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Showing posts from June, 2020

Biden campaign assails Facebook for 'haggling’ with Trump over his online posts

In a letter, the Biden campaign complains to Facebook about the way it enforces its policies when Trump's posts are involved. https://wapo.st/3ifOFcs

Editor-in-Chief Andy McNamara leaves Game Informer after 29 years

The gaming magazine, which has over six million subscribers, is undergoing a big change as its long-time leader steps down. https://wapo.st/3iiS4r9

The Technology 202: Silicon Valley’s inconsistent crackdown on Trump’s rhetoric could help more than it hurts him

Trump can still find an online audience -- and his campaign is collecting app downloads in response. https://wapo.st/31vuhhr

Reddit closes long-running forum supporting President Trump after years of policy violations

Moderators and participants fled the subreddit months ago over complaints that Reddit was too strict on speech. https://wapo.st/3eKAF8w

Zuckerberg once wanted to sanction Trump. Then Facebook wrote rules that accommodated him.

Starting as early as 2015 when Trump was still a candidate, Facebook executives started crafting exceptions for the president and making changes to the company's products to accommodate him. Those changes have transformed the company and the world's information battlefield for years to come. https://wapo.st/2NAyDvx

Shane Dawson apologizes for his offensive YouTube content, from blackface to murder fantasies

"Inspired" by Jenna Marbles, some found the apology by Shane Dawson to be lacking — including Jaden and Jada Pinkett Smith. https://wapo.st/2BMVLV4

How the founder of the Telegram messaging app stood up to the Kremlin — and won

Russia’s surrender to Telegram’s Pavel Durov shows the increasing challenges for states seeking to control social media. https://wapo.st/386FJBs

Mixwell, one of Europe’s best ‘Valorant’ players, wants to break the game

The 24-year-old G2 captain opens up about burnout — and why he plays Viper. https://wapo.st/3dE52Mn

‘The Last of Us Part II’ points toward a more honest portrayal of religion in gaming

What if games had more honest depictions of believers? https://wapo.st/3eDPSZ1

Amazon buys self-driving car firm Zoox, suggesting a future of automated deliveries

The deal provides Amazon with a new piece of technology as it reduces its dependence on shipping companies to get packages to customers. https://wapo.st/3fZbyyX

When tech companies want to fix their race problem, the work often falls on unpaid employee groups

Black employee resource groups at tech companies find themselves putting in more hours at their unpaid second job in order to help their employers fix systemic issues with race. https://wapo.st/3fVyFdy

Summer brings ocean swimming to ‘Animal Crossing: New Horizons’

The free update also includes new DIY recipes and encounters with an otter named Pascal. https://wapo.st/3fZ78rI

Tesla gave workers permission to stay home rather than risk getting covid-19. Then it sent termination notices.

A day before their employment was terminated, the workers had spoken out on their concerns about conditions inside the plant. https://wapo.st/2B7pk3C

The storylines, characters and levels cut from ‘The Last of Us Part II’

Details of cut features show how the game could have been different. https://wapo.st/3dvA4WP

Segway stops production, marking the end of a scooter era

Segway manufacturing will halt in July, marking the end of the innovative scooter. https://wapo.st/2CCPkV8

The Technology 202: Facebook struggles to keep violent ‘boogalo’ content off its platform

Researchers say the online anti-government movement has a direct connection to recent IRL violence. https://wapo.st/2Yvbf9m

The Technology 202: Tech leaders say Trump’s immigration crackdown will be bad for business

Leaders from Microsoft, Amazon, Twitter and many other companies pushed back on the action. https://wapo.st/2Cz7wPq

Yes, NASA would be happy to have you aboard the space station. But it’ll cost some $50 million.

NASA announced that it is well on its way to transforming the International Space Station into a commercial hub. https://wapo.st/3doOE2l

Apple’s new processors give it more power over developers on the Mac

Apple announced Monday that it was ditching Intel microprocessors in favor of custom-designed chips built around Arm processors. Arm, a British microprocessor design company, is behind many of the small, power-efficient mobile devices that have proliferated in recent years and Apple already uses Arm designs in iPhones, iPads and watches. While Apple says Arm processors will improve speed, battery life and security, developers worry Apple could use the transition to wrest more control away from developers on the Mac platform. https://wapo.st/31anVnB

Small businesses turned to technology to survive the pandemic. But it may not be enough.

Forced to close their restaurants, shops, bookstores and yoga studios, small business owners have had to find new ways to make money online by embracing technology at a record fast pace. https://wapo.st/2V4oD1K

Did TikTokers and K-pop fans foil Trump’s Tulsa rally? It’s complicated.

The story that TikTokers and K-poppers are the sole reason the rally was poorly attended has also drawn its fair share of skeptics, who point out that the reality is likely much more complex. https://wapo.st/3fWREor

Dad of War: What Kratos taught me about being a father

What Kratos tells Atreus "You are not ready," I wondered if he was talking to the boy or me. https://wapo.st/2V4MpdY

Boeing tried to amend bid after guidance from NASA official, raising concerns it received inside information

After a top NASA official improperly contacted a senior Boeing executive about its bid to win a contract potentially worth hundreds of millions of dollars, Boeing tried to change its bid, alarming NASA officials. https://wapo.st/2BsDNXD

These best friends created a wildly popular Google doc about how to be an ally to the black community

A conversation led to a guide that companies are now using to teach diversity. https://wapo.st/2Yj4d7v

Watch live: EA Play 2021 to showcase new games, services

A look at the latest game reveals from Electronic Arts. https://wapo.st/3efKNpz

‘Cyberpunk 2077’ delayed again, fueling speculation around next-gen console release dates

The change in date has raised questions around the release date of upcoming next generation consoles. https://wapo.st/3egfhrk

‘Cars That Go Boom’ has made a comeback, thanks to TikTok. The ’80s duo L’Trimm says it’s ‘surreal.’

