“Project Censored’s list of the top stories that get very little mainstream me- dia traction should in fact drive the reporting agendas of every major news outlet. These 25 stories are clearly the most consequential of the year, and what is scary in looking at the list is how obvious it is that silencing reports of these themes protects corrupt governments and corporate gatekeepers. Project Censored is a lifeline to the world’s most urgent and significant stories.” —Naomi Wolf, author of the bestselling books The Beauty Myth; The End of America; and Give Me Liberty “The systematic exposure of censored stories by Project Censored has been an important contribution.” —Howard Zinn, author of A People’s History of the United States “Project Censored . has evolved into a deep, wide, and utterly engross- ing exercise to unmask censorship, self-censorship, and propaganda in the mass media.” —Ralph Nader, consumer advocate, lawyer, author “[Project Censored] is a clarion call for truth telling.”—Daniel Ellsberg, The Pentagon Papers “[Project Censored] shows how the American public has been bamboozled, snookered, and dumbed down by the corporate media. It is chock-full of ‘ah- ha’ moments where we understand just how we’ve been fleeced by bank- sters, stripped of our civil liberties, and blindly led down a path of never- ending war.” —Medea Benjamin, author of Drone Warfare, and cofounder of Global Exchange and CODEPINK “Project Censored . not only shines a penetrating light on the American Empire and all its deadly, destructive, and deceitful actions, it does so at a time when the Obama administration is mounting a fierce effort to silence truth-tellers and whistleblowers. Project Censored provides the kind of fearless and honest journalism we so desperately need in these dangerous times.”—Peter Kuznick, professor of history, American University, and coauthor, with Oliver Stone, of The Untold History of the United States “The world needs more brave whistleblowers and independent journalists in the service of reclaiming democracy and challenging the abuse of power. Project Censored stands out for its commitment to such work.” —Deepa Kumar, author of Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire and pro- fessor of media studies at Rutgers University “Project Censored brings to light some of the most important stories of the year that you never saw or heard about. This is your chance to find out what got buried.” —Diane Ravitch, author of The Death and Life of the Great American School System “Most journalists in the United States believe the press here is free. That grand illusion only helps obscure the fact that, by and large, the US corpo- rate press does not report what’s really going on, while tuning out, or laugh- ing off, all those who try to do just that. Americans—now more than ever— need those outlets that do labor to report some truth. Project Censored is not just among the bravest, smartest, and most rigorous of those outlets, but the only one that’s wholly focused on those stories that the corporate press ignores, downplays, and/or distorts.” —Mark Crispin Miller, author, professor of media ecology, New York University “At a time when the need for independent journalism and for media outlets unaffiliated with and untainted by the government and corporate sponsors is greater than ever . we are fortunate to have an ally like Project Cen- sored.”—Dahr Jamail, independent journalist “Those who read Project Censored are in the know.” ––Cynthia McKinney, former member of the US House of Representatives “[Project Censored’s] efforts to continue globalizing their reporting network could not be more timely or necessary.”—Kristina Borjesson, award-win- ning freelance journalist “Project Censored continues to do the work they’ve been persistently pursuing since 1976: Exposing the secrets that those in power would prefer to keep hidden and the corruption that should be scandalous, but isn’t, because the corporate media won’t cover it.” —David Rovics, musician and activist “Project Censored is one of the organizations that we should listen to, to be assured that our newspapers and our broadcasting outlets are practicing thorough and ethical journalism.”