Searching For "Bigot" And "Racist" On Twitter Brings Up @RealDonaldTrump

Some Twitter users have noticed that searching for “worst,” “asshole,” and “douchebag” on Twitter right now brings up President Donald Trump's account as a top result.

Other terms that return @realDonaldTrump as one of the primary results include “racist,” “bigot,” and “fascist.”

Twitter declined to comment. But this is likely happening because large numbers of people have been using these words when they mention the president, so Twitter&039;s search algorithm identifies them as commonly associated with him.

“Sexist” and “misogynist,” terms frequently applied to the president by his detractors, did not produce the same results. Searching for “president” also returns @realDonaldTrump, but entering “powerful” produces Barack Obama&039;s account as a top result. “Leader” brings up the accounts of Obama and Bill Gates. And “corrupt” turns up Hillary Clinton&039;s account:

Trump is currently driving a tremendous amount of conversation on Twitter. Between Dec. 5, 2016 and Jan. 5 2017, he was mentioned 42.7 million times on Twitter — more than 10 times as often as the Kardashians — and his presence there has led to a wave of exposure for the platform. On January 23, Trump even created a Twitter Moment. So far, @realdonaldTrump hasn’t tweeted about the search results he’s featured in.

Alex Kantrowitz contributed reporting to this story.

Quelle: <a href="Searching For "Bigot" And "Racist" On Twitter Brings Up @RealDonaldTrump“>BuzzFeed

Google Pulled 1.7 Billion Ads In 2016, Including Ones For Fake News

Ethan Miller / Getty Images

Google removed 1.7 billion ads — largely sponsored search results and banner ads that appear on other sites — in 2016, according to a blog post published by the company. That&#039;s more than double the number of ads it took down in 2015.

According to Google, two key factors led to the uptick in deleted ads. First, it expanded the scope of the policy for removing ads. For example, the company declared war on high-interest, predatory payday loans in May. It cut 5 million ads for those services in the ensuing months and has “taken action” against 8,000 sites that offer such services. The company would not specify what that action was.

Not all of these 1.7 billion ads made it onto the internet. Google said that many of them were filtered out during its approval process, which uses a mixture of human and computer reviewers, though it declined to specify percentages. The process of submitting ads varies by advertiser, product, and country. The company emphasized that it reviews all ads in some capacity.

Google also said that a combination of human and technological reviewers make the large-scale takedowns of millions of ads possible. For ads that require nuance or whose scam type is newer, human reviewers are involved. “Tabloid cloakers,” which are essentially ads for fake news that lead to product pages, are a newer type of scam in the online ad world, so identifying and taking them down requires human reviewers. The company also said that sophisticated bad actors have learned how to change the appearance of their ads after they&039;re reviewed and accepted by Google, which presents a new challenge that for now necessitates human involvement.

Cloakers were on the rise in 2016. The company gave an example: “When people click on that story about Ellen DeGeneres and aliens, they go to a site selling weight-loss products, not a news story.” It suspended 1,300 tabloid cloaker accounts in 2016, but it advises people to be on the lookout; these types of ads garner lots of clicks, and they&039;re likely to grow in 2017.

There&039;s another category of fake news, however, that Google says it took action against. The company said that in November and December of 2016 — US election time — it reviewed 550 sites that “were suspected of misrepresenting content to users, including impersonating news organizations,” and banned nearly 200 of them from its advertising network. Around the same time, social media sites — Facebook especially — were embroiled in a debate over fake political news that spread throughout their platforms and likely influenced the outcome of the election.

These are the other categories of flagrant ads Google targeted in 2016, according to the blog post:

• Sketchy pharmaceuticals — 68 million ads removed in 2016, up from 12.5 million in 2015. Google&039;s definition varies by country due to differing medical regulations, but its healthcare advertising policy broadly prohibits illegal products, “false or misleading health claims,” herbal and dietary supplements with unapproved pharmaceutical ingredients, federally unapproved products marketed as safe, or products that masquerade as others. In many countries, it also prohibits the advertising of abortion services.
• Misleading ads for things like “weight loss miracles” — 80 million ads removed in 2016. The company also “took action” against 47,000 sites promoting weight loss scams.
• Self-clicking ads on mobile — 23,000 ads removed. AdSense reports that this is a large increase from 2015, though it did not specify by how much.

Quelle: <a href="Google Pulled 1.7 Billion Ads In 2016, Including Ones For Fake News“>BuzzFeed

This Alt-Right Investigations Site May Have Ties To The Trump Administration

The street protests following last Friday&#039;s inauguration saw two headline-grabbing acts of public violence. In one, a masked protestor in Washington, DC punched white nationalist leader Richard Spencer in the head, before running away. In the other, a Trump supporter in Seattle shot an anti-fascist protester outside a Milo Yiannopoulos speech at the University of Washington. (The protester survived.) The shooter later turned himself into police, who released him without charging him with a crime, and without naming him.

