Is Travis Barker OK? Blink-182 drummer suffers severe hand injury after England concert
This incident adds to a series of health problems and injuries that Travis Barker has faced in recent months
2023-10-17 09:55
Trump lawyers to ask federal court to hear NY hush-money case
By Karen Freifeld Donald Trump's lawyers will ask a U.S. federal judge on Tuesday to transfer from state
2023-06-27 23:19
Is Ariana Grande still married to Dalton Gomez? Singer reportedly moves in with Ethan Slater in NYC
Ariana Grande and Dalton Gomez have been separated since January and are reportedly headed for a divorce
2023-09-13 18:45
World-beating Germany retain team sprint title
Germany retained their women's team sprint title and shattered their own world record at the cycling world...
2023-08-04 08:17
Musk files defamation suit against Media Matters over Nazi X post claims
X, formerly known as Twitter, filed a federal defamation suit on Monday in Texas against Media Matters for America, accusing the media watchdog group of kicking off an advertiser exodus with a “harmful” article alleging the social network let top brands display ads near antisemitic and pro-Nazi posts. The liberal-leaning media observer allegedly curated a feed specifically with fringe accounts and those belonging to corporations like IBM, Comcast, Apple, and Oracle, then displayed screenshots of the unsavoury posts appearing near company ads in a critical article, according to the lawsuit. The Media Matters analysis, published last week, also alleges that X owner Elon Musk has increasingly begun a “descent into white nationalist and antisemitic conspiracy theories.” The lawsuit does not dispute that some top brands’ ads were featured near the inflammatory content. Rather, it suggests Media Matters gamed X to produce extremely unlikely pairings that are usually screened out by the service’s advertising tools, alleging that one harmful match appeared for “only one viewer (out of more than 500 million) on all of X: Media Matters.” “Not a single authentic user of the X platform saw IBM’s, Comcast’s or Oracle’s ads next to that content, which Media Matters achieved only through its manipulation of X’s algorithms,” the suit continues. “Media Matters created these pairings in secrecy, to manufacture the harmful perception that X is at best an incompetent content moderator (a harmful accusation for any social media platform), or even worse that X was somehow indifferent or even encouraging to Nazi and racist ideology,” the suit argues elsewhere. Media Matters told The Independent in a statement that its analysis of X and its content policies remains valid. “This is a frivolous lawsuit meant to bully X’s critics into silence,” Media Matters President Angelo Carusone said in the statement. “Media Matters stands behind its reporting and looks forward to winning in court.” Top executives at X have railed against Media Matters in recent days. “If you know me, you know I’m committed to truth and fairness. Here’s the truth,” Linda Yaccarino wrote on X on Monday. “Not a single authentic user on X saw IBM’s, Comcast’s, or Oracle’s ads next to the content in Media Matters’ article. Only 2 users saw Apple’s ad next to the content, at least one of which was Media Matters. Data wins over manipulation or allegations.” Mr Musk, meanwhile, called the organisation “pure evil” in an X post of his own. Outside of the disputed accuracy of the Media Matters report, Mr Musk has openly endorsed a right-wing conspiracy theory on X in recent days, prompting criticism that he’s fueling antisemitism. Last Wednesday, the billionaire X owner responded to a tweet echoing claims of the racist and often antisemitic “great replacement” theory, including that Jewish people were “flooding” America with “hordes of minorities” to promote “dialectical hatred against whites.” Mr Musk called the claim “the actual truth.” The theory referenced in the original post was among the hateful ideas directly referenced by the gunman who killed 11 people at a Pittsburgh synagogue in 2018, the deadliest antisemitic attack in US history. “At a time when antisemitism is exploding in America and surging around the world, it is indisputably dangerous to use one’s influence to validate and promote antisemitic theories,” Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League civil rights group, which monitors antisemitism and other forms of extremism, wrote on X in response to Mr Musk. The White House also weighed in, alleging the tech CEO was contributing to the spread of “abhorrent promotion of antisemitic and racist hate.” “It is unacceptable to repeat the hideous lie behind the most fatal act of antisemitism in American history at any time, let alone one month after the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust,” the White House said in a statement. The Independent contacted Mr Musk during the backlash against his response to the post and did not receive an answer. Amid the controversy, Mr Musk has alternatively defended X’s content policies and appeared to mock critics who allege the network is harbouring hateful content. Last week, he shared a clip of someone playing a video game level called “Echo of Hatred,” with the caption “defeating hatred is never easy.” “Clear calls for extreme violence are against our terms of service and will result in suspension,” he wrote elsewhere on X on Friday. This summer, a study from the Center for Countering Digital Hate alleged X failed to take down 99 per cent of a selection of hate content flagged by the group. The group alleged that “the platform is allowing them to break its rules with impunity and is even algorithmically boosting their toxic tweets.” Read More Musk's X sues liberal advocacy group Media Matters over its report on ads next to hate groups' posts Elon Musk and Trump aide want journalists jailed over X Hitler exposé IBM pulls ads from Elon Musk's X after report says they appeared next to antisemitic posts Dates and venues for three 2024 presidential debates announced 2024 polls: Three presidential debates revealed for next year Torso found washed up on New York beach could be missing Irish filmmaker: NYPD
2023-11-21 11:55
Orban Steps Up Talk to Steer Hungarian Savings to Forint Bonds
Prime Minister Viktor Orban called on Hungarians to put their savings in government bonds rather than bank deposits,
2023-06-16 15:49
South Korea says respects IAEA review of Japan's Fukushima wastewater plan
SEOUL South Korea's government said on Friday it respected the U.N. nuclear energy watchdog's review of Japan's plan
2023-07-07 10:16
Forced to flee war, Sudanese band spreads musical message
By El Tayeb Siddig PORT SUDAN, Sudan On a dusty plot in the Red Sea city of Port
2023-09-27 22:25
Victorious Aliyev says fulfilled Azerbaijani 'dream' in Karabakh
A victorious President Ilham Aliyev said he had achieved a decades-long "Azerbaijani dream" by retaking Nagorno-Karabakh from ethnic Armenian separatists, as he raised his country's flag in the...
