The must-reads
I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.
1 Stop saying Ukraine is winning the information war
Look beyond the West, and you’ll see Russian disinformation is gaining a worrying amount of traction. (The Atlantic $)
+ Russia is targeting internet users who speak Spanish. (ABC)
+ Twitter has limited content from more than 300 official Russian government accounts. (BBC)
+ Russia has become a major target for hackers. (NBC)
+ Russian troops seem to have tortured and murdered civilians in the town of Trostianets. (The Guardian)
2 Protection from second boosters wanes quickly, a large study found 💉
But protection against severe infection seems to hold up. (Reuters $)
+ Could computer models help us to make better covid vaccines? (Nature)
+ Covid deaths may rise among older people in England, experts have warned. (The Guardian)
3 Elon Musk is going to join Twitter’s board
Instantly shattering any illusion he was going to sit quietly and collect his dividends. (WSJ $)
+ We can expect him to push for his version of free speech. (The Atlantic $)
+ This is going to be yet another headache for regulators. (WSJ $)
+ Twitter is going to get an edit button. (NBC)
4 The global impact of the invasion of Ukraine is becoming clearer
Higher energy and food prices are going to have far-reaching consequences around the world. (Nature)
+ Surging food prices will exact a huge toll on poorer countries, for example Sri Lanka. (The Economist $)
+ European companies are struggling to adjust to sanctions. (NYT $)
+ German law enforcement agencies have shut down a vast Russian-language dark web site. (Wired $)
5 Women face relentless misogynistic abuse on Instagram
And it seems the platform does very little about it. (WP $)
+ Why are so many gaming communities still so toxic? (FT $)
+ A feminist internet would be better for everyone. (TR)
6 The Amazon union wave may just be starting
Staff at more than 50 US warehouses have contacted organizers expressing an interest in creating unions of their own. (The Guardian)
7 Elizabeth Warren is frustrated by the lack of progress to break up Big Tech
She’s not the only one. (Recode)
+ Big Tech firms aren’t going to stop tracking you voluntarily. (NYT $)
8 Can we teach computers common sense?
It’s much harder than it sounds. (New Yorker $)
+ Meta’s new learning algorithm can teach AI to multi-task. (TR)
9 NFT-based portrait piracy is a growing problem
Who’s making money off your image? (Wired $)
10 Google Docs is getting emoji reactions
👎 (The Verge)
Quote of the day
“I’m just wiped out. I don’t know how I used to do it.”
—Lauren Scott, a 37-year-old assistant at a media company, tells the Washington Post that even going into the office three days a week feels exhausting after two years of fully remote work.
We can still have nice things
A place for comfort, fun and distraction in these weird times. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or tweet ’em at me.)
+ This TikTok of a guy being fed a five-course meal via conveyor belt is horrifying and amazing in equal measure.
+ No way I’m going to share any controversial food takes on Twitter, but I’m enjoying reading other people’s.
+ Prince had masses of respect for teachers.
+ You can book castles (yes, actual castles) on Airbnb.
+ The Bob’s Burgers movie looks like chaos. Fun, silly chaos.
+ Christy Lee Rogers takes photos of people underwater, and they look totally otherworldly.
+ Tetris, but everyone gets to vote on the next move.
+ The Wordle clones just keep coming. This one’s for guessing movies.
+ A train is an excellent way to travel around Europe.
+ Love surfing? Get yourself over to North Devon.
