Techmeme
February 4, 2023, 3:25 PM

Top News

Reed Albergotti / Semafor:
A viral tweet alleges bias as ChatGPT refuses to write a poem about positive attributes of Trump but writes one about Biden; sources: OpenAI doesn't know why  —  Even ChatGPT's creators can't figure out why it won't answer certain questions — including queries about former U.S. President Donald Trump …
Bloomberg:
The LockBit ransomware gang claims ION Trading UK paid a ransom after the group's cyberattack on the software firm upended derivatives trading around the world  —  The hacking group behind the attack on ION Trading UK — the software firm that was struck by a cyberattack earlier this week …
Lawrence Abrams / BleepingComputer:
Background check services TruthFinder and Instant Checkmate confirm a data breach after hackers leak a 2019 database allegedly containing the info of 20M users  —  PeopleConnect, the owners of the TruthFinder and Instant Checkmate background check services, confirmed they suffered a data breach …
Steven Levy / Wired:
A look at T2, a Twitter alternative founded by a former employee of Google's Area 120 to offer a “2007 Twitter” vibe that Musk's platform no longer supplies  —  Cofounder Gabor Cselle says his upstart social network can offer a “2007 Twitter” community vibe that Elon Musk's platform no longer supplies.
Ryan Gallagher / Bloomberg:
Interviews detail the Conti ransomware group's 2021 attack on Ireland's public health system; Conti seemingly called off the hack without receiving a ransom  —  At first the attack on Ireland's public-health system fell into a depressingly familiar pattern.
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: the US is weighing sanctions on Tiandy, Uniview, and other Chinese surveillance tech makers over sales to Iran in 2022 as protests swept the country  —  Beijing's exports of video recorders to Iran more than doubled in 2022 as protests swept the country
Donal Griffin / Bloomberg:
A look at little-known UK-based fintech Transactive, which processes €1B+ monthly and has UK and Lithuania licenses, and questions about staff ties to scammers  —  In the space of just five years, a little-known company on the outskirts of London has grown into a payments-industry powerhouse …
Nilesh Christopher / Rest of World:
Myntra, the Indian fashion retailer owned by Flipkart, penalizes users who return items too often; studies: Indians return ~25% to 40% of clothes bought online  —  Across India, e-commerce giants like Myntra and Flipkart are canceling free returns to boost profits.  —  • BENGALURU, INDIA
Kelsey Weekman / BuzzFeed News:
After YouTuber MrBeast made a video about paying for 1,000 blind people's eye surgery, critics raise questions about “stunt philanthropy” and “charity porn”  —  Is it stunt philanthropy or self-funded charity in the YouTube age?  —  A YouTuber just helped treat 1,000 people with blindness and low vision.
New York Times:
Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, and other tech firms begin 2023 by championing austerity after facing the worst tech year on Wall Street since the 2008 financial crisis  —  After years of expansion and billions in profits, Big Tech is pulling back from its famously lavish spending as a long boom finally ends.
BuzzFeed News:
Twitter ending free API access could have the unfortunate side effect of killing many useful bots, like @MakeItAQuote, @BigTechAlert, @_weather_bot_, and more  —  “I'm not paying a dime to Elon lol.”  —  Pranav Dixit  —  One of the most popular bots on Twitter is @MakeItAQuote, which has more than 565,000 followers.
Mike Masnick / Techdirt:

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More News

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Earlier Picks

Mitchell Clark / The Verge:
Kevin Roose / New York Times:
Rohan Goswami / CNBC:
Amitoj Singh / CoinDesk: