A mathematician walks into a bar (of disinformation)
Disinformation, misinformation, infotainment, algowars — if the debates over the future of media the past few decades have meant anything, they’ve at least left a pungent imprint on the English language. There’s been a lot of invective and fear.....»»
In the Ukraine Conflict, Fake Fact-Checks Are Being Used To Spread Disinformation
Social media posts debunking purported Ukrainian disinformation are themselves fake. That doesn't stop them from being featured on Russian state TV. ProPublica: Researchers at Clemson University's Media Forensics Hub and ProPublica identified more th.....»»
DuckDuckGo To Down-Rank Sites Associated With Russian Disinformation
An anonymous reader quotes a report from PCMag: DuckDuckGo is now down-ranking sites associated with Russian disinformation in response to the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine, but some critics say the change amounts to censorship. DuckDuckGo CEO Gabrie.....»»
Russia Is Having Less Success at Spreading Social Media Disinformation
But that could change if people tire of defending against an onslaught of misinformation -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com.....»»
Poland, Baltics Tell Big Tech to ‘Take a Stand’ Against Russia
The prime ministers of Poland and the Baltics have demanded executives in charge of Facebook, Google, YouTube and Twitter “take a stand” against Russian disinformation. The letter, dated Feb. 27, was addressed to Twitter Inc. Chief Execut.....»»
Meet the Lithuanian ‘Elves’ Fighting Russian Disinformation
The world has awoken recently to the threat of Kremlin-backed fake news, but Lithuanian 'elves' have been trying to fight Russian disinformation for years On the day that Russia began its expanded invasion of Ukraine, Henrikas Savickis wa.....»»
Rivian CEO Apologizes, Walks Back Preorder Price Hikes After Customer Backlash
cartechboy writes: Rivian's CEO, RJ Scaringe, admitted the company messed up. In a lengthy apology, the executive said the company broke people's trust. Rivian's walking back the large, in some cases 20%, price increases introduced earlier in the wee.....»»
Toyota shuts down all Japanese production after supplier is hacked
The halt affects 14 factories, a third of Toyota's global production. Enlarge / A worker walks near a Toyota Motor Corp Crown vehicle manufactured on the production line of the company's Motomachi factory on July 30, 2018, in Toyota, J.....»»
Meta says it"s shut down a pro-Russian disinformation network, warns of a social media hacking operation
Facebook's parent Meta said Monday it has caught dozens of fake, pro-Russian accounts, groups and pages across its platforms trying to spread anti-Ukrainian propaganda as the war in Ukraine continues to rage......»»
What medieval skeletons tell us about modern day pandemics
A young woman walks Trondheim's streets 800 years ago, carrying a secret in her body. It's 150 years before the plague—the Black Death—but this young women is sick with a disease that no one thought was found in Europe at all during medieval time.....»»
Evolutionary Anthropologist Busts Myths About How Humans Burn Calories
Herman Pontzer, a biological anthropologist at the Pontzer lab at Duke University, works with his colleagues to "systematically measure the total energy used per day by animals and people in various walks of life," reports Science.org. "The answers c.....»»
Harvard Mathematician Proves 150-Year Old Chess Puzzle
joshuark shares a report from Popular Mechanics: A mathematician from Harvard University has (mostly) solved a 150-year-old Queen's gambit of sorts: the delightful n queens puzzle. In newly self-published research (meaning it has not yet been peer-re.....»»
Thwarting disinformation, defending democracy—scholar sees a new approach
Facebook, YouTube, Twitter—in the space of barely a decade, these massive data platforms and others have transformed society. But each is like a black box: While they are blamed for undermining public health and eroding democracy, and while their p.....»»
Mathematicians Outwit a Hidden Number ‘Conspiracy’
Decades ago, a mathematician posed a warmup problem for difficult questions about prime numbers. It turned out to be just as difficult to solve—until now......»»
Neil Young demands Spotify remove his music over Joe Rogan"s vaccine "disinformation"
Young’s open letter to his manager and record label was posted to his website but has since been deleted. “I am doing this because Spotify is spreading fake information about vaccines – potentially causing death to those who believe the disinfo.....»»
Apple walks back verification system for education discounts with no explanation
Apple partnered with UNiDAYS to authenticate users’ credentials. UNiDAYS, long since popular with overseas students, verifies education status and aggregates student discounts into a single point of access......»»
Harvard mathematician answers 150-year-old chess problem
The queen is the most powerful piece on the chessboard. Unlike any other (including the king), it can move any number of squares vertically, horizontally, or diagonally......»»
More than 80 fact-checking organizations call out YouTube"s "insufficient" response to misinformation
A group of more than 80 fact-checking organizations from around the world has called YouTube "one of the major conduits of online disinformation and misinformation worldwide" and wants the platform to do more to address the problem......»»
Survey: Parents increased quality time at pandemic"s start
During the first several months of the pandemic in the U.S., Dina Levy made her young daughter and son go on walks with her three times a day......»»
The secret Uganda deal that has brought NSO to the brink of collapse
Things changed once US diplomats in Uganda got hacked by Pegasus. Enlarge / A man walks by the building entrance of Israeli cyber company NSO Group at one of its branches in the Arava Desert on November 11, 2021, in Sapir, Israel. (cre.....»»
Google warns that NSO hacking is on par with elite nation-state spies
ForcedEntry is “one of the most technically sophisticated exploits.” Enlarge / A man walks by the building entrance of Israeli cyber company NSO Group at one of its branches in the Arava Desert on November 11, 2021, in Sapir, Israe.....»»