DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Truth Social Has an Edge as Rival Right-Wing Apps Falter
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-18 | by ( David Yaffe-Bellany | Matthew Goldstein | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

After former President Donald J. Trump was kicked off Twitter in 2021, conservative entrepreneurs rushed to promote social media alternatives tailored to him and his supporters. There were Parler and Gab, Twitter-like sites popular among the people who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. Then came Gettr, a social media app created by one of Mr. Trump’s former advisers. That crowded field has now narrowed, giving an edge to Truth Social, the platform that Mr. Trump’s company owns and where he is the main attraction.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Trump’s Organizations: Twitter, U.S, Capitol

☆ Trump Media payday: What Truth Social executives got paid in stock and compensation
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-08 | by ( Dan Mangan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +12 min

Those thresholds for the share price are well below where Trump Media stock was trading on Monday, when it closed at $37.17, down more than 8%. The filing disclosed that Trump Media awarded company stock to Nunes, chief financial officer Phillip Juhan, and chief operating officer Andrew Northwall. The three top executives, like Trump himself, are currently barred from selling any of their common stock in Trump Media for the next six months. CNBC asked a spokeswoman for Trump Media why promissory notes were used to grant stock to the executives. Legal battlesBesides Trump, the biggest shareholders in Trump Media are two corporate entities.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Donald Trump, Devin Nunes, Trump, Kevin Murphy, Murphy, Nunes, Phillip Juhan, Andrew Northwall, Juhan, Northwall, DWAC, we've, Tom Williams, Kash Patel, Patel, Dan Scavino, Scavino, Department of Defense Kash Patel, Justin Sullivan, Sandro De Moraes, Vladimir Novachki, Scott Glabe, Novachki, Glabe, De Moraes, Eric Swider, beneficially, Renatus, Swider, Andy Litinsky, Wes Moss, Moss, Patrick Orlando, Mike Pont Organizations: Trump Media, Trump . Trump Media, Nasdaq, Corp, Trump, University of Southern, Securities and Exchange Commission, DWAC, SEC, CNBC, Partners, Northwall, Juhan, Trump Media's, U.S, Capitol, CQ, Inc, Getty, Equity, Messrs, Republican, Hudson Digital, Trump White House, Staff, Department of Defense, Digital, Renatus, ARC Global, United Atlantic Ventures, Twitter, Facebook, NBC, FilmMagic Locations: Juhan, California, Minden, Minden , Nevada, Orlando, New York City

☆ Apple just pulled this piracy app from the App Store
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-14 | by ( Aaron Mok | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Read previewApple appears to have removed Kimi, a piracy app that once featured a library of free films and shows to stream, from its iOS app store, Wired reported earlier this week. The app also reportedly garnered over 100 user reviews in the App Store. The app store, Wired observed, listed Kimi's only developer as "Marcus Evan," which could be the creator's fake name. "Make sure your app only includes content that you created or that you have a license to use," the tech giant's app store guidelines say. AdvertisementThis isn't the first time Apple pulled a piracy app.

Persons: —, Marcus Evan, you've, Aaron Mok Organizations: Service, Wired, Business, Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, Apple, Trump Locations: amok@insider.com

☆ Here are six important questions as Elon Musk faces an ever-deepening crisis over his unhinged behavior
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Elon Musk has an ever-deepening crisis on his hands. Days after the billionaire conspiracy theorist endorsed an antisemitic post on his hate-drenched platform, X, there is mounting pressure for others to take additional action against the unhinged businessman. Here are six questions about the calamity besieging X:What is Musk doing with his lawsuit against Media Matters? Earlier this year, the NFL expressed concern when a Media Matters report found its ads were appearing next to accounts belonging to racists. But it has not said a word since, even as X continued placing ads for NFL teams onto VDARE’s account.

