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☆ World Snooker Championship: The near-silent sport which has become the latest focus of Saudi Arabia’s imagination
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-05 | by ( Ben Church | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

CNN —No one dares speak louder than a whisper as nearly 1,000 people respectfully take their seats inside the dimly lit Crucible Theatre. They’ve come to witness the nerve-shredding, silently electric atmosphere of the World Snooker Championship. The World Snooker Tour (WST) – organizers of the World Snooker Championship – say the sport is watched by half-a-billion people around the world. The Crucible Theatre has been the home of the World Snooker Championships since 1977. Saudi Arabia’s pursuit of snooker should not be surprising, but moving the World Snooker Championship would be an emotional decision for many of its fans.

Persons: they’re, They’ve, Shaun Murphy, It’s, ’, they’ve, George Wood, Mike Watterson, Hossein Vafaei, –, it’s, ” Murphy, Young, Murphy, ” Ronnie O'Sullivan, Ronnie O’Sullivan, Ronnie O’Sullivan’s, O’Sullivan, ”, “, Steve Dawson Organizations: CNN, Crucible, CNN Sport, Sheffield, Crucible Theatre, ‘, Wembley, Snooker, Wimbledon, ”, Theatre Locations: Sheffield, England, Augusta, Saudi Arabia, “, Saudi, China

☆ How election lies fuel Taylor Swift conspiracy theories
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-28 | by ( Donie O'Sullivan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: 1 min

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☆ Misinformation has created an alternative world for some Americans
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-28 | by ( Zachary B. Wolf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

O’SULLIVAN: So much of mainstream American politics now is being infected and affected by what is happening on what was once considered the real fringes — fringe platforms, fringe personalities. O’SULLIVAN: A lot of people got kicked off the major social media platforms after January 6. Because major social media platforms like Facebook have these rules. But I think just overall, in 2016, all the guards were down when it came to social media. And then in 2020 there was a big crackdown from the social media platforms, which got a huge amount of blowback from conservatives.

Persons: CNN —, —, CNN’s Donie O’Sullivan, Trump, Anderson Cooper ”, Joe Biden didn’t, They’ve, they’ve, we’ve, Rachel Powell, “, O'Sullivan, It’s, Joe Black, Donald Trump, O’Sullivan, Black, Joe Biden, it’s, You’re, ”, Tim Alberta, Christiane Amanpour, Caleb Campbell, — he’s, You’ve, you’ve, Elon Musk, WOLF, There’s, she’ll, She’s Organizations: CNN, FBI, Pastors, Facebook, Twitter, Elon, Trump Locations: Colorado, Alberta, West Virginia, Trump

☆ How the Baltimore bridge collapse spawned a torrent of instant conspiracy theories
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-28 | by ( Donie O'Sullivan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

It is entirely possibly that millions of Americans encountered false claims about the bridge collapse when they woke up Tuesday morning before ever seeing the facts. Politics is everythingWhat is perhaps most notable about how quickly and widely conspiracy theories about a breaking news story spread is just how normal this all is right now. Jewish space lasersAs news unfolded on Tuesday, the conspiracy theories continued. Greene has not weighed in on the cause of the bridge collapse. Jewish space lasers were not responsible for the wildfires, nor the Baltimore bridge collapse.

Persons: Francis Scott Key, Israel, ”, Ben Decker, Andrew Tate, Tate, Tate’s, Elon Musk, meekly, Sandy Hook, Alex Jones, “, ” Jones, Jones, Baltimore’s, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, it’s, Biden, Taylor Swift, Joe Biden, Trump, X, David Simon, Simon, –, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Greene Organizations: CNN, Facebook, Maryland State Police, Coast Guard, Baltimore Mayor, Equity, FBI, Republicans, Netflix, HBO, Georgia Republican Locations: Baltimore, Covid, USA, Romania, United Kingdom, Florida, Texas, California, Georgia

☆ A couple bought a $2 million home in New York occupied by a squatter who found loopholes in the law and won't leave
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-16 | by ( Lauren Edmonds | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The Landa family attempted to move in but couldn't because of a loophole in New York City's squatters' rights laws. The Landas told WABC 7 that they purchased the home because it's right next door to family members. Related storiesThe couple told WABC 7 that they've had five hearings, but the process keeps getting delayed. Advertisement"It makes me feel completely forgotten in this legal system, unfair, and not able to do anything," Joseph told WABC 7. Advertisement"A revelation will turn this narrative on its head," O'Sullivan told WABC 7.

