 25 October 19 Fridays Are - the Worst - Day for Donations
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We would really appreciate it.
Marc Ash
Sure, I'll make a donation!Founder, Reader Supported News Update My Monthly Donation
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25 October 19
Ryan Bort, Rolling Stone
Bort writes: "Mark Zuckerberg is an awkward guy. This is true when he's giving tours of his house, it's true when he's live-streaming himself smoking meats, and it's especially true whenever Congress is grilling him about how the social media network he created to keep tabs on the relationship status of his crush is facilitating the downfall of Western civilization."
Take, for example, how he responded when Ocasio-Cortez tried to determine to what extent Facebook fact-checks political advertisements, a pretty vital issue for the company to get a handle on with 2020 looming. Here’s the exchange from Wednesday’s hearing of the House Financial Services Committee:
Ocasio-Cortez: Could I run ads on Facebook targeting Republicans in primaries saying that they voted for the Green New Deal? If you’re not fact-checking political advertisements… I’m just trying to understand the bounds of what is fair game.
Zuckerberg: Congresswoman, I don’t know the answer to that off the top of my head.
Ocasio-Cortez: So you don’t know if I’ll be able to do that?
Zuckerberg: I think probably.
Ocasio-Cortez: Do you see a potential problem here with a complete lack of fact-checking on political advertisements?
Zuckerberg: Congresswoman, I think lying is bad. I think if you were to run an ad that had a lie that would be bad. That’s different from it being… from it… in our position the right thing to do to prevent, uhh, your contestants or people in an election from seeing that you had lied…
Ocasio-Cortez: So you won’t take down lies or you will take down lies? It’s a pretty simple yes or no?
Zuckerberg: Congresswoman, in most cases, in a democracy, I believe people should be able to see for themselves what politicians they may or may not vote for are saying and judge their character for themselves.
Ocasio-Cortez; So you won’t take them down? You may flag that it’s wrong, but you won’t take it down?
Zuckerberg: Congresswoman, it depends on the context that it shows up… organic posts… ads…
"So, you won't take down lies or you will take down lies? I think that's just a pretty simple yes or no."
Complete exchange between @RepAOC @AOC and Mark Zuckerberg at today's House Financial Services Cmte hearing.
Full video here: cs.pn/2W2BqB2
Not very reassuring. In fact, it’s fucking terrifying, and all but guarantees the platform will be co-opted by bad actors looking to spread disinformation ahead of next year’s elections.
It already has been.
Earlier this month, Judd Legum’s Popular Information reported a change in Facebook’s policy on misinformation that made it easier for political campaigns to lie in the advertisements that run on the platform. Legum highlighted a recent ad purchased by the Trump campaign that included claims about Joe Biden and Ukraine that had been ruled false by Facebook-approved third-party fact-checkers. Under the new policy, the ad was allowed to stand.
Legum noted that in the week since the language of Facebook’s misinformation policy had been revised, the Trump campaign increased its ad spending on the platform “exponentially,” dropping $1.6 million in a seven-day span.
The following week, Elizabeth Warren cleverly pointed out the issue by buying an ad stating that Zuckerberg had endorsed Trump for president. It was approved.
As Zuckerberg’s testimony on Wednesday made clear, Facebook didn’t get the message, and it appears the Trump campaign will essentially have carte blanche to use the platform to wage an information war ahead of the 2020 election. As of early October, the campaign had over $150 million in cash on hand with which to do so.
Meanwhile, Facebook is worried about being perceived as biased against conservatives. Last week, Politico reported that Zuckerberg is hosting a series of dinners with prominent right-wing figures, including white nationalists like Tucker Carlson. On Wednesday, Ocasio-Cortez asked him about the nature of his “ongoing dinner parties with far-right figures” and whether he believes there is a bias. His response wasn’t surprising.
“Congresswoman,” Zuckerberg began, pausing to furrow his brow. “I’m sorry… I don’t remember everything that was in the… that was in the question.”
Ocasio-Cortez moved on.
