Techmeme
July 18, 2021, 5:55 AM

Top News

Guy Rosen / About Facebook:
Facebook says their data shows a 50% decline in vaccine hesitancy among US users, refuting Biden's claim that it's “killing people” by allowing COVID-19 misinfo  —  At a time when COVID-19 cases are rising in America, the Biden administration has chosen to blame a handful of American social media companies.
Salvador Rodriguez / CNBC:
Biden says platforms like Facebook are “killing people” with the way they are handling COVID-19 vaccine misinfo, as White House calls on Facebook to do more  —  - President Joe Biden on Friday said platforms like Facebook are killing people by allowing Covid-19 vaccine misinformation on their services.
Gigi Sukin / Axios:
Facebook says it won't be “distracted by accusations which aren't supported by the facts” in response to Biden's comment that social media is “killing people”  —  Facebook fired back on Friday evening after President Biden earlier said that social media platforms are …
Flavia Rotondi / Bloomberg:
An Italian museum is using cameras to monitor people looking at artwork, to define a work of art's “attraction value” and accordingly change museum layouts  —  As Italy's museums and galleries welcome back tourists and try to recoup some of the 190 million euros ($225 million) …
Bloomberg Law:
TurboTax developer Intuit will leave the IRS Free File Program, which drew scrutiny in recent years after an investigation found Intuit hid free-filing options  —  Intuit Inc., the maker of TurboTax, is leaving an IRS program that offers millions of Americans the ability to file their taxes for free.
Jason Parham / Wired:
An oral history of Black Twitter, which helped fill a void created by the fizzling out of web forums like BlackVoices, Melanet, and NetNoir in the mid-2000s  —  From #UKnowUrBlackWhen to #BlackLivesMatter, how a loose online network became a pop culture juggernaut, an engine of social justice, and a lens into the future.
Sophia Kunthara / Crunchbase News:
US startups led by Black women raised ~$494M so far in 2021, surpassing the $484M raised in all of 2020 but just 0.34% of the total US venture funding in 2021  —  Editor's note: This article is part of Something Ventured, an ongoing series by Crunchbase News examining diversity and access …
Allison Johnson / The Verge:
Sony Xperia 1 III review: nice design with a 120Hz display and several manual camera modes, but expensive at $1,300, will get just two years of security updates  —  A good camera system and top-notch features, but it's priced too high to recommend  —  The Sony Xperia 1 III is a great phone that I won't recommend to many people.
Steve Lohr / New York Times:
Current and former insiders shed light on IBM's missteps with Watson, as IBM takes a less ambitious approach to commercializing Watson in the corporate market  —  IBM's artificial intelligence was supposed to transform industries and generate riches for the company.  Neither has panned out.
Wall Street Journal:
How decision-making by Masayoshi Son, who estimated WeWork would be worth $10T by 2028 and wanted Adam Neumann to be “crazier”, led to WeWork's implosion  —  Adam Neumann and Masayoshi Son pushed WeWork to new heights as they challenged each other to think big and bet billions.

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Earlier Picks

Sean Hollister / The Verge:
Chance Miller / 9to5Mac:
Ashley Carman / The Verge: