Alan Macleod

Alan MacLeod is Senior Staff Writer for MintPress News. After completing his PhD in 2017 he published two books: Bad News From Venezuela: Twenty Years of Fake News and Misreporting and Propaganda in the Information Age: Still Manufacturing Consent, as well as a number of academic articles. He has also contributed to FAIR.org, The Guardian, Salon, The Grayzone, Jacobin Magazine, and Common Dreams.

Exposed: How Israeli Spies Control Your VPN

A new report uncovers the troubling ties between top VPN services like ExpressVPN and the Israeli security state, raising alarms about how much control Israel’s Unit 8200 has over your online privacy.

Alan Macleod
By Alan Macleod
Israel VPNs Feature photo

An estimated 1.6 billion people rely on VPNs to carry out the most sensitive tasks online, from watching illegal videos to engaging in sexual or political activities. But few people know that a considerable chunk of that market—including three of the six most popular VPNs—is quietly operated by an Israeli-owned company with close connections to

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From Fight the Power to Work for It: Chuck D, Public Enemy and How the CIA Neutralized Rap

Chuck D has made a full transition from “Fight the Power” to “work with the power.” MintPress News explores this new venture that fuses together YouTube, popular musicians, and the U.S. national security state.

Alan Macleod
By Alan Macleod
Chuck D State Department Feature photo

Surprising many, legendary rapper and activist Chuck D appeared at the White House earlier this summer, announcing that he was joining forces with YouTube and Antony Blinken’s State Department to become one of Washington’s “global music ambassadors” – a role directly modeled on Washington’s Cold War-era efforts to use the arts to inspire

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Venezuela: While US Politicians Call Fraud, American Election Observers Endorse Results 

While American politicians and media predictably denounce the socialist victory in Venezuela, dozens of American electoral observers on the ground endorsed the process. MintPress reports from Caracas. 

Alan Macleod
By Alan Macleod
Venezuela Election Fraud Feature photo

Much to the chagrin of the U.S. government, socialist candidate Nicolas Maduro won a third successive term in office on Sunday, convincingly beating his U.S.-backed opponents, Edmundo Gonzalez and Maria Corina Machado, by seven points. Almost immediately after the results were announced, American officials began decrying the elections as a

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Solidarity from Palestine to Venezuela: Meet the Palestinians Observing Venezuela’s Elections

Palestinian election observers in Venezuela reveal shared resistance against imperialism. MintPress explores the unwavering support between the two nations.

Alan Macleod
By Alan Macleod
Venezuela Palestine Solidarity Feature photo

President Nicolas Maduro won a third term in office on Sunday, promising to continue and deepen Venezuela’s anti-imperialist Bolivarian Revolution. Many in the U.S. quickly denounced the elections as a sham presided over by a dictatorship. Yet the proceedings were presided over by more than 900 electoral observers from over 100 countries,

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Rupert Murdoch, Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos Toxic Pro-War Media Empire

A free media, we are told, is the bedrock of democracy. But freedom from what? Certainly, government interference in media exists. But plutocratic elites also exert massive pressure on the media.

Alan Macleod
By Alan Macleod
Website Billionaires media Feature photo

These are the sorts of headlines we can expect from a newspaper owned and controlled by one of the world’s richest individuals. In 2013, Amazon owner Jeff Bezos (whose net worth far exceeds $200 billion, according to Forbes’ real-time billionaire list)  bought the Washington Post and turned it into a vehicle for promoting his own interests. In

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Rupert Murdoch: Israel’s Most Powerful Supporter

Rupert Murdoch, who has for decades championed Israel’s cause, is now pushing his media empire into overdrive to defend the indefensible. If the pen is indeed mightier than the sword, then Murdoch is one of Israel’s most powerful weapons.

Alan Macleod
By Alan Macleod
Rupert Murdoch Bio Feature photo

Without a sympathetic media, Israel’s powerful military would be next to useless in its attempts to ethnically cleanse Gaza. It relies on crucial Western support for its project, and no one is as important in manufacturing consent for Israel as Rupert Murdoch. The Australian-born press baron has close and extensive personal ties to the Israeli

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Maduro vs. US Election Interference: A Battle for Venezuela’s Future

As elections approach, the US is pouring resources into supporting Venezuela’s opposition candidate, Edmundo González, aiming to end Maduro’s anti-imperialist rule.

Alan Macleod
By Alan Macleod
US Venezuela Election Meddling Feature photo

With upcoming elections scheduled for July 28, the United States is working overtime to dislodge the socialist government of Nicolás Maduro. Ten individuals are vying for the position, including nine in opposition to Maduro, who heads a coalition of 13 leftist groups. Washington, though, has made clear that its preferred candidate is 74-year-old

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