Persons: Joseph, Susana Landa, hasn't, —, they'd, Susana Landa —, Brett Flores, Flores, It's, Bernard Fernandez, Fernandez, Landa, Joseph Russo, Alex, Susana, they've, Landas, they're, who've, Dennis O'Sullivan, Anthony Mordente, Flores —, Brett Fisher —, O'Sullivan, he'd, Flores hadn't Organizations: Service, Down, Google, Business, WABC, ABC, BI, Trust, The New York State Senate, New, New York Post, Daily Mail, Fox, Queens County Civil Locations: Queens , New York, New York, York City, Queens, New York City

The recordings immediately went viral on social media, and the candidate, who is pro-NATO and aligned with Western interests, was defeated in September by an opponent who supported closer ties to Moscow and Russian President Vladimir Putin. AI images that falsely depicted former President Donald Trump sitting with teenage girls on Jeffrey Epstein’s plane circulated on social media last month. And once a deepfake appears on social media, it can be nearly impossible to stop its spread. Šimečka said his team and others complained to social media platforms and law enforcement. He said social media platforms need to “put measures in place” to prevent attempts to meddle with an election.

Persons: he’d, Vladimir Putin, ”, Joe Biden’s, Donald Trump, Jeffrey Epstein’s, Trump, “, Subrahmanian, Alex Curtas, Curtas, Jared DeMarinis, ’, ” DeMarinis, Chelsea Carattini, Ilana Beller, haven’t, ” Beller, Paul Vallas, Sean R, Clark, ” Vallas, Vallas, Brandon Johnson, ” “ We’ll, Slovakia Michal Šimečka, ” Šimečka, Šimečka, ” Daniel Milo, Milo, it’s, ” Milo, Janis Sarts, ” Sarts Organizations: CNN, NATO, Northwestern University, Senior, Twitter, Democratic, Chicago, Political, FBI, Department of Homeland Security, Public Citizen, State’s, Republican Party, Commission, Progressive, YouTube, Facebook, Slovakia’s Ministry, Meta, NATO Strategic Communications, of Excellence, Foreign Intelligence Service, Russian Intelligence Locations: Slovakia, Moscow, Europe, States, New Hampshire, Russia, China, Russian, Northwestern, American, California , Michigan, Minnesota , Texas, Washington, New Mexico, Idaho, Chicago, Progressive Slovakia, Slovakia’s, Latvia

☆ Saudi Arabia's lavish sports push will now embrace snooker — and introduce a new golden ball
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-22 | by ( Sam Meredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Saudi Arabia will hold its first major invitational snooker event in March as the kingdom continues to make sizable investments into a growing number of sports. The "Riyadh Season World Masters of Snooker" will take place between March 4 to March 6 at Boulevard Arena in the capital of Riyadh. Games of snooker — a cue sport like billiards that is very popular in the U.K. and China — will take place under current World Snooker rules but with the introduction of a 23rd ball referred to as the "Riyadh Season" ball. This golden ball will be worth 20 points but will only be pottable on completing a maximum break. "We are thrilled to be hosting our first-ever professional snooker tournament in the Kingdom," said Turki Alalshikh, chairman of the Saudi General Entertainment Authority.

Persons: Ronnie O'Sullivan, Judd Trump, Ronnie O'Sullivan —, Luca Brecel, Turki Alalshikh, Alalshikh Organizations: Morningside Arena, Boulevard Arena, Saudi General Entertainment Authority Locations: Leicester, England, Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, China

☆ Former Harvard disinformation scholar says she was pushed out of her job after college faced pressure from Facebook
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( Donie O'Sullivan | Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —A nationally recognized online disinformation researcher has accused Harvard University of shutting the project she led to protect its relationship with mega-donor and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. The allegations, made by Dr. Joan Donovan, raise questions about the influence the tech giant might have over seemingly independent research. Beginning in 2018, Dr. Donovan worked for the Shorenstein Center at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, and ran its Technology and Social Change Research Project, where she led studies of media manipulation campaigns. But last year Harvard informed Dr. Donovan it was shutting the project down, Donovan claims. The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative is the philanthropy run by Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, who both attended Harvard.

