Techmeme: A look at Cartel TikTok, viral videos showcasing drug cartel culture, that experts say is a propaganda tool designed to mask the violence and attract recruits (Oscar Lopez/New York Times)

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November 30, 2020, 4:50 AM

Top News

Scott Pelley / CBS News:

Interview with former director of US CISA Chris Krebs on being fired by Trump via tweet, why paper ballots are key to ensuring election security, and more — Chris Krebs, a lifelong Republican, was put in charge of the agency handling election security by President Trump two years ago.

More: NBC News. Tweets: @60minutes, @alexstamos, @60minutes, @60minutes, @chipfranklin, @amaramarasingam, @amandacarpenter, @elizlanders, @jocelynbenson, @ali_h_soufan, @jason_kint, @jeffflake, @ericgeller, @joseph_marks_, @realdonaldtrump, @joseph_marks_, @nickmiroff, and @timodc

Katie Abel / Footwear News:

Zappos co-founder Tony Hsieh, who stepped down as CEO earlier this year, has died at age 46, reportedly from injuries sustained in a house fire in Connecticut — Tony Hsieh, the brilliant and big-hearted Zappos.com luminary who revolutionized the shoe business and built one of the most innovative companies in modern history, has died.

More: Daily Mail, TechCrunch, TechSpot, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, CNN, Business Insider, Las Vegas Review-Journal, BBC, LinkedIn, GeekWire, The Guardian, The Verge, Bloomberg, Axios, NPR, Gizmodo, Variety, Matt on Not-WordPress …, Crunchbase News, CNET, Las Vegas Sun, Associated Press, Forbes, Fortune, and Twitter Moments

Tweets: @govsisolak, @sacca, @zappos, @ivankatrump, @alfred_lin, @mayoroflasvegas, @bettywliu, @raykwong, @brianhoh1, @ellenychang, @motokorich, @caro, @toryshulman, @acolbert_24, @mhark, @shibanijoshi, @ayesha_mattu, @greatquarter, @kushaanshah, @janewells, @tonyhawk, @pkedrosky, @andrewyang, @aditya2k, @jensiebelnewsom, @i2pi, @biz, @originalspin, @mlevchin, @padmasree, @abc7kristensze, @garyvee, @elisewho, @davidchang, @cyantist, @ingridlunden, @jhong, @btwfoundation, @werner, @erikbryn, @adetolaov, @kevinrose, @senjackyrosen, @ryanqualtrics, @apartovi, @jennaezarik, @mcuban, @antoniogm, @reviewjournal, @om, @ambermac, @jimkwik, @jaycuthrell, @danprimack, @paulg, @om, @dougulman, @apartovi, @jowyang, @lanceulanoff, @liv_boeree, @stevebyrnelive, @eghosao, @donasarkar, @davidhornik, @mattyglesias, @karaswisher, @stephanielintv, @arrington, @reviewjournal, @drgjackbrown, @ekp, @joe_bartels, @waitbutwhy, @yashar, @twittermoments, @jasonrapp, @dcurtis, @taylor_soper, @scobleizer, @brianroemmele, @yashar, @itsa_talia, @karaswisher, @mmasnick, @rmac18, @ericrweinstein, @amazonnews, @yolayne, @christinaqi, @karaswisher, @shashivelur, @web, @oviosu, @jw, @ev, @peterpham, @bgurley, @sjresnick, @reignofapril, @michaelperry, @vegasmrr0ng, @jasonhirschhorn, @sdkstl, @leynanguyentv, @film_girl, @devindra, @photomatt, @photomatt, @photomatt, @km, @waqasali, @abc7kristensze, @jrdorkin, @treklightgear, @satyap, @snipeyhead, @hunterwalk, and @thekenyeung

Alex Konrad / Forbes:

Interviews with tech leaders on Tony Hsieh's legacy, his student life at Harvard, his unconventional business approach, and the culture he built at Zappos — Tony Hsieh, bestselling author and longtime former CEO of ecommerce pioneer Zappos.com, died at age 46 on Friday.

