violence
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EA removes Kareem Hunt from 'Madden 19' following assault
A football player's conduct is leading to consequences on both real and virtual football fields. EA is removing former Kansas City Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt from Madden 19 after TMZ showed a video of Hunt kicking and shoving a woman in a Cleveland hotel in February. He'd been dropped from the Chiefs on November 30th, the same day the video went public.
PayPal bans far-right Proud Boys and multiple anti-fascist groups
The far-right group Proud Boys has been hit with bans from Twitter and Facebook and now it will no longer be allowed to operate on PayPal. The Verge reports that PayPal will be cancelling both the Proud Boys account as well as that of its founder Gavin McInnes. At the same time, it's also continuing to take down accounts belonging to a number of anti-fascist groups, including Atlanta Antifa, Antifa Sacramento and the Anti-Fascist Network.
Twitter bans far-right group Proud Boys ahead of Washington rally
Just because Twitter is reluctant to take action against some of its more malicious users doesn't mean it isn't cracking down against others. Twitter has confirmed to BuzzFeed News that it banned the accounts of the far-right group Proud Boys for reportedly breaking its rules prohibiting "violent extremist groups." The social network shut down the group's main account, its satellite accounts and that of its founder Gavin McInnes. While the company didn't specify what prompted the move, it came just after a violent August 4th protest in Portland, Oregon, and just ahead of the extreme right-wing Washington, DC rally on August 12th.
Facebook will prioritize removing fake news that incites violence
During a recent congressional hearing, Facebook showed that its policies could use a bit of work when it comes to addressing posts threatening violence. Now, the tech giant has finally taken steps to combat that particular issue, announcing a policy change that will allow it to take down fake news posts that incite violence and physical harm. A spokesperson told CNBC that it will begin implementing the new rule, which will cover both text and image posts, "during the coming months."
America's love affair with firearms bleeds into gaming culture
Gaming culture is rife with graphic representations of gun violence and has been since arcade goers first blew aliens out of Space Invader's skies. You'll be hard-pressed to find more than a handful of AAA titles designed for adults (sit down Rayman) that don't rely on firearms, or use gore in substitution, either as a primary tool for the gameplay or as a thematic element.
Domestic abusers are exploiting smart home devices
Smart home devices are supposed to make life easier, but it's now apparent that their convenience carries unintended consequences for domestic abuse survivors. The New York Times has conducted interviews showing that abusers are exploiting smart speakers, security cameras, doorbells and other connected devices to control, harass and stalk their targets. The perpetrators will not only spy on their partners, but cause havoc with bursts of music, sudden changes in lighting or temperature and other attempts at intimidation.
Facebook has already removed 583 million fake accounts this year
Last month, Facebook published its internal community enforcement guidelines for the first time and today, the company has provided some numbers to show what that enforcement really looks like. In a new report that will be published quarterly, Facebook breaks down its enforcement efforts across six main areas -- graphic violence, adult nudity and sexual activity, terrorist propaganda, hate speech, spam and fake accounts. The report details how much of that content was seen by Facebook users, how much of it was removed and how much of it was taken down before any Facebook users reported it.
Zuckerberg apologizes for Facebook's response to Myanmar conflict
Mark Zuckerberg has been accused of keeping too quiet on the many issues affecting Facebook recently, so Myanmar activists were surprised when they received a personal response from the chief exec following their open letter criticizing his approach to hate speech in their conflict-stricken country.
Trump's video game meeting may not lead to any further action
Early this week, Trump at last announced that he would meet with leaders of the video game industry. Not to discuss the rising frustration with loot boxes, but to rehash the exhausted and research-debunked notion that playing games causes people to become more violent. Predictably, Trump invited zero scientists or respected researchers to the summit, instead stacking it with outspoken video game critics and a trio of Republican lawmakers. And surprising nobody, the hour-long meeting produced very few actionable results.
Trump spurns experts for his video game meeting
Donald Trump is hosting a meeting today, which, according to a White House spokesperson, has been set "to discuss violent video-game exposure and the correlation to aggression and desensitization in children." CNN's Jake Tapper tweeted the list of attendees earlier today and it includes members of the video game industry as well as outspoken critics of violent video games. However, as Rolling Stone points out, there aren't any scientists included in the meeting -- a glaring omission if you're interested in having a truly representative discussion about video games and real-world violence.
