The President's Daily Brief - November 7th, 2023: Israel Anniversary, Militia Threats, & TikTok Propaganda

Episode Date: November 7, 2023

In this episode of The President's Daily Brief: We’ll reflect on the one-month anniversary of the Hamas-initiated conflict in the Middle East and the current state of affairs. Analysis of the increased hostility from Iranian-backed militias toward U.S. forces, and the implications for broader regional stability. Investigative insights into the alleged funding of activism with Hamas connections by liberal financial networks. Concerns about China’s potential influence on the American perspective of the Israel-Palestine conflict through TikTok's algorithms. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The President's Daily Brief. Email: [e-mail].   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's Tuesday, November 7th, Election Day across much of America for a variety of local and state positions. Don't forget to get out and vote. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. Let's get briefed. In today's PDB, we mark one month since the brutal Hamas attacks that catapulted the Middle East into war. We'll take a look at where things stand. Later in the program, tensions rise as Iranian-backed militias escalate attacks against U.S. troops.

Stern warnings and the one military response from the U.S. and Syria apparently did little to dampen Iran's desire to test U.S. resolve. And we uncover how the liberal money machine is allegedly fueling activism with ties to Hamas. Finally, in today's back of the brief, we'll look at how China maybe, using TikTok's algorithm to shape the Israel-Palestine narrative here in America. But first up, the PDB spotlight. Today marks one month since the outbreak of the current Middle East conflict, initiated by Hamas' attacks on southern Israel. It seems like a logical time to take stock of what's transpired over the past 31 days. The Israeli death toll from the October 7th violence

stands at over 1,400, with approximately 240 individuals kidnapped and dragged into Gaza as hostages. Israel has also reported the loss of 31 soldiers since escalating its military response with ground operations in Gaza on October 27. On the Palestinian side, the situation remains dire for the civilian population. The health ministry in Gaza, controlled by Hamas, has reported more than 10,000 deaths since Israel commenced its military offensive, and about 25,000 reportedly injured. Now, it's important to note, these figures have not been independently verified. However, the Pentagon offered its assessment on Monday and acknowledged that civilian casualties in Gaza are likely in the thousands, but stop short of providing a precise count.

It's also important to note that included within the Hamas provided numbers are likely an unknown number but not insignificant number of now dead terrorists. Strategically, the Israel Defense Forces have bifurcated the Gaza Strip and encircled Gaza City, the region's largest population center. Israeli media suggests that an IDF advance into Gaza City may be imminent. Now, Palestinian militants, having prepared for years, are likely to mount a very staunch and brutal street-to-street resistance, utilizing an extensive network of tunnels for ambushes along with traps and IEDs. Israel has been clear about its primary objective, which is the

dismantling of Hamas, targeting its leaders and command structure. The IDF's intermittent reports have referenced the targeting of key figures within Hamas' ranks. This past Sunday, the IDF claimed to have eliminated Weil Asfa, an alleged commander responsible for incursions into southern Israel in an air strike. Reporting indicates that at least a dozen senior Hamas commanders have been terminated by the IDF during this past month. While Israel's actions have been focused on Hamas' military arm, the Al-Kasam Brigade, it's crucial to recognize that many of the organization's senior figures orchestrate from afar. Notably, Ismail Hanya, head of Hamas's political bureau, and considered by many as the group's leader. He resides in gutter, far from the front lines of the Gaza Strip.

