Tag: big tech

UN tells WEF how it partners with tech platforms to promote narratives

The World Economic Forum (WEF) held the Sustainable Development Impact Meetings, where unelected groups held a “Tackling Disinformation” panel, with participants including the UN, Brown University, and even CNN.

The panel discussed how best to control narratives on issues like climate change and COVID-19.

The UN’s Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications, Melissa Fleming, noted that the UN had partnered with Big Tech companies, including Google and TikTok, to control narratives surrounding COVID and climate change.

“We own the science, and we think that the world should know it, and the platforms themselves also do,” she said.

The UN said it partnered with Google to influence search results on climate change so that narratives from “authoritative” sources would appear at the top of search results.

“We partnered with Google,” said Fleming. “For example, if you Google ‘climate change,’ you will, at the top of your search, you will get all kinds of UN resources.

“We started this partnership when we were shocked to see that when we Googled ‘climate change,’ we were getting incredibly distorted information right at the top.”

The UN also says it partnered with TikTok on a project dubbed “Team Halo,” to control the narratives surrounding COVID-19.

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PayPal to expand its speech restriction rules in November

On the heels of its censorship spree in the UK – that received backlash so great it got the attention of lawmakers – PayPal is rolling out a new agreement that gives itself more censorship powers and the ability to strip income from those who don’t abide to its speech rules.

Violation of the “Acceptable Use Policy constitutes a violation of the PayPal User Agreement and may subject you to damages, including liquidated damages of $2,500.00 U.S. dollars per violation,” PayPal writes.

PayPal’s clause about taking users’ funds for a violation of its rules has long been established. But, as published on September 26th and to be effective on November 3rd, 2022, PayPal will add restrictions to its acceptable use policy that go beyond illegal activities and fraud and into the realm of policing speech.

The updated policy prohibits users from using PayPal for activities that:

“Involve the sending, posting, or publication of any messages, content, or materials that, in PayPal’s sole discretion, (a) are harmful, obscene, harassing, or objectionable … (e) depict, promote, or incite hatred or discrimination of protected groups or of individuals or groups based on protected characteristics (e.g. race, religion, gender or gender identity, sexual orientation, etc.) … (g) are fraudulent, promote misinformation … or (i) are otherwise unfit for publication.”

Big Tech platforms are increasingly finding ways to punish people’s speech under the guise of banning  “misinformation,” and making themselves as the arbiters of truth in deciding what is and isn’t true.

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Amazon unveils bedside device that tracks sleeping patterns

Soon enough, a bedside Amazon device might know whether you’re sleeping — or not.

The e-commerce and tech giant said Wednesday it will start selling a device later this year that can track sleeping patterns without a wristband.

The device, called Halo Rise, will use no-contact sensors and artificial intelligence to measure a user’s movement and breathing patterns, allowing the device to track sleep stages during the night, the Seattle-based company said. Amazon said the device “does not include cameras or microphones,” and will go for $139.99.

The Halo Rise would be the latest device in Amazon’s Halo line, which includes a fitness tracker that can track physical activity and sleeping patterns. Amazon noted the device can connect with its virtual assistant, Alexa, and allow users to wake up to their favorite songs, and a light that “simulates the colors and gradual brightening of a sunrise.”

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YouTube Removed Viral Pro-Family Speech From Incoming Conservative Italian PM Giorgia Meloni

YouTube removed a viral speech defending the family and ripping woke ideology given by incoming conservative Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni — before reversing course and reinstating the video.

Meloni’s speech from the World Congress of Families gathering in 2019 went viral this week online, in light of Meloni’s groundbreaking win as Italy’s first female PM.

“Why is the family an enemy? Why is the family so frightening? There is a single answer to all these questions,” she said in the speech, according to transcript provided by The Washington Post. “Because it defines us. Because it is our identity. Because everything that defines us is now an enemy for those who would like us to no longer have an identity and to simply be perfect consumer slaves.”

YouTube on Wednesday removed video of the speech, adding an ambiguous note that the footage “has been removed for violating YouTube’s Community Guidelines,” National Review reported.

No other information was offered to general users about which “community guideline” had been violated in the video.

But when The Daily Wire reached out to the platform for more information, YouTube spokeswoman Ivy Choi said the video has been reinstated.

“Upon careful review, we determined this video is not violative of our Community Guidelines and have reinstated it,” Choi said via email.