Persons: Mark Zuckerberg, Joan Donovan, Donovan, Harvard University’s John F, Dr, Miguel Cardona, Chan, Chan Zuckerberg, Zuckerberg, Priscilla Chan, ” Libby Liu, Frances Haugen, “ We’ve, ” Liu Organizations: CNN, Harvard University, Meta, Shorenstein, Harvard University’s, Kennedy School of Government, Technology, Research, Harvard, US Education, University, Initiative, The Washington Post, Post, Big Energy, Big Pharma

☆ Biden campaign prepares legal fight against election deepfakes
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( Donie O'Sullivan | Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

In recent months, the campaign has spun up the internal task force, dubbed the “Social Media, AI, Mis/Disinformation (SAID) Legal Advisory Group,” part of a broader effort across the campaign to counter all forms of disinformation, TJ Ducklo, a senior adviser to the Biden campaign, told CNN. It aims to have enough prepared to be able to run a campaign-wide tabletop exercise in the first half of 2024. Existing US election law prohibits campaigns from “fraudulently misrepresenting other candidates or political parties,” but whether this prohibition extends to AI-generated content is an open question. Any political advertiser that uses deepfakes in ads on Facebook or Instagram will need to disclose that fact, it said. The Meta report details how some social media platforms are grappling with how to handle deceptive uses of AI.

Persons: Joe Biden’s, Biden, ”, Arpit Garg, TJ Ducklo, Garg, Maury Riggan, “, Chuck Schumer, Schumer, Hany Farid, —, Meta, Darren Linvill Organizations: CNN, Department of Homeland, Social Media, European Union, Digital Services, Republicans, Federal, Republican National Committee, Democratic National Committee, University of California, Facebook, Clemson University’s, RNC Locations: European, Florida, Berkeley, United States

☆ O'Sullivan threatens to quit if not allowed to play in China
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The 47-year-old Englishman risks sanctions from the World Snooker Tour if he misses events to participate in tournaments in China. When I go to China I play in great venues, great crowds, great prize money. "If that gets to the point where I'm not able to do that or I'm not allowed to do that, then I probably won't play. I'll probably go and play Chinese 8 ball (pool) because I still want to play snooker. Reuters has contacted the World Snooker Tour for comment.

Persons: Ronnie O'Sullivan, O'Sullivan, I'm, Aadi Nair, Ed Osmond Organizations: European Masters, BBC, Reuters, Thomson Locations: China, Bolton, Bengaluru

The lies and taunts, which Musk engaged with on social media, turned his life upside down, Brody said. Brody filed a defamation lawsuit last month against Musk, the owner of X, formerly known as Twitter. Online conspiracy theorists soon jumped into the fray. Somehow, someone on social media had found a photo of Brody online and decided he looked like one of the people involved in the clash. The suit alleges that in August after Musk was made aware through his lawyers about Brody’s case for defamation, Musk refused to delete his tweets.

Persons: Ben Brody, Elon Musk, Brody, Musk, —, Alex Jones, Mark Bankston, who’ve, ”, CNN “, ‘ You’re, “ You’re, “, ” Brody, ‘, ” Musk, ’ ” Brody, wouldn’t, Alex Jones Bankston, Sandy Hook, Bankston, Jones, Musk’s, Ben, “ Musk, Paul Pelosi, Nancy Pelosi, “ It’s, I’m, It’s Organizations: CNN, Nazi, Twitter, Sandy, Elementary, University of California Locations: California, Nazi, United States, Riverside , California, Portland , Oregon, Riverside, Oregon, Travis County , Texas

CNN —Dozens of young Americans have posted videos on TikTok this week expressing sympathy with Osama bin Laden, the notorious terrorist who orchestrated the September 11 attacks, for a two-decade-old letter he wrote critiquing the United States, including its government and support of Israel. TikTok is hugely popular with young Americans, with a majority of Americans under 30 using the app at least once a week, according to a KFF survey. The attack was orchestrated by Bin Laden, the former leader of the al Qaeda terrorist group who was killed in a US special forces raid in 2011. “There’s no proof it was written by bin Laden and some of the things that he focuses on are inconsistent with his other writings,” he told CNN. New data from the Pew Research Center released Wednesday shows TikTok is rapidly becoming a place where more and more young Americans get their news.

