Techmeme: Google publishes 30-page paper on how it combats disinformation across YouTube, Search, News, Ads: product improvements, experience with spam, context for users (Abner Li/9to5Google)

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February 19, 2019, 10:40 AM

Top News

Abner Li / 9to5Google:

Google publishes 30-page paper on how it combats disinformation across YouTube, Search, News, Ads: product improvements, experience with spam, context for users — Over the weekend, Google presented a white paper at the Munich Security Conference detailing how it fights disinformation across its largest services.

More: The Keyword, Engadget, Google, Search Engine Roundtable, TechSpot, Geek News Central, Search Engine Journal, and Peter O'Kelly's Reality Check

Tweets: @kevinroose, @carnage4life, @lewisshepherd, @miles_brundage, @jeremybmerrill, @carnage4life, and @mattnavarra

See also Mediagazer

Jon Porter / The Verge:

Qualcomm has announced the Snapdragon X55, its second generation 5G modem, with a maximum download speed of 7 Gbps, up 40% from the 5 Gbps of the X50 — The Snapdragon X55 adds support for more 5G technologies — Even before most phone makers have launched their first 5G handsets …

More: Qualcomm, TechCrunch, CNET, Mashable, VentureBeat, Engadget, Thurrott, Inquirer, Windows Central, AnandTech, Android Police, ZDNet, XDA Developers, VentureBeat, KnowTechie, Bloomberg, Android Central, and MSPoweruser

Tweets: @neiltwitz and @patrickmoorhead

Jon Russell / TechCrunch:

Coinbase buys Neutrino, which helps monitor, analyze, and track cryptocurrency flows, for an undisclosed sum — Coinbase, the world's most valuable crypto company, is gearing up to add more cryptocurrencies to its exchange thanks to its latest acquisition.

More: The Coinbase Blog, CoinDesk, Crunchbase News, Cointelegraph, CryptoNinjas, The Block, and Ethereum World News

Tweets: @coinbase and @neerajka

BBC:

Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei says there is “no way the US can crush us” and that “our company will never undertake any spying activities” — The founder of Huawei has said there is “no way the US can crush” the company, in an exclusive interview with the BBC.

More: CNET, Reuters, Thurrott, VentureBeat, Inquirer, ZDNet, Fortune, TechCrunch, TechSpot, Phandroid, Light Reading, BetaNews, BBC, Engadget, Silicon Republic, Fortune, The Next Web, Forbes, Telecoms.com, New York Times, Android Authority, CNN, IT PRO, The Verge, Mashable, Bloomberg, The Loop, BBC, and Firstpost. Tweets: @bbcworld

Mitchel Broussard / MacRumors:

Report details Huawei's efforts to steal Apple's IP, including pressing suppliers for Apple Watch details, copying a MacBook Pro component, debriefing new hires

More: The Information, Android Authority, Business Insider, Firstpost, Cult of Mac, Redmond Pie, Tech in Asia, TechNode, BGR, 9to5Mac, Fortune, AppleInsider, The Mac Observer, Neowin, iPhone in Canada Blog, and iPhone Hacks. Tweets: @tomlasseter

Brian Krebs / Krebs on Security:

A deep dive on the widespread and ongoing DNS hijacking attacks, which the DHS issued an emergency directive about last month — The U.S. government — along with a number of leading security companies — recently warned about a series of highly complex and widespread attacks …

More: New York Times, Ars Technica, and Telegraph

Tweets: @briankrebs, @nicoleperlroth, @cglyer, and @mikko

Twitter:

Twitter expands its policy for political ad transparency to the EU, India, and Australia, will show billing information, ad spend, impressions per tweet, more — We continue to be committed to enforcing stricter policies for political advertisers and providing clear, transparent disclosure for all ads on Twitter.

