memeorandum: Use of N-word on Twitter jumped by almost 500% after Elon Musk's takeover as trolls test limits on free speech, report says (Insider)

5:35 PM ET, October 29, 2022

Top Items:

Attack on Nancy Pelosi's husband follows years of GOP demonizing her — A man with right-wing views who broke into the House speaker's home yelled “Where is Nancy?” before assaulting Paul Pelosi with a hammer, police say. — In 2010, Republicans launched a “Fire Pelosi” project …

Politico:

Police offer new details in Paul Pelosi assault — SAN FRANCISCO — Police said Friday evening the attack on Paul Pelosi, the husband of Speaker Nancy Pelosi, was “intentional.” — The man accused of entering the Pelosi home and attacking Paul Pelosi with a hammer specifically targeted …

Politico:

Pelosi's status as GOP campaign-ad villain faces new scrutiny after violent home invasion — Over Nancy Pelosi's nearly two dozen years leading House Democrats, she's played another consistent role: one of the GOP's favorite political villains. — Republicans have targeted Pelosi …

Discussion: Twitchy

Karen Tumulty / Washington Post:
I'm sorry I said nice things about Glenn Youngkin

Discussion: Blue Virginia and Insider

Insider:
Paul Pelosi secretly called 911 while in front of the intruder and spoke in ‘code’ …

Discussion: New York Times, Axios, New York Post, Vanity Fair, Mediaite, TMZ.com, KTVU-TV, Lucianne, Fox News, Raw Story, Los Angeles Times and CNN

Associated Press:
Pelosi attack shocks country on edge about democracy threats

Discussion: Axios, The Guardian, Washington Examiner, CBS News, Washington Post, Mother Jones, The Hill, Honolulu Star-Advertiser and Roll Call

Catie Edmondson / New York Times:
Pelosi Attack Highlights Rising Fears of Political Violence

Discussion: Politico, Axios, HuffPost, ABC7, ABC News, CNN, Bloomberg, Washington Post and The Daily Caller

Anita Chabria / Los Angeles Times:
'It's getting worse.' The sad part of the Pelosi attack is it doesn't surprise us

Discussion: Insider and Raw Story

Los Angeles Times:
Accused Pelosi attacker David DePape spread QAnon, other far-right, bigoted conspiracies

Insider:

Use of N-word on Twitter jumped by almost 500% after Elon Musk's takeover as trolls test limits on free speech, report says — Elon Musk's Twitter takeover sparked a surge in the use of the N-word on the social media platform. — A social media research group told The Washington Post the use of the slur increased by nearly 500%.

Discussion: New York Times, The Hill, The Wrap, Breitbart, TheBlaze, RedState, Gizmodo, Observations In Blackness, Metro.co.uk, Blogs of War, Associated Press and Klement on Investing, more at Techmeme »

Davey Alba / Bloomberg:

Musk's Twitter Roils With Hate Speech as Trolls Test New Limits — In the wake of Elon Musk buying Twitter Inc., a tide of slurs and racist memes swelled on the platform, sparking concern that the site is entering an era of hateful speech. — Twitter has long wrestled …

Stuart A. Thompson / New York Times:
Antisemitic campaign tries to capitalize on Elon Musk's Twitter takeover.

Discussion: New York Post, The Wrap, Wired, Killer NewsTv, Robert Reich, One America News Network, BuzzFeed News, Boing Boing, Bloomberg and The Times of Israel, more at Techmeme »

BBC:

‘Massive’ drone attack on Black Sea Fleet - Russia — Ukraine has carried out a “massive” drone attack on the Black Sea Fleet in the Crimean port city of Sevastopol, damaging one warship, Russia says. — Nine drones were used, a top official said. Ukraine has not commented.

