News

Facebook removes Trump posts for promoting hate symbols

Cracking down on misinformation

Published

on

Immediately after the 2016 presidential elections, security experts uncovered previously unforeseen attempts to influence who will become the next leaders of their respective countries. The controversial plot supposedly includes something as innocuous as social media advertising. Now, in anticipation of the 2020 US presidential elections, American social media companies are trying to prevent the same mistakes of yesteryear.

Twitter, for one, has already cracked down on factually ambiguous information, especially those that steer the conversation for or against a certain side based on the same misinformation. Notably, Jack Dorsey’s website flagged President Donald Trump’s posts as potentially misleading. Today, Facebook has decided to join the fight as well

The massive social media network has removed posts and ads from Trump’s reelection campaign. The posts in question went against Facebook’s policy against hate. Particularly, they used a banned hate symbol, an upside-down red triangle, to call out the far-left group, Antifa. Historically, the symbol was used during World War II to indicate concentration camp prisoners detained for political reasons.

Though a legally rational decision, Facebook’s moderation is a rare one for the social media network. Prior to today, Mark Zuckerberg has notable gone on record to advocate Facebook’s more open-minded approach to moderation. Facebook allows all politicians to speak out their mind as long as it doesn’t go against their own terms of use. The controversial decision caused enough consternation that Facebook’s employees notably walked out of their jobs in protest. To its credit, Facebook is starting other initiatives including labeling which media outlets are paid by their respective governments.

On the other hand, the moderation policy won’t likely bode well for Trump’s ongoing war against Silicon Valley. The president recently signed an executive order that removes the legal immunity enjoyed by social media networks.

SEE ALSO: How to restrict access to your Facebook account

News

Honor is reportedly working on a 14000mAh battery

How much is too much?

Published

on

Nothing goes together more than a Chinese smartphone brand and the relentless pursuit for a bigger battery. For years, Chinese brands have engaged in a war for this particular component. Now, the latest salvo has been fired. Honor is reportedly working on a phone with a gigantic 14000mAh battery.

Today, the biggest battery capacity you can find on an Honor phone is 11000mAh. The Honor X80 Pro Max already offers a battery that can last you more than a single day. At this point, it’s certainly more than enough for our daily needs.

According to Digital Chat Station on Weibo, a smartphone brand is currently working on a 14000mAh battery. Though the leak does not explicitly pinpoint Honor, the emoji used (a wolf) is historically used to imply the Chinese brand in Weibo parlance.

A 14000mAh is just absurdly huge. With a battery larger than some powerbanks, battery anxiety becomes moot. It’s bordering on “can we bring this on a plane” territory.

As with all rumored features, the next question is when this battery will arrive on a consumer-ready device. Given how serious the battery wars are for the Chinese market, it’s only a matter of time.

SEE ALSO: HONOR continues APAC expansion, to launch 600 series in Taiwan

Continue Reading

News

Nothing Phone (4b) shows up online, spoils some specs

It’s a step below the Phone (4a) series.

Published

on

Yesterday, Nothing officially teased the Phone (4b), an all-new line positioned below the Phone (4a) series. At the time, the teaser revealed nothing but the design of the upcoming phone. However, ahead of its July 7 launch, the Phone (4b) suddenly appeared on Geekbench, spoiling a few of its mysterious specs.

According to the listing, the Phone (4b) will run the SM6650, more popularly known as the Snapdragon 6 Gen 4. It’s a modestly powered processor built for the budget to midrange segments of the performance spectrum. Having this processor does confirm that the phone belongs to the step below the Phone (4a), bringing affordability to a name other than CMF.

Besides the processor, the new phone will come with an Adreno 810 GPU and 8GB of RAM. Inside, it will ship with Android 16 out of the box, but this will likely be upgradeable to Android 17 later this year.

It’s already confirmed that the Phone (4b) will be quite the looker. The phone will slightly depart from the design philosophy of the Phone (4a) series. Though it will still have a sizable rear island, the camera setup will just be a small vertical strip on the top-left corner. Additionally, the lighting element typical of all Nothing phones will be a small horizontal strip on the bottom-right corner.

Thankfully, the wait for more specs won’t be long. Nothing has confirmed that the phone’s launch is set for July 7.

SEE ALSO: Nothing will launch the Phone (4b) next month

Continue Reading

News

Polaroid says, enjoy the beach before AI ruins it

“We know what we stand to lose if we don’t protect it.”

Published

on

Tongue-in-cheek marketing is a soothing balm for a world where false promises are more often advertised. But, what happens when those tongue-in-cheek jokes strike a nerve and make you think, “maybe this isn’t a joke anymore”? Polaroid, a huge proponent of analog technology, has put up such a billboard to enjoy the beach “before the data centers drink it all up.”

Right in front of Coney Island (and right in time for summer), Polaroid has a simple message: “Go jump in the water before the data centers drink it all up.”

Though funny by itself, the message plays on an ongoing fear that today’s data centers, built for AI, have such a high water requirement that each query takes up gallons every time. This is, of course, slightly hyperbolic, but data centers are indeed exerting a lot of pressure on their area’s resources. They take a lot of water for cooling and electricity to keep open.

In a statement, Polaroid says that they’re not anti-digital. Rather, “we know we have to live alongside it, but we’re deeply pro-human and know what humanity gives us. And we know what we stand to lose if we don’t protect it. That’s a fight worth fighting,” says Polaroid’s creative director Patricia Varella, via LBB.

Now, this isn’t a completely altruistic ad. It’s still advertising the new Go Generation 3. Still, if you’re looking for a product to go alongside today’s shifting sentiments against AI, a Polaroid might be it.

SEE ALSO: The Loop PH rebrands as lifestyle-tech destination

Continue Reading

Trending