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Brands blast Twitter for ads next to child pornography accounts

Some major advertisers including Dyson, Mazda, Forbes and PBS Kids have suspended their marketing campaigns or removed their ads from parts of Twitter because their promotions appeared alongside tweets soliciting child pornography, the companies told Reuters.

DIRECTV and Thoughtworks also told Reuters late on Wednesday they have paused their advertising on Twitter.

Brands ranging from Walt Disney Co, NBCUniversal and Coca-Cola Co to a children’s hospital were among more than 30 advertisers that appeared on the profile pages of Twitter accounts peddling links to the exploitative material, according to a Reuters review of accounts identified in new research about child sex abuse online from cybersecurity group Ghost Data.

Some of tweets include key words related to “rape” and “teens,” and appeared alongside promoted tweets from corporate advertisers, the Reuters review found. In one example, a promoted tweet for shoe and accessories brand Cole Haan appeared next to a tweet in which a user said they were “trading teen/child” content.

“We’re horrified,” David Maddocks, brand president at Cole Haan, told Reuters after being notified that the company’s ads appeared alongside such tweets. “Either Twitter is going to fix this, or we’ll fix it by any means we can, which includes not buying Twitter ads.”

In another example, a user tweeted searching for content of “Yung girls ONLY, NO Boys,” which was immediately followed by a promoted tweet for Texas-based Scottish Rite Children’s Hospital. Scottish Rite did not return multiple requests for comment.

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Google Is Like ‘a Stranger Watching Your Child Through Their Bedroom Window’

By default, Google Chrome allows any and all tracker cookies to follow your every move online.

Google is without a doubt the largest and clearest monopoly on the planet. It dominates online searches and advertising, which in and of itself leads to automatic bias.

As noted by Google’s founders Sergey Brin and Lawrence Page in their 1998 paper, “The Anatomy of a Large-Scale Hypertextual Web Search Engine,”

“… [W]e expect that advertising funded search engines will be inherently biased towards the advertisers and away from the needs of consumers.”

Google has also infiltrated many other areas of our day-to-day lives, having acquired dozens of other companies you might not realize belong to Google or its parent company, Alphabet.

Among the most well-known are YouTube, the largest video platform on the web, and Android, one of the most popular operating systems worldwide.

Google also has significant influence over urban development, health care and childhood education.

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Gay Rights Organization Gets Deplatformed By PayPal While Pro-Pedophile Group Remains

A gay rights organization was deplatformed by PayPal and its subsidiary Venmo, only to discover on Thursday that pro-pedophile organization Prostasia continues to be on good business terms with the multinational financial technology company.

Gays Against Groomers, an organization comprised entirely of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and even transgender people, launched in 2022 and has had meteoric success at attracting followers to their cause exposing the harms done to children by some radicals hiding behind the LGBTQ banner. Gays Against Groomers wrote early on Tuesday that PayPal and Venmo had dropped them for “violating” their user agreement.

“The fact that an organization comprised solely of gay people, with trans contributors as well, is being banned from the largest payment processors in the country for opposing the sexualization and mutilation of children is shocking, to say the least,” said Jaimee Michell, the Gays Against Groomers founder.

“On top of that, we discovered tonight that while we have been banned, an organization that literally runs a support group for pedophiles is able to use PayPal’s services. It tells you all you need to know about the state of our society right now,” Michell added.

The gay rights advocacy group is the latest to be targeted by PayPal for challenging dominant leftist narratives surrounding sex and gender. Evolutionary biologist Colin Wright, writer Ian Miles Cheong, and recently the Free Speech Union and the Daily Sceptic, run by conservative editor Toby Young, have all had their accounts permanently closed by PayPal without notice.

Ironically, PayPal sported a banner that said “Open For All” on Twitter during Pride month in June, which their U.K. account still displays. While critics of leftist ideology are denied the ability to conduct commerce, PayPal remains open for business with the openly pedophilic advocacy group Prostasia. Prostasia accepts donations through their website by credit card, check, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, as well as PayPal and Venmo.

Of particular concern is a forum hosted by Prostasia called the MAP Support Club (MSC), which is described as a “chat-based peer-support network for teenagers and adults who self-identify as being attracted to younger minors.” MAP Support Club invites “minor attracted people” aged 13 years old and up to participate in online chats about “minor attraction.”

“It is intended as a community where MAPs can connect with one another, offer and receive support in difficult times, and overall just enjoy a relaxed atmosphere where one can have fun and not be judged,” reads the MAP Support Club website.

