It turns out that when the owner of the social media site is a narcissistic, control freak, troll the site ends up being a hellhole of lies and propaganda. Who could have guessed? A handful of influential but unreliable accounts, some of which have been promoted by Elon Musk, are dominating the flow of news on X around the Israel-Hamas war and easily outpacing established mainstream news outlets, according to research published Friday by the University of Washington’s Center for an Informed Public. Researchers analyzed viral posts about the conflict during a three-day period starting from the beginning of the attack against Israel on Oct. 7. They concluded that the most popular posts about the crisis revealed how news on the platform is “faster, more disorienting, and potentially more shaped by Musk himself.” The new work adds data to a swell of recent anecdotal accounts from researchers, academics and journalists who have noted a change for the worse in the way news and information moves and is incentivized on Twitter over the last year, especially since the start of the Israel-Hamas crisis.
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In my academic job, I’ve just started a new 5-year project called ‘Visions for the future‘. In the first year of the project, I’ll tackle some methodological questions, including working out the discussion we had here some years ago on normative audits, and the question what ‘synthetic political philosophy’ is (on which Eric also has, […]
Joe Biden was a private citizen in 2018 Hold that thought (CBS News): House Republicans released bank records of President Biden’s brother, James Biden, Friday, that they argue raise more questions about whether President Biden personally benefited from his family’s business ventures. Bank records released by the GOP-led House Committee on Oversight and Accountability revealed a $200,000 personal check paid to Mr. Biden from his brother, James Biden, and sister-in-law, Sara Biden. The personal check, which was labeled a loan repayment, was issued before Biden’s presidency, on the same date in 2018 when Americore Health LLC, a healthcare company that manages rural hospitals across the United States also wired a $200,000 loan into James Biden’s PNC bank account. In video remarks posted to X, Rep.
Plus, researchers uncover a rare positive climate turning point, and both insider trading and pipelines come under scrutiny.
First the Kraken lady, then Kenneth Chesebro As more dominoes fall, it might look something like this at Casa Insurrection. It won’t be Trump confessing, but one by one he’ll be seeing his friends evaporate. (I can dream, can’t I?) Clip borrowed from Dave (1993).
Doctor Who Series 5 is one of the most perfectly formed seasons of its run, with Steven Moffat turning it into a modern fairytale.
In today's BCTV Daily Dispatch: SAG-AFTRA, Howard Stern/Post Malone, Star Trek: Prodigy, Wytches, Gen V, Rick and Morty, Doctor Who & more!
As the world watches the massacre being carried out against the 2.3 million Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip, Israel is intensifying its violence and collective punishment against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, Jerusalem, and for Palestinian citizens of Israel, exposing that its attacks are not against Hamas, but against the Palestinian people as […]
The five permanent members of the Security Council — notably the U.S. and Russia — use their veto power to keep wars going.
The post The U.N. Is Powerless to Help Gaza. That’s How the U.S. Wants It. appeared first on The Intercept.
I’ve mentioned before the possibility of military defeat, but there’s a better way.
Simply have OPEC do another oil embargo to the West and its enablers until the situation is resolved, with a two-state or one state solution and significant restitution. Yeah, the US and Canada produce a surplus, but it’s not enough of a surplus to support all their allies.
And if all OPEC members don’t agree, it really doesn’t matter. Russia, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq and the Gulf States are enough. Since Russia’s already already under various sanctions…
As Israeli officials proudly compare their bombardment of the Gaza Strip to the Allied firebombing of Dresden, the Associated Press has quietly removed a section noting US alarm over the historical comparison. The Associated Press has quietly deleted a reference to official Israeli threats to subject the Gaza Strip to a Dresden-style firebombing campaign — the latest move in legacy media outlets’ ongoing push to downplay the impacts of Tel Aviv’s siege of over two million Palestinians. “Four U.S. officials […]
The post AP erases Israeli pledge to attack Gaza like ‘Axis Power’ as officials threaten Palestinians with ‘Dresden’ doctrine first appeared on The Grayzone.
