Racism
Latest
Twitch 'proactively' removed a police emote to prevent potential abuse
Twitch says it proactively removed the "TwitchCop" emote "to prevent misuse."
Tim Cook says Apple 'must do more' to combat racism
Tim Cook has released a statement on the Black Lives Matter cause.
'Call of Duty' developer will further crack down on racist players
Infinity Ward is clamping down further on racism in 'Call of Duty,' including more monitoring and better filtering.
Grindr will finally remove the app's ethnicity filter
Many users are asking why it's taken so long for Grindr to remove the ethnicity filter.
Amazon pulls racist images from AirPods listings
Amazon has removed a slew of racist images from listings for AirPods and other products in the UK.
Banjo CEO resigns to preserve the company's AI surveillance deals
Banjo's CEO has resigned to prevent his racist past from affecting the AI surveillance company's deals with Utah and others.
Utah pauses Banjo's AI surveillance after learning of owner's racist past
Utah authorities have put use of Banjo's surveillance tech on hold while they investigate for bias due to the owner's racist past.
Study says YouTube 'actively discourages' radicalism
Politicians and others complain that YouTube fosters extremism, but how caustic is it, really? Not all that much, according to researchers. Data scientist Mark Ledwich and UC Berkley researcher Anna Zaitsev have published a study suggesting that YouTube "actively discourages" radicalism through its recommendation system. Their reviewers classified over 760 politics-oriented channels based on overall leaning, topics and proximity to the mainstream, and found that YouTube removed "almost all" suggestions for conspiracy theorists, white identitarians and "provocateurs" (read: purposefully offensive creators). For the most part, there's only a significant likelihood of being matched with questionable content if you're already watching that material.
Federal study shows face recognition accuracy varies by gender and race
Researchers have studied the potential for bias in facial recognition algorithms before, but now it's the US government's turn to weigh in. The National Institute of Standards and Technology has published a study indicating "demographic differentials" in the majority of the facial recognition algorithms it tested. The report, which examined both one-to-one matching (such as verifying a passport photo) and one-to-many matching (looking for criminals in a crowd), saw noticeable surges in false positives based on gender, age and racial background -- but cautioned against this representing definitive proof of systemic bias.
Healthcare risk algorithm had 'significant racial bias'
There's more evidence of algorithms demonstrating racial bias. Researchers have determined that a "widely used" risk prediction algorithm from a major (but unnamed) healthcare provider had a "significant racial bias." While it didn't directly consider ethnicity, its emphasis on medical costs as bellwethers for health led to the code routinely underestimating the needs of black patients. A sicker black person would receive the same risk score as a healthier white person simply because of how much they could spend.
Germany synagogue shooter livestreamed attack on Twitch (updated)
Unfortunately, mass shooters are still livestreaming their attacks. Twitch has confirmed to CNBC that the shooter who attacked a synagogue in Halle, Germany was broadcasting the murders on its service. The company has pulled the 35-minute clip and reiterated its "zero-tolerance" policies against hate and violence, adding that it would ban anyone trying to repost the material.
Echo Fox co-owner sues team partners over fraud claims
The tumult at Echo Fox isn't subsiding any time soon. The esports team's co-owner Rick Fox has sued business partners Amit Raizada and Stratton Sclavos over allegations of both fraud as well as defamation stemming from the earlier racism claims. According to Fox, Raizada and Sclavos illegally profited off his name. Raizada supposedly misused Echo Fox's venture capital funds to both reward Sclavos for raising money and give himself both a $350,000 salary and cover the lease of his $20,000 per month Beverly Hills home. They also made it possible to oust general partners through a shareholder vote (albeit a supermajority) instead of a court order, which led to Rick Fox getting the boot in an August vote that will see him depart October 21st.
Echo Fox loses its pro 'League of Legends' franchise spot
Riot Games has announced that it will cut Echo Fox from its League of Legends Championship Series (LCS) after an incident of racism by a member of its ownership group went unaddressed. As part of an agreement between Riot and Echo Fox, LCS will sell the vacant slot and "provide the bulk of the proceeds from the sale to Echo Fox."
White House invites tech companies to discuss violent online extremism
The White House plans to host a meeting with tech companies to discuss the rise of violent online extremism. According to The Washington Post, this is the Trump administration's first major engagement on the issue after the recent mass shooting in Texas left 22 people dead. Trump is scheduled to be at fundraisers in the Hamptons, so he may not attend.
Two-thirds of online gamers in the US experience 'severe' harassment
It's no secret that online gaming can harbor toxic and abusive behavior. But a new survey by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) says as many as many as two-thirds of US online gamers have experienced "severe" harassment. More than half of the respondents said they've been targeted based on their race, religion, ability, gender, sexual orientation or ethnicity. Nearly 30 percent claim they've been doxxed in an online game, and nearly a quarter of respondents say they've been exposed to white supremacist ideology.
Twitter didn't flag Trump's racist tweets
Twitter said that it would label tweets from political figures that violate its rules, but it's not clear if the social network is applying that policy yet. CNET noted that Twitter hasn't labeled a series of President Trump tweets that are widely considered to be racist. The politician suggested that "Progressive Democrat Congresswomen" critical of his policies, like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rashida Tlaib, should go back to their "corrupt and inept" home countries. The not-so-subtle assertion, as you might gather, was that these non-white politicians weren't 'real' Americans.
YouTube declines to pull videos containing homophobic, racist attacks
YouTube is catching flak for an apparently inconsistent approach to tackling hate speech on its platform. The site has declined to remove videos from right-wing commentator Steven Crowder after Vox host Carlos Maza provided evidence of Crowder using targeted homophobic and racist speech over two years, including uses of offensive stereotypes. Maza noted that the attacks led to a "wall" of bigoted abuse on social networks, not to mention doxxing that led to hundreds of texts to his cellphone and a phone call. YouTube, however, claimed that Crowder hadn't violated any policies.
Twitter is researching whether white supremacists should stay on its site
Twitter has a longstanding problem with white supremacists on its platform, but is banning those racists the best option? Not necessarily, if you ask the social network. The company told Motherboard that it's researching how white supremacists use Twitter, and whether it would be better to ban them outright or keep them on to de-radicalize them through "counter-speech and conversation." The company can't say much about the study as it's working with academics bound by non-disclosure deals, but the aim was to see "what actually works," according to Twitter's Vijaya Gadde.
PewDiePie asks for end to 'subscribe' meme after synagogue shooting
PewDiePie (aka Felix Kjellberg) has largely left himself out of commentary on the effects of the "subscribe to PewDiePie" meme that has been circulating for months, but he's now weighing in. The YouTube star has posted a video calling on viewers to end the meme roughly a day after a shooter at a California synagogue referenced it in his screed. While he had already used Twitter to condemn the Christchurch, New Zealand mass shooter's reference in March, he realized the meme "should have ended then" and that more was necessary.
Racism accusations rock esports team Echo Fox
Former NBA star Rick Fox is leaving the esports team he owns, Echo Fox, after accusing a shareholder of an "abhorrent display of pure racism" and making threats to his family, according to an email obtained by Dexerto. Echo Fox has confirmed the incidents of racism, verifying the account in Fox's email, and the authoritative body behind North American League of Legends esports is investigating the allegations.