Persons: CNN — Elon Musk, It’s, Musk, Ted Boutrous, X, ” Angelo Carusone, Will Linda Yaccarino, Lou Paskalis, Clare Duffy, Elon Musk, ” Paskalis, she’s, ‘, ” Yaccarino, Axios, TechCrunch, I’m, newsrooms, Casey Newton, ” Newton Organizations: CNN, Media Matters, Media, Hamas, AJL Advisory, NFL, The Washington Post, Financial Times, New York Times Locations: Israel

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Adidas CEO Bjørn Gulden said he doubts that Ye, the artist formerly known as Kanye West, "meant what he said” when he made a series of antisemitic and other offensive remarks last year. Almost a year ago, Adidas ended a major partnership with Ye over his statements, discontinued Ye’s line of Yeezy shoes and moved up the planned departure of its CEO. “Very unfortunate, because I don’t think he meant what he said and I don’t think he’s a bad person. The break with Ye left Adidas with a huge supply of unsold Yeezy sneakers that it has begun to sell in limited batches. The company has not said how many of those shoes remain in inventory, although the unsold shoes and Ye's departure impacted Adidas profits.

Persons: Bjørn Gulden, Ye, Gulden, ”, “, Ye’s, Kim Kardashian, David Organizations: FRANCISCO, Adidas, Good, Paris Fashion, Star, Defamation League, Keeta Floyd Institute for Social Locations: U.S

☆ Kenneth Chesebro, alleged architect of fake electors’ plot, followed Alex Jones around Capitol grounds on January 6th
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-18 | by ( Andrew Kaczynski Em Steck Yahya Abou-Ghazala | Andrew Kaczynski | Em Steck | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

But a CNN investigation has placed him outside of the Capitol at the same time as his alleged plot to keep Trump in office unraveled inside it. CNN was able to place Chesebro at the protest through publicly available databases with photos and videos from that day. Shroyer, who had previously signed a deferred prosecution agreement in another case saying he would not engage in disorderly conduct on the Capitol grounds, was charged with four misdemeanors. Later, the group, including Chesebro, make their way halfway up the steps of the Capitol Building before heading down. Chesebro follows members of the group as they depart the Capitol grounds close to 3 p.m.Later, Chesebro can be seen walking near the Peace Monument at the front of the Capitol.

Persons: Alex Jones, riling, Jones, Donald Trump’s, Kenneth Chesebro, Chesebro, ”, Jared Holt, Lawrence Tribe, Jim Troupis, Biden, John Eastman, —, “, Infowars –, Owen Shroyer, Shroyer, Ryan Goodman, ” Goodman Organizations: CNN, Capitol, Trump, Institute for Strategic, Harvard, Republican, New York Times, New York University, Department of Defense, Committee, Trump International Hotel Locations: Fulton County , Georgia, Georgia, cryptocurrency, Wisconsin, Washington , DC, DC

☆ Tucker Carlson could see Rebekah Mercer, Peter Thiel invest in his media company
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( Brian Schwartz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson could see two of the wealthiest GOP business megadonors, Rebekah Mercer and Peter Thiel, invest in his new media company, according to people familiar with the matter. Mercer has spoken with Carlson since his April departure from Fox News about possibly investing in his as yet unnamed media company, sources told CNBC. Thiel has hinted to allies that he could invest in the venture after hearing from Carlson's side, these people added. Shortly after leaving Fox, Carlson began hosting an episodic show on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. Rebekah Mercer and Peter Thiel have for years been separate investors in a diverse array of conservative startups.

Persons: Tucker Carlson, megadonors, Rebekah Mercer, Peter Thiel, Mercer, Carlson, Thiel, Neil Patel, Fox, Devon Archer, Joe Biden's, Hunter Biden, Archer, Hunter, Andrew Breitbart, He's, Donald Trump, Robert Mercer, haven't Organizations: Fox News, GOP, CNBC, Mercer, 1789, Fox, Dominion Voting Systems, Twitter, Wall Street Journal, Republican, Breitbart News, Wall Street, Trump, Summit Locations: Iowa

☆ Opinion | Twitter Shows, Again, the Failure of the New Right’s Theory of Power
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( David French | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

To understand what Musk did to Twitter, we shouldn’t exaggerate the virtue of Twitter before Musk any more than we should exaggerate the health of our body politic before Trump. Even before Musk, Twitter had become a toxic force in American culture, so toxic that I wrote last year it might be beyond repair. It was also the best app for seeing the thoughts of journalists, politicians and scholars in real time, sometimes to our detriment. He restored several banned accounts while stripping thousands of journalists, politicians and others of the blue verification badges that confirmed their identities. Instead, he allowed anyone to buy a blue check mark by subscribing to a premium service, Twitter Blue, that also boosted the visibility of some subscribers’ posts.

