Is Misinformation on Nextdoor Impacting Local Politics?

Was Nextdoor’s impact on the world exemplified by a crucial funding referendum for the Christina School District of Newark, Delaware? Medium’s tech site OneZero reports: As the 2019 referendum approached, I saw Nextdoor posts claiming that the district was squandering money, that its administrators were corrupt, and that it already spent more money per student than certain other districts with higher…

Police Dismantle World’s ‘Most Dangerous’ Criminal Hacking Network

International law enforcement agencies said on Wednesday they had dismantled a criminal hacking scheme used to steal billions of dollars from businesses and private citizens worldwide. Reuters reports: Police in six European countries, as well as Canada and the United States, completed a joint operation to take control of Internet servers used to run and control a malware network known as…

Axiom Names First Private Crew Paying $55 Million For a Trip To the ISS

An American real estate investor, a Canadian investor, and a former Israeli Air Force pilot are paying $55 million each to be part of the first fully private astronaut crew to journey to the International Space Station. The Verge reports: The trio will hitch a ride on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule early next year, with a veteran NASA astronaut as the…

Dutch COVID-19 Patient Data Sold on the Criminal Underground

Dutch police arrested two individuals late last week for allegedly selling data from the Dutch health ministry’s COVID-19 systems on the criminal underground. From a report: The arrests came after an investigation by RTL Nieuws reporter Daniel Verlaan who discovered ads for Dutch citizen data online, advertised on instant messaging apps like Telegram, Snapchat, and Wickr. The ads consisted of photos…

Report Finds Extremists Did Use Facebook to Plan Capitol Attack

NBC News reports: A number of pro-Trump extremists used Facebook to plan their attack on the U.S. Capitol, a watchdog organization has found, contradicting claims by Facebook’s leadership that such planning was largely done on other sites. Private Facebook groups spent months advising one another about how to “take down” the U.S. government, particularly after Joe Biden was elected president, according…

Walmart’s E-Commerce Chief Is Leaving To Build ‘a City of the Future’

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Recode: Marc Lore, a serial entrepreneur who sold his startup Jet.com to Walmart for $3 billion and then oversaw the transformation of the retail giant’s e-commerce business over the last four years, is leaving his full-time role with the company at the end of the month, he told Recode. His next big entrepreneurial swing…

Anti-Mask Protesters Proudly Filmed Their Confrontation With a Grocery Store’s Manager

Nine days ago America set a record: nearly 290,000 new Covid-19 cases within 24 hours. according to figures from Johns Hopkins University. Four days later, anti-mask protesters in Oregon filmed their confrontation with employees at a Trader Joe’s grocery store who wouldn’t let them enter the store unless they were wearing a mask. Their 8-minute video has since been viewed over…

US To Require Negative COVID-19 Tests For International Air Passengers

According to Reuters, the CDC is expected to sign an order on Tuesday requiring nearly all international air travelers to test negative for COVID-19 within 72 hours of departure. Those under 2 and passengers connecting through the UK are exempt. From the report: The new rules are to take effect two weeks from the day they are signed by CDC Director…

World’s Worst Internet Shutdowns Cost India $2.8 Billion in 2020

Internet shutdowns cost India $2.8 billion, putting the South Asian nation at the top of a list of 21 countries that curbed citizens’ web access in 2020. From a report: India — the second-worst-hit nation by the Covid-19 pandemic in terms of overall confirmed infections — accounted for about three-quarters of the $4 billion lost worldwide to internet curbs. Its losses…

81,000 UK-Owned .EU Domains Suspended As Brexit Transition Ends

An anonymous reader quotes a report from ZDNet: Tens of thousands of website owners who are based in the UK might have started the year with an unpleasant surprise: Eurid, the registry manager of .eu domain names, has suspended .eu domain names registered by UK citizens as a result of the regulatory changes caused by Brexit. Suspended domain names can no…