Techmeme: Profile of Ismail Fahmi, who has become an Indonesian household name for combating misinformation with data from his company's social media-mapping tools (Antonia Timmerman/Rest of World)

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September 19, 2021, 6:55 PM

Top News

Tom Warren / The Verge:

A possible retail listing of Surface Pro 8 with a 13" 120Hz display, narrow bezels, and two Thunderbolt ports leaks ahead of Microsoft's event on Wednesday — Microsoft is holding a Surface hardware event on Wednesday — Microsoft is preparing to launch a new Surface Pro 8 model next week …

More: Windows Central, MobileSyrup, XDA Developers, BetaNews, phonearena.com, PCMag, Neowin, WinCentral, Engadget, OnMSFT.com, Thurrott, MSPoweruser, and CNET

Tweets: @techaltar, @brianfagioli, @superscientific, @tapbot_paul, @detroitborg, and @snazzyq

Nick Clegg / About Facebook:

Facebook VP says WSJ's series contained deliberate mischaracterizations, and conferred egregiously false motives to Facebook's leadership and employees — A lot has been said about Facebook this week. A series of articles published by the Wall Street Journal has focused …

More: The Hill, Gizmodo, CNET, Insider, The Guardian, Bloomberg, Axios, PCMag, Benzinga, The Verge, Reuters, New York Times, and The Wrap

Tweets: @andymstone, @nickclegg, @yaeleisenstat, @juliacarriew, @nickclegg, @kantrowitz, @mbfhunzaker, @mbfhunzaker, @repkenbuck, @craig_walmsley, @douglindner, @samidh, @juliacarriew, @ceciliakang, @blackamazon, @jeffnolan, @colegarry2, @juliacarriew, @nickclegg, @jocwapo, @jason_kint, @bgrueskin, @juliacarriew, @jeffersonpooley, @justinhendrix, @katierosman, @bernstein, @alexstamos, @ccdhate, @jason_kint, @skwrlz, @daithaigilbert, @nickclegg, @dnvolz, @blancheminerva, @sherman4949, @hhariri, @ravmabay, @willoremus, @grady_booch, @keithmansfield, @moonalice, @nickclegg, @_alialkhatib, @zamaan_qureshi, @edzitron, @mikeisaac, @jason_kint, @donie, @johnpaczkowski, @tarletong, @gregbensinger, @davidnemer, @somospostpc, @kantrowitz, @iansherr, @bobbyallyn, @sg, @andymstone, @samifathi_, @slaby, @jesselehrich, @kimmasters, @caseynewton, @daveleeft, @sarosecav, @evan_greer, @senwarren, @migueldeicaza, @pierasselin, @jeffhorwitz, @bernstein, @giladedelman, @gartenberg, @willoremus, @willoremus, @tvietor08, @jodikantor, @pinboard, @pinboard, @om, @anthony, @jemimacmcevoy, @jason_kint, @anthony, @anthony, @reckless, and @andrewrestuccia

Antonia Timmerman / Rest of World:

Profile of Ismail Fahmi, who has become an Indonesian household name for combating misinformation with data from his company's social media-mapping tools — In a “dystopian nightmare” internet, Ismail Fahmi holds a strange monopoly on debunking false facts. — • JAKARTA, INDONESIA

Tweets: @restofworld, @rosstapsell, @timmerman91, @cengizyar, @anupkaphle, @restofworld, @iethics, @fedecherubini, @restofworld, @restofworld, and @risj_oxford

Rebecca Elliott / Wall Street Journal:

NTSB head says Tesla shouldn't roll out its Full Self-Driving update with the city-driving tool before addressing safety deficiencies — Tesla plans to expand access to Full Self-Driving system and defends its tech; safety official says more work is needed — Tesla Inc. is readying a major upgrade of its driver-assistance software.

More: Gizmodo, The Verge, Benzinga, Reuters, Wccftech, Engadget, PCMag, Mashable, Insider, The Last Driver License Holder, and TechCrunch

Tweets: @davidzipper, @wpipperger, @parismarx, @paulpage, @gordonjohnson19, @eliotwb, @bgrahamdisciple, and @cmarinucci

Will Oremus / Washington Post:

Profile of Chris Gilliard, aka @hypervisible, who has helped coin concepts like “digital redlining” to highlight the impact of tech on marginalized groups — Chris Gilliard grew up with racist policing in Detroit. He sees a new form of oppression in the tech we use every day.

Sean Hollister / The Verge:

A look at the lawsuit over Kosta Elefteriou's FlickType app for Apple Watch that he claims Apple had offered to buy, as Apple unveils its own swipe keyboard — In January 2019, Kosta Eleftheriou had every reason to believe Apple was about to make a deal, his lawsuit alleges.

More: iThinkDifferent and iPhone in Canada Blog

Tweets: @nunomahorta, @tinyfreudian, @pasisalenius, @n1gh7_, @matthewfx, @jp_payeur, @scififa26502583, @michael_ludden, @gamerdriftking7, @cinemec, and @keleftheriou

Nicole Wetsman / The Verge:

Experts say current cuffless methods for measuring blood pressure, like the tech found in Samsung Galaxy Watch, can only reliably track relative changes — It's been over two years since Samsung first announced that its Galaxy Watch would be able to measure people's blood pressure.

