Techmeme
September 1, 2024, 12:10 AM

Top News

New York Times:
How Brazil's experiment to fight fake news during the 2022 elections, giving a justice broad power to order social media content removal, led to the ban on X  —  To combat disinformation, Brazil gave one judge broad power to police the internet.  Now, after he blocked X, some are wondering whether that was a good idea.
Associated Press:
Brazil blocks X, following an order from Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes after Elon Musk refused to name a legal representative in the country  —  The blocking of social media platform X in Brazil divided users and politicians over the legitimacy of the ban, and many Brazilians …
More: BBC, The Guardian, Bloomberg, Associated Press, The Verge, Vulture, CNN, Times of India, Bitcoin Insider, Truthout, Axios, The Post Millennial, Benzinga, Washington Post, Boston Herald, iThinkDifferent, Android Headlines, Game Rant, Digital Journal, Trying to make sense of Brazil, Agence France-Presse, American Greatness, Cointelegraph, NBC News, DevX, Washington Examiner, The Desk, SlashGear, Cryptopolitan, Mashable, The Crypto Times, Fox Business, The Hill, CoinGape, DNyuz, The Gateway Pundit, TechCrunch, Metro.co.uk, RTÉ, CNBC, The US Sun, The Sun, Human Events, Wired, The National Pulse, The Daily Caller, Reuters, Reuters, TechRadar, PCMag, Quartz, MEDIANAMA, Silicon Republic, The Atlantic, Know Your Meme, and Advanced Television
New York Times:
Bluesky reports a record spike in usage as many X users in Brazil move to Bluesky and Threads; Brazil is X's fifth-largest international market, with 20M+ users  —  The platform went dark across Brazil on Saturday, sending online commentators to new digital town squares.
New York Times:
Brazilian judge amends his order, no longer requiring Apple and Google to prevent downloads of X's app; those using a VPN to access X still face a ~$9K/day fine  —  The social network will go dark in the nation of 200 million, the result of an escalating fight between Elon Musk and a Brazilian judge over what can be said online.
Nick Burns / Americas Quarterly:
A profile of Alexandre de Moraes as even some supporters wonder if the Brazilian Supreme Court judge has become too powerful and gone too far by banning X  —  An escalating clash with Elon Musk and damaging revelations in the press are intensifying a long-running debate about whether Alexandre de Moraes is too powerful.
Mike Masnick / Techdirt:
X is right to stand up to Brazil's unjust “hostage laws,” but Musk's fight highlights his cynical free speech stance after he caved to Modi's censorship demands  —  In the battle between Elon Musk and Brazil, there are no heroes — only two sides engaged in an epic display of hypocrisy and overreach.
Wall Street Journal:
Big YouTube shows including Hot Ones and Good Mythical Morning attract large audiences but aren't yet getting Primetime Emmy nominations and ensuing ad revenue  —  ‘Hot Ones,’ ‘Chicken Shop Date’ and ‘Good Mythical Morning’ draw big audiences but aren't getting the kind of ad dollars and accolades TV shows do
More: AV Club, The Wrap, and Mashable
Threads: @simondowensX: @cleoabram and @thesimonetti
Taylor Soper / GeekWire:
Amazon hires the founders of industrial robot maker Covariant and ~25% of its staff, and signs a non-exclusive license to Covariant's robotic foundation models  —  Amazon is hiring three of the founders from Covariant, a Bay Area startup that develops AI for advanced warehouse robotics systems.
Kevin Roose / New York Times:
A reporter tries fixing his reputation with AI chatbots, including by adding a “strategic text sequence” to data sources, and via an AI optimization startup  —  When I set out to improve my tainted reputation with chatbots, I discovered a new world of A.I. manipulation.
More: Digital Journal, Longreads, and Axios
Threads: @kevinrooseBluesky: @g026r.leftblank.orgX: @ashleevanceForums: r/technology

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