Persons: Musk, “ Catturd Organizations: Twitter, Trump

☆ Exclusive: Video-sharing website BitChute seeks to raise $10 million in new funding round
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( Helen Coster | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"I’m not really raising the money just because we need the money," Wernick said in an interview. Wernick said BitChute was pursuing a combination of high net-worth individuals and venture capital funds. He has an equity stake in BitChute and is also an investor in Parler, Gab, Airbnb (ABNB.O) and Uber (UBER.N). Its investor presentation said BitChute had 218 million unique visitors in 2022, down 15.8% from 2021, with a projection of 247 million unique visitors this year. Their longer-term goal is to “decentralize” BitChute, so that it is blockchain-based and users can decide whether to have content moderation.

Persons: Jeffrey Wernick, I’m, Wernick, BitChute, Patrick Dai, Matthew Branton, cofounders Ray Vahey, Rich Jones, ’, Helen Coster, Krystal Hu, Jane Merriman Organizations: YORK, Reuters, Inc, YouTube, Thomson Locations: BitChute, Parler, New York

☆ 'Planned in plain sight': Senate report finds intel agencies failed in the lead-up to Jan. 6
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Ryan Nobles | Ryan J. Reilly | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

WASHINGTON — Federal law enforcement agencies failed to correctly analyze a wide range of intelligence showing the potential for violence on Jan. 6, 2021, Democrats on the Senate Homeland Security Committee concluded in a report released Tuesday. That post was one of many alluding to the potential for violence leading up to Jan. 6. "What was shocking is that this attack was essentially planned in plain sight in social media," Peters said in an interview, "And yet it seemed as if our intelligence agencies completely dropped the ball." According to the report, similar streams of intelligence continued to flood federal agencies tasked with keeping watch for violent activity. "On the contrary, these threats were made openly, often in publicly available social media posts, and FBI and I&A were aware of them."

Persons: Sen, Gary Peters, Parler, …, Peters Organizations: Senate Homeland Security, FBI, Department of Homeland Security's, of Intelligence, Capitol, U.S . Capitol Police, Washington Metropolitan Police, Washington Field Office, DHS National Operations Center Locations: WASHINGTON, Washington

Then, a deep dive into MrBeast and what his YouTube empire says about the future of the internet. Reddit came along and said, oh, we need to protect Reddit from the rise of these large language models. So I don’t think they’re totally out of the woods. But I don’t think people would say it was a golden age for how safe the platforms fell to use. But I want to challenge you on this, because I don’t necessarily think that it’s a bad thing if we have past peak trust and safety.

Persons: kevin roose, you’ve, casey newton, casey newton Yes, I’ve, there’s, kevin roose I’m, Kevin Roose, ” casey newton, Casey Newton, Casey, Reddit, casey newton Right, roose, Steve Huffman, you’re, Kevin, It’s, They’re, casey newton Well, they’ve, we’re, Huffman, “, Redditors, We’ve, Everyone’s, we’ve, I’m, let’s, Sam Walton, Max, kevin roose Hey, kevin roose Oh, kevin roose Max Read, MrBeast, it’s, Jimmy Donaldson, He’s, Willy Wonka, he’s, somethings, haven’t, kevin roose We’ll, We’ll, kevin roose She’s, she’s, kevin roose MrBeast, Jeremiah, jeremiah howard, Jeremiah Howard who’s, Jimmy, Burger, You’re, Stefan Molyneux, PewDiePie, Paul, Let’s, Raman, kevin roose It’s, MrBeast financials, doesn’t, Logan Paul, they’re, Vincent Miller, Jon Hamm’s, Matthew Weiner’s, kevin roose Max, Will, Max Read, ” kevin roose, casey newton Max, Robert F Kennedy, COVID, Kennedy, Instagram, Connor Roy, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Robert F Kennedy Jr, Elon, Donald Trump, We’re, Jim Jordan, kevin roose Totally, Alex Jones, casey newton Totally, Kate Kalanick, Trump, Tucker Carlson, aren’t, — casey newton, hasn’t, Rachel Cohn, Jen Poyante, Caitlin Love, Alyssa Moxley, Dan Powell, Elisheba Ittoop, Marion Lozano, Sofia Lanman, Rowan Niemisto, Paula Szuchman, Tam, Nell Gallogly, Kate LoPresi, Jeffrey Miranda Organizations: The New York Times, Twitter, YouTube, Lamborghini, Netflix, Walmart, News, Producers, Meta, Instagram, COVID, Democratic, Washington Post, Apple, Republicans, Facebook, 4chan, Republican Party, Trump, Fox News, Stanford, Davis Locations: Hawaii, Reddit, Greenville , North Carolina, hysterics, New Jersey, New York, Greenville, North Carolina, Central, United States, Bay, San Francisco, Stanford

