drugmaker purdue pharma faces renewed scrutiny after leaked documents reveal the extent of its efforts to suppress negative stories about its widely prescribed painkillers. also this hour a new report by amnesty international accuses tech giants google and facebook of violating human rights by employing surveillance based business models. and beijing vows to counter measures after the u.s. congress passes a bill backing hong kong protests. you're

watching are to international coming to you live from the russian capital where it's just turned 4 pm welcome to the program. we start in the u.s. where leaks documents reveal the extent of lobbying by drug maker purdue pharma to market it's a widely prescribed painkiller and downplayed the risks the drug has been blamed as a major factor and america's opioid epidemic the revelations were made by the investigative media outlet pro publica they include allegations that purdue hired sympathetic experts to appear and leaving the outlets for do funded think tanks are also accused of writing misleading articles while negative coverage was often challenge by medical analysts with alleged ties to the drug maker with more here is killed off them. purdue pharma the corporation that created oxy cotton is generally blamed for the crisis due to their efforts to reorient the medical community and change the narrative regarding the dangers of addiction let's go over a specific example of how they went about doing this in 2004 the new york times ran

an article containing this wildly misleading statement regarding the danger of addiction contrary to media portrayals the typical oxycontin addict does not start out as a pain patient who fell unwittingly into a drug habit the author of that article is sally said tell a fellow at the american enterprise institute specializing in medical issues coincidentally the american enterprise institute received $50000.00 a year from purdue pharma since 2003 plus an additional 800000 dollars for special events according to documents received by pro publica but it gets better what study did said tell site in order to defend a funder of her institute the national household survey on drug abuse found that among non-medical oxycontin users 98 percent has also used other addictive pain relievers for non medical purposes and more than a 4th had used heroin well what they don't mention is that that study was actually

carried out by employees and consultants of purdue pharma now sally's to tell says she has no idea that her institute was funded by purdue the new york times and the american enterprise institute have denied any wrongdoing but sallies to tell didn't just defend the profits of purdue in the new york times she also did it elsewhere she was quite a media star when it came to propane killer opining. oxycontin does not cause addiction it's abusers are already addicts. the real public health damage here comes from the peach campaign conducted by zealous prosecutors and public interest advocates to demonize the drug itself. this is tragic because oxycontin has been a godsend for millions of patients. only a minority of people who are prescribe opiates for pain become addicted to them and those who do become addicted and who die from painkiller over dues is done to obtain these medications from sources other than their own physicians but media

spin was just one step for do also funded other organizations to push its agenda of more prescriptions for pain killers the american academy of pain medicine and the american pain society promoted this for example studies indicated that they know their development of addiction we know the relief of pain is low furthermore experience has shown a known addict can benefit from the carefully supervised judicious use of a pilates for the treatment of pain for do it rich these donations were made but it defends its position per view has been contacted over the years by policy experts at a variety of think tanks who are seeking additional context on industry issues for their work our engagement has always been appropriate and aimed at providing a science based perspective that the company felt was often overlooked in the larger policy conversation over 400000 americans have lost their lives to opioids since the year 2000 and many more lives have been ruined by addiction. r.t.

new york purdue has made billions of dollars selling oxycontin and is now selling thousands of legal cases the lawsuits claim the company aggressively push the drug while failing to be upfront about the risks of addiction and overdose on average $130.00 americans die each day from overdosing on opioids nearly 80 percent of heroin users abuse painkillers in the past addiction doctor and lemke thinks the influence of companies on think tanks is dangerous. but typical for produce pharma to try to influence the way that doctors prescribe opioids by going into organizations that they know can influence the way the doctors think about how to treat pain so in this instance influencing important think tank. which produces articles about whether or not oxy cotton is safe and effective is

a very clever and very standard way that produce pharma tries to influence opioid prescribing in the united states giving money to these think tanks you know a clear effort to influence them seems very dangerous indeed. google and facebook business models threaten human rights by being based on surveillance that's according to a new amnesty international report the group allegedly attacked iran for violate privacy and freedom of expression i bow to medea costa from our amnesty international release a report outlining how sleaze burke and google abuse human rights some of the thing crazing dominance over the new global public square controlling the main channels. the company's surveillance based business model forces people to make a fast in bargain whereby they are only able to enjoy their human rights online by submitting to a system predicated on human rights abuse their report accuses google and facebook

