theverge--2020-07-01--TuSimple is laying the groundwork for a coast-to-coast autonomous trucking network

Autonomous trucking startup TuSimple is joining forces with big logistics providers as it seeks to bolster its delivery capabilities .
The company announced it will be working with UPS , Xpress Enterprises , Penske Trucking , and Berkshire Hathaway-owned grocery and food-service distributor McLane to lay the foundation for a coast-to-coast autonomous trucking network .
TuSimple aims to be making nearly 100 delivery runs a week , doubling its current number of freight hauls , but the ramp-up will take place over the next four years .
The company will start by building on its existing partnership with UPS hauling @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Arizona , adding cities in Texas like El Paso , Dallas , Houston , and San Antonio .
This fall , TuSimple says it will open a new shipping terminal in Dallas , allowing the self-driving truck company to service customers in the “ Texas triangle.
” Starting in 2022 , TuSimple says it will connect the East Coast with the West by offering service between Los Angeles and Jacksonville , Florida .
And by 2023 , the company will expand operations nationwide by adding major shipping routes throughout the lower 48 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ TuSimple claims it will eventually expand operations to Europe and China .
“ Our ultimate goal is to have a nationwide transportation network consisting of mapped routes connecting hundreds of terminals to enable efficient , low-cost long-haul autonomous freight operations , ” said Cheng Lu , TuSimple ’ s president , in a statement .
Founded in 2015 , TuSimple uses Navistar trucks outfitted with the startup ’ s own self-driving tech , which sees the world largely through nine cameras .
The company also uses LIDAR , as can be seen in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ already backed by Nvidia and Chinese technology company Sina , and it has a headquarters in San Diego and Beijing .
UPS also has a minority stake in the company .
But expansions take money — lots of money .
Last week , TechCrunch reported that TuSimple hired investment bank Morgan Stanley to help it raise an additional $ 250 million from investors .
Since its inception , the company has raised $ 298 million with a valuation of more than $ 1 billion .
TuSimple is aiming for a fully driverless system @ @ @ @ @ @ @ human operator to take over driving when needed .
Autonomous trucking is starting to emerge from the shadow of the much larger robotaxi industry , especially as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to cast doubt on the efficacy of shared ride-hailing .
Alphabet ’ s Waymo has been testing its self-driving tractor trailers in Georgia and Texas , and it ’ s also working with UPS .
Other companies , from established players like Daimler to newcomers like Ike , Embark , and Plus.ai , are also working toward a fully driverless truck .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ hauling for everyone .
Uber abandoned its self-driving truck plans after one of its self-driving cars killed a pedestrian in Arizona , and Starsky Robotics recently went out of business after a failed round of funding .

Autonomous trucking startup TuSimple is joining forces with big logistics providers as it seeks to bolster its delivery capabilities. The company announced it will be working with UPS, Xpress Enterprises, Penske Truck Leasing, and Berkshire Hathaway-owned grocery and food-service distributor McLane to lay the foundation for a coast-to-coast autonomous trucking network.
TuSimple aims to be making nearly 100 delivery runs a week, doubling its current number of freight hauls, but the ramp-up will take place over the next four years. The company will start by building on its existing partnership with UPS hauling cargo for it between Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona, adding cities in Texas like El Paso, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. This fall, TuSimple says it will open a new shipping terminal in Dallas, allowing the self-driving truck company to service customers in the “Texas triangle.”
coast-to-coast autonomous trucking network
Starting in 2022, TuSimple says it will connect the East Coast with the West by offering service between Los Angeles and Jacksonville, Florida. And by 2023, the company will expand operations nationwide by adding major shipping routes throughout the lower 48 states. If all goes well, TuSimple claims it will eventually expand operations to Europe and China.
“Our ultimate goal is to have a nationwide transportation network consisting of mapped routes connecting hundreds of terminals to enable efficient, low-cost long-haul autonomous freight operations,” said Cheng Lu, TuSimple’s president, in a statement.
Founded in 2015, TuSimple uses Navistar trucks outfitted with the startup’s own self-driving tech, which sees the world largely through nine cameras. The company also uses LIDAR, as can be seen in this promotional video:
The startup is already backed by Nvidia and Chinese technology company Sina, and it has a headquarters in San Diego and Beijing. UPS also has a minority stake in the company. But expansions take money — lots of money. Last week, TechCrunch reported that TuSimple hired investment bank Morgan Stanley to help it raise an additional $250 million from investors. Since its inception, the company has raised $298 million with a valuation of more than $1 billion.
TuSimple is aiming for a fully driverless system, but currently its trucks include a human operator to take over driving when needed.
Autonomous trucking is starting to emerge from the shadow of the much larger robotaxi industry, especially as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to cast doubt on the efficacy of shared ride-hailing. Alphabet’s Waymo has been testing its self-driving tractor trailers in Arizona and California, and soon will be testing in New Mexico and Texas. The company is also working with UPS. Other companies, from established players like Daimler to newcomers like Ike, Embark, and Plus.ai, are also working toward a fully driverless truck.


theverge--2020-07-02--How I hosted my first charity stream, and how you can host one, too