Two acts of violence, committed by two men unknown to the public, separated by one key difference: The identity of Spencer&039;s assailant is the subject of a $5,000 bounty on an eight-month-old crowd-sourced investigations site called WeSearchr that has become a hub for the often conspiratorial energies of the alt-right.

The model behind WeSearchr is simple: Staff or users post a bounty for “questions people want answered,” users fund the bounties through the site, and successful bounties get paid. “Questions people want answered” so far include what is in Megyn Kelly&039;s divorce records, “Are there satanic pedo tunnels under your walnut pizza kid&039;s hangout spot?” and “Has [former Gawker media owner] Nick Denton committed financial crimes?” Just as often, the site crowd funds projects that don&039;t reveal any new information, such as putting up a Pepe billboard in the Midwest or inviting Kathy Shelton — a rape victim whose attacker Hillary Clinton defended in court in Arkansas in the 1970s — to a presidential debate in October.

Internet citizen investigations aren&039;t new, and it&039;s well established that they can be parlous for their subjects. (Just last month, a man armed with an assault rifle entered a pizza parlor in Washington DC to look into the “Pizzagate” conspiracy theory that it was the site of a child sex ring.) And now — in the context of a new administration that has already offered the media “alternative facts” and catered to news outlets that have published demonstrably false news — there&039;s quite an opportunity for an explicitly pro-Trump, crowd-sourced information bounty service. The market for such information includes but is hardly limited to a new universe of Trump-loyal outlets that are in the process of creating a new reality.

Above: A cartoon posted on the blog of WeSearchr co-founder Pax Dickinson, depicting he and co-founder Charles Johnson hunting “Political Correctness” and “Mainstream Media.”

Ben Garrison

Especially so since WeSearchr may have the ear of the Trump administration. One of the site&039;s cofounders is Charles Johnson, the troll and conservative activist who according to a Forbes story worked with members of the Trump transition staff to select cabinet choices. In an email to BuzzFeed News, Johnson called the Forbes story a “libelous hit piece,” but did not deny having access to the members of the new administration. Earlier this week, Twitter suspended WeSearchr&039;s account in response to its promotion of the bounty for identifying the man who punched Spencer.

In a separate email to BuzzFeed News, Johnson wrote that “I have discussed the matter with the Trump administration,” and that he plans to sue Twitter with money crowdfunded on WeSearchr. (Johnson would not say who he talked to in the White House.)

Asked whether he was concerned that the site condoned vigilantism, Johnson responded, “we have a very productive relationship with law enforcement and those relationships continue to grow thanks to the regime change in Washington. We will likely have the LEO community as a client this year. Our terms of service are pretty clear. We are crime stoppers for the 21st century.”

An update to the bounty yesterday stated “Information on the suspect who is the subject of this bounty will be immediately forwarded to the appropriate law enforcement departments. As our terms of service and disclaimers state, this is not a call for any vigilante justice, libel, or other illegal action.”

According to Johnson, WeSearchr has so far paid out “ten or so” bounties. Those include the surfacing of the divorce records of the David Mikkelson, the creator of Snopes (a $500 bounty); and video of a young Barack Obama speaking in Kenya that was subsequently broadcast on Infowars (a $10,000 bounty).

Still, the site has not yet succeeded in identifying the man who punched Richard Spencer. And another update to the bounty makes it clear that the submissions have not all been rigorously fact-checked: “Many are saying he has already been identified as a poop-eating degenerate called &039;Ray.&039; We are also told that this &039;Ray&039; character is deceased. Either way, we need more CONCLUSIVE PROOF as to who the ANTIFA attacker is, proof that would satisfy a police department, not just an MS paint meme.”

Quelle: <a href="This Alt-Right Investigations Site May Have Ties To The Trump Administration“>BuzzFeed

Facebook Is Tweaking Its Trending Product To Keep Fake News Out

Nurphoto / Getty Images

Facebook is changing its Trending product to try and make it better reflect the most discussed real world events on the platform, and to prevent false viral stories from trending.

Will Cathcart, the VP of product management for Trending, told BuzzFeed News the product will also now show the same list of trending topics to everyone in a country, as opposed to personalizing a list for users based on their behavior on Facebook. (Trending is currently only available to English-language users in the US, Canada, and UK.)

Facebook has been working to improve Trending — a box in the corner of the News Feed page that shows a list of top topics people are talking about on the platform — since it became a lightning rod for criticism last spring. In May, a former curator for the product claimed that conservative news and sources were being suppressed. A few months later, Facebook fired the curators that helped review topics and the associated news stories. It put more emphasis on having an algorithm identify topics and stories, and applied less human oversight. Following those changes, the Trending product repeatedly highlighted false news stories.