Persons: Osama bin Laden, TikTok, Bin Laden, influencer, ”, al, Andrew Bates, “, ” Bates, ” Imran Ahmed, ” Ahmed, Peter Bergen, Bergen, bin Laden, Pew Organizations: CNN, Israel, Hamas, Center, CNN National Security, Guardian, Pew Research Center Locations: United States, Israel, New York City , Washington, Pennsylvania, America, New York, American, al Qaeda, Palestine, TikTok

☆ Hate groups leverage advances in artificial intelligence to stoke antisemitism amid tensions surrounding Israel-Hamas war
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( Donie O'Sullivan Curt Devine Allison Gordon | Donie O'Sullivan | Curt Devine | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

CNN —Hate groups and far-right internet trolls have seized on the tensions surrounding the Israel-Hamas war, while leveraging advances in artificial intelligence to further stoke antisemitism in the United States. “We’ve seen a real concerning ideological convergence between far-right communities online and pro-Hamas sentiment,” said Ben Decker, CEO of Memetica, a threat analysis company that monitors online hate. Karen Dunn, an attorney who sued the people responsible for the violence at the deadly 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, told CNN the hate groups “hate everybody, but they hate the Jews the most.”Antisemitism is a commonality that can unite multiple different and competing hate groups, which can then metastasize into hate directed at others, she said. Minadeo, the hate group’s leader, was sentenced this month to 30 days behind bars in Florida, after distributing the antisemitic fliers. Since the October 7 attack on Israel, hate groups also have attempted to latch onto the pro-Palestinian movement to push their own antisemitism-promoting agenda.

Persons: “ We’ve, ”, Ben Decker, Christopher Wray, Memetica, Decker, Karen Dunn, “, ” Dunn, ” Decker, “ It’s, I’m Jon Greenblatt, Jonathan Greenblatt, Greenblatt, ” Jon Minadeo, David Shapiro, “ Heil, Carla Hill, – Organizations: CNN, Defamation, Hamas, FBI, Department of Homeland Security, Capitol, DHS, National Justice Party, 4chan, Meta, YouTube, Microsoft, Carnegie Mellon, ADL, Goyim Defense, Third, “, Extremism, CNN Center, Minadeo, Palestine Locations: Israel, stoke, United States, Charlottesville , Virginia, Charlottesville, Calabasas , California, Calabasas, council, Covid, California, Iowa , Massachusetts, Oregon, Fairfax , Virginia, Atlanta, Florida, Palm Beach, Missoula , Montana, Arizona

CNN —The Chinese government has built up the world’s largest known online disinformation operation and is using it to harass US residents, politicians, and businesses—at times threatening its targets with violence, a CNN review of court documents and public disclosures by social media companies has found. Victims face a barrage of tens of thousands of social media posts that call them traitors, dogs, and racist and homophobic slurs. While tech and social media companies have shut down thousands of accounts targeting these victims, they’re outpaced by a slew of new accounts emerging virtually every day. As part of a mission “to manipulate public perceptions of [China], the Group uses its misattributed social media accounts to threaten, harass and intimidate specific victims,” the complaint states. In the past, the Spamouflage network mostly focused on issues domestically relevant to China.

Persons: –, Xi Jinping, Biden, Mike Gallagher, Chen Pokong, ”, Chen, “, Spamouflage’s, Liu Pengyu, ” Liu, Jiayang, Darren Linvill, hasn’t, Fan, Communist Party playbook, Mandiant, Nancy Pelosi, ” Ben Nimmo, George Floyd’s, Ben Nimmo, Lindsay Gorman, Gorman, ” Linvill, Linvill, Spamouflage, Jiajun Qiu, Qiu, ” Qiu Organizations: CNN, US State Department, FBI, Communist Party, Meta, Google, ”, CCP, US Department of Justice, Department, DOJ, China’s Ministry of Public Security, Group, New Yorker, telltale, Media, Clemson University, Capitol, Department of Homeland Security, Marshall Fund’s Alliance, Securing Democracy, YouTube Locations: United States, Beijing, San Francisco, China “, New York, China, New York City, America, Washington, Hong Kong, US, Texas, Virginia, Manassas , Virginia