Congratulations !
The world is falling apart ( or at least feels like it ’ s falling apart ) , and you ’ ve decided to do something about it .
That ’ s a commendable urge .
Here ’ s where I tell you that you ’ ve also decided to do something very hard .
Hosting a charity stream ( on Twitch , YouTube , or on any other platform ) is much more difficult than hosting a regular live stream , mostly because charity streams involve more moving parts — there ’ s the charity , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ obviously , anything else you ’ re doing to make the experience special for your viewers .
And it will be !
More than anything , charity streams are about sharing a moment with the people who tune in .
You will be overwhelmed , and it will be glorious .
The other beautiful thing about charity streams is that they ’ re infectious ; gamers like to watch numbers go up , sure , but the contagious part is the feeling of collective action , of creating something together .
“ It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the bells and whistles.
” And anyone can do it !
“ It doesn ’ t have to be super in depth , it doesn ’ t have to have all the bells and whistles , ” says Kienna Shaw , a Canadian tabletop roleplaying game creator and longtime charity stream producer .
“ Honestly , you could just set up a few chat commands , set up exactly how the donation logistics are going to go , and then stream just as you normally would.
” With all that said , here @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you ’ re planning your own charity stream .
Some things to consider The first order of business should be obvious : this is when you choose a charity to support .
This is the most important part of your charity stream because this is your personal endorsement of this particular cause or organization ’ s work .
It ’ s important to be clear about where you ’ re directing people ’ s money and what you believe .
As a streamer , you should be able to talk about that cogently @ @ @ @ @ @ @ re going to need to figure out what you want your stream to look like .
If you ’ re new to the genre , I suggest watching a few from people you like who have run successful charity streams already to get an idea of what a finished stream looks like .
Remember to set realistic goals .
Don ’ t , say , make your goal $ 10,000 if you aren ’ t yourself ready to donate $ 10,000 to your cause — nobody who tunes in is ever required to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the more complicated these things tend to get , at least from a production standpoint .
You should aim to make something as polished as it possibly can be while also understanding that what you ’ re doing is actually just producing live television .
Which is to say : it ’ s hard , and things will probably go wrong when you ’ re live .
Once you ’ ve got the scope of your stream figured out , it ’ s time to actually start the work .
There are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they all depend on the charity you ’ ve chosen to fundraise for .
A lot of charities and nonprofit organizations aren ’ t set up yet to do peer-to-peer fundraising for a variety of reasons — some , for example , would rather rely on recurring donations , and others just aren ’ t aware that Twitch and other live-streaming sites can be a reliable source of income .
Whatever the case , it ’ s important to figure all of this out beforehand because it ’ s going to affect the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ way to send donations from your viewers to a charity is via Tiltify , a charity portal that integrates directly with your Twitch channel .
It ’ s basically plug ‘ n ’ play : you choose your charity , you fill out some details , and you ’ re basically ready to go .
Services like Tiltify are easier , but they come with limitations — and a cost You ’ ll have to fiddle with some settings in your streaming software to get the overlays to show up on stream , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ way to raise money for an organization .
You can create milestones and incentives directly from Tiltify ’ s dashboard , and customizing the service ’ s overlays isn ’ t difficult .
Tiltify does , however , take a 5 percent cut of whatever money you raise , and not every charity has an account with the site .
Streamlabs has a similar feature , too , though it ’ s exclusive to Streamlabs ’ software .
And while Streamlabs doesn ’ t take a cut of the money you ’ re @ @ @ @ @ @ @ up many charities yet .
The second way to donate your viewers ’ money is less direct , although it works with every single charity and nonprofit organization : you can have your viewers donate directly to a charity and then verify their receipts .
It ’ s a little more work on your end — someone who ’ s not the streamer has to verify receipts and update goals , etc .
— but 100 percent of every donation goes directly to the organizations you ’ re supporting .
Viewers will post @ @ @ @ @ @ @ place ( e.g.
, a Discord ) , and then someone else will make sure the donation looks legit and update the progress bar .
( Yes , there is a potential for people to fake donations .
If you find yourself faking donations to a charity , please take a long , hard look at your life . )
The third way to collect donations is to have people donate directly to you , after which you then disburse the funds to a charity yourself .
Though it ’ s viable , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you have to be both accountable to your viewers and accountable on your taxes — because , for the purposes of the Internal Revenue Service , that money you ’ re raising for charity is income .
Don ’ t be a scammer .
There are , of course , other , hackier ways to run a charity stream .
For example , you could set up a fundraising page on GiveLively ( disclosure : my current partner works here ) or maybe even look into running a GoFundMe or a GiveButter .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ — the stream does .
For the first charity stream I did , I used GiveLively to set up a fundraising page for The Bail Project ; it worked perfectly .
We raised some money , donated some money , and had a good time doing it .
Every charity stream is different , but they have a lot in common .
The charity part , obviously , but also the basic elements involved : the donation goals and the incentives to hit those goals .
These are the “ bells and whistles @ @ @ @ @ @ @ charity stream producer — mentioned , and can include classic stuff like donated merch giveaways or something more elaborate like custom graphics that play when certain amounts of money are donated .
If you ’ re planning for your stream to be slightly more elaborate , I think the most important features to consider are length , guests , and a donation thermometer .
Test extensively before you go live When it comes to your fundraiser ’ s length , you ’ ll probably want your charity stream to feel like an event @ @ @ @ @ @ @ re tuning into something special .
A great way to do that is to just stream for a longer time than you normally do .
( Think : telethon .
Bring that energy . )
Having guests on your stream is smart because they ’ ll keep your energy up , and they ’ ll introduce their audiences to the charity that you ’ re donating to ; it also breaks the time you ’ re planning to stream into more manageable chunks .
A six-hour marathon stream can be turned into three @ @ @ @ @ @ @ guests .
Getting guests into your stream is just a matter of configuring Discord ( or Zoom , or , if you like living on the edge , Skype ) .
It ’ s as easy as getting someone to call in .
To that end , I ’ d recommend using software you ’ re familiar with that also plays well with whatever software you ’ re using to stream .
Test extensively before you go live !
Remember to shout out the charity you ’ re raising money for regularly Donation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who tunes in exactly how far away you are from your goal .
The tech that will allow you to build a thermometer isn ’ t exactly off the shelf — unless you ’ re using something like Tiltify or Streamlabs .
For my second charity stream , I enlisted two programmers and one designer to make a beautiful one .
The main thing to keep in mind is that the stream is not about you ; it ’ s about the cause you ’ ve chosen to support .
“ Charity streaming @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people patting on the back and telling you how good of a job you did , ” Shaw says .
( They also wrote an excellent guide to charity streaming , which you can find here . )
Remember to shout out the charity you ’ re raising money for regularly and to stay on top of updating your goal as the stream progresses .
The other critical thing : don ’ t get discouraged .
“ Oftentimes you ’ ll kind of see the numbers as a newcomer streamer or charity streamer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ because you have a concept of what goal you want to hit — which you might not , ” Shaw says .
“ But I think a huge part of it is remembering that it doesn ’ t matter how much you raise , it matters that you did something.
” After you have the tech and design squared away and after you ’ ve picked a charity to support , the last thing to do is promote your stream .
That means publicizing the guest list , dropping the link on your @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more .
I think the best way to attract people is to post about the stream starting about a week before you go live .
If you ’ re curious , here ’ s how I did it It was a process .
I ran my first charity stream on June 1st , which was a beta test for the stream me and a slightly different group of people ran on June 7th .
For that first beta stream , I tested donation models — I ended up setting up a fundraiser page @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of guests to play the Spelunky-ish roguelike Vagante , who were kind enough to donate their time to the stream .
I set a $ 300 goal , and we blew past it ; by the end of the stream , which was a few hours long , we ’ d raised more than $ 3,400 for The Bail Project , an organization that ’ s dedicated to combating mass incarceration by bailing people out of jail .
My first charity stream was a beta test , and it showed me how hard @ @ @ @ @ @ @ into a few problems , though , mostly related to the fact that I was both running the stream and hosting it .
I learned I needed both more computing power — running a game and streaming video from the same PC isn ’ t kind to my machine — and more time to think through what I wanted a stream to look like .
I didn ’ t , for example , have a donation thermometer because I couldn ’ t figure out a way to integrate the donation page I was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ But it was a successful test , if only because it showed me how hard it is to run a charity stream and reinforced that the actually important part was getting people to care about the cause .
That ’ s how I decided to do it again .
During the week between June 1st and June 7th , I got a team of producers together — friends who are great with technology and good at logistics — and we started to plan .
The first thing I did was come up with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1312 Stream , and it was explicitly about raising money to abolish the carceral state .
Afterward , me and my team figured out the scope .
Initially , I wanted to have a bunch of guests play a ton of different video games , like Jackbox and Vagante ; after some tech testing , me and my technical producer Rob figured out that video games ( yes , as a category ) were going to be difficult to stream .
Jackbox was running poorly , and Rob also wanted a game he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ himself because he was running everything else behind the scenes .
Meanwhile , I was coordinating with our creative producer , Olivia , to figure out the stream branding .
Stream branding is important because you want it to stand out against the blur of social media , and also don ’ t you want your event to feel special ?
We ended up with muted purple on a pink background , which she expanded into a number of assets sized for various screens and platforms : Instagram , Twitter , and the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , was wrangling guests , which I did after Rob and I figured out exactly what the plan for our stream was .
We landed on a multi-part scheme with a co-host — the brilliant and hilarious Akilah Hughes — who ’ d help me keep things moving .
The stream itself featured Hey Robot , a one-shot I wrote of the TTRPG Lasers & Feelings , and the return of Vagante with the same guests from that first beta stream .
After all of that was mostly settled , Rob and I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — Black & Pink , a nonprofit that advocates for prison abolition and supports LGBTQ and HIV positive inmates , and The National Bail Fund Network , which disburses money to more than 60 local bail funds .
At the same time , Rob and Olivia coordinated with a couple of programmers to design and build a beautiful thermometer to track donations .
Because Black & Pink and The National Bail Fund Network were not on Tiltify , we used an Airtable form where people could submit their receipts after donating and my @ @ @ @ @ @ @ live so they ’ d register on the thermometer at the same time .
Rob created a Google Sheet timing out every specific block and then , on the day of the stream , scheduled a series of final tech and lighting tests for our guests .
We were using Zoom to create green rooms , which would then be taken live .
After that , it was showtime .
I set our initial goal for $ 400 , and five and a half hours later , we ended up with $ 23,537.69 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t really know how or why it worked ; I only know that it did .
The guests were wonderful and gracious , and my co-host was perfect .
The viewers , however , made the stream .
They kept our energy up and donated a frankly incredible amount of money .
By the end , I felt like I was mostly just a conductor because , by then , it had its own momentum .
It felt alive .
And you can do all this , too .
Before we went live @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we had leading up to the stream , Rob told me that we were using our “ dumbass super power ” — our collective ability to get people to pay attention to something for the right reasons , which put things into perspective for me .
Charity streaming is all about deciding to use your powers for good .