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Good News for You Dumb People: YouTube Thought Police Think for You, Big Tech’s Bots Look After Your Best Interests

There’s an interesting moment in a recent YouTube video posted by Dr. John Campbell, a nurse educator who shares informational videos about the latest SARS-CoV-2 and other science on his educational channel. After reviewing government data, Campbell pauses for several seconds and scratches his head. A few beats later he mumbles an apology to the audience, confessing that his head felt a little itchy.

There was no hint from the deadpan tone that Campbell was doing anything other than scratching an itch. But, as some of his over 2.45 million loyal subscribers have boldly pointed out in the comment section, in recent videos Campbell seems darker than usual, almost depressed. Indeed, the nurse educator appears to be doing a lot of hand-wringing and head scratching lately.

It seems, however, that Campbell cannot openly share his concerns with his audience without putting his channel in jeopardy. In order to continue to post videos on YouTube, as he explored in that same head-scratching video, he must censor himself or risk being de-platformed.

YouTube Censors Vaccine Safety and Efficacy Information

YouTube has written guidelines against making videos that discuss vaccine safety, efficacy, and necessity.

This “vaccine misinformation policy” reads: “YouTube doesn’t allow content that poses a serious risk of egregious harm by spreading medical misinformation about currently administered vaccines that are approved and confirmed to be safe and effective by local health authorities and by the World Health Organization (WHO). This is limited to content that contradicts local health authorities’ or the WHO’s guidance on vaccine safety, efficacy, and ingredients.”

The policy applies to vaccine safety, vaccine efficacy, and even information about vaccine ingredients (pdf).

In fact, YouTube will actively delete any content that suggests that vaccines may cause chronic side effects, “outside of rare side effects that are recognized by health authorities.”

This includes YouTube videos posted by medical doctors, scientists, academic researchers, and even patients who have themselves suffered from side effects.

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NBC News Asks Twitter, TikTok to Censor Videos of John Fetterman Speaking

NBC News falsely claimed that footage of John Fetterman struggling to speak during a recent rally was “doctored” and urged social media companies to censor. Fetterman, who suffered a stroke earlier this year, has struggled with public speaking while recovering, something the senate hopeful has himself admitted to. The outlet flagged videos of Fetterman speaking to Twitter and TikTok, baselessly claiming that they were in violation of their political misinformation policies. TikTok complied and removed the videos.

NBC News took issue with highlight reels of a recent Montgomery County rally in which Fetterman struggled through parts of his speech. The outlet accused one prominent conservative social media account of deceptively editing video of speeches to “create the perception that what he was saying was nonsensical.”

The report accused social media platforms of ignoring their own policies “against political misinformation” in allowing the videos to stay up.

NBC News Deputy Editor of technology Benjamin Goggin wrote, “Deceptively edited videos that have been viewed hundreds of thousands of times on Twitter and TikTok exaggerate the speech issues that have plagued John Fetterman, the Democratic nominee for Pennsylvania’s open U.S. Senate seat, after he had a stroke in May.”

Explaining the alleged edits, Goggin claimed they consisted of “cutting out the sound of the audience to make it appear as if he had abruptly stopped speaking (some of the stops occurred when he was pausing during moments of applause and crowd reaction, according to unedited videos seen by NBC News).”

The NBC News reporter singled out popular digital strategist Greg Price, whose supercut of Fetterman’s speech had been 600,000 times when the report was published.

Goggin claimed that the videos violate Twitter and TikTok’s policies “against political misinformation,” and the outlet flagged these videos for the platforms itself. TikTok ultimately removed the videos from its platform.

“So NBC News decided to accuse me of doctoring videos of John Fetterman that I posted. (I didn’t doctor anything),” Price wrote in a tweet. “They also reached out to Twitter to try and get them censored.”

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Why are hard drive companies investing in DNA data storage?

The research community is excited about the potential of DNA to function as long-term archival storage. That’s largely because it’s extremely dense, chemically stable for tens of thousands of years, and comes in a format we’re unlikely to forget how to read. While there has been some interesting progress, efforts have mostly stayed in the research community because of the high costs and extremely slow read and write speeds. These are problems that need to be solved before DNA-based storage can be practical.

So we were surprised to hear that storage giant Seagate had entered into a collaboration with a DNA-based storage company called Catalog. To find out how close the company’s technology is to being useful, we talked to Catalog’s CEO, Hyunjun Park. Park indicated that Catalog’s approach is counterintuitive on two levels: It doesn’t store data the way you’d expect, and it isn’t focusing on archival storage at all.

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