For the people in the back: Video games don't cause violence
Video games do not cause violent behavior. There is no scientific, consensus-backed research supporting the idea that playing video games -- even bloody, realistic shooters -- leads to real-life acts of brutality. However, this misguided theory prevails. After a shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida, left 17 people dead on February 14th, a handful of politicians decried video games for corrupting young minds and inciting violent behavior. Days later, President Donald Trump said during a meeting about safety in schools, "I'm hearing more and more people say the level of violence on video games is really shaping young people's thoughts." Tomorrow, video game industry leaders are scheduled to meet with Trump to discuss the (non-existent, completely imaginary) problem. The Entertainment Software Association will be there and it has a clear message for the White House: "Video games are plainly not the issue: entertainment is distributed and consumed globally, but the US has an exponentially higher level of gun violence than any other nation."
Sri Lanka cuts off access to social networks to curb violence (updated)
In an effort to curb extremist violence in Sri Lanka, government officials have ordered some social networks to shut down. ABC News' anonymous source says that the blockage affects Facebook, Instagram, Viber and WhatsApp, specifically. In capital Colombo, some are blocked wholesale while others have apparently been slowed down considerably. Officials are using traditional means to counter the attacks, like instituting a curfew.
Trump will meet with video game industry leaders on March 8th
After a little bit of back and forth, it appears that the White House's meeting with the video game industry is on. At today's press briefing, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders confirmed that a meeting will take place this Thursday, March 8th. Separately, the Entertainment Software Association, which has many of the top software publishers (and all three major console manufacturers) as members, confirmed that it would be participating in the meeting. The ESA's full statement follows below.
ESA hasn't received an invite to discuss video games with Trump
Yesterday, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders claimed that President Trump was planning to meet with "members of the video game industry" to discuss violence in video games and how it might play into the spat of school violence that has plagued the country for years now. But it seems Sanders may have gotten ahead of herself -- the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), which represents the US video game industry, released a statement last night saying that neither it nor non of its members received an invitation to talk with the president.
Trump will meet video game execs to discuss school violence
A variety of potential actions have been discussed to limit school violence in the wake of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL last month, from the uninspired option of raising the minimum age of potential gun-buyers to President Trump's controversial suggestion of arming teachers. But a familiar target for blame appears to be on the mind of the president, as well. In today's White House press briefing, press secretary Sarah Sanders said that Trump would soon meet with "members of the video game industry" to see what could be discussed around "protect[ing] schools around the country."
YouTube star faces backlash over clip showing a corpse
YouTube star Logan Paul is facing major backlash over a video he recently posted on his YouTube channel. In it, he and a few of his friends who are traveling through Japan enter the Aokigahara forest near Mount Fuji claiming to be documenting the "haunted aspect of the forest," as Paul says in the video. But the forest is well known for being a place where many people go to commit suicide. While in the forest, Paul's group comes across a body and not only does the video show the body (with the face blurred out), Paul and his friends are shown laughing and making jokes.
Twitter is making excuses for allowing hate speech
Twitter sure is having a hard time explaining and enforcing its policies around hate speech. Earlier this week, the company responded to Trump's retweet of violent anti-Muslim propaganda, telling Engadget that some videos may remain up if they are newsworthy or of public interest. Today, Twitter changed that position, saying that, instead, the tweets in question are still on the service because they are permitted based on the company's current media policy.
Twitter: Suspension of New York Times account was human error
Twitter has fumbled yet again. Over the weekend, the platform temporarily locked a New York Times account for violating its rule against hateful conduct, but the tweet in question, a report on Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's apology over the treatment of native people in Newfoundland and Labrador, was rather unoffending -- further muddying what will and won't get you suspended by the platform. The account was fully restored about a day later and Twitter has said that the suspension was the result of human error.
Reddit bans misogynist community as part of anti-violence crackdown
Reddit's crackdown on hate-filled, violent communities isn't just limited to banning racists: the social site has banned r/Incels, the misogynistic "involuntary celibates" subreddit. While the company isn't diving into specific posts that prompted the ban, a spokeswoman pointed us to the October 25th policy change that forbids content which "encourages, glorifies, incites, or calls for violence or physical harm." And given Incels' history, it's easy to see why the subreddit ran afoul of these limits.
Deliveroo is giving riders GoPros after a rise in acid attacks
Following the sharp rise of acid attacks, especially in inner city areas, food delivery service Deliveroo has introduced new measures aimed at keeping its riders safe as they navigate the streets. The startup announced today that it's hired 50 new staff members to oversee rider welfare, who will be serve as physical points of contact in each of Deliveroo's main markets.