Congratulations! The world is falling apart (or at least feels like it’s falling apart), and you’ve decided to do something about it. That’s a commendable urge. Here’s where I tell you that you’ve also decided to do something very hard. Hosting a charity stream (on Twitch, YouTube, or on any other platform) is much more difficult than hosting a regular live stream, mostly because charity streams involve more moving parts — there’s the charity, the donation flow, guests, and, obviously, anything else you’re doing to make the experience special for your viewers.
And it will be! More than anything, charity streams are about sharing a moment with the people who tune in. You will be overwhelmed, and it will be glorious. The other beautiful thing about charity streams is that they’re infectious; gamers like to watch numbers go up, sure, but the contagious part is the feeling of collective action, of creating something together.
“It doesn’t have to have all the bells and whistles.”
And anyone can do it! “It doesn’t have to be super in depth, it doesn’t have to have all the bells and whistles,” says Kienna Shaw, a Canadian tabletop roleplaying game creator and longtime charity stream producer. “Honestly, you could just set up a few chat commands, set up exactly how the donation logistics are going to go, and then stream just as you normally would.”
With all that said, here are some things to think about when you’re planning your own charity stream.
Some things to consider
The first order of business should be obvious: this is when you choose a charity to support. This is the most important part of your charity stream because this is your personal endorsement of this particular cause or organization’s work. It’s important to be clear about where you’re directing people’s money and what you believe. As a streamer, you should be able to talk about that cogently on stream.
Then, you’re going to need to figure out what you want your stream to look like. If you’re new to the genre, I suggest watching a few from people you like who have run successful charity streams already to get an idea of what a finished stream looks like. Remember to set realistic goals. Don’t, say, make your goal $10,000 if you aren’t yourself ready to donate $10,000 to your cause — nobody who tunes in is ever required to donate.
The more people you involve, the more complicated these things tend to get, at least from a production standpoint. You should aim to make something as polished as it possibly can be while also understanding that what you’re doing is actually just producing live television. Which is to say: it’s hard, and things will probably go wrong when you’re live.
Once you’ve got the scope of your stream figured out, it’s time to actually start the work.
Donations
There are three ways to collect donations, and they all depend on the charity you’ve chosen to fundraise for. A lot of charities and nonprofit organizations aren’t set up yet to do peer-to-peer fundraising for a variety of reasons — some, for example, would rather rely on recurring donations, and others just aren’t aware that Twitch and other live-streaming sites can be a reliable source of income. Whatever the case, it’s important to figure all of this out beforehand because it’s going to affect the way you collect donations.
Plug ‘n’ play
The easiest way to send donations from your viewers to a charity is via Tiltify, a charity portal that integrates directly with your Twitch channel. It’s basically plug ‘n’ play: you choose your charity, you fill out some details, and you’re basically ready to go.
Services like Tiltify are easier, but they come with limitations — and a cost
You’ll have to fiddle with some settings in your streaming software to get the overlays to show up on stream, but it is by far the simplest way to raise money for an organization. You can create milestones and incentives directly from Tiltify’s dashboard, and customizing the service’s overlays isn’t difficult.
Tiltify does, however, take a 5 percent cut of whatever money you raise, and not every charity has an account with the site. Streamlabs has a similar feature, too, though it’s exclusive to Streamlabs’ software. And while Streamlabs doesn’t take a cut of the money you’re raising, it hasn’t signed up many charities yet.
Collect receipts
The second way to donate your viewers’ money is less direct, although it works with every single charity and nonprofit organization: you can have your viewers donate directly to a charity and then verify their receipts.
It’s a little more work on your end — someone who’s not the streamer has to verify receipts and update goals, etc. — but 100 percent of every donation goes directly to the organizations you’re supporting. Viewers will post screenshots of their donations in a designated place (e.g., a Discord), and then someone else will make sure the donation looks legit and update the progress bar. (Yes, there is a potential for people to fake donations. If you find yourself faking donations to a charity, please take a long, hard look at your life.)
Your own pocket
The third way to collect donations is to have people donate directly to you, after which you then disburse the funds to a charity yourself. Though it’s viable, it’s the riskiest option: you have to be both accountable to your viewers and accountable on your taxes — because, for the purposes of the Internal Revenue Service, that money you’re raising for charity is income. Don’t be a scammer.
There are, of course, other, hackier ways to run a charity stream. For example, you could set up a fundraising page on GiveLively (disclosure: my current partner works here) or maybe even look into running a GoFundMe or a GiveButter. The method doesn’t really matter — the stream does. For the first charity stream I did, I used GiveLively to set up a fundraising page for The Bail Project; it worked perfectly. We raised some money, donated some money, and had a good time doing it.
Best practices
Every charity stream is different, but they have a lot in common. The charity part, obviously, but also the basic elements involved: the donation goals and the incentives to hit those goals. These are the “bells and whistles” that Shaw — the TTRPG and charity stream producer — mentioned, and can include classic stuff like donated merch giveaways or something more elaborate like custom graphics that play when certain amounts of money are donated.
If you’re planning for your stream to be slightly more elaborate, I think the most important features to consider are length, guests, and a donation thermometer.
Test extensively before you go live
When it comes to your fundraiser’s length, you’ll probably want your charity stream to feel like an event to make people feel like they’re tuning into something special. A great way to do that is to just stream for a longer time than you normally do. (Think: telethon. Bring that energy.)
Having guests on your stream is smart because they’ll keep your energy up, and they’ll introduce their audiences to the charity that you’re donating to; it also breaks the time you’re planning to stream into more manageable chunks. A six-hour marathon stream can be turned into three two-hour chunks with a number of different guests.
Getting guests into your stream is just a matter of configuring Discord (or Zoom, or, if you like living on the edge, Skype). It’s as easy as getting someone to call in. To that end, I’d recommend using software you’re familiar with that also plays well with whatever software you’re using to stream. Test extensively before you go live!
Remember to shout out the charity you’re raising money for regularly
Donation thermometers are important because they show everyone who tunes in exactly how far away you are from your goal. The tech that will allow you to build a thermometer isn’t exactly off the shelf — unless you’re using something like Tiltify or Streamlabs. For my second charity stream, I enlisted two programmers and one designer to make a beautiful one.
The main thing to keep in mind is that the stream is not about you; it’s about the cause you’ve chosen to support. “Charity streaming should be an end, not about people patting on the back and telling you how good of a job you did,” Shaw says. (They also wrote an excellent guide to charity streaming, which you can find here.) Remember to shout out the charity you’re raising money for regularly and to stay on top of updating your goal as the stream progresses.
The other critical thing: don’t get discouraged. “Oftentimes you’ll kind of see the numbers as a newcomer streamer or charity streamer, and might feel a little discouraged because you have a concept of what goal you want to hit — which you might not,” Shaw says. “But I think a huge part of it is remembering that it doesn’t matter how much you raise, it matters that you did something.”
After you have the tech and design squared away and after you’ve picked a charity to support, the last thing to do is promote your stream. That means publicizing the guest list, dropping the link on your most prominent social media accounts, and more. I think the best way to attract people is to post about the stream starting about a week before you go live.
If you’re curious, here’s how I did it
It was a process. I ran my first charity stream on June 1st, which was a beta test for the stream me and a slightly different group of people ran on June 7th. For that first beta stream, I tested donation models — I ended up setting up a fundraiser page on GiveLively — and assembled a team of guests to play the Spelunky-ish roguelike Vagante, who were kind enough to donate their time to the stream. I set a $300 goal, and we blew past it; by the end of the stream, which was a few hours long, we’d raised more than $3,400 for The Bail Project, an organization that’s dedicated to combating mass incarceration by bailing people out of jail.
My first charity stream was a beta test, and it showed me how hard it is to run one
I ran into a few problems, though, mostly related to the fact that I was both running the stream and hosting it. I learned I needed both more computing power — running a game and streaming video from the same PC isn’t kind to my machine — and more time to think through what I wanted a stream to look like. I didn’t, for example, have a donation thermometer because I couldn’t figure out a way to integrate the donation page I was using with the streaming software OBS. But it was a successful test, if only because it showed me how hard it is to run a charity stream and reinforced that the actually important part was getting people to care about the cause.
That’s how I decided to do it again. During the week between June 1st and June 7th, I got a team of producers together — friends who are great with technology and good at logistics — and we started to plan. The first thing I did was come up with a concept: I called it The 1312 Stream, and it was explicitly about raising money to abolish the carceral state. Afterward, me and my team figured out the scope. Initially, I wanted to have a bunch of guests play a ton of different video games, like Jackbox and Vagante; after some tech testing, me and my technical producer Rob figured out that video games (yes, as a category) were going to be difficult to stream. Jackbox was running poorly, and Rob also wanted a game he could host and spectate but not play himself because he was running everything else behind the scenes.
Meanwhile, I was coordinating with our creative producer, Olivia, to figure out the stream branding. Stream branding is important because you want it to stand out against the blur of social media, and also don’t you want your event to feel special? We ended up with muted purple on a pink background, which she expanded into a number of assets sized for various screens and platforms: Instagram, Twitter, and the like.
My main job, however, was wrangling guests, which I did after Rob and I figured out exactly what the plan for our stream was. We landed on a multi-part scheme with a co-host — the brilliant and hilarious Akilah Hughes — who’d help me keep things moving. The stream itself featured Hey Robot, a one-shot I wrote of the TTRPG Lasers & Feelings, and the return of Vagante with the same guests from that first beta stream.
After all of that was mostly settled, Rob and I picked the organizations we wanted to support — Black & Pink, a nonprofit that advocates for prison abolition and supports LGBTQ and HIV positive inmates, and The National Bail Fund Network, which disburses money to more than 60 local bail funds. At the same time, Rob and Olivia coordinated with a couple of programmers to design and build a beautiful thermometer to track donations. Because Black & Pink and The National Bail Fund Network were not on Tiltify, we used an Airtable form where people could submit their receipts after donating and my team of mods could approve those screenshots live so they’d register on the thermometer at the same time.
Rob created a Google Sheet timing out every specific block and then, on the day of the stream, scheduled a series of final tech and lighting tests for our guests. We were using Zoom to create green rooms, which would then be taken live. After that, it was showtime. I set our initial goal for $400, and five and a half hours later, we ended up with $23,537.69. Fuck yeah.
I don’t really know how or why it worked; I only know that it did. The guests were wonderful and gracious, and my co-host was perfect. The viewers, however, made the stream. They kept our energy up and donated a frankly incredible amount of money. By the end, I felt like I was mostly just a conductor because, by then, it had its own momentum. It felt alive.


theverge--2020-07-02--Go read this story about a mystery shopper creating confusion across the web

For over a year , a mystery shopper known only as “ John Smith ” has been creating confusion across the web .
He ’ s repeatedly visited numerous online stores , ranging from auto supply shops to home goods merchants , placed single items in multiple shopping baskets , and then left without buying anything .
The Wall Street Journal has the story of the mysterious shopper , and it ’ s well worth reading to get to the bottom of what ’ s been happening .
The remarkable thing about John Smith is just how relentless his online @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a recent Wednesday , he went on a spree lasting a total of 48 hours .
One screenshot shared by FinnBinn , an online store that sells boxes for newborns to sleep in , shows 17 abandoned shopping carts from a period of just three days in April .
It perplexed the company ’ s CEO Shawn Bercuson who had multiple theories about where the orders were coming from .
Then it got even worse : The aborted purchases painted an interesting picture of John Smith , as Jeffrey Gornstein from ComfortHouse.com , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : Mr. Gornstein said he can ’ t picture John Smith but has sketched out an identity based on his purchases .
He ’ s a boat owner , or knows one , based on personalized picture frames designed for just such a person .
An order for monogrammed leather checkbooks indicates he may prefer an old-fashioned way of paying bills .
The coccyx cushion in his cart suggests he may have suffered a fall .
He ’ s also a romantic , if an attempt to buy a Valentine ’ s Day @ @ @ @ @ @ @ John Smith ’ s story would be more amusing if he wasn ’ t creating problems for the stores .
Sites that automatically send follow-up emails to people when they leave unpurchased items in their shopping carts have received error replies from their email providers about sending emails to nonexistent accounts .
Others reported that the abandoned carts skewed their store ’ s analytics .
We don ’ t want to spoil it here , but you ’ ll be happy to know that The Wall Street Journal does eventually manage to get @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mystery .
It ’ s a great little investigation , and we ’ d recommend giving it a read .

Mr. Gornstein said he can’t picture John Smith but has sketched out an identity based on his purchases. He’s a boat owner, or knows one, based on personalized picture frames designed for just such a person. An order for monogrammed leather checkbooks indicates he may prefer an old-fashioned way of paying bills. The coccyx cushion in his cart suggests he may have suffered a fall.
He’s also a romantic, if an attempt to buy a Valentine’s Day wall plaque is to be believed.


theverge--2020-07-02--Tesla delivers 90,650 vehicles despite pandemic and factory shutdown

Tesla said on Thursday that it was able to deliver 90,650 vehicles during the last quarter , despite its Fremont , California factory being partially shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic .
Wall Street analysts had expected the electric automaker to only deliver about 72,000 vehicles during the last three months , according to CNBC .
This was the second consecutive quarter of better-than-expected delivery numbers from Tesla .
The company delivered 88,400 vehicles in Q1 of 2020 , down from the fourth quarter of 2019 , when Tesla shipped around 112,000 vehicles .
This was the second consecutive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it delivered 80,050 of its Models 3 and Y vehicles and 10,600 of its Models S and X vehicles .
“ While our main factory in Fremont was shut down for much of the quarter , we have successfully ramped production back to prior levels , ” Tesla said in a press release .
The reopening of Tesla ’ s only US-based vehicle manufacturing facility was shrouded in controversy due to CEO Elon Musk ’ s decision to resume production in defiance of county health officials .
Musk also sued the county where @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about the virus .
Musk was accused of creating a “ public health risk ” by reopening his factory before authorized .

