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They eat ice cream and read ‘Harry Potter,’ but these North Korean YouTubers aren’t what they seem | CNN

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They eat ice cream and read ‘Harry Potter,’ but these North Korean YouTubers aren’t what they seem | CNN


Seoul, South Korea
CNN
 — 

The younger lady rifles by way of a fridge of popsicles, pulling out a number of to indicate the digital camera.

“That is milk taste – the image is so cute,” she says in English, pointing to the cartoon packaging with a smile. “And that is peach taste.”

After lastly deciding on an ice cream cone, she bites into it, declaring: “The biscuit could be very scrumptious.”

The four-minute video has racked up greater than 41,000 views on YouTube, however that is no extraordinary vlog. The lady, who calls herself YuMi, lives in North Korea, maybe the world’s most remoted and secretive nation.

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Her YouTube channel, created final June, is considered one of a number of social media accounts which have popped up throughout the web up to now 12 months or two, wherein North Korean residents declare to share their on a regular basis lives.

However consultants say not all is because it appears in these movies, and that the photographs comprise tell-tale indicators that the lives displayed are removed from the norm for the impoverished thousands and thousands underneath the dictatorship of chief Kim Jong Un.

As an alternative, they counsel, YuMi and others like are seemingly associated to high-ranking officers and could also be a part of a propaganda marketing campaign aimed toward rebranding the nation’s worldwide picture as a extra relatable – even tourist-friendly – place than its fixed discuss nuclear weapons may counsel.

YuMi’s movies “seem like a well-prepared play” scripted by the North Korean authorities, stated Park Seong-cheol, a researcher on the Database Centre for North Korean Human Rights.

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For many years, North Korea has been comparatively closed off from the remainder of the world, with tight restrictions on free expression, free motion and entry to info.

Its dismal human rights file has been criticized by the United Nations. Web use is closely restricted; even the privileged few who’re allowed smartphones can solely entry a government-run, closely censored intranet. International supplies like books and films are banned, typically with extreme punishments for these caught with black market contraband.

This is the reason YuMi – who not solely has entry to a filming gadget however YouTube – is not any extraordinary North Korean, consultants say.

“Connecting with the surface world is an not possible factor for a resident,” stated Ha Seung-hee, a analysis professor of North Korea research at Dongguk College.

YuMi shouldn’t be the one North Korean YouTuber turning heads: an 11-year-old who calls herself Music A made her YouTube debut in April 2022 and has already gained greater than 20,000 subscribers.

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“My favourite guide is ‘Harry Potter’ written by J. Ok. Rowling,” Music A claims in a single video, holding up the primary guide of the sequence – significantly putting given North Korea’s usually strict guidelines forbidding overseas tradition particularly from Western nations.

The video exhibits Music A talking in a British accent and sitting in what seems to be like an idyllic little one’s bed room full with a globe, bookshelf, a stuffed animal, a framed picture and pink curtains.

Song A, purportedly a resident of Pyongyang, North Korea, holds up a Harry Potter book in a YouTube video uploaded April 26, 2022.

The rosy depictions of every day life in Pyongyang can also give a clue to the social standing and identities of their creators.

YuMi’s movies present her visiting an amusement park and an interactive cinema present, fishing in a river, exercising in a well-equipped indoor health club, and visiting a limestone cave the place younger college students wave the North Korean flag within the background.

Music A visits a packed water park, excursions a science and expertise exhibition heart, and movies her first day again at college.

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Park, the knowledgeable, says these representations aren’t 100% false – however they’re extraordinarily deceptive, and don’t signify regular life.

There have been reviews of North Korea’s rich elite, reminiscent of senior authorities officers and their households, gaining access to luxuries reminiscent of air-con, scooters and low. And the amenities proven within the YouTube movies do exist – however they’re not accessible to most individuals, and are solely granted to “particular folks in a particular class,” Park stated.

These amenities are additionally seemingly not open or working commonly because the movies indicate, he stated. “For instance, the ability provide in North Korea shouldn’t be easy sufficient to function an amusement park, so I’ve heard that they’d solely function it on the weekends or on a big day like once they movie a video,” added Park.

People walk on a snow covered street near the Arch of Triumph in Pyongyang on January 12, 2021.

North Korea is infamous for frequent blackouts and electrical energy shortages; solely about 26% of the inhabitants has entry to electrical energy, in keeping with 2019 estimates from the CIA World Factbook. These blackouts had been captured in nighttime satellite tv for pc photographs in 2011 and 2014 that confirmed North Korea cloaked in darkness, virtually mixing into the darkish sea round it – in sharp distinction to the dazzling lights of neighboring China and South Korea.

The YouTubers’ English fluency and entry to uncommon luxuries counsel they’re each extremely educated and certain associated to high-ranking officers, Park stated.

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Defectors have beforehand instructed CNN that some North Koreans study British English of their English courses. The British Council, a UK-based group, additionally ran an English language trainer coaching program in North Korea, sending academics there for greater than a dozen years earlier than it was halted in 2017.

North Korean propaganda isn’t new; earlier campaigns have featured Soviet-style posters, movies of marching troops and missile assessments, and pictures of Kim Jong Un on a white horse.

However consultants say the YouTube movies, and related North Korean social media accounts on Chinese language platforms like Weibo and Bilibili, illustrate a brand new technique: Relatability.

“North Korea is striving to emphasise that Pyongyang is an ‘extraordinary metropolis,’” Park stated, including that the management “could be very concerned with how the surface world views them.”

Ha, the analysis professor, stated North Korea may very well be attempting to painting itself as a “secure nation” to encourage better tourism for its battered economic system – particularly after the toll of the Covid-19 pandemic.

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Whereas it has not but reopened its borders to vacationers, “the pandemic goes to finish sooner or later, and North Korea has been concentrating on tourism for financial functions,” Ha stated.

Earlier than the pandemic, there have been restricted choices for excursions wherein guests had been shepherded across the nation by guides from the Ministry of Tourism. The excursions had been fastidiously choreographed, designed to indicate the nation in its greatest gentle. Even so, many nations, together with the US, warn their residents towards visiting.

After the pandemic started, “there was speak (in North Korea) about shedding earlier types of propaganda and implementing new varieties,” Ha stated. “After Kim Jong Un ordered (authorities) to be extra artistic of their propaganda, vlog movies on YouTube started showing.”

A 2019 article in North Korea’s state-owned newspaper Rodong Sinmun, citing Kim, declared that the nation’s propaganda and information channels should “boldly discard the previous framework of writing and enhancing with established conventions and traditional strategies.”

The YouTubers’ use of English might mirror this effort to achieve international viewers. Each YuMi and Music A additionally helpfully embody English names for his or her channels: YuMi additionally goes by “Olivia Natasha,” and Music A by “Sally Parks.”

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North Korea has posted different varieties of propaganda to YouTube up to now decade – although its official movies are sometimes taken down by moderators.

In 2017, YouTube took down the state-run North Korean information channel Uriminzokkiri, and the Tonpomail channel managed by ethnic Koreans in Japan loyal to Pyongyang, saying they violated the platform’s phrases of providers and group tips.

One other YouTube channel known as Echo of Fact, purportedly run by a North Korean resident known as Un A who filmed herself having fun with every day actions in Pyongyang, was taken down in late 2020.

However the closures sparked outcry from some researchers who stated the movies offered a priceless perception into North Korea and its management, even when they had been propaganda.

When CNN requested remark from YouTube on these deleted channels, and people of Music A and YuMi, a spokesperson stated the platform “complies with all relevant sanctions and commerce compliance legal guidelines – together with with respect to content material created and uploaded by restricted entities.”

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“If we discover that an account violates our Phrases of Service or Neighborhood Tips, we disable it,” the assertion stated.

Specialists stated the movies by YuMi and Music A is likely to be an try by Pyongyang to achieve an viewers with out attracting the eye of moderators.

And nonetheless scripted they is likely to be, they too provided a priceless window into the nation, consultants stated.

“Individuals already know that (the movies) had been created for propaganda functions … the general public is already conscious,” Ha stated. However, she added, “I believe there needs to be correct training and dialogue on how we must always understand (such) content material as an alternative of simply closing the doorways.”

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Microsoft hires DeepMind co-founder Mustafa Suleyman to run new consumer AI unit

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Microsoft hires DeepMind co-founder Mustafa Suleyman to run new consumer AI unit

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Microsoft has hired Mustafa Suleyman, the co-founder of Google’s DeepMind and chief executive of artificial intelligence start-up Inflection, to run a new consumer AI unit.

Suleyman, a British entrepreneur who co-founded DeepMind in London in 2010, will report to Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella, the company announced on Tuesday. He will launch a division of Microsoft that brings consumer-facing products including Microsoft’s Copilot, Bing, Edge and GenAI under one team called Microsoft AI.

It is the latest move by Microsoft to capitalise on the boom in generative AI. It has invested $13bn in OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, and rapidly integrated its technology into Microsoft products.

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Microsoft’s investment in OpenAI has given it an early lead in Silicon Valley’s race to deploy AI, leaving its biggest rival, Google, struggling to catch up. It also has invested in other AI start-ups, including French developer Mistral.

It has been rolling out an AI assistant in its products such as Windows, Office software and cyber security tools. Suleyman’s unit will work on projects including integrating an AI version of Copilot into its Windows operating system and enhancing the use of generative AI in its Bing search engine.