The post AP erases Israeli pledge to attack Gaza like ‘Axis Power’ as officials threaten Palestinians with ‘Dresden’ doctrine appeared first on The Grayzone.
“It is not too late to change your stance and stand on the righteous side of history,” 16 former campaign staffers wrote in an open letter.
The post Sen. John Fetterman’s Former Campaign Staffers Urge Him to Support Israel–Hamas Ceasefire appeared first on The Intercept.
Baby Sloth! In the birdhouse of Schönbrunn Zoo, sloths are undoubtedly the big favorites among the audience. Those who visit them tomorrow, on the occasion of Sloth Day, will experience a small furry surprise. “For the 13th time, we have had offspring among our sloths. A young one was born on August 20th. Initially, it was hidden in the protective fur of the mother, but by now, you can observe the little one well,” announces Simone Haderthauer, zoological department head, with joy. The young one lies on its mother like in a hammock. It will only start hanging independently on branches at about six months old. Sloth Day was established in 2010 to draw attention to these amazing animals and their habitat. Haderthauer says, “Two-toed sloths spend their lives hanging upside down in trees. Although they are not currently considered threatened, their habitat is steadily shrinking due to the ongoing deforestation of rainforests in South America.” Sloths’ main diet consists of leaves and buds. They spend much of their day dozing to save energy.
As local Labour councillors, we have always used our positions to further socialist and progressive causes — and we feel this is no longer possible within the party. In light of the Labour Party’s failure to stand up for international law and human rights, and the authoritarian and undemocratic manner in which this position was […]
The qualities of our experience seem impossible to describe scientifically, but maybe we’re just not thinking about them right.
The post Is the Hard Problem Really So Hard? appeared first on Nautilus.
Cable news networks are relying on defense industry consultants to explain Israel’s war in Gaza.
The judge in the NY case is big mad: The judge overseeing Donald Trump’s bank fraud trial threatened to throw the former president in jail—and hit him with punishing fines—for “blatantly” violating a gag order by refusing to delete a website post attacking court staff. Justice Arthur F. Engoron, striking a serious tone, began Friday at trial by laying out the high stakes and demanding that Trump’s lawyers explain themselves. “In the current overheated climate, incendiary comments can and in some cases already has, led to serious physical harm and worse. I will now allow the defendants to explain why this blatant violation of the gag order would not result in serious sanctions, including financial sanctions and/or possibly imprisoning him,” Engoron said. The case that Engoron is presiding over—Trump’s New York bank fraud trial—is a civil matter, meaning jail time wasn’t ever supposed to be in the cards, only stiff fines and a threat to ruin his real estate empire. But now, Trump appears to be facing a very real threat of spending time in jail if his antics continue.
With Frost’s and Casar’s sponsorship of the ceasefire resolution, the pro-Israel lobby may have been dealt a setback.
The post Reps. Pramila Jayapal, Maxwell Frost, and Greg Casar Join Call for Ceasefire in Gaza appeared first on The Intercept.
The wives of Republican congressmen aren’t the only ones MAGA is targeting with threats and intimidation We already knew they liked to go after cops. But going after their families is a new frontier: The federal prosecutors who have brought charges against hundreds of Jan. 6 rioters are seeing an uptick in violent threats and harassment directed toward their office, the office’s lead prosecutor told congressional investigators. Matthew Graves, the U.S. attorney for Washington, said the threats come from around the country and have become “pervasive,” though he did not elaborate on their substance or whether any law enforcement agency is investigating them. Graves’ comments, documented in a transcript obtained by POLITICO, came in a closed-door interview on Oct. 3 with the House Judiciary Committee about the Hunter Biden probe. In the interview, Republican investigators pressed Graves on allegations that his office refused to assist the U.S. attorney in Delaware who is leading the probe into the president’s son. Graves declined to answer some of the investigators’ questions about his personnel, citing threats to his office.
A warning from scientists putting raw fish under the microscope.
The post Is Sushi a Health Hazard? appeared first on Nautilus.