Technology

News Brief: Trump Trial, Domestic Extremism, Twitter's Birdwatch

5:57am February 10, 2021

House impeachment managers will present their opening arguments. The U.S. military examines domestic extremism within its ranks. Twitter begins an effort to try to stop the spread of misinformation.

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Open up any social media app on your phone and you'll see it: links to COVID-19 information from trustworthy sources. Here, a Twitter screen reads, "No, 5G isn't causing coronavirus."

WHO Is Fighting False COVID Info On Social Media. How's That Going?

4:30pm February 09, 2021

by Malaka Gharib

A year ago, the World Health Organization declared war on misinformation by partnering with Big Tech, from Facebook to Twitter to ... Uber. They're sending out public health messages. Who's tuning in?

Officials in Oldsmar, Fla., say residents were never at risk from a recent computer hack at its water treatment plant. But they say they're taking steps to ensure it can't happen again.

FBI Called In After Hacker Tries To Poison Tampa-Area City's Water With Lye

11:10am February 09, 2021

by Bill Chappell

"The hacker changed the sodium hydroxide from about 100 parts per million to 11,100 parts per million," Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said.

Epik CEO Rob Monster standing in the backyard of his home in Sammamish, Wash.

Meet The Man Behind Epik, The Tech Firm Keeping Far-Right Websites Alive

10:35pm February 08, 2021

by Bobby Allyn

Rob Monster, the chief executive of Epik, says his company's deals with websites Parler, Gab, BitChute and others is an act of free speech advocacy. Others say Epik is supporting hate speech.

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Meet Rob Monster, The Self-Described 'Lex Luther of the Internet'

5:28pm February 08, 2021

by Bobby Allyn

NPR's Bobby Allyn speaks with Rob Monster, who sees his domain-registrar company Epik as a counter to Big Tech. He welcomes views banned on most other parts of the internet.

Economy

Tesla Embraces Bitcoin With $1.5 Billion Investment

5:28pm February 08, 2021

by Camila Domonoske

Electric automaker Tesla has invested $1.5 billion in the cryptocurrency Bitcoin and says it will also accept Bitcoin for car purchases.

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A healthcare worker administers a dose of the coronavirus vaccine to an elderly at a health center in the Cypriot coastal city of Limassol on February 8, 2021.

Health & Safety

Facebook Widens Ban On COVID-19 Vaccine Misinformation In Push To Boost Confidence

1:07pm February 08, 2021

by Shannon Bond

The social network says it will focus on groups, pages and accounts repeatedly sharing false claims about vaccines.

People make three-finger salutes during an anti-coup march on Saturday in Yangon, Myanmar.

World News

Myanmar Blocks Facebook, Twitter As Anti-Coup Protests Grow

4:29pm February 06, 2021

by Avie Schneider

Days after a coup and the detention of Aung San Suu Kyi and other elected leaders, the country's military is moving to strangle free speech by shutting down access to social media sites.

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Nagin Cox speaks at TEDxBeaconStreet 2016. Photo: John Werner http://www.johnwernerphotography.com/Commnuity/TEDxBeaconStreetPix/TEDxBeaconStreet-2016

Science

Nagin Cox: What Does Time On Mars Teach Us About Time On Earth?

9:35am February 05, 2021

by NPR/TED Staff

NASA engineer Nagin Cox lives on Earth but works on Mars time, where days are longer and time works differently. Her work with the rovers has entirely changed the way she thinks about time on Earth.

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QAnon supporters attended a pro-Trump rally last month in Washington, D.C., on the same weekend that Congress finalized then-President-elect Joe Biden's victory.

Why QAnon Survives After Trump

7:16pm February 04, 2021

by Emma Bowman

Travis View hosts the conspiracy-debunking podcast QAnon Anonymous. He says QAnon persists because its delusional ideas don't come from a single leader, but are "self-generated" and "crowdsourced."

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