2023-10-16 01:49
UN committee votes to list ancient Jericho as a World Heritage Site in Palestine
A U.N. conference has voted to list the ancient West Bank city of Jericho as a World Heritage Site in Palestine
2023-09-17 17:18
Japan to release water from stricken Fukushima nuclear plant
Japan will release water from the stricken Fukushima power plant into the Pacific Ocean from Thursday, 12 years after one of...
2023-08-22 15:27
Putin’s casualties near 250 in a day as Russian ammunition depots blown up in southern Ukraine
Close to 250 of Vladimir Putin’s soldiers have been killed or injured in southern Ukraine in the past 24 hours, a Ukrainian military commander said. Ukraine’s authorities said the casualties occurred on Saturday in Tavria, a village in southern Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia, just 23km from the major town of Tokmak, where Ukrainian forces are looking to advance for a strategic territorial advantage. “Over the last day, the enemy lost 248 people (84 dead, 163 wounded and one captured),” Brigadier General Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, who is in-charge of the strategic and operational group of forces in Tavriia, said in his Telegram channel on Sunday. He said the Russian losses also include 20 units of military equipment, including a tank, three anti-aircraft guns and three ammunition depots. “In general, during the past day, the enemy attacked our positions 23 times and carried out 717 shelling and 23 airstrikes. Artillery units of the Defense Forces of the Tavriia direction performed 1,236 fire missions during the day,” he said, detailing the military offensive in the area. The Ukrainian General Staff said its forces continued offensive operations in the Melitopol direction and near Bakhmut. Russian forces continued limited ground attacks in the Donetsk-Zaporizhia Oblast border area on 30 September but did not make any confirmed advances, said the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a US-based think-tank monitoring the war, in its latest assessment of the battlefield situation. “Ukrainian forces continued counteroffensive operations in western Zaporizhia Oblast on 30 September but did not make any confirmed advances. The Ukrainian General Staff reported that Ukrainian forces continued offensive operations in the Melitopol (western Zaporizhia Oblast) direction,” the ISW said. While the town is 12 miles from the existing front line, wrestling its control before the rains wet the battlefield will result in Ukraine taking over Russia’s key railway, command and logistics hub. Russia’s forces have reportedly guarded the prized town with fresh defensive networks to halt Ukraine’s push to the north. Ukrainian forces have around 3-5 weeks to dismantle the second layer of Russian defences laid on the road and fields to Tokmak. Earlier this week, military analyst Roman Svitan said there have been “three or four days of painstaking hard work by our assault group and commanders in the area which have led to very serious problems for the Russians”. “I would not speak of a breakthrough until we reach Tokmak.” Read More Grant Shapps reveals military training plans inside Ukraine Ukraine aid left out of government funding package, raising questions about future US support Ukraine-Russia war - live: Moscow could annex more Ukrainian regions, says Medvedev Putin marks anniversary of annexation of Ukrainian regions as drones attack overnight Putin launches overnight drone and missile attacks on eastern and southern Ukraine
2023-10-01 15:52
You Might Like...
Alex Jones, Ronna McDaniel potential witnesses in Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro's Georgia trial
Bestselling spiritual author Marianne Williamson presses on with against-the-odds presidential run
European Union leaders to hold a summit with Western Balkans nations to discuss joining the bloc
Seiichi Morimura, who exposed the atrocities committed by the Japanese army's Unit 731, dies at 90
Ex-Pence aide blasted the former vice president in Trump endorsement. He supported his former boss on Jan 6
Why have guns gone quiet on the Israel-Lebanon border?
Donald Trump is returning to his civil fraud trial, but star witness Michael Cohen won't be there
'I have a fan for once!' Alyssa Farah Griffin beams with joy as lone audience member cheers her on 'The View'