Tom McKay

Tech NewsGoogle

The Federalist Bends the Knee to Big Tech, Deletes Its Awful Comments Section

Google has booted fringe libertarian/conspiracist page Zerohedge from its AdSense platform over user comments and warned crackpot haven the Federalist that it could face the same fate, NBC News reported on Tuesday. The Federalist, which has postured itself as a haven for ideological outcasts of all stripes to post things that are definitely not deranged … Continued

Earther

Report: NOAA Officials Behind #Sharpiegate Violated Integrity Policies, Won’t Face Consequences Though

Top officials at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration violated the agency’s scientific integrity rules when they debased themselves to back up Donald Trump’s incorrect assertion that Hurricane Dorian could strike Alabama last year, an internal investigation has shown. Regardless, everyone involved appears to be bound to get off scot-free. On September 1, 2019, Trump … Continued

Tech NewsTech Policy

Republican FCC Commissioner Has ‘Deep Reservations’ on Whether Trump’s Social Media Order Is Bullshit

Donald Trump’s ridiculous and likely unenforceable executive order demanding the Federal Communications Commission begin punishing internet companies insufficiently subservient to conservatives is drawing skepticism from his own side. The GOP controls three out of five commissioner slots at the FCC, which Trump’s order in May tasked with reinterpreting Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. … Continued

ScienceHealth

Trump: It’s Your Fault If You Get the Coronavirus at My Rallies, Please Sign Here

Certified brain genius Donald Trump, apparently troubled not by the roughly 115,000 Americans dead from the coronavirus pandemic but instead by his plummeting poll numbers, has begun planning to hold densely packed campaign rallies in some of the states where the virus is raging its hardest. That’s right: The plan is to cram tens of … Continued

Tech NewsPolitics

Buckle Up, Zuck, Now Joe Biden Is Gonna Petition the Heck Out of You

In January 2020, former vice president and likely Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden went off on Facebook, saying it should lose its Section 230 immunity from lawsuits for user-generated content and CEO Mark Zuckerberg should be held personally liable in civil and maybe even criminal court. On Thursday, Biden’s campaign juiced it up a little, … Continued

ScienceHealth

CDC Document Shows Just How Badly the U.S. Is Handling Coronavirus Compared to Other Countries

The U.S. government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic continues to be faltering, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Leaked CDC documents dated June 9 that were obtained and published by Yahoo News this week show the U.S. is still exhibiting astronomical increases in new cases of the virus, doing far … Continued

Tech NewsCrime

European Police Bust Alleged Pirate Streaming Service With Over 2 Million Users

Sick of streaming paywalls and unending searches on multiple services to find where that one movie doesn’t cost five bucks? Seems like a whole lot of people in Europe are too. Police throughout the European Union have taken down a TV and movie streaming ring that they claim involved over 2 million subscribers, dozens of … Continued

Tech NewsFacebook

Report: Facebook Helped the FBI Exploit Vulnerability in a Secure Linux Distro for Child Predator Sting

Facebook security personnel and engineers helped the FBI track down a notorious child predator by helping a third-party company develop an exploit in a security-focused version of the Linux operating system, Tails, per a Wednesday report by Vice. But they did so quietly and without notifying the developers of Tails afterwards of the major security … Continued

Tech NewsCrime

Feds Charge Executive of Pinprick Blood Testing Firm With Fraud Over Coronavirus Scheme

The Department of Justice has brought charges against the president of a Silicon Valley-based pharmaceutical firm, Arrayit, alleging a scheme to profiteer off the coronavirus pandemic with a shoddy covid-19 test it tried to bundle with an expensive, unrelated allergen finger stick test. The DOJ said the charges are its first securities fraud case brought in … Continued

io9Movies

God Help Us, the Winklevoss Twins Are Co-Producing a Movie About Their Bitcoin Journey

The Winklevoss twins—the brothers Mark Zuckerberg allegedly stole the idea for Facebook from—are making a movie about themselves, Deadline reported this week. If that doesn’t seem masturbatory enough, rejoice: said film is about how they amassed a net wealth of more than $1 billion by getting really into Bitcoin. Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss are listed … Continued