Tesla said on Thursday that it was able to deliver 90,650 vehicles during the last quarter, despite its Fremont, California factory being partially shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic. Wall Street analysts had expected the electric automaker to only deliver about 72,000 vehicles during the last three months, according to CNBC.
This was the second consecutive quarter of better-than-expected delivery numbers from Tesla. The company delivered 88,400 vehicles in Q1 of 2020, down from the fourth quarter of 2019, when Tesla shipped around 112,000 vehicles.
This was the second consecutive quarter of better-than-expected delivery numbers
Tesla said it delivered 80,050 of its Models 3 and Y vehicles and 10,600 of its Models S and X vehicles. “While our main factory in Fremont was shut down for much of the quarter, we have successfully ramped production back to prior levels,” Tesla said in a press release.
The deliveries come a day after Tesla CEO Elon Musk sent out an e-mail congratulating his employees on their “amazing” execution “in such difficult times.” Musk also predicted the company could break even when it reports its Q2 financial figures later in July. In response, Tesla’s stock soared to its highest level yet. On Wednesday, Tesla’s valuation edged above Toyota’s, despite its sales only representing a tiny fraction of the Japanese auto giant.
The reopening of Tesla’s only US-based vehicle manufacturing facility was shrouded in controversy due to Musk’s decision to resume production in defiance of county health officials. Musk also sued the county where the factory is located and spread misinformation about the virus.


theverge--2020-07-02--Facebook will pin voting registration links to the top of the News Feed for all US voters

Facebook will pin a box with information about voter registration on the top of the News Feed for every US user who is of voting age starting tomorrow , July 3rd , the company announced today .
The box , once it ’ s live , will show you information about how to register to vote , including a link to your state ’ s registration website or to a nonpartisan partner if your state doesn ’ t have voter information readily available online .
Here ’ s what you can expect it to look like on your phone : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ president of global affairs and communications , first announced the voting boxes would be showing up on top of the News Feed in an open letter published on Wednesday .
Facebook says it will host more registration drives on Facebook , Instagram , and Messenger this summer .
The company ’ s goal is to help 4 million people register to vote , CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a June 17th op-ed in USA Today , which would be up from the 2 million people the company says it helped register in 2016 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and in a democracy the ultimate way we do that is through voting , ” Zuckerberg wrote in the op-ed .
On June 17th , Facebook also launched a new “ Voting Information Center , ” which has information about voter registration , how to request an absentee or mail-in ballot ( if that ’ s an option in your state ) , announcements and alerts from local election authorities , and more .
As part of that announcement , Facebook also said it was rolling out the ability for users to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , electoral or political ads from candidates , Super PACs or other organizations that have the ‘ Paid for by ’ political disclaimer on them .
”

Facebook will pin a box with information about voter registration on the top of the News Feed for every US user who is of voting age starting tomorrow, July 3rd, the company announced today.
The box, once it’s live, will show you information about how to register to vote, including a link to your state’s registration website or to a nonpartisan partner if your state doesn’t have voter information readily available online. Here’s what you can expect it to look like on your phone:
Image: Facebook
Nick Clegg, Facebook’s vice president of global affairs and communications, first announced the voting boxes would be showing up on top of the News Feed in an open letter published on Wednesday.
Facebook says it will host more registration drives on Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger this summer. The company’s goal is to help 4 million people register to vote, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a June 17th op-ed in USA Today, which would be up from the 2 million people the company says it helped register in 2016 and 2018. “People want accountability, and in a democracy the ultimate way we do that is through voting,” Zuckerberg wrote in the op-ed.


theverge--2020-07-02--Facebook’s TikTok clone Lasso will shut down this month

Facebook is shutting down Lasso , the heavily TikTok-inspired video app it launched back in 2018 .
CNN ’ s Kerry Flynn spotted the notifications being sent to users , telling them that the app won ’ t be usable after July 10th , and advising them to download any videos they want to keep .
Ex-TechCrunch editor Josh Constine notes that Facebook appears to be shutting down Lasso as its focus shifts to Instagram ’ s Reels feature .
Reels is a video editing tool that lets users record and edit TikTok-style videos which they can then post to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , or post to a new section of the Explore tab called Top Reels .
The feature launched in Brazil last year and expanded to France and Germany last week , according to TechCrunch .
Lasso was only ever available in select markets worldwide .
TechCrunch reports that as well as being available in the US , the app was also available in Colombia , Mexico , Argentina , Chile , Peru , Panama , Costa Rica , El Salvador , Ecuador , and Uruguay as of February .
Lasso isn ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ due to shut down on July 10th .
Yesterday , TechCrunch reported that Facebook is also shutting down Hobbi , an experimental Pinterest-like app designed to help people document personal projects .
Hobbi was the work of Facebook ’ s New Product Experimentation team , and only launched back in February of this year .

Facebook is shutting down Lasso, the heavily TikTok-inspired video app it launched back in 2018. CNN’s Kerry Flynn spotted the notifications being sent to users, telling them that the app won’t be usable after July 10th, and advising them to download any videos they want to keep.
Ex-TechCrunch editor Josh Constine notes that Facebook appears to be shutting down Lasso as its focus shifts to Instagram’s Reels feature. Reels is a video editing tool that lets users record and edit TikTok-style videos which they can then post to their Instagram Stories, send via DM, or post to a new section of the Explore tab called Top Reels. The feature launched in Brazil last year and expanded to France and Germany last week, according to TechCrunch.
Lasso was only ever available in select markets worldwide. TechCrunch reports that as well as being available in the US, the app was also available in Colombia, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Panama, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Ecuador, and Uruguay as of February.


theverge--2020-07-02--Nextdoor CEO says it’s ‘our fault’ moderators deleted Black Lives Matter posts

Sarah Friar , CEO of the neighborhood-focused social network Nextdoor , says the company is to blame following widespread reports that moderators were deleting posts that discussed racial injustice or voiced support for the Black Lives Matter movement .
The app will be changing its policies to explicitly allow discussion of the movement in future , and will be offering new unconscious bias training to its unpaid moderators .
In an interview with NPR , Friar said it “ was really our fault ” these posts were removed , and blamed the actions taken by the company ’ s unpaid @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) on a moderation policy that prohibited discussion of national issues in the app ’ s local groups .
“ We did not move quickly enough to tell our leads that topics like Black Lives Matter were local in terms of their relevance , ” said Friar .
“ A lot of our leads viewed Black Lives Matter as a national issue that was happening .
And so , they removed that content , thinking it was consistent with our guidelines.
” According to NPR , a new rule has been added to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ such discussions are not deleted in future : “ Black Lives Matter is a local topic.
” Nextdoor has long been the subject of jokes and criticism for its so-called “ Karen problem ” – shorthand for an abundance of white users who take to the app to complain about trivial issues , from children giggling too much to neighbors who won ’ t stop brushing their cat .
Behind the memes , though , has always been the more unsettling truth that Nextdoor allows racism to thrive on its platform by taking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ company has grown so fast in part because it relies on its own users to remove contentious posts .
But Black users say this has created an environment that tolerates racism .
The same “ Karens ” who get annoyed about noisy children can also be those users who racially profile Black people in their neighborhood and call the police on any “ suspicious teens ” they see ( who are invariably people of color ) .
Nextdoor has arguably exacerbated these problems by offering features like “ Forward to the Police , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ urgent alert ” to law enforcement .
This specific tool was removed last month .
“ As a black person , I don ’ t feel safe at all using [ Nextdoor ] ” Racism fostered on Nextdoor ’ s platform has attracted new attention after the police killing of George Floyd and subsequent protests against racial injustice swept across the US .
Black users who tried to discuss these issues on Nextdoor found they were silenced and their posts deleted .
As one user told The Verge last month : “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t feel safe at all using [ the app ] for anything ...
I ’ m always terrified , thinking ‘ Oh my god .
I already know what so-and-so thinks of us.
’ This is a very horrible situation to be in.
” In addition to changing its moderation policy , Nextdoor says it ’ s starting a campaign to recruit more Black moderators , and will offer unconscious bias training to all current leads ( though it ’ s not clear whether this training is mandatory ) .
The company @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s AI systems to more accurately identify explicit racism and “ coded racist content.
” However , while AI has been presented as a solution by many social networks criticized for allowing racist or bigoted content on their platforms , experts generally agree that automated systems lack the understanding needed to moderate this content .
As Facebook ’ s Mark Zuckerberg has shown in the past , AI is no solution to the human problems of moderation .
“ We ’ re really working hard to make sure racist statements don ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ feed , making sure that users that don ’ t act out the guidelines aren ’ t on the platform anymore , ” Friar told NPR .
“ It is our No .
1 priority at the company to make sure Nextdoor is not a platform where racism survives.
” Groups who have called on Nextdoor to take responsibility for the actions of its moderators welcomed the changes , but expressed caution about the impact they might have .
“ This is a positive step towards creating a true community forum where all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ participate , ” activist Andrea Cervone of the Minneapolis-based organization Neighbors for More Neighbors , which petitioned the company to introduce anti-racism training for moderators , told NPR .
“ We will be keeping an eye on the company to make sure they continue forward and fulfill these public commitments .
”