One change rolling out today is closely linked to the problem of misinformation on Facebook’s trending list. Cathcart said the Trending algorithm will promote topics that have a broad range of conversation and associated news articles, and avoid topics that are generating massive engagement from one or a few articles.

“The key thing about the change is looking not just at the volume of conversation but the breadth of voices across the Facebook community, and across the different articles discussing the topic,” he said.

This could in theory prevent a mega-viral false story, such as the one about Megyn Kelly being fired from Fox News, from making the Trending list.

“If there is a story on Facebook that has gone very viral and gotten lots engagement and there is another another story with hundreds of articles, we take the one with the hundreds of different articles,” Cathcart said. “The one that has gone super viral is less valuable.”

Facebook is also tweaking the way it determines which news article will be promoted as the top item in a topic. Cathcart said the top spot will go to articles that have a combination of strong engagement for the specific story as well as strong engagement for the publication overall on Facebook. Another change is that the Trending list will now show the top article&#039;s headline and source, as opposed to only showing it when users mouseover or click on the tropic.

The goal, Cathcart said, is to make sure the topics and associated news articles reflect real world events generating significant discussion and engagement.

Facebook

Facebook’s new focus on topics with broad engagement is in line with one of the suggestions made by computer scientists in a previous BuzzFeed News story about the problem of fake news on Trending.

Kate Starbird, an assistant professor at the University of Washington quoted in the story, said Facebook’s new changes are “a step in the right direction.”

“As we talked about a few months ago, my hunch is that this will have the effect of reducing hyper-partisan content and content propagated by crowd-turfing efforts,” Starbird told BuzzFeed News. “I’m really curious about how they will define ‘broad’ and I imagine it will require a lot of calibration initially and some adjustment over time.”

Starbird also said the move away from personalizing the Trending list could also help get people out of filter bubbles.“It doesn’t affect a user’s entire feed, but does represent one place where all users might see the same content,” she said. “A small change, but perhaps a valuable one.

Starbird emphasized that Facebook will need to keep tweaking its algorithm and approach to ensure it’s having the desired effect.

“It’s often difficult to predict what the unintended consequences of changes like these might be,” Starbird said.

Facebook said the new changes begin rolling out today and will be available to all Trending users within the coming weeks.

Quelle: <a href="Facebook Is Tweaking Its Trending Product To Keep Fake News Out“>BuzzFeed

Mark Zuckerberg Says He Is "Reconsidering" Lawsuits Forcing Hawaii Families To Sell Land

AP / Esteban Felix / Ron Kosen / photospectrumkauai.com via AP

After receiving widespread criticism, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Tuesday he is “reconsidering” lawsuits he recently filed in Hawaii aimed at forcing hundreds of families to sell ancestral lands within his vast estate.

“Based on feedback from the local community, we are reconsidering the quiet title process and discussing how to move forward,” Zuckerberg said in a statement to BuzzFeed News. “We want to make sure we are following a process that protects the interests of property owners, respects the traditions of native Hawaiians, and preserves the environment.”

“We love Kauai,” Zuckerberg continued. “We want to be good members of the community and preserve the land for generations to come.”

Mark Zuckerberg / Via Facebook: zuck

Zuckerberg bought 700 acres of land on the island of Kauai in 2014 for $100 million. Within the property are 14 small parcels of land that were partitioned during the 1850s and have been passed down for generations by local families.

For privacy purposes, Zuckerberg brought lawsuits on Dec. 30 aimed at finding and forcing these descendants to sell their land at a court auction to the highest bidder.

The decision by one of the world&#039;s richest people to bring title actions against Hawaii families drew criticism from many, including neighbors, the Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation, and state Rep. Kaniela Ing, who said he would introduce legislation that would help local families in similar situations in the future.

“Quiet title actions are nothing new. Landowners have been using the law for decades to clear title to property,” Moses Haia, the Executive Director of Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation, said to BuzzFeed News. “This has had a devastating effect on Hawaiians interests in and connection to ancestral lands.”

On Thursday, Zuckerberg had taken to Facebook to defend his lawsuits, calling reports about them “misleading.” His statement saying he was “reconsidering” the lawsuits came through a spokesperson, instead of his Facebook page.

LINK: Mark Zuckerberg Sues To Force Hawaii Families To Sell Land Passed Down For Generations

Quelle: <a href="Mark Zuckerberg Says He Is "Reconsidering" Lawsuits Forcing Hawaii Families To Sell Land“>BuzzFeed

Mark Zuckerberg Says He's Not Running For President

Via facebook.com

Mark Zuckerberg has no plans to run for president, the Facebook founder and CEO told BuzzFeed News Tuesday.

