In a move presaged by weeks of mounting pressure, Apple, Facebook, Google’s YouTube and Spotify cracked down on conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and his Infowars media empire, removing wide swathes of content or terminating his accounts entirely. All the actions seemed to happen within 24 hours. Was it a long-overdue crackdown or a conspiracy of censorship? …
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India’s government reportedly asked telecoms to figure out how to block messaging apps if they are misused. Telecom service providers, along with mobile and internet industry bodies, were asked to explore options for blocking Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and Telegram in a July letter from India’s department of telecommunication, according to Reuters. A department official told Reuters that it was looking …
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On this podcast, we talk about: Android P is Pie! Are we happy about that? Facebook, Apple, YouTube and others banning Alex Jones and Infowars. What does this mean? FCC Chairman Ajit Pai admits there was no DDoS attack on the agency’s comment system. The 3:59 gives you bite-size news and analysis about the top stories of the day, brought …
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Researchers want Facebook to change its rules, making it easier for journalists and academics to undertake investigations and studies on the social network. The Knight First Amendment Institute, a nonprofit organization at Columbia University, on Monday sent a letter asking CEO Mark Zuckerberg to amend Facebook’s terms of service and create a “safe harbor” for social media research and public …
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Facebook has cracked down on far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones by removing four of his pages, citing breaches of its community standards. The social media site removed the Alex Jones Channel Page, the Alex Jones Page, the Infowars Page and the Infowars Nightly News Page, Facebook said in a blog post Monday. The ban follows Apple’s and Spotify’s removal of his podcasts on …
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Alex Jones, the founder, owner and star of conspiracy site Infowars, has been kicked off YouTube. The Alex Jones Channel, Infowars’ biggest YouTube account with 2.4 million subscribers, now simply bears the message “this account has been terminated for violating YouTube’s Community Guidelines.” YouTube has a “three strikes” policy that terminates accounts after three violations of its community guidelines within …
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Let’s get a jump-start on holiday shopping, shall we? I mean, I know you already have all the Bluetooth speakers you could possibly need, but Secret-Santa, Yankee-Swap and 5th-night-of-Chanukah time will be here before you know it. This speaker is the perfect cheap gift candidate. For a limited time, and while supplies last, the VicTsing 5W wireless speaker is $12.49 …
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Nathaniel Gleicher used to fight hackers from the White House as member of the National Security Council during the Obama administration. Now, he’s trying to stop coordinated influence campaigns from spreading across Facebook. The two jobs aren’t that different, he says. As head of Facebook’s head of cybersecurity policy, he’s responsible for the team that’s trying to stop fakers from …
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Infowars podcasts produced by right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones were removed from Apple’s iTunes and its Podcast app on Sunday. In a statement to BuzzFeed News, Apple confirmed that the podcasts were removed for violating its guidelines on hate speech. Five of the six podcasts that Infowars creates will no longer be available for download or streaming, including the daily Alex …
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Facebook is testing out a new “Create” button for the desktop version of the platform, which prompts people to do things like make a new Facebook page or post an ad. The button, on the top right corner of the page, leads to a drop-down menu where people can create a brand Page, an advertisement, a group, an event, a …
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