Sarah Friar, CEO of the neighborhood-focused social network Nextdoor, says the company is to blame following widespread reports that moderators were deleting posts that discussed racial injustice or voiced support for the Black Lives Matter movement. The app will be changing its policies to explicitly allow discussion of the movement in future, and will be offering new unconscious bias training to its unpaid moderators.
In an interview with NPR, Friar said it “was really our fault” these posts were removed, and blamed the actions taken by the company’s unpaid moderators (known as “leads”) on a moderation policy that prohibited discussion of national issues in the app’s local groups.
“Black Lives Matter is a local topic.”
“We did not move quickly enough to tell our leads that topics like Black Lives Matter were local in terms of their relevance,” said Friar. “A lot of our leads viewed Black Lives Matter as a national issue that was happening. And so, they removed that content, thinking it was consistent with our guidelines.”
According to NPR, a new rule has been added to Nextdoor’s moderation policy to ensure such discussions are not deleted in future: “Black Lives Matter is a local topic.”
Nextdoor has long been the subject of jokes and criticism for its so-called “Karen problem” – shorthand for an abundance of white users who take to the app to complain about trivial issues, from children giggling too much to neighbors who won’t stop brushing their cat.
Behind the memes, though, has always been the more unsettling truth that Nextdoor allows racism to thrive on its platform by taking a hands-off approach to moderation. The company has grown so fast in part because it relies on its own users to remove contentious posts. But Black users say this has created an environment that tolerates racism.
The same “Karens” who get annoyed about noisy children can also be those users who racially profile Black people in their neighborhood and call the police on any “suspicious teens” they see (who are invariably people of color). Nextdoor has arguably exacerbated these problems by offering features like “Forward to the Police,” which let users quickly send an “urgent alert” to law enforcement. This specific tool was removed last month.
“As a black person, I don’t feel safe at all using [Nextdoor]”
Racism fostered on Nextdoor’s platform has attracted new attention after the police killing of George Floyd and subsequent protests against racial injustice swept across the US. Black users who tried to discuss these issues on Nextdoor found they were silenced and their posts deleted. As one user told The Verge last month: “As a black person, I don’t feel safe at all using [the app] for anything ... I’m always terrified, thinking ‘Oh my god. I already know what so-and-so thinks of us.’ This is a very horrible situation to be in.”
In addition to changing its moderation policy, Nextdoor says it’s starting a campaign to recruit more Black moderators, and will offer unconscious bias training to all current leads (though it’s not clear whether this training is mandatory). The company says it will also improve the app’s AI systems to more accurately identify explicit racism and “coded racist content.”
However, while AI has been presented as a solution by many social networks criticized for allowing racist or bigoted content on their platforms, experts generally agree that automated systems lack the understanding needed to moderate this content. As Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg has shown in the past, AI is no solution to the human problems of moderation.
“We’re really working hard to make sure racist statements don’t end up in the main news feed, making sure that users that don’t act out the guidelines aren’t on the platform anymore,” Friar told NPR. “It is our No. 1 priority at the company to make sure Nextdoor is not a platform where racism survives.”
Groups who have called on Nextdoor to take responsibility for the actions of its moderators welcomed the changes, but expressed caution about the impact they might have.


theverge--2020-07-02--Reddit owes its moderators more than an updated hate speech policy

The Interface is a daily column and newsletter about the intersection of social media and democracy .
Subscribe here .
Programming note : The Interface is off Thursday .
Back on Monday .
Should Reddit pay its volunteer moderators ?
The thought had not really occurred to me until last week , when I joined a call with CEO Steve Huffman and his general counsel , Benjamin Lee .
The executives were briefing me and some other reporters about a significant expansion of the site ’ s content moderation policies , which were unveiled on Monday and resulted in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ notorious forum for hate speech The_Donald .
Reddit ’ s content moderation scheme differs sharply from the Facebook News Feed or the Twitter timeline .
Instead of applying one set of rues for the entire user base , Reddit sets a “ floor ” of rules that no one can violate but allows individual forums ( called subreddits ) to raise the “ ceiling.
” ( I wrote about this approach here last month . )
This helps create a collective context for discussions , and allows users who have similar values to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
It ’ s why I can go to my favorite subreddit , which covers the world of professional wrestling , and find an incredible assortment of relevant stories , pictures , and discussions every day .
But it also works only because of the moderators who volunteer to enforce a subreddit ’ s rules from floor to ceiling — and those moderators are totally unpaid .
In describing how his thinking on the subject had evolved , Huffman said he had been moved by moderators ’ stories about their struggles to keep @ @ @ @ @ @ @ truism of life online that every forum eventually descends into drama , and keeping participants from flaming one another requires constant , even heroic vigilance .
But the moderators themselves often become collateral damage , Reddit executives said .
“ To me personally , what was the most heartbreaking was listening to moderators , who would talk about getting these crazy death threats , ” Lee said .
“ And they would say something like , ‘ oh , but I understand that that ’ s protected as a matter of free speech.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ oh my God , that ’ s not true !
The first amendment does not protect that !
...
There ’ s a disconnect there — the fact that they could on any level believe that the law , let alone our policies , don ’ t protect them is a fail .
And it ’ s a fail we need to fix.
” One way you can address this policy is rolling out new rules that more expressly prohibit hate speech , as Reddit did this week .
But if you ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of content moderators as first responders — people whose work is more in line with a police officer or a firefighter than it is typically given credit for — you might not think that ’ s enough .
There are a lot of jobs you can do for which you will not routinely be subjected to death threats ; moderating a web forum is not one of them .
If that ’ s the case , isn ’ t the least Reddit could do to pay these moderators ?
Reddit is a 15-year-old @ @ @ @ @ @ @ involving a sale , a spinout , and a new life as an old startup .
The company sells premium memberships and advertising .
According to TechCrunch , it has more monthly active users than Twitter , is valued at $ 3 billion , and last December was on track to earn $ 267.1 million in 2021 .
I asked Huffman and Lee whether the moderators who keep all those subreddits humming didn ’ t deserve something beyond an update to the content policy — and didn ’ t quite get an answer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are many thousands of them — are are a critical part of this equation , ” Huffman told me .
“ The message that we ’ re trying to convey ... is , we can do much more to support you .
The mods — the value that they get out of this , or at least what they want to get out of this , is in being leaders of these communities , and creating a space for their passions .
And them having to put up with a bunch of garbage @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Huffman said that “ how our relationship with them evolves over time may be a topic for a different conversation [ about ] how Reddit the platform evolves.
” But he suggested the company might revisit the question over the next few years .
“ The policies are just the first step in the journey and that partnership with the mods , ” Lee added .
“ There ’ s a whole bunch of other things we are both looking at and thinking about in terms of supporting them , including product improvements.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ great .
But I suspect that , for a lot of moderators , cash would go a lot further .
The Facebook ad boycott continues .
On Wednesday , ads from 400 brands disappeared from Facebook and Instagram , Reuters reported .
The coalition of civil rights groups that is leading the boycott has meetings planned with company executives , and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has agreed to join .
Most of the biggest advertisers are not yet participating .
But more are pulling their ads each day .
Nick Clegg , the company @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , put up a blog post making the case that Facebook does a pretty good job of removing hate speech : I continue to be rather cynical about the motives of the brands here , for reasons I laid out on Monday .
But I ’ d note that Clegg ’ s post reinforces a point I made then : what has been presented as being primarily a story about policy and enforcement is actually a story about Facebook ’ s size .
A company that hosts 100 billion messages a day is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a lot of hate speech , period .
If advertisers sincerely wanted to address Facebook ’ s hate speech problem , they would start there .
But the whole appeal of Facebook to them is its vast reach .
So I ’ m not holding my breath .
Today in news that could affect public perception of the big tech platforms .
Trending down : Facebook mistakenly shared some users ’ personal data with outside developers for a longer period of time than promised .
The error represents a breach in the policies @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Analytica scandal .
( Kurt Wagner / Bloomberg ) Trending down : Zoom missed its own deadline on releasing a transparency report that will tell the public how many government demands for user data it has received .
The report was supposed to come out on June 30th .
Zoom hasn ’ t given a firm new date for releasing the figures .
( Zack Whittaker / TechCrunch ) ⭐ Apple CEO Tim Cook has agreed to testify in the House antitrust investigation .
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Google CEO Sundar Pichai @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Jeff Bezos is also reportedly on board ; the hearing is expected to take place later this month .
Here ’ s Mikey Campbell at Apple Insider : UK regulators released a report saying that Google ’ s deal with Apple to be the default search engine on Safari creates “ a significant barrier to entry and expansion ” for Google ’ s competitors .
Apple received the majority of the $ 1.5 billion that Google paid to be the default search engine on a variety of devices in the UK in 2019 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Starting Wednesday , California will begin enforcing its digital privacy law .
Tech business groups have been calling for the state to hold off on enforcement because of the novel coronavirus pandemic .
Privacy waits for no disease !
( Rachel Lerman / The Washington Post ) Facebook plans to ask the Supreme Court to rule that tracking web users via the “ Like ” button doesn ’ t violate the federal wiretap law .
The news comes after the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals refused to revisit its earlier ruling that Facebook @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a federal law restricting the interception of online communications .
( Wendy Davis / Media Post ) Google threatened to cut off European publishers from a lucrative flow of ads if they followed through with a plan to curb the company ’ s data collection practices .
Publishers had expected to use new data privacy measures to bar Google from storing insights about readers .
( Paresh Dave / Reuters ) Rockland County plans to use subpoenas to investigate a new cluster of COVID-19 cases tied to a large party earlier this month @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had symptoms .
The county initially tried to use contact tracers to investigate the event , but found people wouldn ’ t cooperate .
Yikes .
( NBC New York ) Detroit ’ s City Council delayed a vote on whether or not to extend a controversial contract with DataWorks for facial recognition services .
Activists and community organizers say they ’ re doing everything they can to swing the vote against extending the contract .
( Alfred Ng / CNET ) Researchers found links between malicious software and groups connected to China @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hacking campaign that targeted China ’ s Muslim Uighur population .
The campaign dates back to 2013 .
( Paul Mozur and Nicole Perlroth / The New York Times ) ⭐ Google is pushing back its plans to reopen US offices after coronavirus cases started to surge .
All US offices will remain closed until September 7th at the earliest .
Does anyone believe Googlers are actually going back to work in September ?
I don ’ t .
Here ’ s Gerrit De Vynck at Bloomberg : Twitch broke another viewership record @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The company saw a massive 62.7 percent increase in hours watched from Q1 , to reach 5 billion hours in Q2 .
( Sarah Perez / TechCrunch ) MIT took offline a highly cited dataset that trained AI systems to potentially describe people using racist , misogynistic , and other problematic terms .
The institute also urged developers to stop using the training library , and to delete any copies .
( Katyanna Quach / The Register ) Reporters have feelings about working with Facebook ’ s vast public-relations apparatus .
I ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that crew — the most notable down serves as the lead anecdote in this story — but I ’ d add that it has changed significantly for the better over the past four years .
Generally these days I find Facebook PR to be fast , responsive , and truthful .
And for all that this story has to say about secrecy , I ’ d note that Facebook has done more of its work in public in 2020 than any other company we regularly write about here .
Its CEO has had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Why hasn ’ t that been true of Apple , or Google , or Amazon , or Twitter ?
( Jacob Silverman / Columbia Journalism Review ) Facebook ’ s chief AI scientist Yann LeCun announced he was going to stop tweeting after getting involved in a long and often acrimonious dispute regarding racial biases in AI .
The Twitter feud saw LeCun run afoul of what he termed “ the linguistic codes of modern social justice.
” ( Synced ) Facebook has a new proof-of-concept virtual reality headset that looks like a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s billing the new device not as a pair of augmented reality glasses but a legitimate VR product .
( Jay Peters / The Verge ) A venture capital firm started by Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin raised $ 820 million for its second fund focused on investing in startups .
Saverin said it ’ s important for the startups to have an impact on society and to think beyond their business model .
Whatever !
( Katie Roof / Bloomberg ) Facebook is shutting down Hobbi , an experimental app that allows people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a visual diary of sorts .
The app just launched in February .
( Sarah Perez / TechCrunch ) WhatsApp announced a collection of new features , including QR codes that can be used to quickly add new contacts and animated stickers .
The features already existed in beta versions of WhatsApp , but now they ’ re official .
( Jon Porter / The Verge ) Claudia Conway , the daughter of White House adviser Kellyanne Conway , has a significant following on TikTok — where she posts anti-Trump and pro-Black Lives @ @ @ @ @ @ @ her to delete her TikTok videos .
Relatable !
( Connor Perrett / Business Insider ) Stuff to occupy you online during the quarantine .
Read a message from your university ’ s vice president of magical thinking .
A good bit of satire about reopening colleges from Juliana Gray at McSweeney ’ s .
“ Our university has always valued creative problem-solving , ” she writes , “ so we have posted signs on the doors of every campus building .
Plus , to show how seriously we take the situation , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Peloton app on your Roku TV .
It exists now !
A happy day in my house .
Send us tips , comments , questions , and fair pay for Reddit moderators : casey @ theverge.com and zoe @ theverge.com .

