Techmeme: After 6 months of fact-checking for Facebook, Full Fact published 96 fact-checks, was paid ~$171k, wants Facebook to share more data with fact-checkers (Laura Hazard Owen/Nieman Lab)

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Report: Cloudflare plans to pursue an IPO in September and has filed a confidential S-1 with the SEC; it was valued at ~$3.2B in its $150M March Series E — Morning Markets: Cloudflare is reportedly going public this year, meaning that we have at least two big-name IPOs left in the tank.

Source: Business Insider. More: SiliconANGLE

Olivia Carville / Bloomberg:

Court filing: former IBM HR VP Alan Wild says the company has fired 50,000 to 100,000 staff in recent years; ongoing litigation argues older staff were targeted — - Moves were to make IBM appear as ‘cool’ as Google and Amazon — Big Blue is facing several age-discrimination lawsuits

More: SiliconANGLE and Business Insider

Tweets: @stevekopack and @zachweinberg

Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez / The San Francisco Examiner:

Lyft has made its 1,000 e-bikes in San Francisco “unavailable to riders” following two reports of bikes catching fire — The flames appear to have originated from the battery — The battery of an electric Lyft bicycle appeared to catch fire Wednesday in the Lower Haight.

More: Engadget, Gizmodo, The Verge, Digital Trends, TechCrunch, The Guardian, CNET, Business Insider, Mashable, and NBC Bay Area

Tweets: @william_fitz and @transbay

New York Times:

Cisco to pay $8.6M to settle government claims for selling video surveillance tech with a security flaw, reported in 2008, to government agencies until 2013 — WASHINGTON — Cisco Systems agreed on Wednesday to pay $8.6 million to settle claims that it sold video surveillance technology …

More: Washington Post, Gizmodo, Reuters, CNBC, ZDNet, and Slashdot

Tweets: @ericgeller, @bad_packets, @campuscodi, @kimzetter, and @campuscodi

Ryan Christoffel / MacStories:

An in-depth look at Apple Maps in iOS 13, the biggest update to the service so far, and how it compares to Google Maps — Apple's path to a home-brewed mapping solution has been long and perilous, but it's almost arrived. — 12 years ago the iPhone launched with Google powering …

More: iPhone in Canada Blog. Tweets: @viticci, @craigmod, @iryantldr, and @whatthebit

Lauren Feiner / CNBC:

Fitbit beat analyst estimates with Q2 revenue of $314M, up 5% YoY, but lowered Q3 guidance; stock down 14%+ after hours — KEY POINTS — The Fitbit Ionic has a few apps, with more to come — Shares of Fitbit cratered as much as 21% after hours on Wednesday after the company cut guidance …

More: Fitbit, Inc., Engadget, TechCrunch, 9to5Mac, and ZDNet

Tweets: @mattrosoff and @henshaw

Liam Tung / ZDNet:

Google to let G Suite admins select users for the Advanced Protection Program, designed to prevent cyberattacks against high-profile users, in the coming days — You might never need to change your password again if you're part of the G Suite Advanced Protection Program.

More: Google Cloud Blog, The Next Web, G Suite Updates Blog, Dark Reading, and VentureBeat. Tweets: @googlecloud

Tim Ingham / Music Business Worldwide:

Spotify reports 108M paying subscribers in Q2, up 31% YoY, revenue of €1.67B, up 31% YoY, and an operating loss of €3M — Spotify closed its second calendar quarter this year with 108m paying subscribers and 232m total Monthly Active Users (MAUs).

More: Business Wire, Spotify, Financial Times, TechCrunch, The Verge, 9to5Mac, VentureBeat, CNET, Digital Music News, RAIN News, iPhone in Canada Blog, iMore, Quartz, PYMNTS.com, iDownloadBlog.com, Memeburn, Cult of Mac, MacRumors, Engadget, and Bloomberg

Tweets: @neilturkewitz, @9to5mac, @pkafka, @pkafka, @pkafka, and @pkafka

See also Mediagazer

Laura Hazard Owen / Nieman Lab:

After 6 months of fact-checking for Facebook, Full Fact published 96 fact-checks, was paid ~$171k, wants Facebook to share more data with fact-checkers — In December 2016, Facebook enlisted a handful of U.S.-based news organizations (ABC News, Snopes, PolitiFact, FactCheck.org, and the AP) …