☆ EU AI Act to serve as blueprint for global rules, Benifei says
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

AI (Artificial Intelligence) letters are placed on computer motherboard in this illustration taken June 23, 2023. While several countries have been looking at ways to regulate AI, European lawmakers have taken a lead by drafting AI rules aimed at setting a global standard for a technology key to almost every industry and business. Executives and experts attending the conference stressed the importance of establishing guardrails to AI to prevent threats to society and democracy. Last week, Britain published a paper known as the "Bletchley Declaration", agreed with 28 countries including U.S. and China, aimed at boosting global efforts to cooperate on AI safety. "We can build these common alphabet because it's very important to deal with higher level challenges on AI development, for example, the risk of AI used as weapons," he said.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Brando Benifei, Benifei, Joe Biden, Liz O'Sullivan, Supantha Mukherjee, Diane Bartz, Jeffrey Dastin, Diane Craft Organizations: REUTERS, Union, Reuters NEXT, U.S, Congress, National AI, Reuters, reuters, Thomson Locations: EU, New York, Britain, Bletchley, U.S, China, Stockholm, Washington, San Francisco

☆ How Microsoft’s AI is making a mess of the news
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-02 | by ( Donie O'Sullivan | Allison Gordon | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

But the apparent role of AI in Microsoft’s recent amplification of bogus stories raises questions about the company’s public adoption of the nascent technology and for the journalism industry as a whole. The poll prompted criticism from Microsoft’s readers, “This has to be the most pathetic, disgusting poll I’ve ever seen,” one person wrote. “We had a really tight knit, super talented editorial team and we had all worked together for a long time,” Pfeuffer told CNN. “I don’t think people realize how many people use [MSN],” she told CNN. “It felt like I was standing in line at the grocery store reading a National Enquirer front page,” Kawar told CNN.

Persons: Joe Biden, Britain’s, Lilie James, James ’, Anna Bateson, “, ” Bateson, Brad Smith, Bateson, ”, Brandon Hunter, “ Brandon Hunter, Dean Preston, Elon Musk, Pfeuffer, ” Pfeuffer, Biden, Joe Biden ”, Ferris, ” Kawar, he’s Organizations: CNN, Democratic Party, NBA, Microsoft, Guardian, MSN, Guardian Media Group, San Francisco, Microsoft Edge, Enquirer, Microsoft Microsoft, Google Locations: OpenAI, Sydney, Australia, Santa Monica , California

☆ Flooded pitch fails to dampen spirits of Ireland's women
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"Wettest game in history but job done and top of the group with the girlsss," Ireland captain Katie McCabe posted on Instagram after the match in Shkoder. "Ballon Pour," Ireland team mate Louise Quinn commented under the post, a reference to McCabe, like many others, missing the Ballon d'Or ceremony on Monday despite her nomination. After 20 minutes of play the first rumbles were heard, accompanied by torrential rain. The game was scoreless at halftime and play was suspended for an hour as ground staff cleared the waterlogged pitch. Denise O'Sullivan scored the winner in the 88th minute, and with four wins from four games, Ireland have secured the group win and promotion with two games still to play.

Persons: Ireland's Katie McCabe, Dan Peled, Katie McCabe, Louise Quinn, McCabe, Denise O'Sullivan, Sinead Farrelly, Trevor Stynes Organizations: Soccer Football, FIFA, Brisbane Football, REUTERS, Ireland, League, Women's Nations, Thomson Locations: New Zealand, of Ireland, Nigeria, Brisbane, Australia, Republic, Albania, Shkoder, Dublin

☆ Springbok hooker Mbonambi cleared to play in World Cup final
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

World Rugby were subsequently asked to review a similar incident in a match between the two teams in London last year. "Any allegation of discrimination is taken extremely seriously by World Rugby...," it said in a statement. World Rugby added that it accepted that Curry made the allegation in good faith, "and that there is no suggestion that the allegation was deliberately false or malicious." "World Rugby is also concerned by the social media abuse that both players have been subjected to this week. There is no place in rugby or society for discrimination, abuse or hate speech, and World Rugby urges fans to embrace the sport’s values of respect, integrity and solidarity."