of violating their right to privacy on an unprecedented scale as well as freedom of expression. not only does it represent an intrusion into billions of people's private lives that can never be necessary or proportionate but the companies have conditioned access to their services on consenting to processing and sharing of their personal data for marketing and advertising directly countering the right to decide when and how our personal data can be shared with others. it also accuses facebook of hidden meaning collation for political ad targeting the use of micro targeting for political messaging can also limit people's freedom of expression by creating a curated worldview inhospitable to pluralistic political discourse. i mean it is reported has only confirmed what has long been known as both tech giants have been caught redhanded countless times the world's eyes were opened to the risk of these

tech platforms posed back in 28 by the facebook temperature analytical data scandal data from 87000000 people's profiles were harvested and used to micro target and manipulate people for political campaigning purposes and it looks like we're still haven't learned all the lessons last week a report on the wall street journal revealed that google partnered with healthcare provider as sunshine to secretly collect and store magical records on millions of patients across 21 states all after the company failed to convince customers to hand over their medical data voluntarily meanwhile facebook has vividly did night the latest allegations made by amnesty international a person's choice to use facebook services and the way we collect receiver use data all clearly disclosed and acknowledge by users cannot meaningfully be likened to

the involuntary and often unlawful government surveillance so is there a way for users to keep their data safe well there are reports out there is but it will take a radical overhaul of the way big tax operates it calls for launch data protection laws to make the system more humane but is there a place in real life for an internet that has human rights at its core. a noisy incident during a t.v. interview with a us democratic lawmaker has gone viral and its own bizarre way has highlighted the divisions in u.s. politics taylor. more so than at the washington is thick with intrigue contriver see the public hearings in the late to strum impeachment saga into their 2nd week and everyone wants to know has he done it will this be the straw that finally breaks the camel's back the president used taxpayer dollars to ask the

ukrainians to help him choose an election that can't be right guys i think we've got the wrong sound bite in the. what really ok no apparent need that is right. fought gate is on everyone's lips democratic representative eric was weighing in on the ongoing impeachment hearings when he dropped dropped an explosive bomb on m s n b c you'd think though that while one world human stuff happens move on and 2 the president of the united states of america could possibly be impeached potentially just the thought in the country's history but no the scandal over that in quick moment is refusing really. to blow over and mainstream media is leading the charge trying to get to the bottom of it i'm really

sorry about the but i have to ask if this was you or someone in the studio it was not me and i didn't hear it when i was speaking you look like you heard it and. i didn't did not hear it even politicians have jumped on to the bandwagon even to show off the shop wit. cutely when i didn't. cruz made a rookie error and forgot that he too had been involved in the story that also rippled far and wide to show you senator and thank you for keeping it clean you know without waiting out more so let's see what all the conspiracy theories on the table are the program on which i happened hardball tried to cover up its tracks and said it was just the presenter scraping his mug across the table to which swalwell

took a leaf out of trump's book and breathed a sigh of relief but let's test that one out neal over to you. not sure so maybe another one the cameraman was to blame they were ways think they're safe just because they're in the shot but guys is that even possible you know. neither of the theories held up to scrutiny though viewers smelt a rat pluto was demoted as a planet which eric swallow is now secure among the gas giants. is not a candidate that you can stand behind the cover of is own worries worse than a crime so while iran faces protests bolivia it faces a coup trump faces possible impeachment and the u.k. faces and not the string of pranks it delays the media follows it's very funny

excellent nose for stories let's see when this one runs out of gas ok this is ridiculous i mean are you know you can talk about this seriously and. high profile media outlets have been forced to backtrack on the reporting about child imprisonment u.s. migrant camps under the trump administration the reporting was based on a u.n. experts claim that 100000 migrant kids were being held at u.s. border facilities on. in violation of international law outlets including the associated press the new york times and reuters pick up the story that's before the u.n. issued a clarification stating the figures relate to 2015 when president barack obama was still in office according to the latest u.s. government data the true number of migrant children held so far this year 70000 outlets were quick to react but rather than correct the story a lot of the new information some dropped out altogether if peace withdrawal when