“I have 29 nieces and nephews, so I was getting a couple of calls or texts a day. It’s just the cutest thing,” said Bunny D, one half of L'Trimm. https://wapo.st/2YIKixE

NASA rushing to complete Mars launch before planet moves out of range. Mission to include first-ever helicopter exploration.

Mars and Earth are only on the same side of the sun every 26 months, meaning NASA has a limited window to launch the spacecraft to the Red Planet. https://wapo.st/314rM5R

Flooded ‘Fortnite’ map brings the biggest changes in a long time

The flood is finally here. https://wapo.st/3fzLsCy

Gig workers face arrest and charges while delivering during pandemic and curfews

The pandemic and nationwide demonstrations over the killing of George Floyd highlight a new risk for gig workers: being arrested by authorities or slapped with a misdemeanor offense for carrying out orders exactly as the companies advise. https://wapo.st/30QUQgT

Video game companies vow to fight racism in their communities, but offer few details

Some players wondered what took so long for companies to confront blatant racism in their games. Others are curious if companies will back up social media statements with action. https://wapo.st/2UQt7sU

Apple faces new antitrust probes in Europe

The European Commission is investigating whether Apple used its power on the iOS App Store to unfairly hurt competitors to the company's own services, including music and payments. https://wapo.st/2ChpBS5

The Technology 202: Two former Pinterest employees allege racial discrimination at the company

They’re taking complaints public as the company states its support for Black Lives Matter. https://wapo.st/2zG8U1C

Former eBay execs charged with cyberstalking after allegedly sending bloody pig mask to bloggers

The Department of Justice announced the charges in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts on Monday. https://wapo.st/3d5yv1m

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos signals openness to testify at congressional antitrust hearing

Amazon has agreed to make its chief executive, Jeff Bezos, available to testify to Congress as part of lawmakers' wide-ranging antitrust probe into the tech industry. https://wapo.st/37xzxlL

The Technology 202: New study reveals extent of hate speech on Reddit in right-leaning forums

Sentropy found those forums more racist, sexist, religious and homophobic attacks than left-leaning forums. https://wapo.st/2UId14j

Black Lives Matter could change facial recognition forever — if Big Tech doesn’t stand in the way

Publicity stunts from IBM, Amazon and Microsoft won’t be enough to stop police from using facial recognition. https://wapo.st/2AuTFJe

Tinder, TikTok and more: Online activists are finding creative new ways to say Black Lives Matter

From Zoom video protests to documenting police violence to sharing personal experiences on YouTube. https://wapo.st/2Ysdf0K

IBM’s decision to abandon facial recognition technology fueled by years of debate

For digital rights advocates, the company’s move is a step toward ‘algorithmic justice’ https://wapo.st/2N4sYOp

A child in a dangerous world: Inside the creation of Ellie

Co-director Neil Druckmann, among others from Naughty Dog, give insight into an iconic video game character. https://wapo.st/3hj7kUj

Amazon bans police use of its facial-recognition technology for a year

The tech giant's announcement to block the use of Rekognition comes amid nationwide protests over police brutality and after years of criticism that the technology could be misused. https://wapo.st/2YsV6zV

From wake word to woke word: Siri and Alexa tell you black lives matter, but tech still has a diversity problem

Amazon, Google and Apple updated their voice assistants to point people to resources supporting the Black Lives Matter movement when asked common questions. https://wapo.st/2UyWMXz

One byproduct of esports betting? A crackdown on cheating.

Additional oversight for esports as a result of wagering could lead to improved policing around cheating. https://wapo.st/2Yha4ZG

Amazon, Facebook and Google turn to deep network of political allies to battle back antitrust probes

Under the withering microscope of government watchdogs, tech giants including Amazon, Facebook and Google have funded a bevy of political groups that have helped push positive polling and engaged in other fingerprint-free tactics designed to deter regulators who are seeking to break up or penalize the industry. https://wapo.st/2MNDRDO

California biotech exec charged with fraud over coronavirus test plans

Mark Schena, president of Arrayit, is facing charges related to the company’s promotion of a coronavirus test that had not received FDA authorization. https://wapo.st/37gOh8u

Bungie is finally coming through with its old promise of a 10-year ‘Destiny’ plan

The details shared in Tuesday's livestream appear to reflect the game Bungie always wanted to make. https://wapo.st/2Uwe1J0

The Technology 202: ‘Make the hire. Send the wire’ has emerged as a rallying cry for Silicon Valley’s black leaders

Just 1 percent of start-up founders who raised venture capital are black, according to a joint study from RateMyInvestor and DiversityVC. And 81 percent of venture capital firms didn’t have a single black investor, according to a 2018 analysis by Equal Ventures partner Richard Kerby. https://wapo.st/2AauBY1

Tesla defied county orders so it could restart production. Days later, workers tested positive for the coronavirus.

Elon Musk defied a public health order so his company could resume building cars in Fremont, Calif., last month. https://wapo.st/3cOHvYC

The Technology 202: NYU report calls social media titans to stop outsourcing content moderation

Content moderation is the tech companies’ top political battleground as the debate over Trump’s inflammatory posts rages on. https://wapo.st/2YjPfNo

BTS donates $1 million to Black Lives Matter after K-pop fans flood hashtags to support movement

K-pop fans can seem like a specific monolith, but the reality is much more complicated. https://wapo.st/3cJCj8x