politics

It’s almost too easy to start a war. All it takes is for someone in power (after all, those without power can’t start wars) to say something that offends another person in power who, in turn, says something back. It’s not easy, however, to end the war or to pick up the broken pieces. In the case of a trade war like the one brewing between the US and China, those pieces are the consumers from both sides. Because in a clash of titans, it’s the little humans below that get stomped on.

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Facebook has been burned and it is burning others in turn. And wherever there is fire, there will always be damages on either side. Facebook has just announced what is probably its boldest and biggest fake accounts takedown. And while 270 or so accounts pales in comparison to the thousands it already removed, it’s the source of the accounts that makes it such a big move. Facebook has taken down most, but probably not all, accounts and pages connected to the Russian Internet Research Agency, the notorious Internet troll factory blamed for manipulating the outcome of the 2016 US presidential elections.

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Russia has successfully tested its new ICBM missile, the country's Ministry of Defense has claimed, a long range weapon that could fly more than 7,000 miles. Officially known as Sarmat, the intercontinental ballistic missile has been nicknamed "Satan 2" and is the planned successor to Russia's Soviet-era Voevoda, or SS-18 Satan, missile.

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Facebook is being called to account for how it handled Cambridge Analytica's misuse of data and American vote manipulation, with lawmakers demanding answers for what the social site insists was not a data breach. Reports last week revealed that, thanks to several hundred thousand Facebook users voluntarily taking part in a supposed psychology test, the data of approximately 50m users was then extracted.

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As the US continues to uncover the effects of Russian manipulation on its elections, Facebook has found itself desperately trying to fix its platform to eliminate interference and regain trust. Now the social media company has come up with one solution to improve its advertising during the US elections to come: physically mailing verification postcards.

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Remember WannaCry? If you don’t or never even heard about it, this latest public statement coming from the US will probably make sure you won’t. The ransomware that plagued Windows computers in the first half of the year has been blamed for not a few outages of computer systems all over the country, including some life-critical ones in hospitals. And now, the mastermind behind WannaCry has been finally unmasked. At least according to the US. And, unsurprisingly, it is pointing the finger at North Korea.

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The $7,500 tax credit for electric car buyers in the US faces an unexpected premature death, with a new Republican tax plan cutting the credit immediately. The credit gives EV buyers a sizable cut on their tax bill when they purchase a new car, and has been instrumental in driving the adoption of electric vehicles across the country. Now, Republicans are proposing doing away with it altogether.

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Facebook, Google, and Twitter have been given a stark ultimatum by US lawmakers, as the role each played in Russian gaming of the US election goes under the microscope. The three firms have faced challenging questioning at this week's Senate and House Intel Committee meetings, though arguably nothing so blunt as the deadline laid down by Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein this morning. Speaking as part of the Senate Intel Committee, Sen. Feinstein told legal representatives of the trio that if they wouldn't fix things, the government would be forced to step in and do it for them.

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A scheme to label Internet of Things devices that meet more stringent security standards has been proposed by the US Democrats, responding to mounting concerns about the safety of connected gadgets. The idea, dubbed the Cyber Shield Act of 2017, was put forward by Congressman Ted W. Lieu (D | Los Angeles County) and Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) today. In addition to a labeling scheme that compliant IoT devices would bear, if passed it would also be responsible for establishing a best-practices advisory committee.

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Russian government-linked internet troll accounts aimed to use Pokemon GO to stir several political bees nests over the past year. Using the then mega-popular game to lure users to participate, Russian-linked operatives attempted to draw foot traffic to physical locations where events involving police brutality had occurred. Operatives promised that once Pokemon gamers had arrived at these locations, they were to snap a photo and send it in to win prizes.

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It's Google's turn to face the idea that Russia may have exploited their advertisement business to spread disinformation over the past year. Facebook was the subject of scrutiny in recent weeks over revelations of similar significant Russian exploits of the social network during the 2016 US Presidential election in the USA. Word comes from sources familiar with Google's investigation who've spoken on condition of anonymity with The Independent.

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In case you missed it (and no one would blame you), Trump fired off a tweet this morning accusing Facebook of being "anti-Trump," also blaming "The Networks" of the same, presumably referring to major news networks. He specifically pointed fingers at the New York Times, at the Washington Post, making accusations of fake news.

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