Nadella said in a statement on Tuesday: “I’ve known Mustafa for several years and have greatly admired him as a founder of both DeepMind and Inflection, and as a visionary, product maker and builder of pioneering teams that go after bold missions.”

DeepMind was acquired by Google in 2014 for $500mn, one of the first large bets by a big tech company on a start-up AI lab. The company faced controversy a few years later over some of its projects, including its work for the UK healthcare sector, which was found by a government watchdog to have been granted inappropriate access to patient records.

Suleyman, who was the main public face for the company, was placed on leave in 2019. DeepMind workers had complained that he had an overly aggressive management style. Addressing staff complaints at the time, Suleyman said: “I really screwed up. I was very demanding and pretty relentless.”

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He moved to Google months later, where he led AI product management. In 2022 he joined Silicon Valley venture capital firm Greylock and launched Inflection later that year.

Microsoft will also hire most of Inflection’s staff, including Karén Simonyan, co-founder and chief scientist of Inflection, who will be chief scientist of the AI group. Microsoft did not clarify the number of employees moving over but said it included AI engineers, researchers and large language model builders who have designed and co-authored “many of the most important contributions in advancing AI over the last five years”.

Inflection, a rival to OpenAI, will switch its focus from its consumer chatbot, Pi, and instead move to sell enterprise AI software to businesses, according to a statement on its website. Sean White, who has held various technology roles, has joined as its new chief executive.

Inflection’s third co-founder, Reid Hoffman, the founder and executive chair of LinkedIn, will remain on Inflection’s board. Inflection had raised $1.3bn in June, valuing the group at about $4bn, in one of the largest fundraisings by an AI start-up amid an explosion of interest in the sector.

The new unit marks a big organisational shift at Microsoft. Mikhail Parakhin, its president of web services, will move along with his entire team to report to Suleyman.

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“We have a real shot to build technology that was once thought impossible and that lives up to our mission to ensure the benefits of AI reach every person and organisation on the planet, safely and responsibly,” Nadella said.

Competition regulators in the US and Europe have been scrutinising the relationship between Microsoft and OpenAI amid a broader inquiry into AI investments.

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Threats, debt and Trump's advances: 'Stormy' doc examines the life of Stormy Daniels

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Threats, debt and Trump's advances: 'Stormy' doc examines the life of Stormy Daniels

Stormy Daniels from the Peacock documentary Stormy.

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Stormy Daniels from the Peacock documentary Stormy.

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The new documentary Stormy begins in 2023 — around the time former President Donald Trump was indicted over hush-money payments made during his 2016 presidential campaign.

Stormy Daniels, who was paid by Trump’s lawyer Michael Cohen to keep quiet about their alleged previous affair, watches the news unfold on TV and then says, “Let’s go,” before she walks off screen.

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Stormy chronicles Daniels’ life from her childhood in Baton Rouge, La., to her rise as an adult film actor and then, in the opinion of some, a feminist hero. It also gives viewers a glimpse into how she went from friend to foe of a celebrity businessman who became president of the United States.

“I am here today to tell my story and even if I just change a few people’s minds, it’s fine. If not, at least my daughter can look back on this and know the truth,” she said in the film.

Trump’s criminal trial over the hush-money payments has been delayed until mid-April. He faces 34 felony counts, alleging he falsified New York business records to conceal damaging information before the 2016 presidential election. Trump denies the allegations that he had an affair with Daniels and has pleaded not guilty to all counts.

On Monday, a judge rejected Trump’s bid to block Cohen and Daniels — whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford — from testifying. The trial date will be set at a hearing on March 25.

The film, released Monday on Peacock, mainly captures Daniels’ life between 2018 and 2023. Here are the main takeaways from the documentary:

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1. Daniels explains why she didn’t say no to Trump’s advances back in 2006

Daniels alleged that she was abused by a neighbor in Louisiana when she was 9 years old. She did not go into further detail except to say that the man, whom she did not name, had abused other young girls and has since died.

Later in the film, as Daniels explained why she did not refuse Trump’s advances when the two met in 2006, she said, “I didn’t say no because I just, I was 9 years old again.” At the time, Daniels was in her 20s and Trump was 60.

Though she described the alleged affair as consensual, Daniels said she did not want to have sex with Trump.

“To this day, I blame myself and I have not forgiven myself because I didn’t shut his a** down in that moment, so maybe make him pause before he tried it with someone else,” she said. “The hardest part about all of this is I feel like I am partially responsible for every woman that could have come after me.”

2. Threats against Daniels have become more disturbing

Throughout the film, Daniels is forced to navigate insults and threats hurled at her and her family.

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But she described herself as having thick skin. In one scene from 2018, Daniels joked that she was disappointed she could not find any hate comments on Twitter after she had received a key to West Hollywood from the city’s mayor.

