RT
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Twitter actioned over 50,000 pieces of misleading Ukraine content
The platform reported the results of its crackdown on state-run media.
YouTube is blocking Russian state media channels worldwide
It previously banned channels including RT and Sputnik in Europe.
EU tells Google to delist Russian state media websites from search
The European Commission issued a ban on RT and Sputnik earlier this month.
Russia's RT moves to Rumble after being deplatformed elsewhere
Russia's state-backed media outlet RT is moving to Rumble after other internet platforms restricted its content in response to the Ukraine invasion.
Reddit bans links to Russian state media across the entire site
Reddit is further responding to Russia's invasion of Ukraine by banning links to state-backed Russian media across the whole site.
Spotify shutters Russia office indefinitely in response to Ukraine invasion
The streaming platform is also restricting the discoverability of Kremlin-backed content.
Roku drops Russia's RT channel worldwide
Roku is responding to Russia's invasion of Ukraine by dropping the state-backed RT channel from its worldwide platform.
YouTube blocks RT and Sputnik channels across Europe
It previously barred them from being able to generate ad revenue.
Microsoft is the latest to ban Russian state media from its platforms
Microsoft is banning Russian state media platforms RT and Sputnik from many of its platforms in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
EU to ban Russian state-backed media outlets RT and Sputnik
In a decision that could have a significant impact on how companies like YouTube moderate their platforms, the European Union announced it plans to ban Russian state media organizations.
FCC to probe domestic Russian-owned media and telecom companies
It would reportedly focus especially on companies deemed a “security risk” to the United States.
Facebook suspends Pages from Russia-linked viral video company
Facebook's crackdown on Russia-linked accounts has usually taken down outlets with a relatively small presence, but its latest move is more substantial. The social network has suspended three Pages from Maffick Media, a viral video outlet that has racked up 30 million views in the space of a few months, over a lack of disclosure. Maffick is majority-owned by Ruptly, a subsidiary of the Russia-backed outlet RT, but didn't mention this on any of its Pages, including politically slanted ones like Soapbox and Backthen. Facebook doesn't officially require disclosure for Pages' parent companies like it does for political ads, but a spokesperson told CNN that it would ask for disclosure as part of an effort to give people "more information about the Pages they follow."
Facebook purges more than 500 Russian-led disinformation pages
"Coordinated Inauthentic Behavior" is such an anodyne way of describing weaponizing information to poison attitudes and democracies. That's the euphemism that Facebook is employing to talk about its latest purge of accounts and pages that may be part of a Russian disinformation campaign. More than 500 pages and accounts have recently been removed, according to a report by Facebook's cybersecurity policy chief.
Twitter offered Russian media outlet 15 percent of its election ads
Twitter may have just given the boot to ads from Russia-backed media outlets, but it wasn't quite so discerning in 2016. BuzzFeed News has obtained email showing that Twitter offered Russia Today up to 15 percent of its US election ad volume in June of last year. This wouldn't have been nearly as large as Fox's ad buy (32 percent) or CNN's (56 percent), but there's a real chance you would have noticed... had it gone through. While it's not clear whether the reach or the $3 million price tag influenced the decision, RT turned the offer down.
Twitter blocks ads from two Russia-backed media agencies
Twitter has announced that it will no longer allow two prominent state-owned Russian media organizations from advertising on its platform. The company revealed on its Public Policy blog that it has decided to "off-board" advertising from any account related to either Russia Today / RT or Sputnik. The decision is effective immediately, and is based on a belief that both enterprises interfered with the 2016 US elections.
C-SPAN's online feed cut to Russian television
Afternoon C-SPAN watchers got an unexpected interjection this afternoon when its feed suddenly cut over to the Russia Today channel for a few minutes. Captured by Deadspin's Timothy Burke, the switch happened while Representative Maxine Waters was addressing the House regarding changes to SEC regulation. Of course, considering current events the threat of hacking has been considered, but in a statement provided to Engadget, C-SPAN isn't going there yet. According to the network, RT is a network it monitors, and as such, it is assuming there was just some routing issue at work. Some routing issue. Update: C-SPAN has issued a second statement, tweeting that its "initial investigation suggests that this was caused by an internal routing error."
Twitter is experimenting again, tries replacing 'retweet' with 'share' button
Twitter can't help itself. If it's not new pictures, tweet views and video previews, then it could be an epoch-defining change to what the social network called one of its core features: retweets. So, it's possibly not a big deal, but in Twitter's latest experiment, it's been changed to 'share' -- terminology closer aligned to its rival, Facebook. For the moment, only a handful of users appear to see the substitute share button and it's appearing in both the Android and iOS apps. At the same time, and probably unrelated, a new design to profile pages inside mobile apps has also appeared, with a not-so-faint Facebook vibe. Take a look after the break, and if you're one of the chosen few, let us know your thoughts on either experiment in the comments.
Switched On: Windows ReTreat
Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology. Today's hottest and best-selling tablets and smartphones have one thing in common: they are powered by ARM processors. Offered in such variations as NVIDIA's Tegra, Qualcomm's Snapdragon, Samsung's Exynos and Apple's A6, ARM processors dominate the leading edge of mobile products. At LG's recent announcement of its clever and well-appointed G2 smartphone, much was made of it being the first globally launched phone to include Qualcomm's Snapdragon 800; Android, in contrast, wasn't mentioned once. And the long reach of ARM extends far beyond the bleeding edge. The Hisense Sero 7 Pro -- recently cut to $129 just a few weeks after its launch -- has a Tegra 3 processor while ARM chips from Rockchip and MediaTek power Android tablets at even humbler price points. For years, Intel has promised it would be competitive with ARM in terms of performance per watt (if not in price). It has made great strides both in its smartphone-focused Atom chips and its performance-oriented Core chips (including Haswell, the CPU behind the MacBook Air's huge gains in battery life), but those in the ARM camp have kept their processors' competitive heat up while keeping their generated heat down.
Rise and Shiny: The empty MMO section on the RT marketplace
As many of you know, I have been in love with portable devices for a while now. I am always perfecting my all-in-one experience, trying to find a device that allows me access to my favorite job and hobby (MMO gaming) while actually getting some work done. That means I need to be able to communicate, type, and create content all with the same small computer. My 3G Nexus 7 was glorious for a while, but mainly as a mobile gaming platform and social network connection. I needed something larger, and I took the destruction of my 7 to mean it was time to get out of my comfort zone. So I got myself an Asus VivoTab RT, a 10-inch tablet with a 4G LTE connection. It came with the keyboard dock for only $300 US. I'll save the explanation for buying such a device -- especially considering RT's shaky footing -- for my other blog, but I have really been enjoying RT and the fact that I still have access to Flash, browser-based games, and a larger screen. Searching for MMOs in the Windows Store has been a nightmare, though, mainly because there are none. I'll show you what's being offered and will look at the 8.1 preview to see if we can expect changes.
Windows RT 'code integrity mechanism' gets sidestepped, allows unsigned desktop apps to run
As Microsoft continues to promote and push its RT apps and programs, Windows tinkerer Clrokr at SurfSec has detailed how he managed to circumvent Redmond's controls on what can run on Windows RT. It's worth noting that this may not lead to a broad jailbreak solution, capable of running any desktop program, but it does demonstrate an existing vulnerability. Clrokr outlines how he tinkered with the part of the RAM that instructs the OS whether it should run unsigned, authenticode signed, Microsoft(8) or Windows(12) signed apps. The default setting is for the latter two options, whereas changing this entry allows those other app types to run. If you know your Windows kernel, you can check the full details and code over at the source.