Persons: Rassie Erasmus, Lorraine O'sullivan, Bongi Mbonambi, Tom Curry, Mbonambi, Curry, Tom Curry’s, Siya Kolisi, Kolisi, Nick Said, Jason Neely, John Stonestreet Organizations: Aviva, REUTERS, Rights, Saturday’s Rugby, Rugby, England, Springbok, New Zealand, South Africa, World Rugby, Rugby Football Union, RFU, Springboks, Twickenham, Thomson Locations: Africa, Ireland, South Africa, Dublin, New, Paris, London, Mbonambi

CNN —When Google Maps users navigated to the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt on Tuesday, they might have seen placenames that included, “F**k Israel,” and “May god curse Israel’s Jerusalem.”Cyber activists appeared to have targeted the service to post anti-Israel messages, likely by taking advantage of a feature on Google Maps that allows people to create and contribute information about businesses and landmarks that appear on the service. The company did not say if the action was at the request of the Israel Defense Forces. Google took the same action at the beginning of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year after online researchers used live traffic data to track the movements of Russian troops. It is unclear if the targeting of Google Maps with anti-Israeli messages was the result of the company’s decision to disable live traffic data. After CNN shared several examples of fake anti-Israel placenames with Google on Tuesday, a company spokesperson said, “On Google Maps, we strive to strike the right balance of helping people find reliable information about local places, and reducing inaccurate or misleading content.

Persons: ”, Ben Decker, ” Decker, “, Memetica’s Decker Organizations: CNN, Google, Israel Defense Forces Locations: Rafah, Gaza, Egypt, Jerusalem, Israel, Palestine, Ukraine

☆ Musk’s X cashes in on ‘superspreaders’ of Israel-Hamas misinformation, new report finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-19 | by ( Donie O'Sullivan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

NewsGuard identified seven accounts it describes as “misinformation superspreaders,” which have shared widely debunked claims about the conflict. Verified users are also eligible to receive payments from the platform, financially incentivizing posts from the users who are actively spreading misinformation. The group said 186 of the 250 posts were sent by premium X accounts. Soon after NewsGuard published its report Thursday, Musk posted on X that the company “should be disbanded immediately.” CNN has reached out to X and Musk for further comment. In May, there was a brief dip in the stock market after verified accounts on X shared fake images of a purported “explosion” near the Pentagon.

Persons: NewsGuard, ” NewsGuard, Musk, ”, Linda Yaccarino Organizations: CNN, Elon, Twitter, Hamas, ” CNN, European Union, EU, Meta, X, Pentagon Locations: Israel

But its following has surged on popular messaging app Telegram since its October 7 terror attack on Israel. Hamas is a designated foreign terror organization in the United States, and new internet laws in the European Union mean large social media platforms can face penalties for hosting terroristic content. Hamas’ growing audienceThe Telegram channel for Hamas’ military wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, had about 200,000 followers at the time of the attack. Fishman said while the huge growth in the number of people following Hamas’ Telegram accounts is concerning, it doesn’t mean all the followers are supporters – pointing out that many journalists, researchers and others are likely following the accounts. And that could make it more difficult for plaintiffs to use legal action to force Telegram to remove Hamas content.

Persons: –, Brian Fishman, Fishman, Hamas ’, Pavel Durov, Durov, ” Durov, John Bergmayer, Thierry Breton, didn’t Organizations: CNN, Brigades, Google, Hamas, European Union, Hamas ’, Atlantic, Forensic Research, Meta, Capitol, Facebook, Twitter, ISIS, Communications, Republicans, European, Digital Services, European Commission Locations: Israel, United States, European, Russian, Dubai, Russia, Ashkelon, US

☆ Check out the pitch deck that helped adtech metadata startup Sincera raise $4.2 million in seed funding
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-13 | by ( Lara O'Reilly | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Adtech startup Sincera, which offers metadata to other adtech firms, raised $4.2 million in funding. The company plans to grow its team and access more compute through its cloud providers. AdvertisementAdvertisementSincera, a startup that uses metadata to help adtech companies improve their offerings, just raised a $4.2 million seed round. Customers to date have included LiveRamp, identity company ID5, and publicly traded adtech company The Trade Desk. Check out the key slides from the pitch deck that helped Sincera raise its $4.2 million seed funding round.

