Alan Macleod

Alan MacLeod is Senior Staff Writer for MintPress News. He completed his PhD in 2017 and has since authored two acclaimed 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. Follow Alan on Twitter for more of his work and commentary: @AlanRMacLeod.

Big Tech Firms are Using Automation to Censor News About the Coronavirus

Social media is awash with people angry that their posts have been removed for no legitimate reason. MintPress was no exception, with a story about Cuba’s response to the coronavirus flagged and blocked.

Alan Macleod
By Alan Macleod
Coronavirus tech firms feature photo

Big tech is again attempting to define the range of acceptable political discussion on its platforms; this week YouTube announced a number of changes in the face of the global COVID-19 pandemic, chief among those being that automated systems, rather than humans, will predominantly be authorizing or removing content in the foreseeable future. “As

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China’s Damning US Human Rights Report May Be Propaganda, but It’s Not Wrong

China just released a 13,000-word report on the state of human rights in the United States. While the report clearly has an agenda, it’s not inaccurate.

Alan Macleod
By Alan Macleod
Coronavirus Homeless Feature photo

Amid a global pandemic, you might be forgiven for having missed that the State Council Information Office of the People’s Republic of China just released a 13,000-word report on the state of human rights in the United States. Entitled “The Record of Human Rights Violations in the United States in 2019,” it begins by quoting Secretary of State Mike

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How Cuba is Leading the World in the Fight Against Coronavirus

As Cuba sends doctors around the world to help fight coronavirus, a Cuban antiviral drug, Interferon Alpha 2b, is helping countries like China stem the tide of the outbreak.

Alan Macleod
By Alan Macleod
Coronavirus Cuba Feature photo

While the United States government is complicating efforts to treat coronavirus across the world and is using the pandemic to increase pressure on countries already struggling under U.S. sanctions, including Iran, Syria, and Venezuela, the small island of Cuba, itself a target of Washington’s ire, is leading the fight against the spread of

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As Coronvirus Grips the US, Americans Get a Taste of Life Under Sanctions

Crippling shortages, travel restrictions and overwhelmed medical services will give Americans a taste of what it is like for the millions of people living under US sanctions worldwide.

Alan Macleod
By Alan Macleod
Coronavirus Sanctions Feature photo

Across fifty states, Americans are collectively bracing for the incoming COVID-19 pandemic to hit. In the face of the virus, people are resorting to panic buying, stocking up on vital foods and goods, leading to pressing shortages of key products like hand sanitizer and toilet paper. Perhaps more concerning, however, is that health experts all

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Government Spends Equivalent of Entire US Student Debt to Rally Stock Market for 15 Minutes

The money spent was equal to the total amount of US student debt, more than twice as much as the Wall Street bailout of 2008 and nearly 30 times the net worth of former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, the richest man to ever run for president.

Alan Macleod
By Alan Macleod
Coronavirus stock market Feature photo

With financial markets in a state of near panic over an incoming COVID-19 pandemic, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York took the extraordinary step of injecting over $1.5 trillion into the stock market yesterday in a bid to calm investors’ fears about a collapse. To put that into perspective, that number is equal to the total amount of student

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Amid the Worse Public Crisis in Decades, Trump Admin Finds the Time and Money to Bomb Iraq

While the government has found plenty of money to carry out wars around the globe (the Trump administration increased the military budget to $934 billion), when it comes to policies protecting public health, money is always apparently lacking.

Alan Macleod
By Alan Macleod
Iraq US Airstrikes Feature photo

Amid a spreading COVID-19 pandemic, the United States government is continuing to ramp up aggression against Iran in lieu of responding to the true threat of disease. Earlier today, the U.S. military launched a number of strikes against five separate targets in Iraq, all of which it alleges are “pro-Iranian” groups. At least six deaths reported.

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Creative Coronavirus Responses Appear Across the World, but Not in Trump’s America

The World Health Organization has officially declared the coronavirus a pandemic and countries across the globe are coming up with clever methods of halting its spread putting the Trump administration’s lackluster response to shame.

Alan Macleod
By Alan Macleod
Trump Coronavirus

As the World Health Organization declared the novel COVID-19 virus a pandemic today, countries across the globe are coming up with clever and creative methods of halting its spread or dampening its impact, putting the U.S.’ lackluster response to shame. The world’s smallest country, the Vatican, confirmed its first case of coronavirus last week.

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