A look at the vast and mostly hidden “tasker” underclass, including subject-matter experts, hired by companies like Scale AI to annotate data for AI training
As the technology becomes ubiquitous, a vast tasker underclass is emerging — and not going anywhere. Bluesky: @sarahjeong.bsky.social , @knguyen.bsky.social , and @yoyoel.com Mastodon: @stshank@mstdn....
A look at the presentiment that social media is bad for society, as some researchers find the fears are overstated and others warn about effects on individuals
There's a general sense that it's bad for society—which may be right. But studies offer surprisingly few easy answers. Tweets: @brendannyhan , @kreissdaniel , @sivavaid , @kreissdaniel , @ayshardzn ,...
A look at the Xbox Series X and PS5 markets, as holiday shoppers navigate a world of “purchase bot” resellers, retail memberships, and social media tips
New York Times : Tweets: @kellen_browning , @ennisnyt , @bernstein , @jake_randall_yt , and @johnpaczkowski Tweets: Kellen Browning / @kellen_browning : Extreme supply chain shortages have spawned a ...
A look at the focus on disinformation by media, tech, and academic leaders, and how assumptions about disinfo effectiveness echo old media and advertising myths
In the beginning, there were ABC, NBC, and CBS, and they were good. Midcentury American man could come home after eight hours … Tweets: @karlbode , @karlbode , @daveyalba , @daphnehk , @noupside , @b...
Faith leaders across the US have turned to virtual tools, through which they offer individual counseling and stream services, homilies, and text studies
Joseph Bernstein / BuzzFeed News : Tweets: @bernstein , @dbnewsjournal , @katherinemiller , @algemeiner , @katherinemiller , @dbnewsjournal , @atossaaraxia , @bernstein , @vanvocations , @bernstein ,...
A look at Clearview AI, a facial recognition app claiming it scraped 3B+ images from sites like Facebook, YouTube, and that 600+ law enforcement agencies use it
A little-known start-up helps law enforcement match photos of unknown people to their online images — and “might lead to a dystopian future or something,” a backer says. Tweets: @kashhill , @nytimes ,...
Profile of PewDiePie covering his relationships with YouTube and mainstream media, as he tries to shed his reputation as a far-right sympathizer
The biggest YouTuber in the world has been accused of being a closet white nationalist and even inspiring mass shootings. He says it's all a misunderstanding. Tweets: @kevinroose , @chronotope , @drb...
A look at a dispute among Wikipedia administrators and some on the Wikimedia Foundation board after a prolific, long-serving administrator was banned for a year
The once-derided open-source encyclopedia is the closest thing the internet has to an oasis of truth. Tweets: @zoeblade , @redlightvoices , @petersuber , @bernstein , @shinyemptyhead , @buzzfeednews ,...
Survey of 1,000 tech industry workers: 51% believe “Trump has a point when it comes to the media producing fake news” and 59% favor working with the US military
A new study by BuzzFeed News and Lucid surveyed tech workers on their attitudes toward the media. Tweets: @anandwrites , @wesyang , @emilybell , @carnage4life , @cequirk , @bernstein , @went1955 , @ma...
A look at the human cost of Facebook's rise in the Philippines: truth matters less, propaganda is ubiquitous, lives are wrecked, and some have died as a result
In August 2016, a handful of crude images began circulating widely throughout Facebook's Filipino community … Tweets: @daveyalba , @dcurtis , @histoftech , @kevinroose , @cwarzel , @buzzfeednews , @si...