All posts tagged: elections and campaigns

Erdogan’s political fate may be determined by Turkey’s Kurds

Erdogan’s political fate may be determined by Turkey’s Kurds

Published by skeptic

Editor’s Note: A version of this story first appeared in CNN’s Meanwhile in the Middle East newsletter, a three-times-a-week look inside the region’s biggest stories. Sign up here. Abu Dhabi, UAE CNN  —  Turkey’s persecuted pro-Kurdish party has emerged as a kingmaker in the country’s upcoming election, playing a decisive role that may just tip the balance enough to unseat two-decade ruler Recep Tayyip Erdogan. In a key setback to the Turkish president and leader of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party), the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) last month announced that it would not put forward its own presidential candidate, a move analysts say allows its supporters to vote for Erdogan’s main rival. “We are facing a turning point that will shape the future of Turkey and (its) society,” said the HDP in a statement on March 23. “To fulfill our historical responsibility against the one-man rule, we will not field a presidential candidate in (the) May 14 elections.” It is a twist of irony for the Turkish strongman, who spent the better …

Sanna Marin: Finland’s Prime Minister concedes election

Sanna Marin: Finland’s Prime Minister concedes election

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CNN  —  Finland’s left-wing Prime Minister Sanna Marin conceded defeat on Sunday in the Nordic country’s parliamentary election as the opposition right-wing National Coalition Party (NCP) claimed victory in a tightly fought contest. The pro-business NCP was expected to win 48 of the 200 seats in parliament, narrowly ahead of the nationalist Finns Party with 46 seats and Marin’s Social Democrats on 43 seats, justice ministry election data showed with all ballots counted. “We got the biggest mandate,” NCP leader Petteri Orpo said in a speech to followers, vowing to “fix Finland” and its economy. He will get the first chance at forming a coalition to obtain majority in parliament as Marin’s era as prime minister was expected to end. “We have gained support, we have gained more seats (in parliament). That’s an excellent achievement, even if we did not finish first today,” the prime minister said in a speech to party members. Marin, 37, the world’s youngest prime minister when she took office in 2019, is considered by fans around the globe as a …

How to outsmart fake news in your Facebook feed

How to outsmart fake news in your Facebook feed

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CNN  —  Just because it’s on the internet doesn’t make it true. It seems so simple, but if everyone knew that, Facebook and Google wouldn’t have to pull bogus news sites from their advertising algorithms and people wouldn’t breathlessly share stories that claim Donald Trump is a secret lizard person or Hillary Clinton is an android in a pantsuit. It doesn’t have to be this way. Fake news is actually really easy to spot – if you know how. Consider this your New Media Literacy Guide. NOTE: As we put this together, we sought the input of two communications experts: Dr. Melissa Zimdars, an associate professor at Merrimack College in Massachusetts whose dynamic list of unreliable news sites has gone viral, and Alexios Mantzarlis, the head of the International Fact-Checking Network at the Poynter Institute. First, know the different types of misleading and false news 1. Fake news These are the easiest to debunk and often come from known sham sites that are designed to look like real news outlets. They may include misleading photographs …

This NASA astronaut voted from space

This NASA astronaut voted from space

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Story highlights Shane Kimbrough is a NASA astronaut He voted in the 2016 election CNN  —  From infinity and beyond, he found a way to vote. Shane Kimbrough, a NASA astronaut currently living on board the International Space Station, filed his ballot in Tuesday’s presidential election, according to a Tumblr post by NASA. NASA told Yahoo News that Kimbrough filed his ballot in the 2016 election from the space station sometime over the past few days. For astronauts who will be in space on Election Day, the voting process starts a year before launch. At that time, they are able to select the elections in which they want to participate. Then, six months before the election, astronauts are provided with the form “Voter Registration and Absentee Ballot Request – Federal Post Card Application.” NASA astronaut David Wolf was the first American to vote in space while on the Russian Mir Space Station in a 1997 local election, according to NPR. Source link