Ex-workers at Russian ‘troll factory’ trust US indictment

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia - While Russian officials scoff at a U.S. indictment charging 13 Russians with meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, several people who worked at the same St. Petersburg "troll factory" say they think the criminal charges are well-founded. Marat Mindiyarov, a former commenter at the innocuously named Internet Research Agency, says the organization's Facebook department hired people with excellent English skills to sway U.S. public opinion through an elaborate social media campaign.

Facebook plans to use US mail to verify IDs of election ad buyers

"Facebook Inc will start using postcards sent by U.S. mail later this year to verify the identities and location of people who want to purchase U.S. election-related advertising on its site, a senior company executive said on Saturday. The postcard verification is Facebook's latest effort to respond to criticism from lawmakers, security experts and election integrity watchdog groups that it and other social media companies failed to detect and later responded slowly to Russia's use of their platforms to spread divisive political content, including disinformation, during the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

Social media firms got played by Russian agents

The election-interference indictment brought by US special counsel Robert Mueller underscores how thoroughly social-media companies like Facebook and Twitter were played by Russian propagandists. Thirteen Russians, including a businessman close to Vladimir Putin, were charged Friday in a plot to interfere in the 2016 US presidential election through social media propaganda.

How Russia Exploited Black Lives Matter, Sean Hannity, and Mass Shootings

On Friday, special counsel Robert Mueller indicted thirteen Russian nationals for attempting to sabotage the 2016 US elections. The 37-page indictment alleges that Russians working for the Internet Research Agency, a Kremlin-linked troll farm, engaged in a multiyear campaign to spread misinformation and actively supported Donald Trump's bid for the White House.

Bobby Miller steps down from Charleston Republican Party after racial Facebook posts

Bobby Miller resigned from his position with the Charleston County GOP on Wednesday following controversial Facebook posts found on his page that some found racially offensive. Charleston County Republican Party Chairman Larry Kobrovsky said he asked Miller to step down from his position after a Facebook post surfaced.

Kansas Congressional candidate Tyler Tannahill sparks backlash with rifle giveaway

A candidate for Kansas' Second District U.S. House seat received backlash on social media Thursday for a firearm giveaway his campaign announced earlier this week before a gunman fired on a Florida high school. Tyler Tannahill, a Leavenworth Republican and Marine Corps veteran running to replace outgoing Republican Rep. Lynn Jenkins, announced his campaign would give away an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle on his website and Facebook before, according to the Associated Press, Nikolas Cruz allegedly killed 17 people at a Florida high school using the same type of gun.

Intel chief says “national cry” needed to combat Russian election meddling

In an open session of the Senate committee's annual Worldwide Threat Assessment hearing on Tuesday, all six intelligence chiefs told Vice Chairman Sen. Mark Warner, D-Virginia, that they stood by the conclusions of a January 2017 assessment that said the Russian government -- at President Vladimir Putin's instruction -- "That this is going to happen, and the resilience needed for us to stand up and say we're not going to allow some Russian to tell us how to vote, how to run our country," Coats, who leads the nation's 17 intelligence agencies, said. "I think there needs to be a national cry for that."

Opioid Litigants Get Boost From Senate Report

A report released by Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill points to $10 million of payments flowing from a group of five opioid-producing companies to 15 patient advocacy groups over a five-year period. The hundreds of pending opioid abuse lawsuits likely have just received a jolt from a report from the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs linking opioid manufacturers and patient advocacy groups.

Trump’s infrastructure plan puts most of burden to states, cities

The Trump administration is set to unveil a $1.5 trillion infrastructure plan Monday that largely puts the bill on the shoulders of local governments. But just $200 billion would actually come from the federal government - something President Trump hinted at during his State of the Union address last month.

Facebook Is Experimenting With A ‘Downvote’ Button

Facebook is testing a new feature in which users can "downvote" certain comments made on posts, thus triaging the ones communally deemed most worthy of more public attention. The experiment, one of many for the social media company turned tech conglomerate, was spotted and publicized by multiple Twitter users, including tech writer Taylor Lorenz.

Apple may offer rebate to users who bought full-price batteries: Report

San Francisco, Feb 7 : After a US senator asked Apple questions about its controversial decision to quietly slow the performance of older iPhones, the Cupertino-headquartered company replied that it may offer rebates to users who paid full price for a battery replacement. "Apple told a US senator it is 'exploring' whether to offer a rebate to customers who paid full-price for a battery replacement," CNET reported late on Tuesday.

Bannon expected to skip House Intel testimony, sources say

Bannon was ordered to return to Capitol Hill Tuesday morning after a marathon meeting with the committee behind closed doors last month, where he refused to answer the committee's questions about his time working for Trump during the transition or in the White House. Bannon declined to answer the questions in light of executive privilege concerns, a claim of privilege Rep. Adam Schiff, the panel's top Democrat, called "breathtaking."

a oeJunka political news shared more widely by Trump backers

These are among fake Facebook and Instagram ads linked by congressional investigators to Russia's secret cyber campaign to disrupt the American political process and ultimately, to defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton and elect Donald Trump. The ads were released by social media companies on Nov. 1, 2017.

A raucous Google-Uber fight is finally heading to trial

A Google-bred pioneer in self-driving cars and Uber's beleaguered ride-hailing service are colliding in a courtroom showdown revolving around allegations of deceit, betrayal, espionage and a high-tech heist that tore apart one-time allies. The trial opening Monday in San Francisco federal court comes nearly a year after Google spin-off Waymo sued Uber, accusing it of ripping off key pieces of its self-driving car technology in 2016.