Tweets: @spjuraschek and @berci

Misyrlena Egkolfopoulou / Bloomberg:

A look at US “finfluencers”, creators partnering with fintechs to promote investment products, as App Annie says hours spent on finance apps are up 90% YoY — Finance firms have long struggled to reach young and new customers — until now. — At first no one could explain …

More: Fortune

Aditya Kalra / Reuters:

Report: India's antitrust authority found that Google abused the dominant position of Android in the country to illegally hurt competitors — Google abused the dominant position of its Android operating system in India, using its “huge financial muscle” to illegally hurt competitors …

More: AppleInsider, Engadget, Benzinga, Neowin, PCMag, The Hill, TechCrunch, Patently Apple, The Economic Times, MSPoweruser, Inc42 Media, and Yahoo News

Tweets: @theoladipo, @johnkoetsier, @whalesonly1, and @adityakalra

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty:

Telegram blocks Navalny's Smart Voting chatbot on the second day of voting in Russia's parliamentary election — Popular messaging app Telegram has suspended all chat bots used in the Russian elections campaign, in another blow to jailed opposition politician Aleksei Navalny's Smart Voting initiative …

Dan Taylor / Tech.eu:

Madrid-based Seedtag, a contextual adtech company, raises $40M Series B led by Oakley Capital to expand into the US market — Madrid-based Seedtag has raised $40 million in a Series B funding round. $35 million of this round arrives via Oakley Capital, a figure that provides the investment firm …

Source: Seedtag and PR Newswire. More: Insider and AdExchanger

Oscar Williams / New Statesman:

A look at how the withdrawal of Google and others from London's decade-old Silicon Roundabout may be proof the UK's startup scene has expanded and matured — Nearly a decade after David Cameron launched Tech City, Shoreditch has been dramatically transformed. But what is the initiative's legacy?

Tweets: @dougall, @rsohoni, @oscwilliams, @sarahdrinkwater, @christianhern, and @jpwiseuk. Thanks:@oscwilliams

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About This Page

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The most current version of the site as always is available at our home page. To view an earlier snapshot click here and then modify the date indicated.

From Mediagazer

Associated Press:

President Trump signed an EO on May 1 instructing CPB and other agencies to cut federal funding for NPR and PBS, alleging “bias” in the broadcasters' reporting

Minho Kim / New York Times:

An appeals court allows the Trump admin to continue withholding funds from federally funded newsrooms, temporarily reversing parts of two lower-court rulings

Sean Burch / The Wrap:

The LA Times Guild says 14 of its members have been laid off, or 6% of its newsroom staff, the third round of newsroom layoffs at LAT in as many years

More News

Todd Spangler / Variety:

CreatorIQ, which helps brands with influencer marketing by providing e-commerce and campaign measurement tools, raises $40M from investors including TVC Capital

Source: CreatorIQ and Business Wire. More: Forbes

Kia Kokalitcheva / Axios:

LA-based Tradesy, an online marketplace for secondhand high-end fashion goods, raises $67M Series D led by Foris Ventures, the family office of John Doerr

More: WWD, The Business of Fashion, The Business Journals, socaltech.com, FashionUnited, and dot.LA

Amrith Ramkumar / Wall Street Journal:

Pagaya, whose AI-powered service makes financial transactions like lending more efficient for banks, is going public in a SPAC merger at a valuation of ~$9B

Source: Business Wire. More: Globes Online and PYMNTS.com

Matthew Martin / Bloomberg:

Saudi-based customer communications service Unifonic raises $125M Series B led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and Sanabil, which is owned by Saudi Arabia's PIF

Source: unifonic. More: Wamda, Gulf Business, MENAFN.COM, TyN Magazine, Cairo Scene, and Reuters

Tweets: @aitmit and @arabianbusiness

Tom Krazit / Protocol:

Interview with GitHub COO Erica Brescia on GitHub's infrastructure, changes in open-source software philosophies, and why hybrid work will thrive post-pandemic

Tweets: @protocol and @protocol. Thanks:@colegarry2

Brian X. Chen / New York Times:

The dismantling of digital advertising based on personal data and cookies is reshaping revenue plans for ad and tech industries, publishers, and small companies

Tweets: @chronotope, @glenngabe, @ohmdee, @carnage4life, @carnage4life, @pt, @joefav, @nytimes, @brave, @marshacollier, @nytscience, and @rob

Earlier Picks

Michael Berens / Reuters:

A review of US laws governing the corporate use of biometric screening finds Illinois stands out in banning biometric data collection without consent

Tweets: @john_j_howard, @caitlin_reports, @iwillleavenow, @reuters, @mjberens1, @reuters, @reuters, and @reuterslegal

Issie Lapowsky / Protocol:

Twitch's “hate raid” lawsuit raises questions about when tech platforms should unmask their own anonymous users and sue them for violating their speech policies

Tweets: @protocol and @issielapowsky

Thomas Brewster / Forbes:

CEO of US-based cybersecurity company Exodus Intelligence says India bought and likely weaponized its Windows zero-day research to spy on China and Pakistan

More: Wired. Tweets: @lorenzofb, @iblametom, @agarri_fr, @iblametom, @misterzedpk, @tylabs, @iblametom, and @maddiestone

Michelle F Davis / Bloomberg:

Caresyntax, an AI-powered platform that aims to reduce deaths from surgery-related complications, adds $30M to its Series C, bringing the round total to $130M

Source: caresyntax. More: HIT Consultant and FinSMEs

CK Tan / Nikkei Asia:

Shanghai-based XTransfer, which provides currency and payment management services to 150K+ import/export SMBs, mostly in China, raises $138M at a $1B+ valuation

More: DealStreetAsia, Yicai Global, Finextra, TechNode, and DealStreetAsia

Tracy Qu / South China Morning Post:

Amazon says it has closed 3,000 seller accounts backed by about 600 Chinese brands for review fraud

More: The Verge, Notebookcheck.net, TechSpot, Caixin Global, Liliputing, Engadget, Benzinga, SlashGear, Techaeris, and PCMag

Tweets: @blacklabeladvsr, @carnage4life, and @robleathern