Programming note: The Interface is off Thursday. Back on Monday.
I.
Should Reddit pay its volunteer moderators? The thought had not really occurred to me until last week, when I joined a call with CEO Steve Huffman and his general counsel, Benjamin Lee. The executives were briefing me and some other reporters about a significant expansion of the site’s content moderation policies, which were unveiled on Monday and resulted in the removal of 2,000 subreddits, including the notorious forum for hate speech The_Donald.
Reddit’s content moderation scheme differs sharply from the Facebook News Feed or the Twitter timeline. Instead of applying one set of rules for the entire user base, Reddit sets a “floor” of rules that no one can violate but allows individual forums (called subreddits) to raise the “ceiling.” (I wrote about this approach here last month.) This helps create a collective context for discussions, and allows users who have similar values to come together in a shared space online. It’s why I can go to my favorite subreddit, which covers the world of professional wrestling, and find an incredible assortment of relevant stories, pictures, and discussions every day. But it also works only because of the moderators who volunteer to enforce a subreddit’s rules from floor to ceiling — and those moderators are totally unpaid.
In describing how his thinking on the subject had evolved, Huffman said he had been moved by moderators’ stories about their struggles to keep discussions civil. It’s a truism of life online that every forum eventually descends into drama, and keeping participants from flaming one another requires constant, even heroic vigilance. But the moderators themselves often become collateral damage, Reddit executives said.
“To me personally, what was the most heartbreaking was listening to moderators, who would talk about getting these crazy death threats,” Lee said. “And they would say something like, ‘oh, but I understand that that’s protected as a matter of free speech.’ And my first reaction is, oh my God, that’s not true! The first amendment does not protect that! ... There’s a disconnect there — the fact that they could on any level believe that the law, let alone our policies, don’t protect them is a fail. And it’s a fail we need to fix.”
One way you can address this policy is rolling out new rules that more expressly prohibit hate speech, as Reddit did this week. But if you’re the sort of person who thinks of content moderators as first responders — people whose work is more in line with a police officer or a firefighter than it is typically given credit for — you might not think that’s enough. There are a lot of jobs you can do for which you will not routinely be subjected to death threats; moderating a web forum is not one of them.
If that’s the case, isn’t the least Reddit could do to pay these moderators?
Reddit is a 15-year-old company with a fairly complicated corporate history involving a sale, a spinout, and a new life as an old startup. The company sells premium memberships and advertising. According to TechCrunch, it has more monthly active users than Twitter, is valued at $3 billion, and last December was on track to earn $267.1 million in 2021.
I asked Huffman and Lee whether the moderators who keep all those subreddits humming didn’t deserve something beyond an update to the content policy — and didn’t quite get an answer.
“The mods — and there are many thousands of them — are are a critical part of this equation,” Huffman told me. “The message that we’re trying to convey ... is, we can do much more to support you. The mods — the value that they get out of this, or at least what they want to get out of this, is in being leaders of these communities, and creating a space for their passions. And them having to put up with a bunch of garbage to do so is not fair.”
Huffman said that “how our relationship with them evolves over time may be a topic for a different conversation [about] how Reddit the platform evolves.” But he suggested the company might revisit the question over the next few years.
“The policies are just the first step in the journey and that partnership with the mods,” Lee added. “There’s a whole bunch of other things we are both looking at and thinking about in terms of supporting them, including product improvements.”
Policy updates and product improvements are great. But I suspect that, for a lot of moderators, cash would go a lot further.
II.
The Facebook ad boycott continues. On Wednesday, ads from 400 brands disappeared from Facebook and Instagram, Reuters reported. The coalition of civil rights groups that is leading the boycott has meetings planned with company executives, and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has agreed to join. Most of the biggest advertisers are not yet participating. But more are pulling their ads each day.
Nick Clegg, the company’s head of policy and communications, put up a blog post making the case that Facebook does a pretty good job of removing hate speech:
“More than 100 billion messages are sent on our services every day. That’s all of us, talking to each other, sharing our lives, our opinions, our hopes and our experiences. In all of those billions of interactions a tiny fraction are hateful. When we find hateful posts on Facebook and Instagram, we take a zero tolerance approach and remove them. [...] Unfortunately, zero tolerance doesn’t mean zero incidences. With so much content posted every day, rooting out the hate is like looking for a needle in a haystack.
I continue to be rather cynical about the motives of the brands here, for reasons I laid out on Monday. But I’d note that Clegg’s post reinforces a point I made then: what has been presented as being primarily a story about policy and enforcement is actually a story about Facebook’s size. A company that hosts 100 billion messages a day is a company that is going to host a lot of hate speech, period.
If advertisers sincerely wanted to address Facebook’s hate speech problem, they would start there. But the whole appeal of Facebook to them is its vast reach. So I’m not holding my breath.
The Ratio
Today in news that could affect public perception of the big tech platforms.
🔽 Trending down: Facebook mistakenly shared some users’ personal data with outside developers for a longer period of time than promised. The error represents a breach in the policies the social network implemented following the Cambridge Analytica scandal. (Kurt Wagner / Bloomberg)
🔽 Trending down: Zoom missed its own deadline on releasing a transparency report that will tell the public how many government demands for user data it has received. The report was supposed to come out on June 30th. Zoom hasn’t given a firm new date for releasing the figures. (Zack Whittaker / TechCrunch)
Governing
⭐ Apple CEO Tim Cook has agreed to testify in the House antitrust investigation. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Google CEO Sundar Pichai already committed to testify. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is also reportedly on board; the hearing is expected to take place later this month. Here’s Mikey Campbell at Apple Insider:
The House Antitrust Subcommittee last year announced a bipartisan investigation into “platform gatekeepers” and “dominant” tech firms. Apple is being scrutinized for its App Store business, so-called “Sherlocking” of third-party apps and systematic removal of parental control apps. While Bezos, Pichai and Zuckerberg each signaled intent to participate in the House inquiry last month, Apple remained mum on Cook’s potential involvement. In a recent interview with Bloomberg, Cicilline said he expected the executives to offer testimony on their own accord, but cautioned the committee would issue subpoenas if needed.
UK regulators released a report saying that Google’s deal with Apple to be the default search engine on Safari creates “a significant barrier to entry and expansion” for Google’s competitors. Apple received the majority of the $1.5 billion that Google paid to be the default search engine on a variety of devices in the UK in 2019. (Stephen Nellis / Reuters)
Starting Wednesday, California will begin enforcing its digital privacy law. Tech business groups have been calling for the state to hold off on enforcement because of the novel coronavirus pandemic. Privacy waits for no disease! (Rachel Lerman / The Washington Post)
Facebook plans to ask the Supreme Court to rule that tracking web users via the “Like” button doesn’t violate the federal wiretap law. The news comes after the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals refused to revisit its earlier ruling that Facebook’s alleged tracking may have violated a federal law restricting the interception of online communications. (Wendy Davis / Media Post)
Google threatened to cut off European publishers from a lucrative flow of ads if they followed through with a plan to curb the company’s data collection practices. Publishers had expected to use new data privacy measures to bar Google from storing insights about readers. (Paresh Dave / Reuters)
Rockland County plans to use subpoenas to investigate a new cluster of COVID-19 cases tied to a large party earlier this month, given by someone who knew they had symptoms. The county initially tried to use contact tracers to investigate the event, but found people wouldn’t cooperate. Yikes. (NBC New York)
Detroit’s City Council delayed a vote on whether or not to extend a controversial contract with DataWorks for facial recognition services. Activists and community organizers say they’re doing everything they can to swing the vote against extending the contract. (Alfred Ng / CNET)
Researchers found links between malicious software and groups connected to China’s government, pointing to a hacking campaign that targeted China’s Muslim Uighur population. The campaign dates back to 2013. (Paul Mozur and Nicole Perlroth / The New York Times)
Industry
⭐ Google is pushing back its plans to reopen US offices after coronavirus cases started to surge. All US offices will remain closed until September 7th at the earliest. Does anyone believe Googlers are actually going back to work in September? I don’t. Here’s Gerrit De Vynck at Bloomberg:
COVID-19 is spreading fast again in the U.S., prompting some states to reverse earlier decisions to relax lockdowns. California, where Google is based, reported its second-biggest jump in new cases on Tuesday. “While conditions do vary from state to state, we need to see that the U.S. outlook as a whole is stable before we move forward,” Chris Rackow, vice president of global security, wrote in the memo. “As the recent resurgence of cases demonstrates, Covid-19 is still very much alive in our communities.” Bloomberg News obtained a copy of the memo.
Twitch broke another viewership record in the second quarter of 2020. The company saw a massive 62.7 percent increase in hours watched from Q1, to reach 5 billion hours in Q2. (Sarah Perez / TechCrunch)
MIT took offline a highly cited dataset that trained AI systems to potentially describe people using racist, misogynistic, and other problematic terms. The institute also urged developers to stop using the training library, and to delete any copies. (Katyanna Quach / The Register)
Reporters have feelings about working with Facebook’s vast public-relations apparatus. I’ve had my ups and downs with that crew — the most notable down serves as the lead anecdote in this story — but I’d add that it has changed significantly for the better over the past four years. Generally these days I find Facebook PR to be fast, responsive, and truthful. And for all that this story has to say about secrecy, I’d note that Facebook has done more of its work in public in 2020 than any other company we regularly write about here. Its CEO has had multiple press conferences during the pandemic. Why hasn’t that been true of Apple, or Google, or Amazon, or Twitter? (Jacob Silverman / Columbia Journalism Review)
Facebook’s chief AI scientist Yann LeCun announced he was going to stop tweeting after getting involved in a long and often acrimonious dispute regarding racial biases in AI. The Twitter feud saw LeCun run afoul of what he termed “the linguistic codes of modern social justice.” (Synced)
Facebook has a new proof-of-concept virtual reality headset that looks like a pair of large sunglasses. It’s billing the new device not as a pair of augmented reality glasses but a legitimate VR product. (Jay Peters / The Verge)
A venture capital firm started by Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin raised $820 million for its second fund focused on investing in startups. Saverin said it’s important for the startups to have an impact on society and to think beyond their business model. Whatever! (Katie Roof / Bloomberg)
Facebook is shutting down Hobbi, an experimental app that allows people to organize photos of personal projects in a visual diary of sorts. The app just launched in February. (Sarah Perez / TechCrunch)
WhatsApp announced a collection of new features, including QR codes that can be used to quickly add new contacts and animated stickers. The features already existed in beta versions of WhatsApp, but now they’re official. (Jon Porter / The Verge)
Claudia Conway, the daughter of White House adviser Kellyanne Conway, has a significant following on TikTok — where she posts anti-Trump and pro-Black Lives Matter videos. Her mother has asked her to delete her TikTok videos. Relatable! (Connor Perrett / Business Insider)
Things to do
Stuff to occupy you online during the quarantine.
Read a message from your university’s vice president of magical thinking. A good bit of satire about reopening colleges from Juliana Gray at McSweeney’s. “Our university has always valued creative problem-solving,” she writes, “so we have posted NO COVID-19 ALLOWED PAST THIS POINT signs on the doors of every campus building. Plus, to show how seriously we take the situation, the signs have been laminated.”
Put the Peloton app on your Roku TV. It exists now! A happy day in my house.
And finally...
Talk to us


