Sections SEARCH Skip to content Skip to site index Business Subscribe Log In Log In Today’s Paper Business | The Most Measured Person in Tech Is Running the Most Chaotic Place on the Internet Advertisement Supported by ByDaisuke Wakabayashi April 17, 2019 Even by the nightmarish standards of the empire she oversees, Susan Wojcicki, the chief executive officer of YouTube, has had a dreadful start to 2019. During a single week in February, BuzzFeed reported that her company was running advertisements alongside anti-vaccine content; there was a nationwide panic over the platform abetting child suicide; and a viral video showed how pedophiles were flourishing on the site. And then there was the bestiality. Thumbnail images implying human-animal sex were discovered next to children’s videos, and after an uproar, Ms. Wojcicki was obliged to call a staff meeting to address it. The topic, she allowed … [Read more...] about The Most Measured Person in Tech Is Running the Most Chaotic Place on the Internet
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These twins with Down Syndrome are the cutest thing on the internet right now
Brothers Charlie and Milo McConnel, 3, have 21,000 followers on Instagram and another 9,000 on Facebook, but they aren’t just any set of twin-fluencers. Their mother, Julie McConnel, created a Facebook page just before the twins were born so friends and family could stay up-to-date on their family. But after McConnel found out her Charlie and Milo had Down Syndrome, she realized a higher purpose for their social media profiles. “I just wanted it to be more of a way to share, ‘This is our life; and this is what it’s really like to grow up and have twins in your home with Down syndrome,’ ” McConnel tells TODAY. McConnel, 47, says social media helped her connect with other parents of children with Down Syndrome. She hopes Charlie and Milo’s internet presence will help raise awareness, and help other families living with the genetic disorder feel less alone. “I spent months being afraid. I didn’t think I could face the future with a … [Read more...] about These twins with Down Syndrome are the cutest thing on the internet right now
The Internet Trolls Have Won. Sorry, There’s Not Much You Can Do.
Sections SEARCH Skip to content Skip to site index Personal Tech Subscribe Log In Subscribe Log In Today's Paper Advertisement Supported by tech fix When it comes to online comments and discourse and what you can do to limit their toxicity, you only have a certain amount of power. The real leverage lies with the tech companies. ByBrian X. Chen Aug. 8, 2018 This column is going to be a bit unusual. Typically, I write about a broad tech problem and offer some solutions. But this week, I’ve stumbled into a topic that many agree has no easy fix: online comments. Over the last decade, commenting has expanded beyond a box under web articles and videos and into social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. That has opened the door to more aggressive bullying, harassment and the ability to spread misinformation — often with difficult real-life consequences. Case in point: the right-wing conspiracy site Infowars. For … [Read more...] about The Internet Trolls Have Won. Sorry, There’s Not Much You Can Do.
Alex Jones and Infowars test the limit of free speech on the internet
Alex Jones is going to war with Silicon Valley. As one of the internet's most controversial personalities, making outlandish claims and spreading conspiracy theories through his Infowars website and broadcast has made Jones a household name in political circles. Initially, it was for his baseless accusation that 9/11 was an inside job. But in the past several years, he's claimed survivors of a mass shooting at a Parkland, Florida, high school were "crisis actors." (False.) He's claimed that the mass shooting of 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary was a hoax. (False.) And he's claimed Hillary Clinton was involved in a child sex trafficking ring. (False.) Critics have cried foul, saying Jones' particular brand of unproven accusations whip his fans into a frenzy, after which they harass, threaten and intimidate. In one extreme case, the parents of a Sandy Hook Elementary shooting victim told The New York Times they receive so many death threats and harassing messages … [Read more...] about Alex Jones and Infowars test the limit of free speech on the internet
The One Law That’s The Cause Of Everything Good And Terrible About The Internet
POLITICS 08/06/2018 10:01 am ET And the push to change it, for good or ill. By Paul Blumenthal At the beginning of June, my colleague Luke O’Brien became the target of an internet mob after he identified the New York woman behind @AmyMek, a massively popular Twitter account known for anti-Muslim, far-right-wing rantings that were endorsed by President Donald Trump. O’Brien was hit by a wave of harassment from her followers, including numerous death threats. Twitter took minimal action against the perpetrators while suspending O’Brien for a joking response he made to one of his harassers. In the midst of this harassment campaign, which is ongoing, O’Brien asked me whether Twitter could be held legally accountable for failing to adequately address harassment on its site. He didn’t know it at the time, but I have some history with this question. On Aug. 10, 1997, the Drudge Report published a story that my father, journalist Sidney Blumenthal, … [Read more...] about The One Law That’s The Cause Of Everything Good And Terrible About The Internet