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February 20, 2021, 11:20 PM
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| Chris Welch / The Verge: |
Twitch replaced the audio for Metallica's “For Whom The Bell Tolls” with folk music during the band's BlizzCon livestream, presumably to avoid a DMCA notice — The Twitch Gaming stream gave us this beautiful moment — Despite its later-than-usual timing and going completely virtual …
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music.avclub.com, Gizmodo, GameSpot, Variety, Kotaku, Engadget, IGN, Mashable, and dexerto.com
Tweets: @slasher, @dexerto, @grindheadjim, @wardcarroll, @jimmforce, @egoraptor, @thehermitdruid, @prairiephlox, @deathdrive905, @troywho, and @queenyeet20
| Shen Lu / Protocol: |
An ex-ByteDance employee recounts the inner workings of the company's complex content moderation system and the role of China's internet censorship policies — This is the story of Li An, a pseudonymous former employee at ByteDance, as told to Protocol's Shen Lu.
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Insider. Tweets: @shenlulushen, @dwertime, @birnbaum_e, @martinsfp, @carnage4life, @ajphelo, @zeyiyang, @sinopsiscz, @ericgoldman, @vboykis, @waxy, @anirvan, @adamkovac, @davidpaulk, @lindsaypgorman, @yaqiu, @audpants, @julespolonetsky, @shenlulushen, @shenlulushen, @shenlulushen, @shenlulushen, @benpimentel, @shenlulushen, @shenlulushen, @protocol, @joepwilliams31, @evacide, @pernillet, @protocol, @scottnover, @tealtan, @shenlulushen, @byron_wan, @hatr, @jchengwsj, and @williamyang120
| Ina Fried / Axios: |
Margaret Mitchell, co-lead of Google's Ethical AI team, says she has been fired; Google says an employee conduct review confirmed multiple policy violations — Margaret Mitchell, the co-lead of Google's Ethical AI team, says that the company has fired her following an investigation into her use of corporate email.
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Wired, Bloomberg, Sky News, Android Central, The Guardian, TechCrunch, The Verge, TechSpot, Gizmodo, Tech Xplore, New York Times, Mashable, Reuters, VentureBeat, Input, BBC, Fortune, Forbes, CNN, CNET, and The Next Web
Tweets: @mmitchell_ai, @dinabass, @zoeschiffer, @aweiss, @dimillian, @bloombergquint, @kentbye, @rabble, @androidcentral, @elliotkoss, @wired, @gadgetlab, @wired, @scottthurm, @inafried, @kimcrayton1, @timnitgebru, @jamesrbuk, @azeem, @devindra, @timnitgebru, @jsnell, @timnitgebru, @lizthegrey, @shannoncoulter, @daiwaka, @nitashatiku, and @dinabass
| Ina Fried / Axios: |
Internal memo: Google's AI Chief Jeff Dean apologized after Timnit Gebru's exit, saying his team should have managed the situation “with more sensitivity” — Google told employees Friday it has wrapped up its investigation into the ouster of prominent AI researcher Timnit Gebru.