More: Bloomberg, Twitter, TechCrunch, 9to5Mac, VentureBeat, Engadget, RTÉ, and Neowin

Tweets: @luca, @policy, and @karenwhite

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:

Walmart reports US e-commerce sales rose 43% YoY in Q4, thanks to its growing online grocery business, including the expansion of grocery pickups and deliveries — Walmart this morning posted strong holiday sales growth for its holiday quarter, with U.S. sales up 4.2 percent over the same time last year …

More: news.walmart.com, GeekWire, and ZDNet. Tweets: @walmartinc

Wall Street Journal:

Sources: Saudi Arabia PIF and Mubadala, the biggest outside investors in SoftBank's Vision Fund, have complained about high valuations paid for tech companies — High valuations of Vision Fund investments—and the decision-making role of SoftBank chief Masayoshi Son—have led to concerns

More: TechCrunch. Tweets: @danprimack and @wsj

Wolfie Zhao / CoinDesk:

Sources: Bitmain posts a net loss of ~$500M in the third quarter of 2018; the company had disclosed profits of $1B in the first half of 2018 — Mining hardware giant Bitmain lost about $500 million in the third quarter of 2018 amid an overall bearish market for cryptocurrency, CoinDesk has learned.

More: The Block, CryptoGlobe, and SludgeFeed

Tweets: @whalepool and @alex

Theodore Schleifer / Recode:

Behind the scenes at Mithril Capital, Peter Thiel's other fund, primarily run by Ajay Royan, which sources describe as an investment firm in disarray — A dozen former employees, investors in the fund, and other people close to the matter describe an investment firm in disarray.

More: FinSMEs. Tweets: @teddyschleifer, @shitfund, @teddyschleifer, @sriramk, @teddyschleifer, @teddyschleifer, @lsvalue, and @recode

Josh Constine / TechCrunch:

Code and imagery found in Instagram's Android app reveal Fundraiser stickers for Instagram Stories; Facebook says they are coming later this year — Mark Zuckerberg recently revealed that commerce is a huge part of the 2019 roadmap for Facebook's family of apps.

More: The Verge, Engadget, Social Media Today, Geek.com, Thurrott, 9to5Mac, Digital Trends, SlashGear, PYMNTS.com, and MSPoweruser. Tweets: @joshconstine

Dami Lee / The Verge:

As emoji become a critical part of communication, unprepared courts are increasingly having to interpret their myriad meanings in criminal cases — What does a crown emoji really mean? — Bay Area prosecutors were trying to prove that a man arrested during a prostitution sting was guilty …

More: Fortune, 9to5Mac, and One Degree. Tweets: @tommighell

Rebecca Keegan / Hollywood Reporter:

Q&A with Amazon Studios Chief Jennifer Salke on her content acquisition strategy, potentially broadcasting a ceremony such as the Oscars one day, and more — The studio head opened up about her Sundance buying spree, blockbuster ambitions and the secret room where Amazon's 'Lord …

More: Business Insider, CNBC, New York Times, Variety, and Engadget

Tweets: @thrmattbelloni, @thr, and @thr

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About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 10:40 AM ET, February 19, 2019.

The most current version of the site as always is available at our home page. To view an earlier snapshot click here and then modify the date indicated.

From Mediagazer

CNN:

Source: UFC CEO Dana White has declined Trump's offer to become press secretary

Washington Post:

An ex-Trump campaign aide and others say Trump ally Laura Loomer was paid $3K-$5K per political X post; she announced a hiatus from her show after an inquiry

Julia Alexander / Puck:

NBC News' Kornacki Cam on Election Night and its broad use in others' YouTube and Twitch streams showed how legacy media and creators can build on each other

More News

Paul Sawers / VentureBeat:

SendBird, which helps developers integrate chat and messaging features in their apps, raises $52M Series B led by Iconiq Capital

More: TechCrunch and FinSMEs

Shoshanna Solomon / The Times of Israel:

Palo Alto Networks is buying Demisto, an Israeli firm that provides an automated incident response platform, for ~$560M; Demisto had raised $69M to date

More: Reuters, PR Newswire, and NoCamels

Frederic Lardinois / TechCrunch:

Redis Labs, which offers commercial services around the Redis in-memory data store, raises $60M Series E led by private equity firm Francisco Partners

More: VentureBeat and GeekWire

Kyle Wiggers / VentureBeat:

NsKnox, which provides real-time payment fraud detection services, raises $15M Series A co-led by Viola Ventures and Microsoft's M12

More: Tech.eu, GeekWire, ZDNet, FinSMEs, SecurityWeek, PR Newswire, and Crowdfund Insider

Ole Begemann:

Q&A with Chris Lattner, developer of Swift, on its origins and evolution, the original team, Craig Federighi, and community feedback

Amy Webb / Wired:

The Pentagon needs Silicon Valley's brightest minds to work on AI but struggles to attract them because of job instability, poor compensation, and more

Tweets: @aparanjape and @nxthompson

Mary Loritz / EU-Startups:

Berlin-based Mambu raises €30M Series C for its SaaS banking platform used by banking and financial services startups, such as N26 and OakNorth, in 50 countries

More: Crowdfund Insider, City A.M., and Finextra Research Headlines

Már Másson Maack / The Next Web:

Report: 2.7M patient calls to Sweden's healthcare hotline were found exposed on an unprotected server, along with other sensitive personal information

More: Naked Security, IT PRO, cso.com.au, and BleepingComputer

Earlier Picks

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:

Voicebot: the number of Google Assistant Actions in the US reached 4,253 in January 2019, up 2.5X YoY, trailing Amazon, which has touted 56,750 US Alexa skills

More: Search Engine Land, Android Authority, Voicebot, PYMNTS.com, and Marketing Land. Tweets: @glenngabe

Reed Stevenson / Bloomberg:

Profile of Recruit Holdings, once a scandal-plagued Japanese internet pioneer that now has a ~$46B valuation and 350 apps that span many categories

More: SludgeFeed. Tweets: @robert_fenner and @mdudas. Thanks:@pelstrom

Reuters:

Sources: the Chinese Communist Party propaganda app Xuexi Qiangguo, which became the most popular app in Apple's App Store in China, was developed by Alibaba

More: Quartz, TechNode, Boing Boing, The Hill, and Tech in Asia

Tweets: @jeffjohnroberts, @jonrussell, @pingroma, and @dktatlow

Ryan Browne / CNBC:

London-based GoCardless, which processes recurring direct debit payments, raises $75M Series E co-led by GV and PE firm Adams Street Partners

More: GoCardless Blog, Digital Commerce 360, TechCrunch, Yahoo Finance, The Telegraph, VentureBeat, and Financial Times

Sydney Morning Herald:

Australia's PM says the country's parliament and three largest political parties have been hacked by a “sophisticated state actor” ahead of a federal election

Kevin Kelly / Wired:

How AR could enable the “mirrorworld,” a virtual parallel of the real world where all things and places are machine-readable and have a full-sized digital twin

More: Gerd Leonhard. Tweets: @jhagel, @garrytan, and @wired

Chance Miller / 9to5Mac:

Kuo: MacBook Pro with 16"-to-16.5" screen and new design, 31.6" “6k3k” monitor, upgradeable Mac Pro, iPhones with bilateral charging, new iPad mini out in 2019

Natasha Lomas / TechCrunch:

UK parliament's report on fake news and disinformation says “digital gangster” Facebook deliberately broke laws, calls for antitrust, data abuse investigations

More: Recode, Ars Technica, House of Commons, UK Parliament, BBC, The Verge, The Guardian, NPR, The Guardian, Naked Security, Business Insider, New York Times, NBC News, Business Insider, FutureSin, MSPoweruser, Geek News Central, Memex 1.1, Washington Post, Socialnomics, The Wrap, Patently Apple, CNBC, Engadget, Neowin, Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, BetaNews, CNN, MIT Technology Review, 9to5Mac, Newser, ZDNet, The Register, Mashable, Inquirer, Firstpost, House of Commons, The Verge, The Hill, Axios, Washington Post, CNET, and Financial Times