theverge--2020-07-02--Apple, Google, Amazon, and Facebook CEOs will testify before Congress

The CEOs of Amazon , Facebook , Apple , and Google will testify before Congress later this month to answer questions related to its broad antitrust investigation of Big Tech .
The plans were first reported by Kara Swisher , before a spokesperson for the House Judiciary Committee confirmed the plans to The New York Times .
Apple ’ s Tim Cook , Facebook ’ s Mark Zuckerberg , Alphabet/Google ’ s Sundar Pichai , and Amazon ’ s Jeff Bezos have all agreed to testify .
News of the July hearing marks a significant step in the House Judiciary @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is investigating different alleged abuses by each of the four companies .
For Google , the discussion has centered on its control of the ad market , but for Facebook the focus has been its acquisitions .
Apple ’ s App Store policies have born the brunt of its antitrust scrutiny , while Amazon ’ s treatment of third-party sellers is being examined .
The House Judiciary Committee ’ s antitrust investigation was first announced in June 2019 .
It made formal document requests of the big tech companies last September .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ panels with smaller companies like Sonos , Tile , and Basecamp , during which these companies alleged to have been harmed by the monopolistic practices of the big tech companies .
The NYT notes that the committee is thought to be nearing the end of its investigation .
Tim Cook , Mark Zuckerberg , and Sundar Pichai have each already testified in front of Congress , but it will be a first time for Amazon ’ s Jeff Bezos .
The exact date and format for the hearings — held in person or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ its antitrust investigation , the committee is also likely to ask about other major issues at the companies , like hate speech on Facebook and Google ’ s YouTube division , as well as Amazon ’ s treatment of warehouse workers , The New York Times notes .
The Judiciary Commitee ’ s antitrust investigation is not the only regulatory battle Big Tech is currently facing in the United States .
The Federal Trade Commission has announced an investigation into the acquisitions made by the big tech companies , and the Justice Department @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and territories are also conducting antitrust probes of their own .
Internationally , EU regulators are conducting their own investigations .

The CEOs of Amazon, Facebook, Apple, and Google will testify before Congress later this month to answer questions related to its broad antitrust investigation of Big Tech. The plans were first reported by Kara Swisher, before a spokesperson for the House Judiciary Committee confirmed the plans to The New York Times. Apple’s Tim Cook, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, Alphabet/Google’s Sundar Pichai, and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos have all agreed to testify.
News of the July hearing marks a significant step in the House Judiciary antitrust subcommittee’s inquiry, which is investigating different alleged abuses by each of the four companies. For Google, the discussion has centered on its control of the ad market, but for Facebook the focus has been its acquisitions. Apple’s App Store policies have born the brunt of its antitrust scrutiny, while Amazon’s treatment of third-party sellers is being examined.
The House Judiciary Committee’s antitrust investigation was first announced in June 2019. It made formal document requests of the big tech companies last September. The committee has already hosted a number of panels with smaller companies like Sonos, Tile, and Basecamp, during which these companies alleged to have been harmed by the monopolistic practices of the big tech companies. The NYT notes that the committee is thought to be nearing the end of its investigation.
Tim Cook, Mark Zuckerberg, and Sundar Pichai have each already testified in front of Congress, but it will be a first time for Amazon’s Jeff Bezos. The exact date and format for the hearings — held in person or virtually — is still undecided.


theverge--2020-07-02--Xbox Summer Game Fest event will have more than 60 downloadable demos

With traditional trade shows like E3 and Gamescom cancelled in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic , Microsoft is planning to bring a slice of the show floor experience to your living room .
As part of Geoff Keighley ’ s Summer Game Fest , Microsoft will make dozens of demos for upcoming Xbox One games available to download for a week .
In a blog post , Microsoft ’ s Glenn Gregory cautions that the demos won ’ t always be representative of the final product , since many of the games are some way off their release .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ floor demos , of course , but it ’ s unusual for a major gaming platform to make unfinished games available to such a wide audience .
There ’ ll be more than 60 demos available , and while the list is still being finalized , Gregory says it should include “ somewhere between 75 and 100 when the dust settles.
” Confirmed titles include Cris Tales , Destroy All Humans !
, Haven , Hellpoint , Skatebird , The Vale : Shadow of the Crown , Raji : An Ancient Epic , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s Summer Game Fest Demo Event will be available to access from July 21st to July 27th on Xbox One consoles .
The company is planning to show off next-gen Xbox Series X games at a separate event this month .

