Technology

Twitter takes a harder line on POW photos and shadowbans Russian government accounts

Published

2 years ago

April 5, 2022

Twitter takes a harder line on POW photos and shadowbans Russian government accounts

Twitter announced on Tuesday that it’s going to “require the removing of Tweets posted by authorities or state-affiliated media accounts” in the event that they include pictures or movies that present prisoners of battle from the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The corporate additionally stated it might “drastically” scale back the possibilities of folks seeing posts from Russian authorities accounts.

In its most up-to-date updates to a post detailing how the corporate is responding to the battle, Twitter says this resolution is supposed to make sure its platform isn’t used to unfold content material that violates the Geneva Conventions, considered one of which requires prisoners of battle be shielded from “acts of violence or intimidation and towards insults and public curiosity.” This comes after the federal government of Ukraine has been criticized for posting pictures of useless troopers, in addition to movies of captured troopers being interrogated.

We’re doing so in step with worldwide humanitarian legislation, and in session with worldwide human rights teams. To guard important reporting on the battle, some exceptions apply beneath this steering the place there’s a compelling public curiosity or newsworthy POW content material.
— Yoel Roth (@yoyoel) April 5, 2022

Whereas Twitter will ask authorities accounts to take away media displaying prisoners of battle, there will probably be some exceptions for “compelling public curiosity or newsworthy POW content material,” in keeping with a thread by Twitter’s head of web site integrity, Yeol Roth. In keeping with the publish, customers will see a “warning interstitial” if a publish is allowed to remain up. The corporate additionally says that content material displaying PoWs that’s “shared with abusive intent” (e.g., is mocking or threatening) by anybody will probably be eliminated.

Governments sharing media depicting POWs is a controversial topic, particularly in a battle the place one aspect is a transparent aggressor. As Slate factors out, the movies of prisoners of battle posted by Ukrainian authorities accounts could be seen as sympathetic — they appear to counsel that some Russian troopers have been lied to by their authorities and are additionally struggling due to the invasion. Some, like Malcolm Nance, a commenter on terrorism and torture, have acknowledged that the pictures might violate worldwide legislation however say that it’s acceptable on this occasion.

Others disagree. Slate spoke to Adil Haque, a legislation professor and authorized ethicist, concerning the media being posted, and he argued that context wasn’t notably vital in this type of battle. “Even when a selected occasion of recording a POW may appear innocent, particularly in the event that they’re truly being portrayed in a sympathetic gentle, the concept is we want a broad prohibition so we don’t need to debate on a case-by-case foundation whether or not this can be a good or unhealthy subjection to public curiosity,” he advised the publication. In different phrases, the Conventions ought to be used as a blanket coverage.

A paper written by Gordon Risius and Michael Meyer (pdf) as a part of the Purple Cross’ worldwide assessment argues that there could possibly be different downsides to governments sharing media of POWs. It says that the media could possibly be used towards the prisoners or their households by their governments and that footage could be staged, making it exhausting to depend on them as proof of humane remedy (particularly after they’re taken explicitly to be seen by most of the people).

This debate isn’t new. The Purple Cross paper from Risius and Meyer was written within the Nineteen Nineties following the Gulf Conflict and argues that the Geneva Conventions have to be up to date for the age of mass media. (The article about defending towards insults and public curiosity has been round for nearly a century.) There have been additionally debates round what media may present throughout the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Whereas Twitter says its new guidelines permit for “important reporting,” it does fairly firmly put its foot down on the aspect of not permitting states to share pictures of POWs.

Along with its guidelines round POWs, Twitter is de facto shadowbanning Russian authorities accounts by eradicating them from observe suggestions and making certain they received’t be “amplified” on peoples’ timelines or on the Discover and Search pages. Roth says in his tweet thread that this motion will probably be taken towards any “states that restrict entry to free data and are engaged in armed interstate battle.”

What does this imply?
We received’t advocate these accounts, and we can’t amplify them throughout the House Timeline, Discover, Search, and elsewhere on Twitter. This measure drastically reduces the possibility that individuals on Twitter see Tweets from these accounts except they observe them.
Advertisement

— Yoel Roth (@yoyoel) April 5, 2022

Twitter’s post explains the rationale behind the choice by saying {that a} authorities blocking residents’ entry to a service whereas persevering with to publish on it creates a “extreme data imbalance.” Early on within the invasion, Russia restricted how residents may entry Twitter and later outright blocked Instagram. Roth does make clear that Twitter will apply these guidelines even when it isn’t among the many platforms being banned in a rustic.

Technology

Silo season 2 hits Apple TV Plus this November

Published

5 hours ago

July 28, 2024

Press Room

Silo season 2 hits Apple TV Plus this November

The end of the world just got a little closer. Apple confirmed that the much-anticipated second season of its postapocalyptic series Silo will start streaming on November 15th.

Based on the trilogy of novels by Hugh Howey, Silo is set in the distant future and follows the remains of humanity, who live in giant underground bunkers — the titular silos — to avoid the deadly world outside. The season 1 finale ended with a big twist that made it clear there’s a lot more going on than the show initially lets on. It also only covers part of the first book, so it’ll be interesting to see how much of the story the new season covers. Silo’s second season will see returning cast members like Rebecca Ferguson, Tim Robbins, and Common.

Technology

How to connect your AirPods to your PC and Android devices

Published

6 hours ago

July 28, 2024

Press Room

How to connect your AirPods to your PC and Android devices

Just because Apple’s AirPods are designed for other Apple devices doesn’t mean they will only work on Apple devices.

That’s right, you can use your AirPods on your PC or Android-running mobile device. It isn’t as simple as setting up AirPods with an iPhone or Mac, but it’s also not too complicated.

Follow these steps to connect your AirPods to a Windows PC or Android.

GET SECURITY ALERTS, EXPERT TIPS – SIGN UP FOR KURT’S NEWSLETTER – THE CYBERGUY REPORT HERE

AirPods and an Android (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

How to connect AirPods to a PC

Insert the AirPods into their charging case, ensuring they’re at least partially charged.
Open the top of your AirPod charging case, but do not remove the AirPods from the case yet.
Tap and hold the circular button on the rear side of the AirPod charging case for a couple of seconds until the light inside the case blinks white.

WHAT IS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)?

The circular button on the back of the AirPod case (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

Now, open your PC’s Bluetooth settings by clicking the Bluetooth icon in the system tray (bottom right of the taskbar) or by searching for “Bluetooth” in your taskbar and selecting Bluetooth and other device settings.
Click “Add Bluetooth or other devices” at the top of the settings screen.
On the “Add a device” page, click the top option for Bluetooth.

Bluetooth and device settings on a PC (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

Click the AirPods option from the list of all Bluetooth discoverable devices.
Wait around 30 seconds, and you should see a connection confirmation screen once your AirPods and PC are paired and connected.

ASK KURT: WHY IS MY BLUETOOTH CONNECTION ALWAYS SO SPOTTY?

Troubleshooting a failed connection

When you take your AirPods out of their charging case, they should automatically connect to your PC. If your AirPods are having trouble connecting to your PC, don’t panic. Close your AirPods case and your PC’s Bluetooth settings and simply repeat the pairing process outlined above. Your AirPods should automatically connect to your PC after a few seconds every time you remove them from the charging case. If, for any reason, they don’t, follow these steps:

Open your PC’s Bluetooth settings by clicking on the Bluetooth icon in the bottom-right system tray of your taskbar. Alternatively, you can search for “Bluetooth” in your taskbar and select “Bluetooth and other device settings” when it appears.
Scroll down to the Audio section under your Bluetooth list and click on the AirPods listing.
This should reestablish the Bluetooth connection between your PC and AirPods.

Remember that Siri is Apple-only, so you won’t be able to use the voice assistant while your AirPods are connected to your PC.

HOW TO STOP ANNOYING ROBOCALLS

Pair AirPods with your Android phone

Connecting AirPods to an Android device is similar to connecting to a PC. Before doing anything, you’ll want to ensure that your AirPods are charged and housed in their case.

Swipe down from the top of the screen on your Android device
Touch and hold the Bluetooth icon
Turn on Bluetooth
Tap Pair new device

AirPods and an Android (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

HOW TO USE SIRI WITHOUT SAYING ‘HEY’

Open the lid of your AirPod case, but don’t remove the AirPods from the case.
On your AirPod case, press and hold the button on the rear of the case until the case flashes a white light.
Your AirPods should show up in your Bluetooth devices list.

If you can’t find your AirPods in your Android Bluetooth devices list, check for them under “Available Devices” in your Bluetooth settings. You can also refresh the Bluetooth list by clicking More and then “Refresh.”

DID YOU KNOW YOU CAN USE APPLE AIRTAGS WITH YOUR ANDROID PHONE?

Kurt’s key takeaways

And there you have it. Now, you can easily connect your AirPods to your Windows PC or Android device. Remember, if your AirPods don’t appear in your PC or Android’s Bluetooth device list, simply restart the Bluetooth pairing process. Also, note that Apple-specific features like Siri won’t be available with your AirPods if you use them from a PC or Android device.

What other Apple accessories or devices would you like to see become more compatible with non-Apple platforms and why? Let us know by writing us at Cyberguy.com/Contact

For more of my tech tips and security alerts, subscribe to my free CyberGuy Report Newsletter by heading to Cyberguy.com/Newsletter

Ask Kurt a question or let us know what stories you’d like us to cover

Follow Kurt on his social channels

Answers to the most asked CyberGuy questions:

Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson is an award-winning tech journalist who has a deep love of technology, gear and gadgets that make life better with his contributions for Fox News & FOX Business beginning mornings on “FOX & Friends.” Got a tech question? Get Kurt’s free CyberGuy Newsletter, share your voice, a story idea or comment at CyberGuy.com.

Technology

Marvel is bringing the Russo Bros. back to direct the next two Avengers films

Published

13 hours ago

July 28, 2024

Press Room

Marvel is bringing the Russo Bros. back to direct the next two Avengers films

During Marvel’s Hall H panel at San Diego Comic-Con, the studio announced that the Russo brothers have signed on to direct Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars — the former of which will see Robert Downey Jr, return to the MCU as Doctor Doom. Doomsday is due out in May 2026, while Secret Wars will follow in May 2027.

Doctor Doom showing up just as the Fantastic Four are about to arrive makes it seem like Marvel’s been cooking up a plan to send its beleaguered Multiverse Saga off with a bang — one that’s probably going to be orchestrated by a guy who looks just like Iron Man.