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OneZero , Bloomberg, Engadget, TechCrunch, The Hill, Protocol, Insider, CNET, Financial Times, The Verge, and Silicon Republic
Tweets: @timnitgebru, @inafried, @dinabass, @timnitgebru, @jmesole, @lilahsturges, @timnitgebru, @histoftech, @timnitgebru, @alexhanna, @kimcrayton1, @timnitgebru, @timnitgebru, @azeem, @timnitgebru, @kimcrayton1, @timnitgebru, @timnitgebru, @ohthatflo, @timnitgebru, @anna_c_kramer, @timnitgebru, @timnitgebru, @aaschapiro, @stephentyrone, @dlowd, @shanavwhite, @axios, @inafried, @shannonvallor, @inafried, @inafried, @mmitchell_ai, @tsimonite, @pmddomingos, @timnitgebru, @timnitgebru, @timnitgebru, @tsimonite, @timnitgebru, and @timnitgebru
| Sheldon Chanel / The Guardian: |
Facebook's Australia ban is acute for people in places like Fiji, who rely on phone plans with cheap Facebook access as going to news websites costs more data — Media experts fear that communities reliant on the site for information will suffer significant impact
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BIG by Matt Stoller. Tweets: @dailypostdan, @glynmoody, @susanamet, @ahawatson, @politicoryan, @robpegoraro, @bendohertycorro, @matthewstoller, @tmcw, @tmcw, and @tmcw
| Ian Carlos Campbell / The Verge: |
App Annie: Australian Broadcasting Corporation's news app was briefly the most downloaded app on the AU App Store after Facebook's news ban and is now second — Readers may be going directly to the source — The Australian Broadcast Company's ABC News app shot to the top of Apple's App Store charts …
More:
Vox, Micky, Associated Press, Mashable, ABC, Insider, Social Media Today, Washington Post, and Nieman Lab
Tweets: @umabp, @caseynewton, @glenngabe, @chrismessina, @stanfordcis, @soloversal, @gumleafwhistler, @sarthakgh, @juliepsamuels, @carissaveliz, @glenngabe, @jeunj, @paulbrislen, @macaulaybalkan, @neilwrites, @cameronwilson, @nathanblawrence, @macotani, @neerajka, @umabp, @brianboyer, @brooklynmarie, @umabp, @umabp, @rasmus_kleis, @karlbode, @dhh, @umabp, @jeffjarvis, and @mmasnick
| Erika Hayasaki / New York Times: |
An in-depth look at Amazon's ubiquitous presence in California's Inland Empire, with 16 facilities, as COVID-19 spurs Amazon workers nationwide to organize — Covid-19 has cemented the e-commerce giant's hold on the economy — but it has also spurred employees all around the country to organize.
Tweets: @jerseejess, @progintl, @dealbook, @r0wdy_, @ungoldman, @vanishingcorp, @quinnypig, @gideonresnick, @benwerd, @clairegilch, @rahrahraina, @sarahljaffe, @quatoria, @hal_coi, and @greenhousenyt
| Eric Benjamin Seufert / Mobile Dev Memo: |
Apple's app tracking transparency pushes publishers like Zynga to acquire or build their own ad tech, creating first party walled gardens that Apple can't touch — , Apple is diminishing the ability for advertising to be personalized by limiting the use of third-party data for that purpose.
More:
Fast Company. Tweets: @eric_seufert, @eric_seufert, @damianburns, @matthausk, @benedictevans, @eric_seufert, @eric_seufert, @carnage4life, @rameeztase, @eric_seufert, @benedictevans, @eric_seufert, @eric_seufert, @uzmabarlaskar, @benedictevans, @thomasbcn, @aghose, @basche42, @erosresmini, @skwilder, and @jarroddicker
| Corey Dickinson / Bloomberg: |
As Facebook, Microsoft, Apple, Uber, Amazon, and others play larger roles in OpenStreetMap, hobbyists fear private sector will overshadow their work — What do Lyft, Facebook, the International Red Cross, the U.N., the government of Nepal and Pokémon Go have in common?
Tweets: @citylab, @johnjcz, @wongmjane, @kmanaugh, @mslaurabliss, @citylab, @citylab, @citylab, and @citylab
| Financial Times: |
US video streaming giants are finding it more challenging to cash in on India, amid outcries over edgy content and difficulties in convincing consumers to pay — Netflix, Amazon and Disney tackle greater scrutiny from censors as they engage in a fierce pricing war
Tweets: @rmantri, @ftopinion, @financialtimes, @amykazmin, @rajit_h, and @b_parkyn
| Nilesh Christopher / Rest of World: |
Interview with founder of Koo, a microblogging service for regional language speakers in India that recently passed 3M users, fueled in large part by Modi's BJP — Aprameya Radhakrishna made Koo for local-language speakers. Overnight, Hindu nationalists drove its success. — • BANGALORE, INDIA| Alexander Osipovich / Wall Street Journal: |
Kalshi, an online trading startup letting users bet on “yes/no” questions about future events, raises $30M from Sequoia and others ahead of planned March launch — Sequoia, Chuck Schwab are among those backing Kalshi, which plans to launch in March
More:
Kalshi, Banking Dive, The Week, Finextra, FinSMEs, Crowdfund Insider, and PYMNTS.com
Tweets: @wsj, @cemgarih, @carterkev, @wsj, @apartovi, @cfcamerer, @_rainerds, @enriqueabeyta, @ycombinator, @rexsalisbury, @modeledbehavior, @tomi, @jeremylneufeld, and @robinhanson
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