Fast forward to this past year, after Trump’s indictment, Daniels said the hate comments had become more intense and disturbing.

“Back in 2018, there was stuff like ‘liar, s***, gold digger,’ ” she said. “This time around, it is very different. It is direct threats. It is ‘I’m going to come to your house and slit your throat.’ “

Daniels added that she did not feel protected by the justice system, and accused it of ignoring her concerns about her safety.

3. Daniels says her ‘soul is so tired’ but she is willing to testify against Trump

Amid the six-year conflict with Trump, Daniels’ marriage ended, her relationship with her daughter became strained, and she felt her safety was constantly jeopardized.

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But with Trump about to go on trial, Daniels said she’s willing to testify in court against the former president.

“I’m more prepared with my legal knowledge but I’m also tired. Like, my soul is so tired,” she said. “I won’t give up because I’m telling the truth. And I kind of don’t even know if it matters anymore.”

4. Daniels owes Trump over $600,000 in attorney fees

Near the end of the documentary, it’s clear that Daniels also suffered financially as a result of her years-long legal battle against Trump.

In 2018, Daniels sued Trump for defamation. The suit was based on a tweet Trump wrote that year, which suggested Daniels had lied about being threatened in 2011 to not speak out about her alleged previous affair with Trump.

A federal judge later dismissed the suit and ordered Daniels to pay the then-president’s legal fees.

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Daniels appealed but lost. She now owes Trump over $600,000 in attorney fees. The film asserts that Daniels is afraid she may lose her home.

5. Seth Rogen and Jimmy Kimmel speak on Daniels’ behalf

Among the people who appeared in the documentary were actor Seth Rogen and late-night TV host Jimmy Kimmel.

Rogen, who worked with Daniels on the 2007 film Knocked Up, recalled talking with her about Trump. At the time, Daniels said she was communicating with Trump about possibly being on his former reality TV show Celebrity Apprentice.

“She didn’t realize she would one day be at the center of this giant thing as she was messing around with some game show host,” Rogen said. “She’s someone who made an enemy of the most powerful guy on the planet and didn’t, like, cower.”

Kimmel invited Daniels to his show in 2018, when Daniels’ nondisclosure agreement about her previous affair with Trump was still in effect.

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Kimmel described Daniels as having a good sense of humor but also afraid of violating her NDA. He nodded to this during their interview, in which he brought out puppets to reenact her interactions with Trump.

“She told the truth and she paid a price for that,” Kimmel said in the film. “It’s not something that just goes away.”

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Calpers to invest more than $30bn in private markets

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Calpers to invest more than $30bn in private markets

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Calpers, the US’s biggest public pension plan, is to increase its holdings in private markets by more than $30bn and reduce its allocation to stock markets and bonds in an effort to improve returns.

A proposal to increase the $483bn fund’s positions in assets such as private equity and private credit from 33 per cent of the plan to 40 per cent was approved on Monday, according to an announcement by the fund and notes from its board meeting. 

The formal approval comes two years after Calpers admitted that a decision to put its private equity programme on hold for 10 years had cost it up to $18bn in returns.

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However, a review of its investment policy found that, despite the gains it had already missed, private equity was still the asset class with the highest expected long-term total return.

“Strong and ongoing growth in private equity returns is behind this measured and appropriate increase,” said Calpers trustee David Miller, chair of the investment committee. 

“Market conditions are evolving and the investment team needs latitude to deploy capital intelligently to keep the fund on track for sustainable returns.”

According to analysis published by Calpers alongside its board notes, private equity was the top-performing asset class in the decade to June 30 2023, with annualised returns of 11.8 per cent. That compares with 8.9 per cent from public equities and 2.4 per cent from fixed income. The documents did not disclose if the figures took account of fees.

The portfolio shake-up, which was confirmed after a scheduled asset allocation review, will bring the California-based plan into line with other big retirement systems in the US, including Calstrs, which has just over 40 per cent of its portfolio in private markets.

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As part of the move, Calpers will increase its bet on private equity from 13 per cent to 17 per cent of its portfolio, although this could potentially rise as high as 22 per cent.

At the same time, it is pulling back from investing in stock markets, with its allocation to equities set to fall from 42 per cent to 37 per cent of its portfolio. It will also trim its allocation to fixed income from 30 per cent to 28 per cent.

In 2021, Calpers’ board approved an expansion into private assets including private equity, real assets and private debt, from 21 per cent to 33 per cent of the portfolio, and also gave itself the ability to borrow money to invest in assets that would help diversify its holdings.

Last year the Financial Times reported that Calpers was planning a multibillion-dollar move into international venture capital, as the fund moved towards investing in riskier assets to drive returns.

The fund also reported a return of 10.3 per cent last year. It is yet to announce a replacement for chief investment officer Nicole Musicco, who resigned last year after 18 months in the role.

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