Technology

Politics & Government

News Brief: Trump Taxes, Amy Coney Barrett, TikTok Ban Blocked

6:05am September 28, 2020

Trump dismisses published report that he paid little in federal income taxes. GOP aims to get Supreme Court nominee confirmed by election. And, U.S. judge halts Trump's TikTok ban before it started.

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In numerous recent interviews, educators have told NPR they're concerned the rural-urban divide will only worsen if kids can't get online to learn.

In Internet Dead Zones, Rural Schools Struggle With Distanced Learning

5:00am September 28, 2020

by Kirk Siegler

Many American schools are back in class via distance learning. It's stressful everywhere but especially in rural districts where most students lack high-speed Internet and cell phone service at home.

U.S. Judge Halts Trump's TikTok Ban, Hours Before It Was Set To Start

11:20pm September 27, 2020

by Bobby Allyn

The decision grants TikTok a short-term reprieve, but the wildly popular app's fate still faces an extraordinary amount of uncertainty.

Books

Author Interview: Adapting To Social Media's Disruptions In 'The Hype Machine'

6:57pm September 26, 2020

NPR's Michel Martin speaks with MIT professor Sinan Aral about his new book, The Hype Machine: How Social Media Disrupts Our Elections, Our Economy, and Our Health – and How we Must Adapt.

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The Justice Department lawyers say ByteDance CEO Zhang Yiming has made public statements showing he is "committed to promoting" the agenda of the Chinese Communist Party.

New DOJ Filing: TikTok's Owner Is 'A Mouthpiece' Of Chinese Communist Party

2:58pm September 26, 2020

by Bobby Allyn

In a new court filing, the Trump administration offers its most thorough explanation to date of why it considers the hit video-sharing app a national security threat.

Google is the latest tech company to tighten its election-related policies ahead of November's vote.

Politics & Government

Google To Halt Political Ads After Polls Close, Amid Worries Over Delayed Results

2:59pm September 25, 2020

by Shannon Bond

The tech giant will not allow election-related ads in Search, on YouTube or any of its other properties, citing the likelihood of delayed election results.

Civil rights groups and other critics say the social network has not done enough to curb misinformation, hate speech and voter suppression ahead of the U.S. presidential election.

Politics & Government

Civil Rights Groups Say If Facebook Won't Act On Election Misinformation, They Will

9:51am September 25, 2020

by Shannon Bond

Facebook critics are banding together to monitor misinformation, hate speech and voter suppression on the social network because, they argue, it has fallen short.

A screenshot of an Instagram post Facebook linked to Russia's Internet Research Agency. United World International was a phony website created by the Russian operation and promoted on social media.

Politics & Government

Facebook, Twitter Remove More Russian-Backed Fake Accounts Ahead Of Election

6:07pm September 24, 2020

by Shannon Bond

The social media companies said the accounts and pages were linked to Russian actors that had launched "hack-and-leak" operations to hurt Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election.

Chris Tomkinson — known online as ShinyZeni — streaming a speedrun of Super Metroid.

Arts

You Think Your Favorite Video Game Is Hard? Try Speedrunning It

3:22pm September 24, 2020

by Keller Gordon

Speedrunning is the quirky subculture dedicated to playing through video games as fast as is humanly possible, exploiting glitches in game code and advanced techniques to barrel ahead.

TikTok: Even A Temporary Ban Could Make 90% Of Users Quit The App

6:19pm September 23, 2020

by Bobby Allyn

Lawyers for popular video app TikTok are asking a federal judge to block President Trump's order banning the app from taking effect on Sunday.