the story the author of the report has clarified that the figures do not represent the number of children current in migration related to his detention but the toll toll number of children in migration related to you has detention in to solve the 915 will delete the story chadwick more columnist for spectator usa things such decisions are driven by media bias it was determined that that report was actually 2015. and so there's really a retraction there they simply took the story down so it seems that the press is exposing itself more and more particularly on this issue with the border as being really propagandist. earlier r.t. america host rick sanchez asked larry king to comment on the current state of the u.s. media king things outlets have long been entrenched along democratic and republican lines. what we have today in media rick and that's

a good quote. is that we have one network devoted exclusively to the right one will work exclusively to the left one network just says it's in the center was c.n.n. has drifted left so the way we get our news is r t but we get our news from c.b.s. a.b.c. n.b.c. at the appropriate half hour in the evening so all we were certainly you get the new was if you if you click around you're going to get the news if you only tune to m s n b c or or fox you don't get the news you get a viewpoint on the news and fox that's a good point fox might have kept next and then. fill the comma rock group pink floyd's front man has spoken to r.t. about his dismay at what's happening to the whistleblower join us on that story and more after the break.

markets are making new all time. interesting the money that is forced

into the. markets like draining the liver of a bra farm has to come from somewhere a lot less let's dig into this little bit more. welcome back the u.s. congress has passed a bill in support of hong kong protesters president trump is expected to sign it into law despite delicate trade talks with china but the move has angered beijing. she's done with him gone home kong trying to lose in hong kong affairs are trying as internal affairs going to the united states should you stop interfering or it will be he by negative because he wishes to join you will have to take strong counter measures to defend its national sovereignty child development interesting to shoot them when they don't the bill called the hong kong human rights and

democracy act will allow sanctions to be imposed on those officials who suppress human rights in the city it will also require an annual assessment of hong kong's autonomy under the current chinese one country 2 systems the city has its own government and is in charge of its own economic affairs if any issues are flagged up hong kong special trade status with the u.s. would be revoked now with the territory having been wracked with protests for months now it's already led to some economic consequences there a number of companies have started to quit hong kong with the city losing its crown as the most lucrative for luxury swiss watches some companies have relocated to singapore amid the social unrest the financial hub has been plagued by violent protests for months now demonstrators are demanding the protection of democratic rights and official investigations into police brutality.

joy i live by just have tang political analyst and professor at hong kong city university now do you think this act can actually protect the city's autonomy not quite but really isn't a very important moral boost for the protestants the ets and especially the mood in his united states behind a pop of free will hope to deter the chinese authorities from the ploy of the people's liberation army in the territory but in view of the fact there is the sound of american trade negotiations are still going on in fact entering a very critical stage and also you are the fact that no you need a concrete sentients are going to be imposed on all of. our at the moment the time lisa forty's. selves to burgle progress

certainly the seeders are very concerned with what big considered to be. interference as you domesticity affairs and they typically traditionally will strongly protest against such interference this hong kong could lose its special trade status with the us as a result what would that mean for china. pop agreed not i think the hong kong government will continue to quietly lobby the u.s. consulate general in hong kong to. lobby the u.s. dismissed community in hong kong to make sure that the report sent by the u.s. state department to the u.s. congress will not be a very damaging one so as to limit the sensations over to meet the to be

implemented by the white house yet is not expected dad the donald trump ministration will remove this special trade status for hong kong. well don talbot out across hot roads now risking delicate trade talks with china or losing the support of the senate do you think he'll go ahead and sign it. he will probably sign it his expected there he view do so because the unanimous vote in both houses of the u.s. congress are very much represent the mood of the united states the whole of the united states society and i don't say are. you donald trump ministration your wrist and can't deny saying operate. in the united to space so wrong the express however he still retains a lot of power in deciding on what actions actually messes to be taken at a later day so there's still gives him

a lot of room to maneuver. as i mentioned earlier we've already seen the economic consequences for hong kong because of these protests is this just a continuation of that. yes some of the great soul. business in hong kong has the. hong kong people a lot of hong kong people is seriously considering of the great major corporation who probably. a portion of your money how in terms of what the whole wrist. but the whole lot and. there is no. immediate responses here. people will still be watching the people who keep me moving south so gratian moving their money is of course.