More: Paul Bradley Carr and Jeff Bezos - Instagram

Tweets: @jeffawilke, @tiffani, @tefomohapi, @karanortman, @jhong, @tinch, @majonorero, @forbesasia, @alexrkonrad, @alexrkonrad, @sippey, @davidhornik, @benwerd, @sarahcuda, @sarahcuda, @sarahcuda, @zserafin, @asanwal, @lisahopeking, @forbes, @alexrkonrad, @nrmehta, @cyantist, @sacca, and @om

Om Malik / On my Om:

A tribute to Tony Hsieh, a notable figure on the startup scene since 1996, and whose life recalls a friendlier and less polarized Internet era

More: Elizabeth Yin, Zappos.com, Las Vegas Review-Journal, and Bloomberg

Tweets: @davepell, @yoda, @davidhornik, @iankennedy, @briansolis, @paullomax, @erin_boudreau, @arrington, @sarahcuda, @jcal7, @benbator, @caitlin_mcgarry, @writingdowntown, @csymrl, and @hadip

Oscar Lopez / New York Times:

A look at Cartel TikTok, viral videos showcasing drug cartel culture, that experts say is a propaganda tool designed to mask the violence and attract recruits — Mexico is set to shatter another murder record, but that grim reality is nowhere to be seen on the TikTok videos that go viral by showcasing drug cartel culture.

Tweets: @tonyromm, @jbarbassa, @evelyndouek, @nytimes, @wadhwa, @nytimes, @tlupick, @utobian, @michaelbkelley, and @falko_ernst

Debby Wu / Bloomberg:

As China gets more expensive and US politics less predictable, Foxconn, Pegatron, and others are increasing production in places like India, Vietnam, and Mexico — - Foxconn eyes Vietnam for some production of iPads and MacBooks — Pegatron is in the process of readying an iPhone site in India

More: phonearena.com. Tweets: @smita1900, @technology, and @prasannavishy

Thomas Seal / Bloomberg:

The UK will ban the installation of new Huawei 5G network equipment starting September 2021 and pledges $333M to diversify its 5G supply chain — - Britain set to impose security law on mobile network operators — White House pushed allies to exclude Chinese tech giant Huawei

More: TechCrunch, Press Association, South China Morning Post, Reuters, Financial Times, GOV.UK, BBC, Telegraph, Silicon Republic, Gizmodo, TheStreet, Neowin, CNET, and Telegraph

Tweets: @damiancollins, @iowbobseely, @tomtugendhat, and @ajitpaifcc

Anna Kramer / Protocol:

Profile of Christine Su, Twitter's senior PM for conversational safety, who is a queer Asian-American “activist-entrepreneur” with an MBA and MA in agriculture — About six months ago, Twitter quietly hired someone to become the head of product for conversational safety on the platform.

More: The Overspill and Reclaim The Net

Tweets: @patrickmcgee_, @neerajka, @martinsfp, @anna_c_kramer, @jcbcp, @protocol, and @anna_c_kramer

Masha Borak / South China Morning Post:

JD Digits, JD.com's big data unit, unveils its plans to build an AI-powered smart city “operating system” for China's smart city project in Xiongan, China — JD Digits, the e-commerce giant's big data arm, is building up a smart city operating system that uses artificial intelligence Alibaba …

Raphael Tsavkko Garcia / MIT Technology Review:

A look at crowdsourced public safety apps growing amid rising violence in Brazil; Fogo Cruzado, which warns of shootings in Río and Recife, has 250K+ downloads — Shootouts are common in Brazil's cities. Apps have sprung up to tell people about spots to avoid—and to put political pressure on authorities.

Tweets: @techreview

Shakeel Hashim / Protocol:

Q&A with CEO of Ocado Solutions on selling its grocery delivery tech to retailers like Kroger, the pandemic's impact on Ocado, plans for robotic pickers, more — The British grocery logistics company is expanding around the world and continues to invest in robotics, aiming to have robotic pickers within three years.

Alizeh Kohari / Rest of World:

How students in a remote part of Pakistan mobilized during the pandemic to demand better internet from the military-run unit controlling it — Pakistan's government uses the internet as a means of exerting control — and in a remote part of the country, citizens are starting to fight back.