☆ Parler Set to Be Shut Down Temporarily by New Owner
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Sarah E. Needleman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Parler, founded in 2018 and pitched as an alternative to Twitter, has grown in popularity among conservatives. Parler , a social network that was popularized by supporters of former President Donald Trump, has been sold to a buyer that plans to temporarily shut it down. Parent company Parlement Technologies Inc. said Friday it has agreed to sell Parler to digital media company Starboard , months after an acquisition agreement with rapper Kanye West fell apart. The platform will go offline while Starboard, which recently changed its name from Olympic Media, develops a plan to eventually relaunch a revamped version of the site.

☆ Parler to shut down temporarily after Starboard buys social media platform
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

April 14 (Reuters) - Parler, the social media platform popular among U.S. conservatives, was acquired by Starboard and will be temporarily shut down, its new owner said in a statement on Friday. Reporting by Akash Sriram in BengaluruOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Conglomerate Starboard buys Parler, to shut down social media app temporarily
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 14 (Reuters) - Digital media conglomerate Starboard said on Friday it has bought Parler for an undisclosed sum and will temporarily shut down the social media app popular with U.S. conservatives to give itself time to roll out a revamped version of the platform. Starboard, formerly Olympic Media, founded in 2018 houses conservative-leaning platforms American Wire and BizPac Review. The Arlington, Virginia-based conglomerate did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for details on terms of the deal. Parler is one of several social media platforms, from among Gettr, Gab and Truth Social, that have positioned themselves as free-speech alternatives to Twitter Inc prior to its $44 billion acquisition by billionaire and Tesla CEO Elon Musk. "No reasonable person believes that a Twitter clone just for conservatives is a viable business any more," Starboard added.

☆ Apple crackdown on ChatGPT apps unlikely, but it could impose new rules down the road
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Kif Leswing | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Blix, an email app maker that has regularly clashed with Apple over its App Store rules, says it ran into that hurdle this week. Regardless, the Blue Mail episode isn't a sign of an impending Apple crackdown on AI apps. In fact, ChatGPT-powered features are already in Snapchat and the Microsoft Bing app, which are currently being distributed through the App Store. Other AI apps, such as Lensa, have also been distributed and have flourished in the App Store. There is no formal AI or chatbot policy in Apple's App Store Guidelines, a document that outlines what Apple permits on the App Store.

☆ After splitting with Kanye West, British audio startup Kano asks for funding
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

The two would go on to discuss the beginnings of what eventually became the Stem Player. It was originally named the "Donda Stem Player," a reference to West's 10th studio album, Donda. Faced with "worse" terms and news of Ye's antisemitic comments, Kano didn't accept, Klein said. Despite recent outcry over Ye's antisemitic remarks, he has frequently raised eyebrows. The Stem Player, along with West's dedicated fanbase, drove great commercial success for the small London startup.

☆ It's hard to see what an avowed far-right militant 'would be doing much differently' than Elon Musk with his Twitter policies, extremism expert says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-02 | by ( Hannah Getahun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

Berger, a researcher on extremism and extremist movements on social media, explained what constitutes extremism and how Musk fits into the right-wing extremist ecosystem. Elon Musk wouldn't be considered a right-wing extremist, right? It's hard to say if he's an extremist, but he is most definitely implementing policies that favor extremism. Is Elon Musk just bad at his job and unintentionally letting these right-wing extremists through or is it more sinister than that? There's a mythology of the center that the far right advances and that is the mythological center that Elon Musk is interested in promoting.

☆ Kanye West Is No Longer Buying Parler
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Talal Ansari | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The social network’s parent company said in October that it had entered into an agreement in principle with Kanye West to buy the platform. The sale of Parler to Kanye West has been terminated, according to the social network’s parent company. Parlement Technologies Inc. said Thursday the decision had been made in mid-November and was in the interest of both parties.

