As security officials prepare for Russian attack on 2020 presidential race, Trump and aides play down threat
Josh Dawsen, Ellen Nakashima and Shane Harris, April 30th 2019, Washington Post
In recent months, U.S. national security officials have been preparing for Russian interference in the 2020 presidential race by tracking cyber threats, sharing intelligence about foreign disinformation efforts with social media companies and helping state election officials protect their systems against foreign manipulation.
Facebook bans extremist leaders including Louis Farrakhan, Alex Jones, Milo Yiannopoulos for being ‘dangerous’
Elizabeth Dwoskin and Craig Timberg, May 2nd 2019, Washington Post
Facebook said on Thursday it has permanently banned several far-right and anti-Semitic figures and organizations, including Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, Infowars host Alex Jones, Milo Yiannopoulos and Laura Loomer, for being “dangerous,” a sign that the social network is more aggressively enforcing its hate-speech policies at a moment when bigoted violence is on the rise around the world.
Zuckerberg to explain how Facebook gets ‘privacy focused’
Barbara Ortutay, April 30th 2019, Associated Press in the Washington Post
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg kicked off the company’s annual F8 developer conference Tuesday with more details about his new “privacy-focused” vision for the social network — including end-to-end encryption for Messenger conversations and secure WhatsApp statuses that only friends can see.
Social media remains key to Venezuela’s opposition, despite efforts to block it
Drew Harwell and Mariana Zuniga, April 30th 2019, Washington Post
Venezuela’s state-run Internet service on Tuesday appeared to cut off broad swaths of the nation’s social-media and messaging sites, taking aim at the most critical ways Venezuelans had organized protests and communicated with family amid military clashes and violent unrest.
Israel says bots promoting boycott of Eurovision
Associated Press in the Washington Post, May 2nd 2019
Israel on Thursday said it has uncovered a network of bots and fake Twitter accounts urging a boycott of the upcoming Israeli-hosted Eurovision song contest.