Elon Musk, the PT Barnum of tech, just became the living, breathing embodiment of a shitpost when he and White House Advisor Ivanka Trump had a playful exchange on Twitter where they apparently bonded over a shared appreciation for white supremacy, Men’s Rights Advocates (MRAs), and the far-right extremist movement. Taken! https://t.co/Ng0S2OFC93 — Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) May 17, 2020 I call him a living shitpost because, like the anonymous cowards he’s paying homage to when he tweets about being “red-pilled,” he’s playing a game. “Red-pilling” or “taking a red pill” is a reference to the movie The Matrix. The film’s…
The BBC reports that conspiracy videos about Covid-19 account for “more than a quarter of the most-watched videos” about the pandemic.
The study, published online by BMJ Global Health, looked at the most widely viewed coronavirus-related videos in English, as of 21 March. After excluding duplicate videos, videos longer than an hour and videos that did not include relevant audio or visual material, they were left with 69 to analyse. The videos were scored on whether they presented exclusively factual information about viral spread, coronavirus symptoms, prevention and potential treatments. Videos from government agencies scored significantly better than other sources, but were less widely viewed.
Sweden Is Ushering in a New Digital Future
Walk through Sweden’s bustling capital and you’ll find abandoned cash machines, card-only parking meters and market vendors who only accept mobile payments. “Ninety-seven percent of the transactions are done without bills,” Anders Ygeman, Sweden’s Minister for Energy and Digital Development told VICE News. Known globally for its welfare system, the Scandinavian country of 10 million has been embracing new technologies for decades – from tax subsidies for home computers in the 90’s, to mobile technology infrastructure. The country is nearing complete digitization of both public and private sectors, and has now its sight set on artificial intelligence all with the goal of making life more convenient, efficient and equitable for its citizens.
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