“No,” Zuckerberg wrote in response to a question asking if he had any plans to run for president. “I&#039;m focused on building our community at Facebook and working on the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative,” referring to the limited-liability corporation he and his wife, Priscilla Chan, founded in 2015 to advance human potential and promote equality through major bets in education and science research. Zuckerberg did not immediately respond to follow-up questions about whether he’d explicitly ruled out a run.

Zuckerberg’s response comes after weeks of speculation from the tech press and beyond, set off by a series of events that indicated a run might be in the cards, including a pledge to visit the approximately 30 US states he hadn’t yet been to. “Will Mark Zuckerberg Be Our Next President?” Vanity Fair asked in January.

The clues were there. Zuckerberg, who had previously been described as an atheist, said over the holidays that he believes religion is important. He’s touring the US asking “folks” about how they live. He hired a former White House photographer to take his Facebook pics. He included a clause about potentially serving for office into Facebook’s stock restructuring deal, and he hired a former presidential campaign manager to help his quasi-charitable works. But as Zuckerberg indicated Tuesday, he’s more interested in wielding influence from Menlo Park than Washington, DC. A source close to Zuckerberg told BuzzFeed News the 32-year-old CEO has privately denied it as well.

“There’s absolutely no truth to the idea that Mark is running for office and I’ve heard it directly from him,” the source told BuzzFeed News. “Here’s the thing: For Mark, Facebook is global community that already plays this huge part in the lives of billions of people around the world and plays an incredibly important role in shaping the base on the issues that matter.”

Zuckerberg is preparing for a political battle, the source was careful to emphasize, but as a private citizen focused on the goals he has already outlined through the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. “There is absolutely a possibility that Mark may choose to play a stronger role in the political system and political debates,” the source said. Zuckerberg has been “very transparent” in his advocacy for “greater equality and optimizing research that find cures for disease and solves the fundamental problems of our time, but I really don’t see him stepping away from Facebook.”

Via facebook.com

Last week, Zuckerberg announced that he had poached Uber executive David Plouffe, a former campaign manager for Barack Obama, as CZI’s president of policy and advocacy. He also tapped Ken Mehlman, George W. Bush’s former campaign manager, in an advisory role. “You can make change, but in order for it to be sustainable, you need to build a movement to support it,” Zuckerberg told the New York Times.

Calling for a movement backed by bipartisan political operatives sounds awfully presidential, but Zuckerberg used the same language when he first launched CZI in December 2015.

The stock restructuring deal ties back to CZI as well. The changes were made after Zuckerberg and Chan donated 99% of their Facebook shares, then worth roughly $45 billion, to CZI. In order retain control while he gave away equity, Zuckerberg introduced a new class of stock and revised rules, including a concession that “serving in a government position or office” for two years would not constitute a voluntary resignation.

Success in business doesn’t necessarily guarantee success at the polls. “First thing is these people should not be running for office,” Bradley Tusk, an Uber adviser and investor, who also managed Michael Bloomberg’s 2009 mayoral campaign, told BuzzFeed News during a conversation about the increasingly political role played by Silicon Valley leaders. “It worked for Mike [Bloomberg] because of 9/11. If you look at the history of rich people from business or tech running for office, they almost always lose. That personality type is very different from running a company. The reality is if you’re Mark, with your wealth and platform,” then you’re better off as CEO of Facebook than as president, he said.

Tusk also mentioned that direct political engagement has not been as successful for Zuckerberg in the past. “Look at Fwd.us. How much money did those guys get taken for? And they accomplished nothing,” he said, referring to Zuckerberg’s ill-conceived immigration advocacy group. “They are better off using their strengths and their skills” than jumping directly into the political arena, Tusk said.

Zuckerberg meeting with the Dallas Police Department in January 2017.

Via facebook.com

Quelle: <a href="Mark Zuckerberg Says He&039;s Not Running For President“>BuzzFeed

Tumblr Now Has Stickers And Filters For Mobile App

Tumblr is adding a feature to its mobile app where you can add stickers or filters to photos you upload. The feature will roll out to all users by tomorrow.

The sticker pack includes extremely relevant things like: a fried egg, a trash can, a yin yang, recycling logo, an alien, pizza slice, a baguette, a tombstone, and more. You can also add text.

The filters are mostly colored – think more acid trip than Instagram&#039;s “Nashville”.

These new photo features for mobile come after a big update last May where you could create GIFs directly in the app, even shoot video straight to GIF.

Here&039;s how the new feature works:

Choose “Photo” post in the mobile app. Then, once you&039;ve either taken a new photo or found the pic you want to upload, choose from the three buttons at the bottom of the edit page. Right here:

The squares are filters, the letters are text, and the magic wand is for stickers.

Here, I greatly improved this photo of my coworker Matt, to reveal his true self:

Here’s more info on it from the Tumblr blog:

Quelle: <a href="Tumblr Now Has Stickers And Filters For Mobile App“>BuzzFeed