With traditional trade shows like E3 and Gamescom cancelled in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, Microsoft is planning to bring a slice of the show floor experience to your living room. As part of Geoff Keighley’s Summer Game Fest, Microsoft will make dozens of demos for upcoming Xbox One games available to download for a week.
In a blog post, Microsoft’s Glenn Gregory cautions that the demos won’t always be representative of the final product, since many of the games are some way off their release. That’s standard practice for show floor demos, of course, but it’s unusual for a major gaming platform to make unfinished games available to such a wide audience.
There’ll be more than 60 demos available, and while the list is still being finalized, Gregory says it should include “somewhere between 75 and 100 when the dust settles.” Confirmed titles include Cris Tales, Destroy All Humans!, Haven, Hellpoint, Skatebird, The Vale: Shadow of the Crown, Raji: An Ancient Epic, and Welcome to Elk.


theverge--2020-07-02--Captain America is now in Fortnite

Captain America is now in Fortnite

A Captain America skin is now available in Fortnite , Epic Games announced today .
He ’ s the latest comic-themed skin to be added to the popular free-to-play battle royale game .
Captain America costs 2,000 V-bucks ( about $ 20 ) from the Fortnite in-game store .
If you buy the skin , you ’ ll also get Captain America ’ s iconic shield , which isn ’ t just cosmetic — you ’ ll be able to wear it on your back and use it as a pickaxe in-game .
Captain America ’ s shield has actually @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you could wield it last year as a special item in a limited time Avengers-themed mode , but you weren ’ t able to buy it to wear whenever you wanted .
There ’ s also a new Captain America-themed fireworks emote for sale , which could be fun to deploy if you choose to celebrate Independence Day on the Fortnite island this weekend .
The emote costs 300 V-bucks .
Fortnite has a long history of offering skins based on popular comic book characters .
Deadpool was available as part of last @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Aquaman will eventually be playable as part of this season ’ s battle pass .
Epic Games also sold Marvel ’ s Black Widow and Star-Lord as part of last year ’ s Avengers crossover and X-Force skins last season .
Epic has offered DC skins , too , including Harley Quinn , Batman , and Catwoman .

A Captain America skin is now available in Fortnite, Epic Games announced today. He’s the latest comic-themed skin to be added to the popular free-to-play battle royale game.
Captain America costs 2,000 V-bucks (about $20) from the Fortnite in-game store. If you buy the skin, you’ll also get Captain America’s iconic shield, which isn’t just cosmetic — you’ll be able to wear it on your back and use it as a pickaxe in-game. Captain America’s shield has actually already appeared in the game before — you could wield it last year as a special item in a limited time Avengers-themed mode, but you weren’t able to buy it to wear whenever you wanted.
There’s also a new Captain America-themed fireworks emote
There’s also a new Captain America-themed fireworks emote for sale, which could be fun to deploy if you choose to celebrate Independence Day on the Fortnite island this weekend. The emote costs 300 V-bucks.


theverge--2020-07-02--Tech billionaire Peter Thiel may ditch Trump because he thinks Trump will lose

Billionaire Peter Thiel , the most famous Trump supporter in tech , is distancing himself from the president ’ s reelection campaign .
Thiel fears President Donald Trump will lose the race , according to a report from The Wall Street Journal .
Thiel soured on Trump after COVID-19 left tens of millions of Americans unemployed ; the billionaire believes that there will be a profound recession when November rolls around , making Trump vulnerable to challenge .
Thiel was a vocal supporter of the president in 2016 , speaking at the Republican National Convention in 2016 and donating $ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and other adjacent political groups and causes .
Thiel , who earned his fortune co-founding PayPal before becoming one of the earliest Facebook investors , has no plans on donating any money to Trump ’ s campaign this year , the report says .
Thiel ’ s libertarian views made him somewhat of an outlier in the liberal Bay Area — so much so that it was Thiel ’ s excuse for decamping to Los Angeles in 2018 , where he now lives .
( Thiel ’ s positions on government spending , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ well-known since his days at Stanford University . )
Thiel was already losing faith in Trump in March because of the president ’ s slow and ineffective response to the threat posed by COVID-19 .
That was before Thiel reckoned with the scale of the economic catastrophe set in motion by the inadequate government response to the virus .
The venture capitalist still may plan on voting for Trump , The Wall Street Journal reports .
Instead of financially supporting Trump in November , Thiel now reportedly plans to focus his money on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Thiel fears for the down-ballot races in the event of a Trump loss .

Billionaire Peter Thiel, the most famous Trump supporter in tech, is distancing himself from the president’s reelection campaign. Thiel fears President Donald Trump will lose the race, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. Thiel soured on Trump after COVID-19 left tens of millions of Americans unemployed; the billionaire believes that there will be a profound recession when November rolls around, making Trump vulnerable to challenge.
Thiel was a vocal supporter of the president in 2016, speaking at the Republican National Convention in 2016 and donating $1.25 million that year to his campaign and other adjacent political groups and causes. Thiel, who earned his fortune co-founding PayPal before becoming one of the earliest Facebook investors, has no plans on donating any money to Trump’s campaign this year, the report says.
Thiel believes COVID-19’s economic effects will harm Trump’s chances in November
Thiel’s libertarian views made him somewhat of an outlier in the liberal Bay Area — so much so that it was Thiel’s excuse for decamping to Los Angeles in 2018, where he now lives. (Thiel’s positions on government spending, immigration, and other issues have been well-known since his days at Stanford University.)
Thiel was already losing faith in Trump in March because of the president’s slow and ineffective response to the threat posed by COVID-19. That was before Thiel reckoned with the scale of the economic catastrophe set in motion by the inadequate government response to the virus.


theverge--2020-07-02--Ubisoft promises sweeping changes after several execs were accused of sexual misconduct

Ubisoft is making a number of internal changes in response to allegations of misconduct against multiple employees , including two executives accused of groping and otherwise sexually assaulting female employees , that surfaced last week .
The company has already placed those employees on leave and opened investigations into the abuse — now , Ubisoft is promising to undergo a “ structural shift ” to make a safer work environment and improve accountability .
Ubisoft ’ s CEO Yves Guillemot outlined the changes an email sent to employees on Thursday , which Ubisoft also shared on its blog .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ experienced or witnessed are absolutely not acceptable , ” said Guillemot .
“ No one should ever feel harassed or disrespected at work , and the types of inappropriate behavior we have recently learned about can not and will not be tolerated.
” As part of the changes , Guillemot is appointing a head of workplace culture who is “ empowered to examine all aspects of our company ’ s culture and to suggest comprehensive changes that will benefit all of us , ” he said .
He has placed Lidwine Sauer , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ trends for the company ’ s Strategic Innovation Lab , in the position .
She will be creating a taskforce around the effort and will report to Guillemot .
Guillemot also announced that Ubisoft will be creating a new role for a head of diversity and inclusion that will report to him .
Ubisoft also will begin hosting listening sessions for employees starting on Monday .
“ These are not Q & A sessions or town hall meetings ; the goal of these sessions is to actively and considerately listen to your experiences @ @ @ @ @ @ @ suggestions for improvement , ” said Guillemot .
They will be moderated by external facilitators , he said .
The company is also planning to launch a global employee survey .
“ We are not looking for a quick fix , but rather a structural shift at Ubisoft ” Guillemot reiterated that independent third parties are leading a series of investigations in response to allegations surfaced against Ubisoft employees , though he didn ’ t address any of the specific allegations , nor did he say who or how many people are now @ @ @ @ @ @ @ allegations were also brought against the man heading up Assassin ’ s Creed Valhalla , Ubisoft ’ s flagship next-gen title , who has since taken a leave of absence .
Ubisoft has also set up an “ online confidential alert platform , ” according to Guillemot , which is administered by whistleblowing platform Whispli .
The company is also “ in the process of selecting an external consulting firm to audit and improve our procedures and policies , ” said Guillemot , and he committed to sharing the results of the audit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ when it is completed .
Guillemot ’ s blog comes hours after the high-profile reveal of Ubisoft ’ s newest game , the free-to-play battle royale shooter Hyper Scape , which skyrocketed to the top of the Twitch viewership charts shortly after its technical test went live earlier today .
It also follows not only misconduct allegations at Ubisoft , but a larger reckoning of powerful figures in the video game industry who are being accused of abuse .

Ubisoft is making a number of internal changes in response to allegations of misconduct against multiple employees, including two executives accused of groping and otherwise sexually assaulting female employees, that surfaced last week. The company has already placed those employees on leave and opened investigations into the abuse — now, Ubisoft is promising to undergo a “structural shift” to make a safer work environment and improve accountability.
Ubisoft’s CEO Yves Guillemot outlined the changes an email sent to employees on Thursday, which Ubisoft also shared on its blog. “The situations that some of you have experienced or witnessed are absolutely not acceptable,” said Guillemot. “No one should ever feel harassed or disrespected at work, and the types of inappropriate behavior we have recently learned about cannot and will not be tolerated.”
Ubisoft’s CEO appointed a head of workplace culture
As part of the changes, Guillemot is appointing a head of workplace culture who is “empowered to examine all aspects of our company’s culture and to suggest comprehensive changes that will benefit all of us,” he said. He has placed Lidwine Sauer, Ubisoft’s director of insights and trends for the company’s Strategic Innovation Lab, in the position. She will be creating a taskforce around the effort and will report to Guillemot. Guillemot also announced that Ubisoft will be creating a new role for a head of diversity and inclusion that will report to him.
Ubisoft also will begin hosting listening sessions for employees starting on Monday. “These are not Q&A sessions or town hall meetings; the goal of these sessions is to actively and considerately listen to your experiences and concerns, as well as your suggestions for improvement,” said Guillemot. They will be moderated by external facilitators, he said. The company is also planning to launch a global employee survey.
“We are not looking for a quick fix, but rather a structural shift at Ubisoft”
Guillemot reiterated that independent third parties are leading a series of investigations in response to allegations surfaced against Ubisoft employees, though he didn’t address any of the specific allegations, nor did he say who or how many people are now under investigation. We do know that allegations were also brought against the man heading up Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, Ubisoft’s flagship next-gen title, who has since taken a leave of absence.
Ubisoft has also set up an “online confidential alert platform,” according to Guillemot, which is administered by whistleblowing platform Whispli. The company is also “in the process of selecting an external consulting firm to audit and improve our procedures and policies,” said Guillemot, and he committed to sharing the results of the audit and the changes the company will make when it is completed.