Hanya has been with Hamas for over 35 years, including as leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip until 2017. At that point, he became chairman of their political. Bureau, at which point he relocated to Gutter, likely leading a more comfortable existence than the vast majority of those residing in Gaza. Now, Gutter has been walking a fine line during this conflict. They play host to Hamas leadership in and around Doha, while also hosting an important U.S. military element in their country. The Al-Udeid Air Base, west of Doha, is home to the headquarters of the U.S. Central command, and also the U.S. Air Force Central Command. Now, you may have noticed that none of the Iran-sponsored proxies responsible for launching almost three dozen drone and missile strikes on U.S. personnel

facilities over the past three weeks have targeted the U.S. element in Qatar. From Iran's perspective, given that Qatar allows Hamas to base some of its leadership there, they've made the pragmatic decision not to antagonize the Qatari government. All right. After the break, U.S. troops face rising dangers as Iranian-backed militias ramp up attacks. And we look at an investigation into how progressive funding is reportedly flowing into pro-Palestinian activism. I'll be right back. Welcome back. I want to turn your attention to Iran's attacks on U.S. forces around the Middle East. If you'll remember, the Pentagon has confirmed over 31 attacks now by Iranian-backed militias or proxies on U.S. forces since October 7th, injuring at least 21 service members.

While the U.S. launched a pair of airstrikes as a response on October 26th, the attacks haven't stopped, and 11 additional incidents have been reported since those airstrikes. It's fair to say that the one military response from the U.S. to date did not serve as a deterrent. So far, those strikes were the first and only offensive response by the Biden administration to the Iranian proxy attacks in the region. And the Pentagon has not clarified why it focused the response solely on Syria rather than also targeting groups in Iraq where most of the attacks have occurred. Experts have speculated that these provocations are designed to force the U.S. to divert resources away from Israel and also to take advantage of the Biden administration's fear of escalation.

with Iran. Now, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, he made an unannounced a visit to Baghdad on Sunday to denounce the attacks, promising the U.S. would take whatever steps necessary to protect our personnel. The visit highlighted the tightrope that the Biden administration is trying to walk as they attempt to prevent the situation in Gaza from escalating into a wider regional conflict. Blinken acknowledged that these militia groups or proxies are aligned with Iran in his remarks on Sunday, but he stopped short of blaming the Iranian regime, instead reiterating that the U.S. is not looking for conflict with Iran. It's important to note that Blinken, representing the U.S. administration, of course, only issued a warning to Iran that the regime should not use its proxies to widen the Israel-Hamas conflict.

What was missing was a direct warning to Iran about attacking U.S. personnel and facilities. Despite now implicitly acknowledging that Iran is responsible for the actions of its proxies, thus, by definition, Iran is responsible for the drone and missile strikes on U.S. personnel, Blinken and the administration can't bring itself to directly warn the Iranian regime to cease and desist with a will face severe consequence. They've danced all around the issue, but after three years of being conciliatory to the Mullets and the IRGC, the White House seems incapable of drawing a direct hard line against the actions of the Iranian regime. The regime understands this and continues to test the resolve of the White House.

Now, in an effort to protect American troops and deter further provocations, the Pentagon has been rapidly deploying air defense systems in the region. That's in addition to the two aircraft carrier strike groups already positioned in the eastern Mediterranean. Military experts, however, fear that the unpredictable assaults on U.S. troops will continue and could soon turn deadly. It's worth mentioning that air defense systems are reactive measures. They are not a deterrence. Now, let's focus stateside to the ongoing discord in the U.S. over the conflict. Yesterday, we discussed the pro-Palestinian rallies across the country, including a particularly aggressive one right in front of the White House. You may have already guessed that protests of

these sighs, they're not spontaneous. They do require organizational know-how and resources. I mean, after all, it's tough to just conjure up a spontaneous gathering of tens of thousands of people and provide them with professionally printed signs and porta-potties. So, as with any good investigation, we should follow the money, meaning just who is funding these demonstrations. Well, our friends at the Daily Caller News Foundation have picked up the ball and are conducting an investigation. They are following the money.

