Neil Young sets sights on ‘corrupt’ Facebook, Google

Advertisement

Advertise with us

In the midst of his battle against President Trump, Neil Young has decided to take on a couple of other sizable entities —Facebook and Google.

Read this article for free:


or

Already have an account? Log in here »

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Subscribe and receive a limited-edition Free Press branded hat or tote.

Digital Subscription

One year of digital access for only $205*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles

*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional

$1 for the first 4 weeks*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles
Start now

*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 14/08/2020 (2226 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

In the midst of his battle against President Trump, Neil Young has decided to take on a couple of other sizable entities —Facebook and Google.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer has announced he’ll be spending thousands of dollars to disconnect his popular Neil Young Archives music site from the two online giants.

Young’s beef with Facebook has been going on for quite some time, with the rocker working on trying to “disengage (the archives) from the corrupt social platform” for several months, according to an email sent out from Young’s Archives. It’s estimated that it will cost $20,000 for the archives to totally leave the world of Facebook behind —but that’s a price that Young is definitely willing to pay.

Amy Harris/ The Associated Press
Neil Young
Amy Harris/ The Associated Press Neil Young

“Facebook knowingly allows untruths and lies in its political ads to circulate on the platform, while bots sow discord among users,” according to the statement from Neil Young Archives. “Sowing dissent and chaos in our country via political disinformation is something we cannot condone. Simply put, Facebook is screwing with our election.”

Yet, it’s unclear exactly why Young now also wants to disassociate from the Google platform and thus eliminate both Google (and Facebook) logins from his website. But he has sent out an email to fans to let them know that the change is happening.

Information emailed out to fans says the roughly US$20,000 Young is spending “to get out of this mess is designed to make it as easy as possible for our valued Facebook users to log in simply and securely to (Neil Young Archives) without the social media platform involved in any way. It is in keeping with what we have been maintaining re: the irresponsible social media platform for the past two years.”

It goes on to explain that the Neil Young Archives “strives to be a place where music lovers can get all of my music at its highest quality, while keeping up on news and views from around the world that we wish to share. We are primarily a music platform featuring all the background information, films, videos, and credits associated with each piece of music we present while offering unparalleled listening quality.”

Young has been in the news a lot lately, having filed a lawsuit against Trump to try to stop the president from using his music in rallies and campaign events.

— The Mercury News

Report Error Submit a Tip

More Stories

Suspension on the horizon for Hellebuyck as pre-season set to start

Ken Wiebe 7 minute read Preview

Suspension on the horizon for Hellebuyck as pre-season set to start

Ken Wiebe 7 minute read Tuesday, Sep. 15, 2026

In this high stakes game of chicken, Kevin Cheveldayoff, Connor Hellebuyck or any of the potential suitors for the Winnipeg Jets franchise netminder appear ready to blink.

Read
Tuesday, Sep. 15, 2026

Finding the balance on short-term rentals

Editorial 4 minute read Preview

Finding the balance on short-term rentals

Editorial 4 minute read 2:00 AM CDT

It’s fair to say the advent of Airbnb in 2008 changed the short-term rental market — it and its competitors gave hotels a run for their money, gave homeowners new ways to make an income and helped customers pay less for accommodations.

The change didn’t come without problems. No one is likely to enjoy having rowdy instant condo neighbours who are in town for a day or two to catch a concert and party the night away — nor do quiet neighbourhoods enjoy the constant churn of customers abutting their yards.

But short-term rental owners are taxpayers, too — in fact, when they’re fully compliant with municipal regulations, you can argue that they often pay more than their neighbours. They’re part of the accommodations economy and many owners have seen the rules change during the tenure of their operations, making it harder and harder to turn a profit.

Every time a municipality announces plans to change the rules, owners probably shudder.

Read
2:00 AM CDT

Jets GM insists club’s not working under any deadline in netminder’s trade request

Mike McIntyre 7 minute read Preview

Jets GM insists club’s not working under any deadline in netminder’s trade request

Mike McIntyre 7 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 5:27 PM CDT

Connor Hellebuyck and his family were subject to so much post-Olympic vitriol that both the Winnipeg Jets security team and even police had to get involved.

Read
Updated: Yesterday at 5:27 PM CDT

United Way, other charities fight for dollars as donor base shrinks

Scott Billeck 7 minute read Preview

United Way, other charities fight for dollars as donor base shrinks

Scott Billeck 7 minute read 2:00 AM CDT

Winnipeg’s charitable sector is being squeezed from both sides: demand for help is growing while the pool of donors to meet that need is shrinking.

The imbalance is increasingly being carried by a relatively small group of deep-pocketed donors. Last year, 600 people — about three per cent of United Way Winnipeg’s individual donors — accounted for roughly $8 million, or 55 per cent of individual donations.

The fundraising pitch isn’t getting any easier.

Homelessness and public drug use have become increasingly visible, household budgets remain strained and the problems charities are trying to address can seem so entrenched that donors may reasonably wonder what difference another contribution can make.

Read
2:00 AM CDT

Space war and other distractions

Gwynne Dyer 5 minute read 2:00 AM CDT

When Troy Meink, the chief of the U.S. Space Force, announces for no obvious reason that the United States “now has on-orbit space-control weapons,” people naturally assume that something is up. Why is Meink admitting the truth now? He’s even boasting about it!

It can’t be to frighten the Chinese or the Russians, because they have long been watching U.S. military activities in space. They regularly monitor the flights of the semi-secret X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle, the re-usable uncrewed spaceplane that the U.S. Space Force launches from Florida but sometimes lands at Vandenberg in California (eight missions so far).

The Chinese can’t complain, because they have their own ‘secret’ spaceplane, and sometimes they even play ‘silly buggers’ in orbit with their American and British counterparts. (‘Silly buggers’ is the old naval game of high-speed manoeuvres of warships in formation, a frequent cause of collisions.)

Reuters reported a year ago on a joint U.S.-British operation in which the U.S. Space Force, working from a base in Colorado, directed an American military satellite to swoop in close to a British satellite just as China’s Shiyan 12-01 satellite passed beneath it. What for? Who knows? They may have done it just because they could.

‘A new future’: city dentist Cholakis donates $2M to school of dental hygiene

Melissa Martin 3 minute read Preview

‘A new future’: city dentist Cholakis donates $2M to school of dental hygiene

Melissa Martin 3 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 3:25 PM CDT

Dental hygienist training in Manitoba is getting a big boost, after a major gift from a local dentist.

On Thursday, the dental hygiene school at the University of Manitoba’s Dr. Gerald Niznick College of Dentistry unveiled a new $2-million donation from Dr. Ernest Cholakis. It’s the largest gift the program has ever received, and in honour of the funding, the school will be named the Cholakis School of Dental Hygiene.

The gift was unveiled at a ceremony Thursday morning at the U of M’s Brodie Centre in the Health Sciences Centre complex. The benefactor and other dignitaries, including Premier Wab Kinew, were in attendance, as well as the three-year program’s current students.

Cholakis, who graduated from the U of M’s dentistry school in 1982, had high praise for the dental hygiene profession.

Read
Updated: Yesterday at 3:25 PM CDT