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Social media platforms are releasing plans to remove election misinformation ahead of the midterms. But critics warn that tech companies need to do more to follow through on promises to remove false claims and hate speech from their platforms.
Meanwhile, Elon Musk is seeking dismissal of a lawsuit filed by a Twitter shareholder for trying to scuttle a multibillion-dollar acquisition deal, and is subpoenaing former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey.
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Critics are urging tech giants to do more for 2022
Social media platforms’ plan to crack down on election-related misinformation will be put to the test as congressional candidates ramp up their online activity in the final midterm campaigns.
- Since the 2020 election, major platforms like Twitter and Facebook have been freer to implement measures to block, name and remove politicians — including last year’s watershed decision to block former President Trump’s accounts.
- But with many politicians testing the boundaries of the platform’s rules with inflammatory posts, especially after the violent rhetoric that followed last week’s FBI search of Mar-a-Lagoon, critics warned that tech companies need to do more than dust off their 2020 playbooks. To follow through on our promise to block misinformation and hate speech.
New York University researcher Laura Edelson says platforms need to re-evaluate algorithms that recommend content to users to get to the heart of the matter.
After highlighting content, she compared the download to a large online audience — an approach most forums use and one they plan to use based on their public posts before November — to creating a car with no brakes and only airbags.
“When those were useful, the car crashed,” she said.
Read more here.
Musk was pressed to deny the Twitter issue
Elon Musk is seeking dismissal of a lawsuit by a Twitter shareholder seeking to scuttle a multibillion-dollar acquisition deal and subpoenaing the social media company’s former CEO.
The moves come just months after a $44 billion deal in April, following Musk’s surprise announcement in July, as well as reports that the company lost revenue after Musk backed out.
The CEOs of Tesla and SpaceX pulled out of the deal, citing Twitter’s “false and misleading representations” during the deal process and the company’s failure to provide information on the “proliferation of false or spammy messages on the Twitter platform.” Securities and Exchange Commission application.
Read more here.
Judge warns about affidavit deductions
A federal judge reviewing the release of an affidavit that prompted him to approve search warrants at former President Trump’s home said Monday that while he believes the public interest supports releasing the document, amendments would render the document “meaningless.”
The order from Judge Bruce Reinhart follows an order from the bench last Thursday that gave the Justice Department until Thursday to submit any redactions it says are necessary to preserve the ongoing investigation.
“Especially with the unprecedented level of public and historical interest in the former president’s residence, the government has not yet demonstrated that these administrative issues are sufficient to warrant publication,” Rinehart wrote.
Read more here.
CNN pressed former DHS chief on election claims
CNN anchor Jim Acosta clashed with former Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf on Sunday over allegations of voter fraud.
The exchange quickly heated up when Acosta told Wolff, who served under former President Trump, that President Biden actually won the last election.
“Who won the 2020 election?” Acosta asked after Wolf expressed concern about voter fraud and illegality.
“Of course Joe Biden is president,” Wolff replied.
“No, no, no,” replied Acosta. “Do you believe he won a fair and square election?”
Wolf again answered the question indirectly.
“Joe Biden is the president,” Wolff said, adding that there wasn’t all the evidence needed to conclude that Biden’s victory was legitimate.
Read more here.
Bits and pieces
Op-ed to chew on: Scientists are considering how SpaceX Starship will accelerate space exploration.
Popular links from around the web:
A father took his naked baby to the doctor. Google has flagged it as the culprit. (The New York Times/Kashmir Hill)
Black Masters’ Bitcoin Investments Will Be Added in 2022 (The Verge/Makena Kelly)
Are video games crash-proof? According to experts (The Washington Post / Shannon Liao)
🎶 Easy click: icon
One more thing: the police department scattered on the posts
Vincent, Ala., on Thursday passed an ordinance to temporarily disband the city’s police department after racist texts were found among police officers.
According to Birmingham-based news site AL.com, the unidentified officer sent a text message about a “pregnant slave” joke to a co-worker in June.
Vincent Mayor James Latimer (R) said at a public hearing Thursday that the police officers involved in the situation cannot legally be fired because of a policy that requires two formal complaints and a verbal warning before being fired.
“Based on our personnel policies, we cannot terminate them,” the mayor said.
Read more here.
That’s it for today, thanks for reading. Check out the Hill’s Technology and Cyber Security pages for the latest news and coverage. I’ll see you tomorrow.
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