And they found a web of dark money groups with ties to the Democrat Party and liberal financiers like George Soros funneling millions of dollars into anti-Israel groups in the U.S. that includes organizations harboring pro-Hamas sympathies that have praised the terrorist group's savage attacks. One major player in the effort is the Soroschbacht Tide Center, which sponsors organizations like the Adelaan Justice Project, the Palestine Legal, the Arab Resource and Organizing Center, and the Catalyst Project. The sponsorship method that the Tide Center employs allows it to process tax-deductible donations, nations for these groups without the legal need for them to register with the IRS. The Adala Justice Project has been particularly active since the conflict erupted, posting pictures

of Hamas bulldozers breaching Israel's border wall to their Instagram, retweeting a post calling Hamas freedom fighters, and occupying the office of a Democrat representative to demand a ceasefire. National security experts fear that these foundations, which control billions of dollars, are helping to normalize Hamas's propaganda in the minds of Americans, particularly with the younger generation. A recent poll from Quinipeak found that only 32% of Americans aged 18 to 35 supported Israel's response to Hamas' October 7 attack, compared with 58% of those over the age of 50. Let me repeat that. A legitimate, well-respected polling organization found that only 32% of respondents, aged 18 to 35, supported Israel's response to the 7 October slaughter by Hamas. It's also worth noting that Act Blue, a payment processing platform heavily used by the Democrat Party, has been busy since the October 7th attack processing payments for a wide array of groups that have either praised Hamasks,

Moss or defended their actions as self-defense, including Black Lives Matters and chapters of the Democratic Socialists of America. I believe it was the most excellent comedian Ron White, who said, You can't fix stupid. Now, when you combine stupid with an overwhelming desire to feel righteous, and you combine that with a lack of intellectual curiosity and a willingness to get your news from TikTok, Well, the Kinnipiac poll results, they become a little easier to comprehend. Coming up in the back of the brief, speaking of TikTok, there is a reported disparity in TikTok engagements between pro-Palestine and pro-Israel content with concerns about the communist Chinese party's backed platform their influence on American youth regarding the Israel-Palestine conflict.

I'll be right back. Welcome back. In today's back of the brief, the focus shifts to TikTok, a social media giant commanding the attention of over one billion active monthly users. Now, if you are a user of the TikTok platform, which, from what I'm told, is particularly trendy amongst the under 30 crowd, you may have noticed that there's a lot more pro-Palestinian content than pro-Israel. Research by Axios shows that TikTok's algorithm seems to amplify pro-Palestinian perspective.

In the aftermath of the brutal attack by Hamas, TikTok content endorsing Palestine as far in a way out past the content that supports Israel in user engagement. During a one-week analysis, the hashtag Stand with Palestine gathered 285 million views, dwarfing the 64 million views for Stand with Israel. Now, some of this could be chalked up to the fact that TikTok users skew younger demographically. However, that's not the only possible explanation. TikTok and its algorithm are owned and controlled by a company called BiteDance, a technology business that's headquartered in Beijing, rightfully raising questions about its ties to the Chinese Communist Party. Under China's laws, firms like ByteDance may be compelled to support state intelligence.

agent's work, leading to global concerns over data privacy and content control. If you get bored sometime, I suggest you take an hour or so to dive deep into TikTok's terms of agreement. As we've noted here before, China has not condemned Hamas, and TikTok's bias may just be a reflection of the country's official policy toward the Israel-Hamas war. In other words, the CCP may be using TikTok to sway American public opinion. And when I say, well, I mean, it's happening. This concern isn't some wild conspiracy theory. It's worth noting that India banned TikTok, along with dozens of other Chinese apps back in 2020, for precisely this reason. Look, Bight Dance likes to posture to the outside world that they're independent of the CCP.

The reality is every Chinese company is obligated or will feel obligated at some point to assist, support, or accommodate whatever the CCP and the Gilles regime's intel apparatus requests. So the idea that the CCP is manipulating the narrative on a pseudo-state-owned social media giant to sway opinion among America's impressionable youth, yeah, that's not exactly a stretch. And that, my friends, is the president's daily brief for Tuesday, 7 November. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at PDB, at the first FirstTV.com. I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back tomorrow. Until then, stay informed. Stay safe. Stay cool.