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Twitter turns the tables on Trump [Wired]
While many things are topsy-turvy in 2020, one thing is a constant – Donald Trump’s obsession with Twitter. But as with all things 2020, there is a plot twist. Twitter has finally fact-checked some of Trump’s tweets. On May 11th the social media platform announced that it would provide fact-checking to tweets posted on its site – mainly in response to wild COVID-19 fake news. But on 26 May it also took action against the Tweeter in Chief, not for coronavirus fake news but for lying about mail-in voting ballots. Trump and Twitter critics have been waiting for years for the site to get involved in the fight against political figures spreading fake news, but we’re less than six months from the November presidential elections. Is it too little too late?
Pandemic shaming on Instagram [The Atlantic]
As we are all slowly emerging out of confinement, people are increasingly struggling with keeping social distancing and isolation rules that still stand. And for people who were used to sharing their lives on social media, the additional judgement that comes with you leaving your apartment or going to a birthday party is stressful. So instagrammers are leading ‘double lives’, and in the opposite way as you would’ve expected in pre-COVID times. Posting pictures of isolation in your house while visiting your boyfriend or going to parties, it’s a new reality to keep your social standing and even your job.
COVID-19 brings Silicon Valley to its knees [Bloomberg]
Since the beginning of the pandemic, COVID-19 is hitting economies hard all around the world, particularly the work force. Big and small companies from Silicon Valley already cut more than 40,000 jobs since mid-March. Not all tech companies are affected in the same way and some do better than others. While e-commerce is soaring in the current situation, travel and retail are hit the hardest – such as Uber announcing 3,700 positions cut. Just as in many other sectors, COVID-19 impacts the tech industry like never before. However, the undeniable fact is that the current impact on tech companies will have massive consequences on the pace of the overall American and international recovery as many sectors rely on tech companies to grow.
Crisis is boosting AI in healthcare [WIRED]
Did you know that one of the first to discover COVID-19 was not a human but an algorithm? In late December 2019, BlueDot picked up an anomaly in contagions, warning its clients nine days before the WHO released its first statement about the disease. It’s just one of the many examples you see popping up now of where AI has helped understanding, tracking and fighting the pandemic. AI in healthcare has proved its value and is here to stay. And AI cannot just help finding a cure for this disease (and others) but can also make the healthcare system smoother: from medical appointments, insurance procedures to hospital supply lines, the potential is endless. Hence why, amongst other things, the EU is not slowing down its AI legislative plans.
In case you haven’t had enough…
Instagram wants its influencers to make more money (The New York Times)
This social-media mob was good (The Atlantic)
Coronavirus accelerates shift away from cash (Financial Times)
WhatsApp tests new feature that lets you add contacts via QR codes (The Verge)