—Walter Cronkite, anchor, CBS Evening News, 1962-1981 “One of the most significant media research projects in the country.” —I. F. Stone, American muckraker “A terrific resource, especially for its directory of alternative media and orga- nizations . Recommended for media collections.” —Library Journal “This book is evidence of Project Censored’s profoundly important work in educating readers on current events and the skills needed to be a critical thinker.” —Publishers Weekly, on Censored 2014 “A distant early warning system for society’s problems.” —American Jour- nalism Review CENSORED 2018 PRESS FREEDOMS IN A “POST-TRUTH” WORLD The Top Censored Stories and Media Analysis of 2017–18 Andy Lee Roth and Mickey Huff with Project Censored Foreword by Deepa Kumar Cartoons by Khalil Bendib Seven Stories Press New York • Oakland • London Copyright © 2017 by Mickey Huff and Andy Lee Roth Foreword © 2017 by Deepa Kumar A Seven Stories Press First Edition All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, by any means, including mechanical, electronic, photocopying, recording or other- wise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Seven Stories Press 140 Watts Street New York, NY 10013 www.sevenstories.com ISBN 978-1-60980-781-8 (paperback) ISBN 978-1-60980-782-5 (electronic) ISSN 1074-5998 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Book design by Jon Gilbert Printed in the USA dedicated to Chelsea Manning and her allies, in celebration of her freedom Contents FOREWORD: Sifting and Winnowing in the “Post-Truth” Era by Deepa Kumar ................................................................... 11 INTRODUCTION: by Andy Lee Roth and Mickey Huff ....................................17 CHAPTER 1: The Top Censored Stories and Media Analysis of 2016–17 Compiled and edited by Andy Lee Roth .......................................................... 31 Introduction ................................................................................................. 31 Note on Research and Evaluation of Censored News Stories .................... 39 1. Widespread Lead Contamination Threatens Children’s Health, and Could Triple Household Water Bills ............................................... 2. Over Six Trillion Dollars in Unaccountable Army Spending .................. 3. Pentagon Paid UK PR Firm for Fake Al-Qaeda Videos ........................... 4. Voter Suppression in the 2016 Presidential Election .............................. 5. Big Data and Dark Money behind the 2016 Election .............................. 6. Antibiotic Resistant “Superbugs” Threaten Health and Foundations of Modern Medicine ..................................................... 7. The Toll of US Navy Training on Wildlife in the North Pacific ............... 8. Maternal Mortality a Growing Threat in the US ...................................... 9. DNC Claims Right to Select Presidential Candidate ............................... 10. 2016: A Record Year for Global Internet Shutdowns .............................. 11. Law Enforcement Surveillance of Phone Records ................................... 12. US Quietly Established New “Anti-Propaganda” Center......................... 13. Right-Wing Money Promotes Model Legislation to Restrict Free Speech on University Campuses .............................................................. 14. Judges across US Using Racially Biased Software to Assess Defendants’ Risk of Committing Future Crimes ........................ 15. Shell Understood Climate Change as Early as 1991— and Ignored It ............................................................................................ 16. “Resilient” Indian Communities Struggle to Cope with Impacts of Climate Change .............................................................. 17. Young Plaintiffs Invoke Constitutional Grounds for Climate Protection ..................................................................................... 7 18. Rise in Number of Transgender People Murdered .................................. 19. Inmates and Activists Protest Chemical Weapons in US Prisons and Jails .............................................................................. 20. Seattle Activist Group Leads First Successful Campaign to Defund Police .......................................................................................... 21. Fossil Fuel Industry “Colonizing” US Universities ................................. 22. Lawsuit against Illinois Department of Corrections Exposes Militarization of Law Enforcement inside Prisons ................... 23. Facebook Buys Sensitive User Data to Offer Marketers Targeted Advertising .................................................................................. 24. Eight Use of Force Policies to Prevent Police Killings ............................. 25. Juvenile Court Fees Punish Children for Their Families’ Poverty .............................................................................. CHAPTER 2: Post-Truth Dystopia: Fake News, Alternative Facts, and the Ongoing War on Reality—Junk Food News and News Abuse for 2016–17 by Nolan Higdon and Mickey Huff, with student writers and researchers Aimee Casey, Gabriella Custodio, Elsa Denis, Thomas Field, Alisha Huajardo, Justin Lascano, Aubrey Sanchez, Edwin Sevilla, Hannah Soule, Kelly Van Boekhout,