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Subpoenaing Discord may reveal identities of Charlottesville neo-Nazis
The white supremacist Charlottesville marchers who used Discord to prepare for violence might not remain anonymous for much longer. A chief magistrate judge has shot down an attempt by one of the neo-Nazis to dismiss a subpoena for Discord that would identify her and roughly 30 other users who reportedly relied on the chat app ahead of the event last year. She maintained that exposing her identity would violate her First Amendment rights to "anonymous speech" and put her in danger, but the judge disagreed. The plaintiffs' interest in identifying her as a possible perpetrator or witness outweighed her anonymity, according to the magistrate.
Twitter halts verification after backlash over Charlottesville organizer
Over the last month, Twitter seemed to finally wake up to the need to fight the rampant hate speech and abuse that happens on its platform. That made yesterday's decision to verify Jason Kessler, the leader of the white supremacist rally that took place in Charlottesville, VA this summer, incredibly odd (or incredibly foolish). Regardless, the blue checkmark is firmly in place on Kessler's account, and users pretty quickly told Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey they weren't happy about this move. This morning, Twitter responded -- not by revoking Kessler's verified status, but by saying it was pausing all general verifications to resolve confusion around what being verified really means. "Verification was meant to authenticate identity & voice," reads a tweet on the company's support account, "but it is interpreted as an endorsement or an indicator of importance."
Discord chats may be crucial to lawsuits over neo-Nazi violence
Discord was quick to shut down neo-Nazi servers and accounts in the wake of racist violence in Charlottesville, but that doesn't mean those conversations are gone forever. In fact, they may be instrumental to making criminal cases and lawsuits stick. The media collective Unicorn Riot has obtained leaked Discord chat screenshots (about 1,000 of them) and audio suggesting that many of the white supremacists were gearing up for a fight even as their organizers were supposedly calling for non-violence. In the days after the Charlottesville march, they also made light of the car attack that murdered Heather Heyer and injured many others.
Celebrities are vanishing from social media to make a statement
Platforms like Instagram and Twitter have taken the relationship between celebrities and fans to new heights. Those who follow famous people on social media feel closer to them than ever before, since these networks act as a window into the lavish personal lives of individuals they admire. Celebs can share anything from selfies and family pictures to random thoughts about topics they feel strongly about. But, as we've seen with Kanye West, Solange Knowles and Taylor Swift recently, that online presence doesn't last forever. Some vanish for unknown reasons (West), while others do it because of the current political climate (Solange) or as a marketing scheme to promote a fresh music album (Swift). And if you're Rob Kardashian, well, you just get banned for revenge porn.
Dell founder offers low-key response to Charlottesville violence
Tech giants like Apple and Intel have vocally opposed both the racist violence in Charlottesville and President Trump's equivocating response to it, but former manufacturing council member Dell has remained silent. Where's its statement? Well, company founder Michael Dell has finally spoken. The CEO has sent a brief email to employees condemning both the Charlottesville violence and the terrorist attack in Barcelona, but in generic terms. His message declares that "hate is evil" and stresses that Dell is a company where "everyone is welcome," pointing to the company's culture code. And... that's it.
Options for neo-Nazis on the internet are starting to shrink
If you're an American who's ever wondered what it would be like to have had the internet and today's technology during the time of Nazi ascension in Germany, take a look around. You're soaking in it. While a whole lot of us have been aware of this since at least last year's election, it's only now starting to sink in for companies who control the internet. Bitterly, only after the literal killing of people in the streets by white supremacists. Who, until this week, enjoyed using online services for their organizing, sharing, harassing, business needs and getting hateful shit done.
Facebook shut down an internal forum because of harassment
Last year Facebook was home to an internal forum spouting sexist and racist comments, according to reports in The Wall Street Journal and Business Insider. The forum, called FB Anon, was set up in May 2015 for employees of the company to voice their opinions of the workplace freely and anonymously. But in the month's leading up to President Trump's election it was increasingly populated by right-leaning staff and, according to Mark Zuckerberg, used to harass others. The group was abruptly shut down in December 2016. These reports come during an increasingly challenging time for tech companies. In the wake of the white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, where violence resulted in the death of one protestor and injuries for many others, companies have taken a zero-tolerance approach to hate speech. GoDaddy and Google have revoked domain registrations for neo-Nazi website The Daily Stormer, crowdfunding sites have pulled campaigns supporting white supremacists and social media platforms have banned whole groups expressing violent alt-right ideologies.
Tim Cook condemns 'repulsive' racist violence in Charlottesville (update)
Tim Cook made his stance about Charlottesville clear enough by tweeting out that "violence and racism have no place in America" as the tragic events were unfolding. This internal letter sent to employees that Recode obtained, however, will give you even more insight into where he stands. Apple's head honcho wrote that Americans must unequivocally reject hate and bigotry in the country. It's not about "left or the right, conservative or liberal," but "about human decency and morality." He stressed that he disagrees with the President and other people who "believe that there is a moral equivalence between white supremacists and Nazis, and those who oppose them by standing up for human rights."
Apple starts removing Apple Pay from white nationalist sites
Apple has suspended support for Apple Pay on a handful of websites selling white-supremacy clothing and accessories, joining a cascade of technology companies currently cutting off hate groups online. Apple Pay no longer works on at least two websites selling clothes, bumper stickers and other items stamped with Nazi imagery and hate speech, Apple confirmed to Buzzfeed. One site sells a sticker depicting a car running down a group of people, complete with the words, "Nobody cares about your protest."
Barack Obama breaks the record for most-liked Tweet
Barack Obama's August 13th tweet promoting racial and religious tolerance has become the most liked of all time, Twitter says. The message -- apparently in response to the death of a woman at Charlottesville neo-Nazi marches -- quotes Nelson Mandela and reads, "No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin or his background or his religion." So far, it has hit three million likes, easily surpassing Ariana Grande's 2.7 million-like-tweet following the bombing of her Manchester, UK concert that killed 23.
Facebook and Reddit ban hate groups in wake of Charlottesville
It's not just domain registrars and game chat services that are cracking down on neo-Nazis in the wake of the racism-fuelled violence in Charlottesville. Facebook and Reddit have both confirmed that they've shut down numerous hate groups in the wake of the attacks. Reddit tells CNET that it shut down the /r/Physical_Removal subreddit for content that "incites violence" and thus violates its content policy. Users in the group hoped that people in anti-hate subreddits and at CNN would be killed, supported concentration camps and even wrote poems about killing.
GoFundMe shuts down campaigns for Charlottesville suspect
Crowdfunding platforms are taking a no-tolerance approach to campaigns raising money in support of James Fields, the man accused of driving a car into protesters at a white-supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, on Saturday. GoFundMe has already removed "multiple" campaigns for Fields. Speaking to Reuters, strategic communications director Bobby Whithorne said: "Those campaigns did not raise any money and they were immediately removed." He added that GoFundMe will delete similar campaigns if more are created.