Tech NewsPrivacy and Security

We Mapped Where Customs and Border Protection Drones Are Flying in the U.S. and Beyond

In 2011, Rodney Brossart, a cattle rancher from Lakota, North Dakota was accused of stealing six cows. The cows, he said, simply wandered on to his 3,000-acre farm, and by his estimation, they, therefore, belonged to him. When the cops came, he and his family were prepared. Armed with high power rifles, they engaged in … Continued

Tech NewsFacebook

Facebook Mods Sign Letter Protesting Zuckerberg’s Stance on Trump Threats, Conspiracy Theories

A group of Facebook moderators has joined many of the firm’s staff in calling out CEO Mark Zuckerberg over his bullshit refusal to take actions against posts by Donald Trump that clearly violate its rules, the Guardian reported on Monday. Per the Guardian, the moderators—who work for the company as part of its army of … Continued

ScienceSpace & Spaceflight

The U.S. Space Force Is Losing a Trademark Battle With Netflix’s Space Force

The real Space Force may be going down in flames against the fictional Space Force: According to the Hollywood Reporter, the newly founded military branch appears to be losing a trademark battle with the Netflix comedy show of the same name. Netflix “has outmaneuvered the U.S. government to secure trademark rights to ‘Space Force’ in … Continued

Tech NewsFacebook

Facebook Will, Uhh, Stop Promoting the ‘Boogaloo’ Race War Thing

Facebook says it is cracking down even further against groups related to the “Boogaloo” movement, which has considerable momentum among far-right militiamen and is based around the idea that the U.S. is headed towards a second Civil War. Just kidding! It only said that it will stop actively promoting them. Per Reuters, Facebook already “banned … Continued

Tech NewsPolitics

White House Propaganda Video Falsely Claims ‘Domestic Terrorists’ Planted Bricks for Protesters

This video, obtained by Gizmodo, was posted to—then deleted from—the official White House Twitter account. Gizmodo has obscured some identities and added commentary but has not altered or edited the source video otherwise. On Wednesday, the White House tweeted a compilation of videos purporting to document an organized “domestic terror” operation by anti-fascist (antifa) groups … Continued

Tech NewsNews

Photos: Thousands Peacefully March in D.C. in Response to Police Crackdown on Protests

A massive crowd assembled outside the White House on Tuesday, one day after authorities used jaw-dropping force there to clear one of the many peaceful protests against systemic police brutality and racism triggered by the May 25 police killing of Minneapolis man George Floyd. On Monday, U.S. Park Police, Secret Service personnel, and members of … Continued

Tech NewsNews

Photos: Police Use Force to Quell Protests Nationwide as Trump Threatens Martial Law

Protests against systemic racism and brutality by police departments around the country ignited by the May 25 Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd are being met with tear gas, rubber bullets, riot shields, and worse as the president threatens to impose martial law. Shortly after Donald Trump addressed the nation from the White House on … Continued

Tech NewsPrivacy and Security

Customs and Border Protection Flew a Predator Surveillance Drone Over Minneapolis Protests Today

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has flown a Predator drone above ongoing protests against police brutality in Minneapolis, according to flight logs. An aircraft using the call sign CBP-104 took off from Grand Forks Air Force Base in North Dakota—where CBP has drones stationed—at around 10:10 a.m. ET, reaching Minneapolis and entering a hexagon-shaped holding … Continued

Tech NewsPolitics

Twitter Hides Official White House Tweet Calling for Killings of Protesters, Too

The White House taunted Twitter on Friday by reposting Donald Trump’s tweet calling for the outright extrajudicial slaughter of Americans protesting police brutality in Minneapolis, which the social media site on Friday hid behind a label for “glorifying violence.” Twitter has now responded by doing exactly the same thing to the White House account. In … Continued

Tech NewsTech Policy

Trump’s Executive Order on Social Media Is the Worst Kind of Bullshit

On Thursday, Donald Trump escalated his inane, frothing, and mostly one-sided feud with Twitter and other social media companies he has accused of silencing right-wing voices online to a dangerous, legally questionable new level. Trump signed an executive order Thursday afternoon that purports to radically alter foundational principles of the modern internet, specifically by tasking … Continued