Linked List: July 20, 2020

Monday, 20 July 2020

Mark Zuckerberg on Ridiculous and Crazy Ideas ★

Mike Allen, writing at Axios today:

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, under fire for allowing President Trump to post inflammatory statements on his platform, tells Axios there’s no truth to whispers that the two have a secret understanding.

Why it matters: Zuckerberg, facing a growing ad boycott from brands that say Facebook hasn’t done enough to curtail hate speech, has become increasingly public in criticizing Trump. “I’ve heard this speculation, too, so let me be clear: There’s no deal of any kind,” Zuckerberg told Axios. “Actually, the whole idea of a deal is pretty ridiculous.”

Zuckerberg in 2016, after Trump’s election:

“Personally I think the idea that fake news on Facebook, which is a very small amount of the content, influenced the election in any way — I think is a pretty crazy idea. Voters make decisions based on their lived experience.”

Zuckerberg in 2017:

“After the election, I made a comment that I thought the idea misinformation on Facebook changed the outcome of the election was a crazy idea. Calling that crazy was dismissive and I regret it.”

Astute point from Tony Romm, on Twitter:

No one said there was a deal. They said Facebook was acting kindly to Trump out of self interest.

There’s a lot of that going around.

How Facebook Handles Climate Disinformation ★

Veronica Penney, reporting last week for The New York Times:

All opinion content on the platform — including op-ed articles or posts that express the views or agendas of politicians, businesses, and nongovernmental organizations — is exempt from fact-checking. This policy has been in place since 2016, according to said Andy Stone, Facebook’s policy communications director. […]

According to Climate Feedback, the op-ed cherry-picked facts and compiled them in a deliberately misleading manner. You can read the full fact-check here.

John Podesta, an adviser to President Barack Obama who coordinated the administration’s climate policy, called Facebook’s opinion policy “a loophole that you can drive a Mack truck through.”

According to Mr. Stone, Facebook is most concerned with flagging or removing content that poses an immediate threat to human health and safety, including disinformation about the coronavirus or hate speech that incites violence. Climate change content, he said, does not fall within that category.

John Paczkowski:

The “imminent threat” loophole is just shameful BS.

Fact-Check of Viral Climate Misinformation Quietly Removed From Facebook ★

Judd Legum and Emily Atkin, jointly reporting for Popular Information and Heated:

Shortly after the email was sent to top Facebook executives, Science Feedback’s fact-check was removed from The Daily Wire article. According to Facebook’s policy, a rating should only be removed if: 1. The fact-checker determines their initial rating of the was wrong, or 2. The factual errors in the article are corrected.

In this case, neither occurred. Science Feedback is standing by its fact-check of The Daily Wire. It is still the featured fact-check on its homepage. And The Daily Wire did not correct the article. Instead, at the very bottom of the article, The Daily Wire briefly summarized Science Feedback’s fact-check and provided a link. […]

But Science Feedback removed the rating from The Daily Wire anyway. Emmanuel Vincent, the founder and director of Science Feedback, acknowledged that, normally, articles need “to be corrected with a prominent correction notice” to have a rating removed. Vincent said that, in this case, the link appended to the end of the article was “barely sufficient” because the initial rating was “partly false.”

Facebook ought to start putting dick quotes around “fact-check”, then they can just say they’re not really fact-checks, they’re just fake fact-checks.

WSJ: ‘Disney Slashed Ad Spending on Facebook Amid Growing Boycott’ ★

Suzanne Vranica, reporting for The Wall Street Journal (News+ link):

Walt Disney Co. has dramatically slashed its advertising spending on Facebook Inc., according to people familiar with the situation, the latest setback for the tech giant as it faces a boycott from companies upset with its handling of hate speech and divisive content.

Disney was Facebook’s top U.S. advertiser for the first six months of 2020, research firm Pathmatics Inc. estimates. It joins hundreds of other companies that have paused spending, including Unilever PLC, Starbucks Corp., Ford Motor Co., Verizon Communication Inc. and many small marketers.

In the first half of this year, Disney spent an estimated $210 million on Facebook ads for Disney+ in the U.S., according to Pathmatics. Disney was the biggest ad spender during that period. Last year, it was the No. 2 Facebook advertiser in the U.S., behind Home Depot Inc.

If you won’t advertise on Breitbart or The Daily Caller or Ben Shapiro’s Hate Club, why advertise on the social network that promotes them all?

The State of Google Pixel and My Own Very Brief Review of the Pixel 4 ★

Joe Maring, writing for Android Central:

I don’t expect Google to make phones that are flawless, but what I do wish is that its phones had a clear identity and purpose. This strategy of constantly changing plans and going back to the drawing board is hurting and turning users away, and given the limited scope of the Pixel brand in the first place, that’s not really something Google can afford.

Growing pains in the beginning were to be expected, as they would be for any company trying to make its own smartphone hardware for the first time. It’s now been four years, however, and Google seems to be even more lost with the Pixel than it was in 2016.

My basic theory is that Google, institutionally, is bored with Android — and if Google has lost interest in Android generally it’s going to lose interest in Pixels specifically.

I bought a Pixel 2 in 2017 and a Pixel 4 last fall. There’s a lot that’s nice about the hardware but the software is sloppy. My nutshell review of the experience of using a Pixel 4 can be summed up just by looking at this screenshot of my home screen (or this one with an alternate system font). “Instagr…”, “Podcas…”, “Play St…” — that’s how the home screen displays the names for Google’s own apps and Instagram, one of the most-used apps in the world.

Now imagine that the same lack of attention to detail that would lead to a home screen like this, where even Google’s own essential apps like Play Store have their names truncated hamfistedly, is applied to every aspect of the entire system. That’s what using Android on a Pixel 4 is like.

Marc Levoy, Former Head of Computational Photography at Google, Lands at Adobe ★

David Imel on Twitter:

Holy hell.

Just got word that Marc Levoy, who previously led Computational Photography at Google has just joined @Adobe as a VP and fellow to work on [computational photography] initiatives, as well as a “Universal Adobe Camera App”.

Bahamas Shuts Borders to U.S. Tourists Amid Spiking COVID Cases ★

Jacqueline Charles, reporting for The Miami Herald:

Less than three weeks after reopening its borders to international visitors, the Bahamas on Sunday announced that it is closing all of its airports and seaports to tourists from the United States, effective Wednesday.

51 years ago the United States landed men on the moon.

Today, thanks to President Trump and every goddamn idiot and/or bigot who voted for him, we’re not allowed to go to the Bahamas.

Marriott to Require Face Masks in All Hotels ★

Marriott:

Following American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA)’s “Safe Stay Guest Checklist” announcement last week, Marriott International will require all guests to wear a face covering in its hotels effective July 27.

How was this not the policy already, and why in the world is this not taking effect for another week?

Zoom to Sell 27-Inch Dedicated Appliance for $600 ★

Ron Miller, TechCrunch:

The device, dubbed the Zoom for Home — DTEN ME, is being produced by partner DTEN. It consists of a standalone 27-inch screen, essentially a large tablet equipped with three wide-angle cameras designed for high-resolution video and 8 microphones. Zoom software is pre-loaded on the device and the interface is designed to provide easy access to popular Zoom features.

Put aside the lunacy of buying hardware from a company with Zoom’s security and privacy track record — who has room in their home for a dedicated 27-inch display just for Zoom?