An anonymous reader quotes a report from BuzzFeed News: On Wednesday, a Facebook data scientist departed the social networking company after a two-year stint, leaving a farewell note for their colleagues to ponder. As part of a team focused on “Violence and Incitement,” they had dealt with some of the worst content on Facebook, and they were proud of their work…
Tag: interference
Trump Fires Election Security Director Who Corrected Voter Fraud Disinformation
phalse phace shares a report from NPR: Christopher Krebs, the Department of Homeland Security director who had spearheaded a campaign to counter rumors about voter fraud, has been fired, President Trump tweeted on Tuesday. Trump, in two misleading tweets about the security of the U.S. election, said Krebs’ termination was “effective immediately.” The CISA campaign, led by Krebs, was originally intended…
YouTube Criticized For Not Removing Post-Election Misinformation
“YouTube is facing growing criticism for allowing election misinformation after it decided not to remove or individually fact-check videos that spread unfounded conspiracy theories alleging voter fraud,” reports NBC News: While all internet platforms are struggling to contain the volume of misinformation since voting ended last week — and all have been criticized to some degree by researchers for their handling…
How the US response to covid-19 broke its world-class health agencies
A series of bad decisions and ill-judged policies, coupled with unrivalled political interference, has led to the FDA and CDC losing the trust of the public and scientists Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24833064-000-how-the-us-response-to-covid-19-broke-its-world-class-health-agencies/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…
Zeptoseconds! Scientists Measure the Shortest Unit of Time Ever
nickwinlund77 quotes Live Science: Scientists have measured the shortest unit of time ever: the time it takes a light particle to cross a hydrogen molecule. That time, for the record, is 247 zeptoseconds. A zeptosecond is a trillionth of a billionth of a second, or a decimal point followed by 20 zeroes and a 1. Previously, researchers had dipped into the…
Facebook Widens Ban On Political Ads As Alarm Rises Over Election
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The New York Times: On Wednesday, Facebook said it would take more preventive measures to keep political candidates from using it to manipulate the election’s outcome and its aftermath. The company now plans to prohibit all political and issue-based advertising after the polls close on Nov. 3 for an undetermined length of time. And…
What’s the birthstone for October?
If you were born in October, your birth month has 2 birthstones: opal and tourmaline. Source: https://earthsky.org/human-world/october-birthstone-opal-tourmaline…
Ransomware Attacks Take On New Urgency Ahead of Vote
A Texas company that sells software that cities and states use to display results on election night was hit by ransomware last week, the latest of nearly a thousand such attacks over the past year against small towns, big cities and the contractors who run their voting systems. From a report: Many of the attacks are conducted by Russian criminal groups,…
Facebook Busts Russian Disinfo Networks As US Election Looms
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Wired: Facebook announced on Thursday that it has taken down three “coordinated inauthentic behavior” networks promoting disinformation that included nearly 300 Facebook and Instagram accounts along with dozens of Facebook Pages and Groups. While the efforts were seemingly run independently, and focused primarily outside of the US, each has ties to Russian intelligence –…
$1 Hearing Aid Could Treat Millions With Hearing Loss
Saad Bhamla, an undergraduate in Mumbai, India, has invented a do-it-yourself hearing aid made from inexpensive, easy-to-find parts. “At bulk rates, Bhamla says, it would cost just under $1 to make,” reports Science Magazine. “But anyone with the freely available blueprints and a soldering iron can make their own for not much more — maybe $15 or $20, Bhamla says.” From…