going to hong kong trying to be who he seriously for him to be and even long term. political analyst and professor at hong kong university just of chang thank you for your time and your comments thank you. the front man a rock band pink floyd roger waters has spoken out angrily about what's happening to julian assange comes amid fears the whistleblowers extradition to the u.s. is now more likely after sweden dropped a 20 ton rape case against him washington accuses him of conspiring to hack government computers if convicted assad may face up to 175 years in jail he is currently in belmarsh prison in the u.k. and his extradition hearing is set to take place in february of next year waters' told us a songe as a political prisoner. there's no process that will be followed at the moment somebody somebody banged up in belmarsh for 23 hours out of every $24.00 being

slowly by the state because he told them come true. about. me by saves him. it's purely purely political this is a political prisoner he's paid hung out to dry as a warning to other. others who decide that they might be journalists that they might fulfill their function by forming the public and the electorate of what goes on critically in their name so this business objects tradition has nothing to do with the legal process he's being railroaded in it's disgusting to find the truth these days is that strangely difficult in any sane you know he would be lauded as a hero of the people for getting at the truth and then publishing it and he's not killing it. ill and musk's aspiration to make the internet available across the

globe has caused a backlash in scientific circles infuriated researchers say that the latest project by the space x. c.e.o. could pose a threat to astronomy space accent 60 satellites into orbit earlier this month it was the 2nd launch within the starling project with tens of thousands more playing just after the batch blasted off astronomers sounded the alarm complaining that musk satellites heavily affected the work of highly sensitive instruments while i am in shock the huge amount of starling satellites crossed our skies tonight at sir to our d. cam exposure was heavily affected by 19 of them the train of starling satellites lasted for over 5 minutes rather depressing this is not cool. last night 2 astronomers were hoping to observe stars in a pair of nearby galaxies with a telescope in chile instead they were greeted to the site in 1000 passing satellites in space x.'s starlink make a constellation oh this is rather

a coup for grandbabies astronomy i guess we'll have to get used to lots of additional data processing dream of satellite dales must dismiss the concerns as exaggerated he also suggested that more telescopes need to be put into orbit cosmologist lawrence krauss says they starlink satellites will create problems these these satellites from what i understand are thomas autonomy's lee controlled and could change their orbit so it's not as if you can always predict where they're going to be and i suspect we're going to see if we have that many new objects in space i would be surprised if we didn't see collisions and other other concerns the number of new satellites that projected up there is a significant greater factor than all the satellites in history at this point these objects as are now designed appear to reflect for a very long periods and i think therefore this is a qualitatively different system the other thing is that with small groups of satellites like you're really arrayed in systems you could design your own

astronomical observations to avoid the times when those might be traveling overhead but with 42000 of them it's a very different thing to it may be impossible to find a time when you're not being when your observations are not being impacted and that's the reason i think they are hearing the outcry right now. that's our global news update for this hour but don't forget you can always had to our website r.t. dot com the details on all those stories and many more. what politicians do. they put themselves on the line they get accepted or rejected . so when you want to be president and. want to press. you to go to the press this is what before 3 in the morning can't be good. i'm

interested always in the waters about how. this city. is a tense situation in venezuela is still all over the news the problem in venezuela is not that socialism has been poorly implemented but that socialism has been faithfully implemented from the inside venezuela things were different we're going to announce sanctions against petroleum to venezuela associated famous to have a son of a moment goes. down but some tackle football and battle so on the path to the madness of the moment the focus of the whose story is a new nixon told in henry kissinger to tell him that it would not be tolerated that in latin america. terms of economic and social system could take hold and therefore the policy would be to make the chilean economy scream

so wants and making the economy of venezuela screed. is your media a reflection of reality. in the world transformed. what will make you feel safe. isolation or community. are you going the right way or are you being so. direct. what is true what is free. in the world corrupted you need to descend. to join us in the depths. or a maybe in the shallows. and

welcome to both broadcasting around the world and covering all aspects of our global economy in the 21st century. and i'm christiane washington here's what's coming up today after record highs on wall street 2 events in the last 24 hours have knocked world affairs office 22 month old breakdown what happened and how it connects to us kind of relations clash as we were prepared to lay off thousands of employees beginning just to meet the company is now being investigated by the new york state attorney general and whether the former c.e.o. out of new meant in delhi.