Turkey-backed Syrian fighters take over areas on the road between Tal Abyad and Kobane on Thursday. (photo: Getty)
Trump Reverses Syria Troop Withdrawal, Now Plans to Send Tanks to Guard Oil Fields
Julian Borger, Guardian UK
Borger writes: "The US is reportedly planning to deploy tanks and other heavy military hardware to protect oil fields in eastern Syria, in a reversal of Donald Trump's earlier order to withdraw all troops from the country."
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Julian Borger, Guardian UK
Borger writes: "The US is reportedly planning to deploy tanks and other heavy military hardware to protect oil fields in eastern Syria, in a reversal of Donald Trump's earlier order to withdraw all troops from the country."
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Senator Lindsey Graham. (photo: Erin Schaff/The New York Times)
Justice Department Is Said to Open Criminal Inquiry Into Its Own Russia Investigation
Katie Benner and Adam Goldman, The New York Times
Excerpt: "For more than two years, President Trump has repeatedly attacked the Russia investigation, portraying it as a hoax and illegal even months after the special counsel closed it. Now, Mr. Trump's own Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into how it all began."
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Katie Benner and Adam Goldman, The New York Times
Excerpt: "For more than two years, President Trump has repeatedly attacked the Russia investigation, portraying it as a hoax and illegal even months after the special counsel closed it. Now, Mr. Trump's own Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into how it all began."
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Bernie Sanders speaks at a campaign rally in Queens. (photo: Kena Betancur/Getty)
Bernie Sanders Released His Plan to Legalize Marijuana
German Lopez, Vox
Lopez writes: "Sen. Bernie Sanders on Thursday - at 4:20 pm Eastern Time - released a plan to legalize marijuana."
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German Lopez, Vox
Lopez writes: "Sen. Bernie Sanders on Thursday - at 4:20 pm Eastern Time - released a plan to legalize marijuana."
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Central American asylum seekers wait as U.S. Border Patrol agents take groups of them into custody. (photo: John Moore/Getty)
ACLU Says 1,500 More Migrant Children Were Taken From Parents by US Than Previously Disclosed
Camilo Montoya-Galvez, CBS News
Montoya-Galvez writes: "The government told a federal court on Thursday that more than 1,500 migrant families were forcibly separated by U.S. authorities before the Trump administration's 'zero tolerance' policy was fully implemented, meaning a total of at least 4,300 families were separated before a judge ordered officials to halt the controversial practice."
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Camilo Montoya-Galvez, CBS News
Montoya-Galvez writes: "The government told a federal court on Thursday that more than 1,500 migrant families were forcibly separated by U.S. authorities before the Trump administration's 'zero tolerance' policy was fully implemented, meaning a total of at least 4,300 families were separated before a judge ordered officials to halt the controversial practice."
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Education Secretary Betsy DeVos listens Monday to President Trump during a Cabinet meeting at the White House. (photo: Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP)
Federal Judge Holds DeVos in Contempt in Loan Case, Slaps Education Department With $100,000 Fine
Danielle Douglas-Gabriel, The Washington Post
Douglas-Gabriel writes: "A federal judge on Thursday held Education Secretary Betsy DeVos in contempt for violating an order to stop collecting loan payments from former Corinthian Colleges students."
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Danielle Douglas-Gabriel, The Washington Post
Douglas-Gabriel writes: "A federal judge on Thursday held Education Secretary Betsy DeVos in contempt for violating an order to stop collecting loan payments from former Corinthian Colleges students."
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Firefighter Jose Corona sprays water as flames from the Camp Fire consume a home in Magalia, California, November 9, 2018. (photo: Noah Berger/AP)
Climate Change Is Making the California Wildfire Crisis Worse
Aylin Woodward, Business Insider
Woodward writes: "As the world continues to warm, wildfires are expected to keep get bigger and more frequent."
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Aylin Woodward, Business Insider
Woodward writes: "As the world continues to warm, wildfires are expected to keep get bigger and more frequent."
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