Discussion: TASS, RedState, Task & Purpose and IJR

Neil MacFarquhar / New York Times:

Russia accuses Ukraine of launching a drone attack on the Black Sea Fleet in Crimea. … Russia's decision upends a deal designed to ease the global food crisis. — Russia on Saturday said that it was suspending its participation in an agreement to export grain and other agricultural products …

Discussion: CBS News, Breitbart, Politico, Al Jazeera, Reuters, UPI, TASS, Bloomberg, Inquirer News, Fox News, Agri-Pulse Communications … and NPR

Michael Shellenberger:

Pelosi Attack Suspect Was A Psychotic Homeless Addict Estranged From His Pedophile Lover & Their Children — Berkeley resident David DePape was more in the grip of drug-induced psychosis than ideology-induced fanaticism. — Leading politicians yesterday blamed the political Right …

Discussion: New York Post, HuffPost, The Post Millennial, Twitchy, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Gateway Pundit, The Daily Wire, Lucianne, Fox News, Althouse, Fox 8 Cleveland WJW and IJR

Associated Press:

Officials: 120 dead after Halloween crowd surge in Seoul — At least 120 people were killed and 100 more were injured as they were crushed by a large crowd pushing forward on a narrow street during Halloween festivities in the capital of Seoul, South Korean officials said.

Dana Milbank / Washington Post:

American Jews start to think the unthinkable — On the holiest night of the Jewish year earlier this month, my rabbi looked up from his Kol Nidre sermon — a homily about protecting America's liberal democracy — and posed a question that wasn't in his prepared text: “How many people …

Discussion: American Prospect

Jessica Huseman / Votebeat Texas:

In chaotic court hearing, True the Vote leaders found in contempt — Testimony from Gregg Phillips and Catherine Engelbrecht muddies explanation of how they acquired evidence used to target election vendor Konnech — and who helped. — After a chaotic day of testimony on Thursday …

Discussion: Reuters and Arizona Mirror

Andrew Kaczynski / CNN:

GOP New Hampshire Senate nominee repeats hoax that kids are using litter boxes in schools — The Republican Senate nominee in New Hampshire shared at a Thursday event the hoax claim that children are being told they can identify as anthropomorphic cats and use litter boxes in schools.

Discussion: The American Independent

Dan Lamothe / Washington Post:

White House rejects promoting general involved in Capitol riot response — The Pentagon backed Lt. Gen. Walter E. Piatt, the director of the Army staff, to become a four-star general. But the Biden administration nixed his promotion. — The White House rejected a recommendation …

Discussion: Raw Story and Political Wire

Christina Caron / New York Times:

Teens Turn to TikTok in Search of a Mental Health Diagnosis — While social media can help people feel less alone, using it to evaluate symptoms has several downsides. — About a year into the pandemic, Kianna, a high school student in Baltimore, was feeling increasingly isolated.

Discussion: Althouse

New York Times:

Biden's Agenda Hangs in the Balance if Republicans Take Congress — On a wide array of issues like abortion, taxes, race and judges, President Biden's opportunities would shrink as Republicans vow to dismantle much of his legislative accomplishments. — WASHINGTON — For President Biden …

Discussion: Fox News, Townhall, CNN, Raw Story, The Hill and Washington Examiner

Steven Nelson / New York Post:

Knives out in House GOP whip race over Electoral College abolition — WASHINGTON — A top House Republican's little-known past job working with Democrats to change US elections and choose presidents by popular vote threatens to upend his bid to rise in the GOP ranks, The Post has learned.

Reid J. Epstein / New York Times: Governor's Races Enter Final Sprint on a Scrambled, Surprising Map

Blake Hounshell / New York Times:
It's 2024. Trump Backers Won't Certify the Election. What Next, Legally?

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, Washington Times, ABC News, Bloomberg and NBC News

Herb Scribner / Axios:

U.S. faces “environment of fascism” ahead of 2022 midterms, AOC says — Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) said in an interview with MSNBC Friday that the United States is “facing an environment of fascism” similar to the days of Jim Crow in the leadup to the 2022 midterms.

Discussion: Insider, MSNBC and CNN

Nicole Sganga / CBS News:
Government warns of “heightened threat” to 2022 elections, fueled by rise in domestic violent extremism

Discussion: NPR and Washington Examiner

Carol Rosenberg / New York Times:

U.S. Releases Guantánamo's Oldest Prisoner — Saifullah Paracha, 75, was accused of being a Qaeda sympathizer and was held for two decades. But he was never charged with a crime. — GUANTÁNAMO BAY, Cuba — The United States has released the U.S. military's oldest prisoner …

Discussion: Associated Press, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mother Jones, The Mourning and Al Jazeera