The Correspondent apologizes for US office ‘screw up’ after fundraising $2.6m

Posted on April 30, 2019 by Admin

Netherlands-based crowdfunded news site posts public apology for misleading more than 45,000 donors about New York office

A Netherlands-based crowdfunded news site which raised $2.6m ahead of “launching in the US” has apologized and said it “screwed up”, after announcing its headquarters will actually be in Amsterdam.

In December 2018, the Correspondent, a planned English-language version of the Dutch De Correspondent, raised $2.6m from more than 45,000 donors in a widely publicized fundraising campaign. In March, however, it said it would not after all open a newsroom in New York.

Technology cuts children off from adults, warns expert

Posted on April 27, 2019 by Admin

UCL professor says digital world disrupts family life, risking mental health of youngsters

One of the world’s foremost authorities on child mental health today warns that technology is threatening child development by disrupting the crucial learning relationship between adults and children.

Peter Fonagy, professor of Contemporary Psychoanalysis and Developmental Science at UCL, who has published more than 500 scientific papers and 19 books, warns that the digital world is reducing contact time between the generations – a development with potentially damaging consequences.

Tesla investigates video of Model S car exploding

Posted on April 22, 2019 by Admin

The video, widely shared on China’s Twitter-like Weibo, shows the parked EV emit smoke and burst into flames seconds later

Tesla has sent a team to investigate a video on Chinese social media which showed a parked Tesla Model S car exploding, the latest in a string of fire incidents involving the company’s cars.

The video, time stamped Sunday evening and widely shared on China’s Twitter-like Weibo, shows the parked EV emit smoke and burst into flames seconds later. A video purportedly of the aftermath showed a line of three cars completely destroyed.

Egypt referendum: No one believes this vote will be fair but we won’t be silenced

Posted on April 16, 2019 by Admin

President Sisi is playing cat and mouse with us, shutting down our websites and blocking our social media but we won’t give in

As the world watches the peaceful revolution that is changing Sudan in awe and amazement, it is clear that in Egypt, Sudan’s neighbour to the north, President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi is getting nervous. On the same day as the protests in Khartoum reached a head, several of us who oppose Sisi’s autocratic rule launched an online petition to declare any result from Tuesday’s referendum on proposed constitutional amendments “void”.

Among the amendments Sisi is trying to force on the Egyptian people is a provision that could allow him to remain in power until 203 0. The amendments would also increase the control of the military, which would be given powers to police the political sphere in Egypt. They would also give Sisi control over the appointment of judges and the public prosecutor.

Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp users report outages

Posted on April 14, 2019 by Admin

Thousands having difficulty accessing social networks, says tracking site

Facebook was inaccessible to some users on Sunday, according to Downdetector, a website that monitors outages.

The site showed there had been more than 7,700 incidents of people reporting issues with Facebook at its peak.

Facebook to use AI to stop telling users to say hi to dead friends

Posted on April 9, 2019 by Admin

Algorithmic features have sent suggestions to wish happy birthday to those who’ve died

Facebook has promised to use artificial intelligence to stop suggesting users invite their dead friends to parties.

The site’s freshly emotionally intelligent AI is part of a rash of changes to how Facebook handles “memorialised” accounts – pages whose owner has been reported deceased, but that are kept on the social network in their memory.

MEPs back fines for web firms that fail to remove terrorist content

Posted on April 8, 2019 by Admin

Not responding to notification could cost companies 4% of their revenue under EU law

Internet companies will be fined up to 4% of their revenue if they fail to remove terrorist content within one hour of being notified by authorities, under legislation approved by MEPs.

The civil liberties committee approved the move by 35 to one, with abstentions, but removed an obligation on companies to monitor uploaded content or use automated tools.

Australia passes social media law penalising platforms for violent content

Posted on April 3, 2019 by Admin

Labor supports legislation in response to Christchurch shooting that threatens jail for executives, despite media companies’ concerns

The Australian parliament has passed legislation to crack down on violent videos on social media, despite furious reaction from the tech industry, media companies and legal experts.

The Labor opposition combined with the ruling Liberal-National Coalition to pass the law on Thursday, despite warning it won’t allow prosecution of social media executives as promised by the government. Tech giants expressed the opposite concern that it may criminalise anyone in their companies for a failure to remove violent material.

Kylie Jenner’s makeup makes her the world’s youngest billionaire

Posted on March 5, 2019 by Admin

Youngest of the Kardashian-Jenner reality TV family tops Mark Zuckerberg by two years

Kylie Jenner, the youngest member of the Kardashian-Jenner American reality TV family, has become the world’s youngest billionaire at the age of just 21.

Jenner, who grew up under the watch of TV cameras filming Keeping Up with the Kardashians, was on Tuesday admitted to the “nine-zero” fortune club by Forbes. The business magazine ranked Jenner as the world’s 2,057th richest person. She became a billionaire two years younger than the Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg, who took the title at the age of 23 in 2008.

Revealed: AmazonSmile helps fund anti-vaccine groups

Posted on March 5, 2019 by Admin

Amazon’s charity arm allows shoppers to donate to an organization of their choosing – including anti-vaccine groups

Amazon appears to be helping fund anti-vaccine not-for-profit organizations through its charity arm, the AmazonSmile Foundation, the Guardian can reveal.

The AmazonSmile fundraising program – through which Amazon donates 0.5% of the purchase price of a shopper’s Amazon transactions to an organization of their choice – is promoted on the websites of four prominent anti-vaccine organizations: National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC), Physicians for Informed Consent, Learn the Risk, and Age of Autism.

Facebook criticised after women complain of inaction over abuse

Posted on March 4, 2019 by Admin

Amnesty says social media firm must do more to support users who report harassment

Human rights campaigners have called for action after a survey revealed that more than half of the reports that women lodge about harassment on Facebook are met with no action from the social media company.

The Survation poll, commissioned by the feminist campaign group Level Up, found that 29% of the 1,000 women who took part had been harassed on Facebook.