-
Tech NewsNews
Twitter Rolls Out Feature to Report Bots, Also Anyone You Think Is a Bot
Twitter has rolled out another feature intended to cut down on spam and misinformation efforts—adding suspected bots, malicious links, and spammy hashtags to the “suspicious or spam” category users can choose when reporting violations of its terms of service. Twitter’s official Safety account posted news of the feature early on Wednesday afternoon: “The new reporting … Continued
By Tom McKay -
Tech NewsPrivacy and Security
Hey, How’d That Facebook ‘War Room’ Fare During Brazil’s Election Season? Oh.
Facebook, the scandal-mired social media giant that has faced enormous criticism for its role in the spread of online propaganda and fake news across the globe, has a War Room it wants everyone to know is tackling that issue head-on. Earlier this month, it touted the War Room’s efforts to clean up a torrent of … Continued
By Tom McKay -
Tech NewsPolitics
Yes, Mr. President. So Revealing Indeed, Mr. President
Big alert from the president: SICKO HOLLYWOOD LIBS have BANNED his Stephen Colbert interview because of something something something!!! On Monday, Donald Trump’s account quote tweeted a video from an account using the display name “Blacks for Trump” (@BlacksForTrump5) alleging that CBS had taken down a Sept. 22, 2015 episode of The Late Show with … Continued
By Tom McKay -
Tech NewsFakes
That Viral Photo of Justin Bieber Eating a Burrito Sideways is Totally Fake
Did you see that photo of Justin Bieber eating a burrito like a corn cob? The photo went viral on Facebook, Twitter, and dozens of news sites. But we’ve got some bad news for you, or good news depending on how you look at it. The photo is totally fake. The viral photo was actually … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech NewsPrivacy and Security
Far-Right Site Gab Ditched by Cloud Host Joyent, Suspended by Stripe Amid Synagogue Massacre [Update: GoDaddy Yanks Domain]
Gab, the self-declared free speech platform that has welcomed countless neo-Nazis, white supremacists, and various other far-right bigots, had its PayPal accounts terminated on Saturday after authorities named anti-Semite and alleged Gab user Robert Bowers as the suspect in a massacre of at least 11 people at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue on Saturday. The … Continued
By Tom McKay -
Tech NewsNews
Campbell Soup Co. Executive Is Out After Tweeting George Soros Conspiracy Theory
A Campbell Soup Company executive who tweeted about conspiracy theories involving former hedge fund manager George Soros is no longer with the company, a spokesperson confirmed to Gizmodo. Campbell’s vice president of government affairs Kelly Johnston tweeted Monday that Soros’ Open Society Foundations was providing aid to a migrant caravan currently making its way to … Continued
By Catie Keck -
Tech NewsPrivacy and Security
PayPal Bans Far-Right Social Network Gab After Anti-Semitic User Kills at Least 11 at Synagogue
On Saturday, a firearm-wielding man massacred at least 11 people attending Shabbat services at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood and injured a number of others. The Anti-Defamation League described it as likely the deadliest single attack on the Jewish community in U.S. history. Authorities identified the suspect, who was captured … Continued
By Tom McKay -
Tech NewsNews
Instagram Pulls Milo Yiannopoulos Post Appearing to Praise Mail Bombs
Instagram has pulled from its platform a post by former Breitbart tech editor Milo Yiannopoulos that seemingly praised the apparent pipe bombs sent this week to a number of top Democrats—including former President Barack Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton—as well as CNN. The post, shared Thursday, said it was “sad” that the … Continued
By Catie Keck -
Tech NewsPrivacy and Security
Mail Bomb Sent to John Brennan Allegedly Had Fake ISIS Flag With Sex Toys, ‘Get ‘Er Done’ on It
All across the country this week, pipe bombs have been showing up in the mail of prominent Democrats and critics of Donald Trump—with NBC News listing former President Barack Obama, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former Attorney General Eric Holder, Rep. Maxine Waters, billionaire philanthropist George Soros, and former CIA Director John Brennan as … Continued
By Tom McKay -
Tech NewsNews
China’s Former Internet Chief, a Censorship Hardliner, Pleads Guilty to Corruption Charges