Persons: —, Mike O'Sullivan, Ian Meyers, Meyer, O'Sullivan, Mike Rowe, Jobs, cera, Sincera Organizations: NextView Ventures, Service, Discovery, Trade, LiveRamp Ventures Locations: New York

As a platform subject to Europe’s Digital Services Act (DSA), X could face billions in fines if regulators conclude that violations have occurred. Much of the problematic content appears to stem from platform changes made under Musk’s supervision, Breton suggested in the letter, which he shared on X. “We have, from qualified sources, reports about potentially illegal content circulating on your service despite flags from relevant authorities,” Breton wrote. The EU letter comes as misinformation about the conflict continues to spread widely across X. On Tuesday, the investigative journalism group Bellingcat said a fake video designed to look like a BBC News report was circulating on social media.

Persons: Elon Musk, Thierry Breton, X didn’t, Breton, X, ” Breton, Porte, Gonzalo Fuentes, ”, Bellingcat, Elliot Higgins, Shayan, “, Musk Organizations: CNN, Europe’s Digital Services, White, DSA, SpaceX, Tesla, Viva Technology, Porte de, Reuters, BBC, BBC News, Pentagon Locations: Israel, Paris, France, EU, Ukraine

CNN has requested comment from Musk and X on the posts related to the Israel-Gaza conflict. Community notes allow users on X to fact-check false posts on the platform. While notes were appended to both of these false posts, they often come after a false post has been viewed thousands – or in some cases millions – of times. “In times of war, social media becomes a propaganda battlefield; there is always an element of disinformation and exaggeration,” said Emerson Brooking, senior resident fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab. He said other platforms that have little or no guardrails including the social media messaging app Telegram are also hotbeds of misinformation, but X is unique given Musk’s behavior.

Persons: Musk, influencer Jackson Hinkle, Hinkle, Benjamin Netanyahu, ”, Israel, Emerson Brooking, ” Brooking, ” Joe Galvin, ” Galvin, X Organizations: CNN, Elon, White, Washington, Pentagon, Jerusalem Post, Directorate, Defamation League, Atlantic, Forensic Research, “, monetization, Twitter Locations: Israel, Ukraine, Russia, Gaza, Azerbaijan

☆ Her son was an accused cult leader. She says he was a victim, too.
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-23 | by ( Donie O'Sullivan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +16 min

The man talking on the tape was her son, Michael Protzman. Michael Protzman got swept up in this alternate reality. We spoke to dozens of Americans whose lives and families have been affected by conspiracy theories, including Protzman’s own family. After Michael Protzman died this summer, some of his followers refused to believe he had passed. Vigrass never imagined that the conspiracy theories her brother was airing at the kitchen table could lead to him to join what she views as a cult.

Persons: CNN’s, O’Sullivan, Anderson Cooper, CNN —, “ John John, … Trump, Joe Kennedy, George Patton, Mussolini … ” Colleen Protzman, Michael Protzman, ”, “, John F, Kennedy Jr, Donald Trump, Kennedy, Junior —, “ He’ll, Trump, Jesus Christ, reemerge, opportunists, Protzman, Michael Brian Protzman, Michael “, Colleen Protzman, Michael, it’s, Sandy, ” Colleen Protzman, —, QAnon, Barack Obama, Rachel Maddow, Donie O'Sullivan, Michal Protzman, didn’t, JFK, Erica Vigrass, Jason, Erica, ‘ I’m, ’ ” Protzman’s, – Protzman, Erica Vigrass ’, Vigrass, ” Protzman, Jason –, They’re, Jesselyn Cook, It’s, Diane Benscoter, General, ” Benscoter Organizations: JFK, CNN, Dealey, Junior, Junior — JFK, WFAA, JFK Jr, Trump, Kennedys, Democratic Party, Michael Protzman CNN, Dallas CNN, Dealey Plaza, Dallas, Capitol, Facebook, Twitter, Hollywood, Unification Church, US Locations: United States, Dallas, JFK, Minnesota, Seattle, Washington, Dealey, –

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