More: Full Fact Blog, MIT Technology Review, Engadget, Press Gazette, The Guardian, New Scientist, RAPPLER, Reuters, and Social Media Today

Tweets: @fullfact, @fullfact, @niemanlab, @niemanlab, @niemanlab, and @risj_oxford

See also Mediagazer

Kate Clark / TechCrunch:

Toronto-based Clearbanc, which offers $10K-$10M investments in e-commerce startups, says it raised $50M led by Highland Capital and announces a new $250M fund — That company disrupting venture capital just raised more venture capital. — Clearbanc has attracted $300 million …

More: PYMNTS.com, Axios, Digital Trends, Fast Company, Crunchbase News, WWD, BetaKit, and Business Insider

Wall Street Journal:

Four major broadcast networks sue Locast, which is funded by AT&T, to try to stop it from freely retransmitting the signals of their local TV stations — CBS, ABC, NBCU and Fox say AT&T-funded Locast is retransmitting their signals without permission and in violation of copyright law

More: Ars Technica, Slashdot, Mashable, Engadget, CNET, The Streamable, Light Reading, Axios, and The Verge

Tweets: @jank0, @jbflint, and @jbflint

See also Mediagazer

Alex Heath / The Information:

Sources: Facebook is working on a new TV device that can stream video and make video calls using its Portal tech, and has approached Netflix, Disney, and others — Facebook has approached Netflix, Disney and other media companies about putting their streaming services on a new Facebook device …

More: Social Media Today, The Streamable, Tubefilter, SiliconANGLE, Mashable, AppleInsider, Neowin, Variety, Financial Times, Thurrott, Engadget, The Verge, Reuters, and Notes from Silicon Valley

Tweets: @alexeheath, @mchilberg, and @brandonleblanc

See also Mediagazer

Varun Mishra / Counterpoint Research:

Analysis: in Q2 2019, global smartphone shipments declined 1% YoY, making it the 7th consecutive quarter of declining shipments; Samsung shipments grew 7.1% YoY — Overall smartphone shipment declined 1% in Q2 2019, making it the seventh consecutive quarter of declining shipments.

More: Strategy Analytics, CNET, Gizmochina, KrASIA, and Android Authority

Tweets: @neiltwitz, @neiltwitz, @neiltwitz, @varun_m01, and @shobhit07

Stephanie Condon / ZDNet:

Qualcomm misses with Q3 revenue of $4.9B, down 13% YoY, and licensing revenue of $1.29B, down 10% YoY; stock down 4%+ after hours — Qualcomm says it is well positioned for the 5G ramp to come in early 2020. — Qualcomm published its third quarter financial fiscal 2019 results on Wednesday …

More: Qualcomm, CNBC, Macworld, and Appleosophy

Frederic Lardinois / TechCrunch:

Google says its Titan security keys are now available in Canada, France, Japan, and the UK, expanding beyond the US — Google today announced that its Titan Security Key kits are now available in Canada, France, Japan and the UK. Until now, these keys, which come in a kit with a Bluetooth key …

More: Engadget, 9to5Google, 9to5Google, Google Online Security Blog, SiliconANGLE, and ZDNet

Raymond Zhong / New York Times:

Trump's ongoing trade war with China has been a boon for Vietnam, as some tech companies, like Apple and Nintendo, consider shifting production there — Samsung already assembles half of its handsets in the country, which got a big lift from U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods. Now Apple is homing in.

More: TechSpot and The Mac Observer

Tweets: @anupammanur, @nytimesbusiness, @anaswanson, @scottlincicome, and @zhonggg

Sean O'Kane / The Verge:

DJI unveils new goggles for its drones, offering a 720p streaming first-person view, and a new controller, both geared toward racing and available now from $819 — The Chinese giant's first serious move into a growing niche market — DJI is making a fairly bold move into the world of first-person view …

More: DroneDJ, TechCrunch, CNET, DroneDJ, and Engadget

Richard Waters / Financial Times:

Filings: Alphabet's cash pile reached $117B, surpassing Apple's as the world's largest for the first time in 10 years, as Apple's declined from $163B to $102B — The corporate world has a new king of cash. The title for the company with the biggest financial reserves, held by Apple for a decade …

More: Cult of Mac and Business Insider

Tweets: @aidan_regan and @salilkallianpur

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