In an hourslong interview with conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, the rapper Ye praised Hitler, made antisemitic jokes and talked about his recent meeting with former President Donald Trump. During the livestreamed exchange, Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, repeatedly referred to antisemitic stereotypes, made antisemitic jokes and praised Hitler. In the wake of the interview, Ye received criticism from former friends, supporters and collaborators. When Pool began pushing back against Ye’s antisemitic statements, Ye walked away from the interview. In Jones’ broadcast, Ye was allowed to freely make antisemitic statements alongside Fuentes with little questioning from Jones, who at times said that he himself was not antisemitic.

☆ E.U. warns Musk to beef up Twitter controls ahead of new rules
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

Musk has signaled an interest in rolling back many of Twitter’s previous rules meant to combat misinformation, most recently by abandoning enforcement of its COVID-19 misinformation policy. He already reinstated some high-profile accounts that had violated Twitter’s content rules and had promised a “general amnesty” restoring most suspended accounts starting this week. Along with European regulators, Musk risks running afoul of Apple and Google, which power most of the world’s smartphones. Meanwhile, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen walked back her statements about whether Musk’s purchase of Twitter warrants government review. She declined to confirm whether CFIUS is currently investigating Musk’s Twitter purchase.

☆ Parlement Technologies and Ye agree to terminate intent of sale of Parler
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary agree to boost gas grid interconnections, article with imageBusiness category · December 1, 2022 · 4:45 PM UTCGreece, Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary agreed on Thursday to upgrade the interconnection and transport capacity of their gas grids, part of their long-standing efforts to diversify gas sources and boost their role in Europe's energy supply chain.

☆ Kanye West is no longer buying right-wing social media company Parler, company says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Kanye West will no longer be buying social media platform Parler, the company said Thursday. In October, Parler said West was buying the site to help create "an uncancelable ecosystem." download the app Email address By clicking ‘Sign up’, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider as well as other partner offers and accept our Terms of Service and Privacy PolicyOn the day that Kanye West praised the fascist dictator of Nazi Germany, the right-wing social media company Parler revealed that the rapper will no longer be purchasing the company. But after his appearance Thursday on Alex Jones' Infowars, during which West repeatedly praised Adolf Hitler, Parlement Technologies announced the deal was off — and claimed that it had been for some time. "In response to numerous media inquiries, Parlement Technologies would like to confirm that the company has mutually agreed with Ye to terminate the intent of sale of Parler," the company said in a statement posted on Twitter.

☆ Kanye West is no longer acquiring Parler, company says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

Washington CNN Business —The rapper formerly known as Kanye West will no longer be acquiring Parler, the alternative social media platform favored by conservatives including some far-right extremists, the company announced on Thursday. The decision to abandon the deal was mutual, Parler tweeted. In a statement, Parler’s parent, Parlement Technologies, said it “has mutually agreed with Ye to terminate the intent of sale of Parler. Ye’s ongoing business difficulties were a factor in the mutual decision, a person familiar with the matter told CNN. Ye’s intent to purchase Parler was first announced in October.

☆ Rapper Kanye West no longer plans to buy social media platform Parler
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Helen Coster | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] American rapper Kanye West's picture is seen on a smartphone in front of the logo of social media app Parler in this Illustration taken, October 17, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/IllustrationDec 1 (Reuters) - The parent company of social media platform Parler and American rapper Kanye West, who now goes by Ye, have agreed to terminate the intent of the sale of Parler, according to a statement from Parlement Technologies on Thursday. "Parler will continue to pursue future opportunities for growth and the evolution of the platform for our vibrant community." In September, Ye terminated his partnership with apparel retailer Gap Inc (GPS.N). Parler is one of several social media platforms, including Gettr, Gab and Truth Social, that have positioned themselves as free-speech alternatives to Twitter Inc prior to its new ownership under billionaire Elon Musk.

☆ Ye's deal to buy conservative social media app Parler is called off
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Sara Salinas | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

This illustration photo shows the Parler social network app logo on a cell phone screen with a picture of US rapper Kanye West in the background in Los Angeles, October 17, 2022. Conservative social media company Parler said Thursday its deal to be bought by Ye has been called off. The rapper, formerly known as Kanye West, agreed to buy the app in October for an undisclosed amount. "The company has mutually agreed with Ye to terminate the intent of sale of Parler," the app's parent company said in a statement to CNBC. Parler will continue to pursue future opportunities for growth and the evolution of the platform for our vibrant community."

Search resuls for: "Parler"

25 mentions found