Tweets: @restofworld and @anupkaphle

Zoe Schiffer / The Verge:

Experts say Facebook's implementation of its ban on selling historical artifacts eliminates evidence of crimes and hinders the tracking of art traffickers — A ban on selling stolen artifacts is having unintended consequences — On October 24th, 2020, an art trafficker in Darnah, Libya posted a series of unusual ads.

Tweets: @bissancampaigns, @sesmith, and @helveticade

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From Mediagazer

New York Times:

Sources: Sewell Chan's departure from CJR comes as the magazine has been running under tight budgetary constraints and was beginning a fundraising campaign

Drew Harwell / Washington Post:

A profile of Acyn Torabi, or @Acyn, who joined MeidasTouch in 2023 and is shaping the US liberal media with his fast-cut, viral video posts of political gaffes

Ted Johnson / Deadline:

A federal judge declines the AP challenge to the WH eliminating wire service pool slots, calling the policy “neutral” as it does not punish the AP specifically

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More News

Steve O'Hear / TechCrunch:

UK-based Primer, which aims to help merchants future-proof and consolidate their payment stack, raises a £14M Series A led by Accel

More: Crowdfund Insider

Mercedes Ruehl / Financial Times:

Google, Temasek, and Bain & Company report: investments in Indonesia's tech sector in the first half of 2020 totaled $2.8B, up 55% from the same period in 2019

More: Tech in Asia and PYMNTS.com

Tweets: @primroseriordan and @milanv

Nikkei Asia:

Report: China accounted for 23% of cross-border data flows in 2019, nearly twice the share of the US, which ranked second with 12%, followed by the UK and India

Tweets: @nikkeiasia, @volt4ire, @scottadamssays, and @nikkeiasia

Wall Street Journal:

Pandemic has deepened the digital education divide in India, where ~38% of households with students had no smartphone in the house, according to a recent survey

Tweets: @asanwal, @wsj, @storonimithu, and @scurve

Hannah Natanson / Washington Post:

A report on student grades from Virginia reveals that online learning has led to a sharp drop in students' academic performance

More: New York Times. Tweets: @jrichlive, @hannah_natanson, @dereckapurnell, and @pasturespolitic

Earlier Picks

Issie Lapowsky / Protocol:

As Facebook and Google continue to ban political ads, Republican super PACs are spending millions on other platforms that offer no advertiser transparency

Tweets: @issielapowsky, @brendan_fischer, and @digiphile

Benedict Carey / New York Times:

How Reach Vet, an AI-based system used in clinical practice by the US Department of Veterans Affairs, helps identify veterans at high risk of suicide

Tweets: @nytscience, @mountsinainyc, and @nytimestech

Christine Hall / Crunchbase News:

HMBradley, a Santa Monica-based banking startup which offers up to 3% interest on savings accounts, raises $18.25M Series A led by Acrew Capital

More: Business Insider, TechCrunch, Finextra, Los Angeles Business Journal, FinSMEs, PYMNTS.com, FinTech Futures, The Paypers, Crowdfund Insider, and FinTech Global

Tweets: @dandefrancesco, @leimer, and @crunchbasenews

Foreign Affairs:

Big Tech threatens democracy and one solution may be to take away their role as gatekeepers of content and let users choose the information presented to them

Tweets: @ethanz, @bergmayer, @girautaoficial, @barakrichman, and @foreignaffairs. Thanks:@bigdata

Peter Steinberger / steipete's blog:

Most developer tools aren't ready yet for M1 Macs, but next gen Mx Macs should be fully capable main development machines when Apple launches them next year

More: iPhone in Canada Blog. Tweets: @imbushuo, @_msw_, @jonmasters, @stshank, @jonmasters, @tmikov, @rileytestut, @steipete, @lukemiani, @rikarends, @tapbot_paul, @kartones, @jsnell, @pietrorea, @tapbot_paul, @ohmdee, @aeyakovenko, @nfonrose, @xeraa, @mostalive, @drewthaler, @stuartd, @anaisbetts, @bluxte, @codefolio, @adriftfuriously, and @erratarob