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The Big Story
Political ads can return to X
As the 2024 election heats up, with a crowded Republican primary race, candidates will have another platform to run ads on: X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
The company announced Tuesday it will allow paid political ads again, reversing a change made in 2019 under former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey.
It is the latest change made to the platform since Elon Musk bought it for $44 billion in October 2022.
While it will allow the return of paid political ads, the platform will still enforce policies that aim to combat the spread of false information, according to a blog post from the company.
“This will include prohibiting the promotion of false or misleading content, including false or misleading information intended to undermine public confidence in an election, while seeking to preserve free and open political discourse,” the company said.
In addition, X will be expanding its safety and elections teams to focus on combating the spread of manipulated media and inauthentic accounts, according to the announcement.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, said Tuesday it disrupted the “largest known cross-platform covert influence operation in the world” and found links to Chinese law enforcement. The social media company took down 7,704 Facebook accounts, 954 Pages, 15 Groups and 15 Instagram accounts tied to the operation, according to Meta’s second-quarter Adversarial Threat Report. The cross-platform activity used …
The Pentagon announced Monday a new program focused on building out thousands of autonomous systems, including drones, as the U.S. seeks to better counter China’s vast military buildup. The U.S. is pledging to build out the self-operating drones and defense systems at a more rapid pace to counter China’s mass procurement of conventional military resources — but the move is likely to face opposition from human rights …
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, rejected a recommendation from its Oversight Board to suspend the account of former Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, according to a decision announced Tuesday. Meta said it would not be suspending Hun Sen’s Facebook or Instagram page after determining that doing so would “not be consistent with our policies, including our protocol on restricting accounts of public figures during civil …
The assembly lines at all of Toyota’s auto plants in Japan shut down over a problem with a computer system Tuesday. The shutdown affected the 28 assembly lines across 14 Toyota auto plants located throughout Japan. The company, via spokesperson Sawako Takeda, said it doesn’t believe the problem facing the computer system, which deals with incoming auto parts, was caused by a cyberattack, according to The Associated Press. …
News we’ve flagged from the intersection of tech and other topics:
How deepfake scams are spreading online
Deepfake scams are spreading across social media platforms such as Facebook, TikTok and YouTube, including videos pushing false interviews portraying Elon Musk as having invented a technologically advanced investment platform NBC News reported.
Google adds Meta, Anthropic AI models to cloud
Google Cloud clients will be able to access artificial intelligence tools from Meta and Anthropic, Bloomberg reported.
On Our Radar
Upcoming news themes and events we’re watching:
FTI Consultingwill host a webinar discussing the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA) Build America, Buy America waiver on Wednesday at 2 p.m.
In Other News
Branch out with other reads on The Hill:
UN warns that hundreds of thousands in Southeast Asia have been roped into online scams
GENEVA (AP) — The U.N. human rights office says criminal gangs have forced hundreds of thousands of people in Southeast Asia into participating in unlawful online scam operations, including false romantic ploys, bogus investment pitches and illegal gambling schemes. The Office of the U.N. High Commissioner …
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said Tuesday morning that Republicans considering an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden are … Read more
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) early Tuesday announced the first 10 drugs chosen for Medicare price negotiation under the Inflation … Read more
