Welcome back to TechCrunch’s Week in Review — TechCrunch’s newsletter recapping the week’s biggest news. Want it in your inbox every Saturday? Sign up here. Over the past eight years, famed vehicle designer Henrik Fisker suggested his EV startup would deliver on a lot of promises, but none came true. As Fisker looks for an […]
Fisker collapsed under the weight of its founder’s promises Read More »
You thought the hottest rap battle of the summer was between Kendrick Lamar and Drake. You were wrong. It’s between Canva and an enterprise CIO. At its Canva Create event last week, Canva unveiled its new enterprise offerings. But few people would be talking about that if not for an unexpected rap battle that took
Canva’s rap battle is part of a long legacy of Silicon Valley cringe Read More »
Meta has been banned from launching features on Facebook and Instagram that would have collected data on voters in Spain using the social networks ahead of next month’s European Elections. The local data protection authority, the AEPD, has used emergency powers to protect local users’ privacy. Meta confirmed to TechCrunch it has complied with the
A pair of studies published Thursday in the journal Science offers evidence not only that misinformation on social media changes minds, but that a small group of committed “supersharers,” predominately older Republican women, were responsible for the vast majority of the “fake news” in the period looked at. The studies, by researchers at MIT, Ben-Gurion
Misinformation works, and a handful of social ‘supersharers’ sent 80% of it in 2020 Read More »
The families of victims of the shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas are suing Activision and Meta, as well as gun manufacturer Daniel Defense. The families bringing the lawsuits are represented by attorney Josh Koskoff, who previously won a settlement from Remington for the families of Sandy Hook shooting victims. The suit against
Families of Uvalde shooting victims sue Activision and Meta Read More »
Welcome back to TechCrunch’s Week in Review — TechCrunch’s newsletter recapping the week’s biggest news. Want it in your inbox every Saturday? Sign up here. OpenAI announced this week that it’s removing Sky, one of the voices used by its new GPT-4o model, after users found it sounded eerily similar to Scarlett Johansson’s AI character
Scarlett Johansson brought receipts to the OpenAI controversy Read More »
“Running with scissors is a cardio exercise that can increase your heart rate and require concentration and focus,” says Google’s new AI search feature. “Some say it can also improve your pores and give you strength.” Google’s AI feature pulled this response from a website called Little Old Lady Comedy, which, as its name makes
Using memes, social media users have become red teams for half-baked AI features Read More »
Social networking startup and X competitor Bluesky is officially launching DMs (direct messages), the company announced on Wednesday. Later, Bluesky plans to “fully support end-to-end encrypted messaging down the line,” it also said. The launch comes two weeks after the social network teased it would soon be introducing direct messaging capabilities. Up until now, all
Bluesky now has DMs | TechCrunch Read More »
Decentralized social networks aren’t immune to botnet-driven spam, as a recent spam attack on Bluesky demonstrates. Earlier this month, a flood of posts reading “remember to always vote Trump” showed up on Bluesky’s network posted by accounts with random names and default avatars. The spam didn’t originate on Bluesky, though. Instead, it reached Bluesky by
The ‘vote Trump’ spam that hit Bluesky in May came from decentralized rival Nostr Read More »
TikTok is pulling out all the stops to prevent its impending ban in the United States. Aside from initiating legal challenges against the government, that means shaping up its public image. On Tuesday, the platform announced its TikTok Change Makers Program, which includes fifty global creators who “create a positive impact on and beyond the
As a U.S. ban looms, TikTok announces a $1M program for socially driven creators Read More »
