Wall Street Journal
Russian Trolls Tried to Torpedo Mitt Romney’s Shot at Secretary of State
Weeks after Donald Trump was elected president, Russia-backed online “trolls” flooded social media to try to block Mitt Romney from securing a top job in the incoming administration, a Wall Street Journal analysis shows. The operatives called the 2012 GOP presidential nominee, then a contender for secretary of state, a “two headed snake” and a “globalist puppet,” promoted a rally outside Trump Tower and spread a petition to block Romney’s appointment to the top diplomatic job, according to a review of now-deleted social-media posts.
Ev Ehrlich: Protect the Internet From the Big Oligopoly (Wall Street Journal)
Submitted by benton on Thu, 03/08/2018 - 06:33How Cellphone Chips Became a National-Security Concern (Wall Street Journal)
Submitted by Robbie McBeath on Wed, 03/07/2018 - 16:02Facebook Really Is Spying on You, Just Not Through Your Phone’s Mic
A conspiracy theory has spread among Facebook and Instagram users: The company is tapping our microphones to target ads. It’s not. “Facebook does not use your phone’s microphone to inform ads or to change what you see in News Feed,” says Facebook.
Discovery, HGTV and Food Network Prep for a Skinny TV Bundle as Merger Closes (Wall Street Journal)
Submitted by Robbie McBeath on Wed, 03/07/2018 - 12:58Russian Influence Campaign Extracted Americans’ Personal Data
Leveraging social media, Russians have collected data by peddling niche business directories, convincing activists to sign petitions and bankrolling self-defense training classes in return for student information. It isn’t clear for what purpose the data were collected, but intelligence and cybersecurity experts say it could be used for identity theft or leveraged as part of a wider political-influence effort that didn’t end with the 2016 election.