Politics
Sex trafficking investigation into Matt Gaetz and friend digs up their tech fails
We now have the digital receipts and it appears Florida GOP Congressman Matt Gaetz and his former tax collector friend don’t understand the concepts of “consequences,” “technology,” “digital paper trails,” the “laws of the United States of America,” or, more generally, “ethics.” The Justice Department is investigating the staunch Trump ally’s connections to a scheme […]
Tech CEOs to testify before Congress. Yes, again.
Tech CEOs are appearing (remotely) before congress again, and the question is still whether the event will be more spectacle or substance. The House Energy & Commerce Committee announced Thursday that it is hauling in Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, and Google CEO Sundar Pichai for testimony on March 25. The topic […]
YouTube removes Trump's latest video, blocks channel from posting for seven days
It’s been a bad week for President Donald Trump’s socials. First he was unceremoniously dumped by his longtime paramour Twitter. Then Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitch blocked him. Now YouTube has jumped into the fray, banning the president’s channel after it breached the website’s moderation policies. “After review, and in light of concerns about the […]
What is Signal? The basics of the most secure messaging app.
Existing Signal users might be getting more notifications than usual. “Jack is on Signal,” “Cathy is on Signal,” “Miriam is on Signal,” all pings showing phone contacts who are joining the secure messaging app. Those pings reflect the fact that there’s been an influx of new users. Known for its end-to-end encryption and independent structure […]
Now you can check on the status of your second stimulus payment
From COVID-19 testing to passing legislation, the government’s slogan for its coronavirus response might as well be “better late than never.” Now that slogan applies to the newly relaunched section of the IRS website that lets you check on the status of your second stimulus payment. On Monday, the IRS brought its “Get My Payment” […]
Misinformation spreads on Facebook just weeks ahead of Georgia runoff elections
The U.S. election season isn’t over yet. With two runoff elections in Georgia deciding which party has control of the Senate, all eyes are now on the state. Unfortunately, that includes nefarious actors and misinformation spreaders. A new study by the nonprofit activist organization Avaaz found that Facebook is currently failing at curbing the spread […]
Miley Cyrus banger 'Party in the U.S.A.' returns to the charts after Biden-Harris win
Need some tunes to go with your Biden-Harris victory celebration? Join a huge chunk of the nation in jamming out to Miley Cyrus’ 2009 pre-Bangerz hit, “Party in the U.S.A.” On Saturday, the poppy jam — imagined in a time before the Trump administration was even a thing — began charting again nearly a decade […]
GoFundMe pulls viral campaign that promised to uncover 'voter fraud' without evidence of voter fraud
The online crowdfunding company GoFundMe removed a viral campaign which could be read to imply the existence of widespread voter fraud Friday, placing itself firmly in the role of attempting to dispel election misinformation. As the U.S. presidential election vote count continued to drag on Friday afternoon, and the Trump campaign worked to delegitimize ballots, […]
Why the flood of misinformation in Pennsylvania is a huge problem
We might not know who won Pennsylvania until the end of the week. That leaves a lot of time for misinformation to spread like wildfire — and help Republicans create the impression the election was “stolen” from them. Thanks to a Supreme Court decision, the state’s 2.5 million mail-in ballots can be counted if they […]
Robocalls, WeChat messages, and more spread misinformation on Election Day
It’s Nov. 3, Election Day, and you know what that means: Misinformation will be flooding the internet. There are people who don’t want Americans to vote, and will try to sow fear, confusion, and apathy to keep them from the polls. Don’t let them scare you. Haven’t voted yet? Find your polling place. (Some […]