Facebook’s employees and executives “are battling over how to reduce misinformation and hate speech without hurting the company’s bottom line,” reports the New York Times, after employees had spotted false and misleading election-related misinformation going viral on the site. The solution? Make temporary changes to the controversial algorithm “which helps determine what more than two billion people see every day” by…
Tag: controversial
Scientists claim controversial results of comet observations are consistent
Astrophysicists from Far Eastern Federal University (FEFU) joined the international research team for explaining the difference in the results of observation of the comet 41P/ Tuttle—Giacobini—Kresak. Researchers believe that data obtained by three independent teams are complementary and its complex analysis helps to unravel the mystery of dust chemical composition of comet 41P and other conundrums of the Universe. A related…
Margaret Thatcher: Facts about the controversial prime minister in ‘The Crown’
Margaret Thatcher was Britain’s first woman prime minister, and one of the country’s most controversial figures. Source: https://www.livescience.com/Margaret-Thatcher.html
Masks are Effective, Despite One Flawed Study From Denmark
“I think the overwhelming body of evidence suggests that masks are effective,” the lead author of a study recently cited by America’s Center for Disease Control told the Washington Post. They were responding to another (very controversial) outlier study whose findings “conflict with those from a number of other studies,” according to the New York Times, citing numerous experts. “Critics were…
GitHub Reinstates YouTube-dl Library After EFF Intervention
GitHub has reinstated today the youtube-dl open-source project, a Python library that lets users download the source audio and video files behind YouTube videos. From a report: GitHub, a code-hosting repository, had previously removed the library from its portal after it received a controversial DMCA takedown request from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on October 23. In a DMCA…
Ending Greenhouse Gas Emissions May Not Stop Global Warming, Study Says
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Phys.Org : Even if humanity stopped emitting greenhouse gases tomorrow, Earth will warm for centuries to come and oceans will rise by meters, according to a controversial modeling study published Thursday. Natural drivers of global warming — more heat-trapping clouds, thawing permafrost, and shrinking sea ice — already set in motion by carbon pollution…
Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt Has Applied To Become a Citizen of Cyprus
The former CEO of Google, Eric Schmidt, is finalizing a plan to become a citizen of the island of Cyprus, Recode has learned, becoming one of the highest-profile Americans to take advantage of one of the world’s most controversial “passport-for-sale” programs. From the report: Schmidt, one of America’s wealthiest people, and his family have won approval to become citizens of the…
President Biden Will Rejoin the World Health Organization on His First Day
“Another of Biden’s promises will have particular significance during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic,” reports Futurism: Back in July, he promised to reverse the incumbent Donald Trump’s controversial April decision to leave the World Health Organization — the United Nations’ agency that oversees and coordinates global public health efforts. “Americans are safer when America is engaged in strengthening global health,” Biden said…
Were these nails used to crucify Jesus? New evidence revives controversial idea.
A new study has reignited a heated dispute about two corroded Roman-era iron nails some suggest were used to crucify Jesus. Source: https://www.livescience.com/roman-era-nails-crucifixion-jesus.html
NSA Ducks Questions About Backdoors In Tech Products
The U.S. National Security Agency is rebuffing efforts by a leading Congressional critic to determine whether it is continuing to place so-called back doors into commercial technology products, in a controversial practice that critics say damages both U.S. industry and national security. Reuters reports: The NSA has long sought agreements with technology companies under which they would build special access for…