the U.S. Department of Education, takes our responsibility to protect students from hatred and discrimination,” Cardona continued. MIT FACES BACKLASH FOR NOT EXPELLING ANTI-ISRAEL PROTESTERS OVER ‘VISA ISSUES’: ‘WHO IS IN CHARGE?’ Assistant Secretary of Education for Civil Rights Catherine Lhamon added that the agency recognizes the “fear students and school communities experience as hate proliferates in schools.” Thursday’s announcement comes amid an uptick in anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses nationwide in the aftermath of Hamas militants’ surprise attack on innocent Israeli civilians on Oct. 7. Several protests have turned violent and Jewish students have reported feeling fearful attending classes or walking on campus. “We have received the letter from the Department of Education and look forward to cooperating fully with the Department,” a University of Pennsylvania spokesperson said in a statement shared with Fox News Digital. “The University is taking clear and comprehensive action to prevent, address, and respond to antisemitism, with an action plan anchored in the National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism.” “President Magill has made clear antisemitism is vile and pernicious and has no place at Penn; the University will continue to vigilantly combat antisemitism and all forms of hate,” they added. DOZENS OF PRO-PALESTINIAN UNIVERSITY STUDENT CHAPTERS CELEBRATE ATTACK ON ISRAEL: ‘NOT UNPROVOKED’ Alleged antisemitism on the University of Pennsylvania’s campus in the wake of the Oct. 7 attacks has led to multiple high-profile donors halting their giving to the school. And earlier this month, the school notified the FBI of threatening messages its staff members received targeting the university’s Jewish community. Columbia and Cornell, the two other Ivy League colleges on the Education Department’s list, declined to comment. “On Thursday morning, Nov. 16, the College received notification from the OCR of this complaint,” Lafayette College spokesperson Scott Morse told Fox News Digital. “We do not know why the OCR decided to include the College in this investigation. To the contrary, as recently as last week, students of differing views shared a peaceful gathering on campus to honor all those who have died in the recent violence in the Middle East.”  “This event was typical of how our campus community has acted with care and kindness during this time,” he said. “The College maintains a firm stance against antisemitism, Islamophobia, and hate speech of any kind. The College is cooperating and will continue to cooperate fully with the DOE in their investigation.” UPENN DONOR YANKS FINANCIAL SUPPORT OVER SCHOOL’S ‘UNWILLINGNESS TO CALL OUT EVIL’ AFTER HAMAS ATTACK A Wellesley College spokesperson said in a statement that it was informed by the Education Department that it was under investigation as a result of a complaint filed last month by two large Jewish student groups. On Oct. 19, the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law and the Jewish on Campus organization requested a federal civil rights investigation into an alleged antisemitic email that was blasted to students. The Boston Globe reported that, after college administrators met with those responsible for the email, a subsequent apology was sent to students. However, one of the students responsible later said the apology was only made because administrators had “a gun to her head.” “Wellesley was recently notified by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) that it will be conducting a review into the complaint filed by the Brandeis Center,” Wellesley College said in a statement. “OCR is a neutral agency tasked with ensuring that higher education institutions are complying with the law; OCR’s decision to investigate does not presume that Wellesley has violated any federal civil rights laws.”  “Wellesley responded quickly and decisively to the incident involving student leaders in a residence hall detailed in the Brandeis Center complaint and has shared its response in multiple communications to our community, while making clear antisemitism has no place at Wellesley,” it continued. “The Brandeis Center complaint also refers to a teach-in in which several Wellesley faculty shared historical context and perspective on the Israel/Palestine conflict with students.” NYU LAW STUDENT WHO DEFENDED HAMAS’ TERROR ATTACK REFUSES TO SAY IF SHE HAS EMPATHY FOR ‘BRUTALIZED’ ISRAELIS  “Reports from faculty who participated in the teach-in do not support these allegations. We welcome OCR’s review of both these matters,” it concluded. “Wellesley has been committed to addressing issues of antisemitism on our campus and will continue to work to create an environment that supports free expression and rejects all forms of hate and discrimination.” And the Maize Unified School District, a local public school district headquartered in Maize, Kansas, confirmed it received notification of the investigation, but wasn’t aware of specific allegations. “Maize USD 266 can confirm that the district received an email from the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights at 6:38 p.m. on Nov. 16,” a spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “A copy of the complaint was not provided to Maize USD 266 by the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights, so we are unable to make any further comment regarding this matter.” “Maize USD 266 takes allegations of discrimination seriously and is committed

Senate, House headed for showdown over defense bill

Senate, House headed for showdown over defense bill

Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., succeeded in his efforts this week to call a formal House-Senate conference to come to an agreement on the military defense bill also known as the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), his office said Thursday. Wicker’s victory, reportedly discussed behind closed doors, comes as the Senate also passed the House’s government spending patch to extend the deadlines to January and February. The conference will likely be sometime after Thanksgiving, a Wicker aide told Fox News Digital. The aide also said if the conference process hadn’t started this week, “it wouldn’t have happened this year” due to other priorities.  SENATE GREENLIGHTS MILITARY DEFENSE SPENDING BILL, PAVING WAY FOR HIGH-STAKES CLASH WITH GOP-LED HOUSE “Then the senator heard from several of his colleagues that that was something that they were not OK with it,” the aide said. Wicker, the leading Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, considered Thursday morning one of his last chances to trigger a meeting between the two chambers to finalize one package. The Senate approved its version of the annual military defense bill with bipartisan support in July in an 86-11 vote, granting authorization for $886 billion over the next year to bolster national defense right before the chamber’s five-week August recess. ONLY 4 DEMS VOTE WITH GOP TO PASS DEFENSE POLICY BILL ROLLING BACK ABORTION POLICY, ‘WOKE’ INITIATIVES Notably, in the Senate’s passage of the policy, military personnel will see a 5.2% pay increase, $9.1 billion to foster competitiveness with China, investments in advancing military drone technology and $300 million in aid to Ukraine. The Senate’s bill avoids addressing the issues of abortion and transgender services. However, it does acknowledge the concerns expressed by Republicans about what they call an excessive influence of progressive policies within the Pentagon. As such, Senate Republicans were able to get provisions in the policy that prevent mandating the inclusion of preferred pronouns in official correspondence as well as a halt on diversity quota hires. UNLIKELY GROUP OF SENATE REPUBLICANS TEAM UP ON AMENDMENT TO AUDIT UKRAINE SPENDING IN DEFENSE BILL Coming to an agreement on a package will prove to be a messy feat as the two chambers are worlds apart. Just two weeks prior to the Senate’s passage, the House approved its version of the bill, which incorporated several Republican amendments aimed at dismantling the Pentagon’s abortion policy for service members seeking procedures out of state as well as restricting transgender-affirming treatments. President Biden has previously indicated he would not sign a package filled with hard-line GOP priorities like what’s included in the House’s version.