Lu Wei, the former chief of the imposing Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) and one of the primary architects of the mass censorship foisted on China’s estimated 700 million internet users, pleaded guilty this week in Chinese court to taking some 32 million yuan (about $4.6 million) in bribes, the Associated Press reported on Friday, … Continued
By Tom McKay -
Tech NewsPrivacy and Security
Report: Tech-Loving Saudi Prince Suspected in Jamal Khashoggi’s Death Has Twitter Troll Army
Saudi crown prince and heir to the throne Mohammed bin Salman is big on PR. He’s fond of selling himself as a Silicon Valley-style disruptor eager to take Saudi Arabia into the future as a regional tech and logistics hub, trying to ink big deals with international tech giants that could help solidify his claim … Continued
By Tom McKay -
Tech NewsPrivacy and Security
WhatsApp Bans 100,000 Accounts Before Brazilian Election, Which Is Still a Real Mess
Facebook subsidiary and encrypted chat service WhatsApp has banned more than 100,000 accounts ahead of the upcoming federal elections in Brazil, where leftist Workers’ Party candidate Fernando Haddad will face down far-right populist Jair Bolsonaro, Bloomberg reported on Friday. Facebook has recently bragged nonstop about its “war room,” an office in its Menlo Park, California … Continued
By Tom McKay -
Tech NewsFacebook
Advertisers Suing Facebook Allege It May Have Committed Fraud on Video Ad Metrics
A group of advertisers suing social-media giant Facebook in California over bungled video metrics now alleges in court filings that the platform failed to disclose data errors in a manner that could “[rise] to the level of fraud and may warrant punitive damages,” according to Ars Technica. The case, LLE One LLC et al. v. … Continued
By Tom McKay -
Tech NewsNews
Twitter Makes it Easier to See When People Break the Rules
To make its policing of bad actors a little more obvious, Twitter is instituting new policies that should help users hide offensive content and see what happens after a tweet gets reported. Scheduled to roll out over the next week or so, Twitter’s new guidelines state that after a tweet has been deemed to be … Continued
-
Tech NewsFacebook
Facebook Extends Ban on Election Fakery to Include Lies About Voting Requirements
Facebook is banning spreading false information about voting requirements and will also “fact-check fake reports of violence or long lines at polling stations” as part of its preparations for the 2018 midterm elections, Reuters reported on Monday. Facebook’s general policy is not to delete fake or misleading information circulating on the platform per se—loathe to … Continued
By Tom McKay -
Tech NewsFacebook
Please Don’t Post Your Potentially Felonious Crimes to Facebook
People do astoundingly stupid shit online. But for all the noise we make about everything you should never post on social media, it should really go without saying that potentially implicating yourself in a felony crime by way of a publicly available video is a no-go. Alas, such is the case for one Missouri man … Continued
By Catie Keck -
Tech NewsFacebook
Facebook Is Still Thirsty for Your Health Data
Facebook already has a veritable treasure trove of data on anyone who uses the site, including stuff users do on the web outside of it. It still has an appetite for even more. Per CNBC, Facebook’s head of health research Dr. Freddy Abnousi—the Facebook executive behind the company’s canceled plan to share anonymized health insights … Continued
By Tom McKay -
EartherEnvironmental Policy
EPA Chief Andrew Wheeler Is About as Much of an Idiot on Social Media as You’d Expect
Environmental Protection Agency chief and former energy lobbyist Andrew Wheeler—who is pretty much ex-EPA chief Scott Pruitt minus the latter’s most obviously corrupt tendencies—isn’t the most discerning social media user. In fact, judging by Twitter and Facebook discoveries on Tuesday by the Huffington Post, Wheeler has a history of engaging with conspiracy theories and racist … Continued
By Tom McKay -
Tech NewsFacebook
Facebook VP Who Incensed Staff by Supporting Brett Kavanaugh Later Hosted a Party for Him
Some employees at Facebook have been furious that one of their top lobbyists, vice president for global public policy and former George W. Bush administration official Joel Kaplan, publicly supported Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh during his confirmation hearings even as the latter faced multiple allegations of sexual assault. This probably won’t help: Over the … Continued
By Tom McKay