He knows when you've been bad or good...

We have been thinking about the American phenomenon of Elf on a Shelf, a recently established American Christmas tradition of placing a toy elf around one's house so that children think an elf is watching them and reporting their behavior to Santa Claus.

It's a pretty disturbing trend if you really think about it. I mean, is the North Pole a surveillance state or what? Is Santa a dictator?

We're making a list of Santa's transgressions and checking it twice:

He watches your every move.
He uses indentured servants to make his products.
He has minions to spy on you in your home (Elf on a Shelf!)
Citizens of the North Pole don't get to vote.
He's ruled the North Pole for...well, forever, we guess.
He punishes you if he doesn't like his behavior.

We'll tell you this: we don't want some elf watching everything we do. Fortunately, no elf is going to be able to watch our online behavior because we are using SumRando VPN. Even Santa himself can't crack its encryption.

Privacy is a human right, Santa. Don't put us on your naughty list because we are helping people execute their human rights in countries where dictators surveil their citizens and block information or lines of communication from them. Why not prove you are the nice guy everyone thinks you are and give some subscriptions to SumRando VPN for Christmas?

Lies, lies, lies

What incredible, vomit-inducing propaganda coming out of MBS's Saudi Kingdom. That a state-run media channel could lie so blatantly is testament to the perpetual state of cloudiness that Saudi citizens must endure when it comes to Truth.

The Saudi news channel claims MBS was awarded Time's Person of the Year, when the reality was that Jamal Khashoggi and other hero journalists, together called "The Guardians," were presented on four different covers. MBS is Mr. B.S.

 

The world of authoritarian propaganda is treacherous. If you control the information, you control the people. Using outright lies is a part of the dictator repertoire. Censorship and blocking the internet is another. Is Time blocked in Saudi Arabia? We don't know. But if MBS is going to lie about who's on the cover, the lie can be enhanced by blocking the truth from the Saudi people.

Fortunately, there is a way to circumvent the lies on the internet. If a site is blocked, you can use a  VPN. We have had a million people across the globe download our VPN in 2018 alone, including tens of thousands of Saudis who are interest in the truth, not the lies of the MBS regime. (You can download it free here.)

 

At least 16 Saudi journalists were in prison as of December 1, in what the New York Times has declared The New Normal. More than 250 journalists were jailed worldwide in 2018 alone. Now, more than ever, is it imperative for journalists to take precautions to protect themselves online. First step, always always always use a VPN. Second step, secure all communications with a safe messaging app. Third step, transfer all documents using a secure file transfer app. 

R.I.P. Jamal Khashoggi and the hundreds of other journalists who have lost their lives in pursuit of truth. You are our true Guardians.