Weaponizing the Media: Rise of the Newswire

February 23rd, 2039:
An Excerpt from: Weaponizing the Media and the Rise of the Newswire
The Collected Blogs
By: Jonathon Frog
Blog Entry #28
As many of you know, I was blacklisted from the Newswire three weeks ago. I haven't updated my blog since then, and I'm sure all you rat bastards have been rubbing your hands together in absolute glee waiting for me to post this. Waiting for a filthy tirade of insults and obscenities as I howl and beat my fists against the institution that has thrown me under the bus. 
It's not going to happen. Not here. Not in the public view. Despite what many industry "analysts" (another term for worthless assholes) are proclaiming, I am not out. Down, yes. Beaten? A bit.
But out? Hell no. It'd take a lot more than being marched out of the offices I helped build and tossed unceremoniously in the street. For an article that at a glance would seem so inconspicuous! 
Perhaps I've written about something someone out there doesn't want me reporting on. Maybe I've uncovered just enough for someone, somewhere, to decide I'm worth blacklisting on every level. For someone to convince those who have known me for THREE DECADES that my work has been largely falsified, faked, made of lies. That I stole money from the Newswire. That some girl I'd slept with 20 years ago was "underage." Bull. Shit. I may be dumb, but I'm not stupid. Someone is beating my life to a pulp and I refuse to stand by and let it happen.
What am I to do now? Should I just curl up with my tail between my legs and cry? Let them think I am beaten.
Hell. No.
Want to know why I was blacklisted? A piece of investigative journalism I did on the "Global Senate", proving there are still elements within it that are just as corrupt and ineffective as the United Nations they were spawned from. "Apparently" several thousand of you weren't a big fan of what I had to say, or of the dirt I uncovered. When I fought to have this particular piece voted high enough and accessible from the main page, it all came crashing down. The system failed, MY system failed, and suddenly I was deemed unfit for the Newswire. 
Well, here I am - it's 9am and I'm drinking scotch in my robe. Banned, from the Newswire, my articles restricted and my access revoked. All my friends and colleagues turning around and calling me thief, liar, con artist. Mad and dangerous. A pariah. 
I'm not sure if they realize the damage I can do when I'm still in my underwear.
VR.newswire.pub.jfrog.articles
It's the one labelled "SCREW YOU". You all think I post too much sensationalist crap? That I belong on VR News? Well, here's a headline. I'm going to be. Already signed the contract, I'll be working exclusively for them starting in a few weeks. I've tried doing this the right way, and the easy way. Sourcing my resources. Showing in clear, plain and simple language who and where the Global Senate corruption resides. All that work has got me banned from my own Newswire. Back to the ol' gonzo days, ladies and gentlemen!
Read it. Spread it. They may have axed my article for the Newswire, but nothing is gonna stop me from getting the word out, no matter how hard they try.
Heh. Newswire. 
Funny, you know. I set out to make a new form of media, one that wasn't attached to any government, or political entity. One that could deliver the hard hitting stories and not be worried about fallout. A publication where we could take on corruption, and the big boys, and the fat boys, and all the shit eaters in politics. It was a declaration of war. By 2018, due to "security within the nation" most major news publications were carefully and explicitly controlled by the government and political entities. Look at what happened in England. Nothing was said on TV, radio, newspapers or the internet that someone hadn't gone over six times with a magnifying glass. 
So we went outside the borders of the political spectrum. Just like pirate radio, we went international. First we were based in Cuba. Then bigger headquarters in Morocco. Finally, Geneva. Back to the First World. Our first story we ran was a criticism of the U.S. invasion of Canada. Forty-five hundred words of scathing, blasting and on-fire journalism. Right down America's throat.
It landed like an atomic bomb. Ha! We should have called it Bikiniwire instead.
It'd been over a year since any real wide spread political commentary hit the public like that. Oh, sure you could find stuff online, but we were accredited and known journalists. We had prestige. 
I know it can be pretty hard for a lot of kids out there today to realize what it was like back then. We're living in a day of utter transparency of media. Even the Consortium is open about their military maneuvers, no matter how down and dirty they get. That's something new. Hell, we didn't even know much about the military back when I was a States native. Everything was Top Secret. Classified. Blowing the lid off anything meant a prison sentence, and once the public forgot about you, a double tap and being buried in an empty field. Sounds like red scare era politics, huh? That's Resource Wars politics for you ladies and gentlemen, and we were out to kill it.
They came at us. A bunch of times. The first night when our editorial was lighting up the airwaves we had a massive DDOS hit on all of our servers. Every single one. They weren't just trying to stop us broadcasting, they wanted to make sure we never broadcasted again. Get in, blow all our gear, single out where we were and probably drop a few bombs on us.
Yea. It was that bad. 
But it didn't work. We had some secrets up our sleeves, and we were prepared. Capital P, boy scouts prepared. The attacks hurt, but didn't kill us. 
Probably drove a bunch of bureaucrats mad when they couldn't pin us down. You want to know why? How about you, Senator Gordie? I bet you're reading this. 
We were on boats. Ha! Boats! That's why you couldn't find us! We were sailing bout the bloody island, smokin' big ol' illegal Cuban cigars and maintaining a constant satellite connection. Pirate news at its finest.
Few months later and we were stable enough to get off the boat. As the global climate changed we were seen as heroes who had fought the good fight during an era of repression and control. I just did it 'cause I couldn't get a job anywhere else anymore. When the Global Senate (who, despite what my general tone may be, are actually "mostly" effective and worthwhile) pitched the idea to us about the Global Information Act, we knew we'd made a positive difference in the world. 
All those years of hard work under the radar and then suddenly we were legitimate. Crazy, huh? Course, we also made a few changes along the way. Made sure it was all public domain and that the archives section was accessible everywhere, for free. Had to be that way, you know? It didn't take long before the fledgling government-controlled media decided to buy in. They had to for fear of becoming obsolete.
Cut forward twenty years. What the hell happened to that little newspaper that could fight the big boys? Now we're the big boy. Everyone comes to us for news. We report the truth, and nothing but.
Maybe my troubles only highlight a flaw in the system? Someone figured out that with enough down-votes, and enough people calling for blood, anyone could rig the Newswire system in their favour. It's supposed to have safeguards in place to prevent this from happening, but there's no telling how deep this all goes. How many of my once so-called friends and colleagues have been turned to the dark side.
Something's changed at the Newswire. I'd be a little more careful where you get your news from, kiddies. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to go sit on my balcony and watch the boats for a while, and think of old times, and bad food. With my bottle of $800 scotch.
Category:Global Newswire
Category:Global Senate
Category:VR News
Category:Gordie