Faking a political endorsement in Taiwan ahead of its crucial January election, sharing memes to amplify outrage over Japan’s disposal of nuclear wastewater, and spreading conspiracy theories that claim the U.S. government was behind Hawaii’s wildfire and Kentucky’s train derailment last year. These are just some of the ways that China’s influence operations have ramped … Read more
Discord, the voice and video chat service for gamers that’s more recently expanded its scope, is joining the long list of free services that use ads to support their platform. The change is an about-face for a company that’s long held an anti-advertising view. Ads should start showing up on Discord within the week, The … Read more
When it comes to breaking YouTube records, you’ve probably heard of MrBeast and his record of most subscribed individual creator on the platform. MrBeast also once held the record for most viewed YouTube video in a 24-hour period after one of his uploads from August 2023 received nearly 60 million views in a day. MrBeast’s … Read more
Hello, and welcome back to Equity, a podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines. This is our Monday show, where we dig into the weekend and take a peek at the week that is to come. We’ll talk more about Wednesday, but this is Y Combinator Demo … Read more
In a charming game called This Discord Has Ghosts in It, up to 15 participants at a time gather in a Discord server that has been reimagined as a haunted house. (Of course.) Inside lies a maze of (chat) rooms where each player takes the role of either an eponymous spirit or a paranormal investigator. … Read more
A California teenager prosecutors say is responsible for hundreds of swatting attacks around the United States was exposed after law enforcement pieced together a digital trail left on some of the internet’s largest platforms, according to court records released this week. Alan Winston Filion, a 17-year-old from Lancaster, California, faces four felony charges in Florida’s … Read more
(L-R) Shou Zi Chew, CEO of TikTok, Linda Yaccarino, CEO of X, and Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee at the Dirksen Senate Office Building on January 31, 2024 in Washington, DC. Alex Wong | Getty Images “We could regulate you out of business if we wanted to,” a frustrated … Read more
D’Angelo Russell has been one of those who have been heavily affected the most by LA Lakers coach Darvin Ham’s fluid rotations. He was a regular starter up until November when LA’s struggles prompted Ham to make him part of the bench mob. Russell was re-inserted into his usual spot on Saturday against the Utah … Read more
A disturbing cyberattack on Discord reportedly sent some University of California, Irvine students to the hospital on Wednesday, according to a CBS News report. Hackers infiltrated student Discord servers and bombarded them with graphic images that reportedly traumatized students, causing them to cry, vomit, and even require medical assistance. “There were some things on there … Read more
The Discord app is seen on an iPhone in this photo illustration in Warsaw, Poland, on April 3, 2021. Jaap Arriens | NurPhoto | Getty Images Discord will lay off 17% of the company’s workforce, which equates to 170 employees, a spokesperson confirmed Thursday. The company, which provides a popular messaging service used by gamers, … Read more