Match Group is bringing Tinder’s free background checks to more dating apps
More checks in more places. | Image: Match Group
Match Group is bringing Tinder’s free background checks to two of the other dating apps it owns: Match (formerly Match.com) and Stir, a dating site for single parents (via CNBC). The system works similar to the way it does on Tinder: people can use it to see if whoever they’re talking to or planning to meet up with has a history of “violent and harmful behavior,” as the company’s press release puts it, though there is some nuance there that we’ll talk about in a bit.
When Match Group added this feature to Tinder earlier this year, there was a bit of a multi-step process to running one of the checks. The company says the process should be a bit easier on the Match service — if you’re talking to someone about meeting up, a box will pop up asking if you want to run a background check. Tapping on the link to do so will show you some extra information and safety tips, then hand you off to Garbo, the service that actually runs the background checks.
Once you’re there, you’ll have to enter info about the person you’re trying to run a check on, such as their first and last names, phone number, birthday, location, etc. Match won’t provide any of this information itself, according to a help document, so you’ll either have to know it already or get it from the person you’re trying to run a background check on. Obviously, that may be easier said than done without arousing suspicions.
The payment structure for the background checks is similar to Tinder’s — regular users will be able to run two background checks for free and will have to pay Garbo for subsequent ones. Premium subscribers will get four free background checks.
Many folks will already know this, but it’s worth repeating: while background checks can be a helpful tool, you shouldn’t just trust someone because an app gives them the all-clear. Match Group says that Garbo’s results are nuanced — they look at things like arrests, convictions, and sex offender registry data but won’t necessarily flag things that “have a disproportionate impact on marginalized groups,” such as convictions relating to drug possession or sex work — but there’s no guarantee they’ll catch everything.
It’s always best practice to let a few people know when you’re going to meet up with a stranger and give them some sort of time window when you expect to be home. And if the vibes are off, either take extra precautions or skip the meetup entirely.
Former Theranos exec Sunny Balwani convicted of 12 counts of fraud
The decision by California jurors brings to close a 13-week trial of Elizabeth Holmes’s former lover and business partner
The former Theranos executive Sunny Balwani has been convicted on all 12 fraud charges brought against him for his role at the now-defunct blood testing company.
The decision closes the final chapter of Theranos’s legal saga, nearly eight years after serious concerns were raised about the startup’s blood testing technology. The conviction of Balwani, who at one point oversaw the Theranos lab and put millions of his own fortune into the company, also marks a more severe judgment than that of his former lover and business partner Elizabeth Holmes, who was convicted of only four of 11 of the same charges in January.
‘They couldn’t even scream any more. They were just sobbing’: the amateur investors ruined by the crypto crash
Fuelled by hype and hysteria, the market in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies went from an obscure niche to a $3tn industry. Then the house of cards collapsed
In the gloom of an 18th-century drawing room at the private rehab clinic Castle Craig, near Peebles in the Scottish Borders, Roy, a 29-year-old victim of the global cryptocurrency crash, tells me his story. It is a dazzling summer’s day, but here the mood is sombre. Roy shifts uncomfortably in his chair as he begins.
It all started in February 2021, with a radio advert for Dogecoin, a cryptocurrency promoted by Elon Musk, the founder of Tesla. Intrigued, Roy started Googling, eventually using his credit card to make an initial investment of €2,500 (£2,200) in a range of cryptocurrencies. The value of Roy’s portfolio climbed to €8,000, then €100,000, then €525,000. Roy had entered the market during an adrenalised bull run, meaning an extended period of price growth. A combination of Covid stimulus packages, low interest rates and an unprecedented level of enthusiasm for cryptocurrency among furloughed workers meant the bull was careering out of sight.
The best stock Nerf blasters ever made are half-off for Prime Day
Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge
Has there ever been a better day to get into Nerf? I’m having a hard time thinking of one. Two of the best, most competitive unmodded blasters cost half their normal price today — including the Dart Zone MK-3 and the Nerf Rival Perses — and I’m seeing huge discounts on a bunch of other actually-fun foam throwers as well.
Just note that you won’t actually find most of these blasters at Amazon. Target and Walmart are holding the best blaster sales, likely in an attempt to draw focus from their competitor.
Dart Zone MK-3 for $65(normally $130) at Target. The hobby’s never seen a stock blaster like the MK-3 before, pictured atop this story. You get semi-auto AND full-auto; short darts AND long darts; 8AAs or the option of a drop-in lithium polymer pack if you buy one yourself. That’s all in one sci-fi rifle that shoots 150 feet-per-second right out of the box. Just know that its serrated flywheels can be harsh on darts.
Dart Zone Max Stryker for $42 (normally $60) at Target. The Target-exclusive version of Dart Zone’s Adventure Force Nexus Pro, which changed the hobby by introducing unheard of accuracy and range with normal long and especially short darts for a mere $50 out of the box. It’s got a cooler look and more comfortable grips than the Nexus if you ask me, and now it costs less than a typical Nexus as well.
Adventure Force Nexus Pro for $40 (normally $50) at Walmart. And here’s the Nexus Pro itself, for slightly cheaper. Same blaster as the Max Stryker above internally, but different design and grip. One bonus: you can stuff a Nerf Mega or Rival round into the front barrel and it’ll fire a short distance!
This remote keyfob hack may leave the past decade of Hondas vulnerable
Even the most recent models. | Image: Honda
Security researchers and The Drive’s Rob Stumpf have recently posted videos of themselves unlocking and remotely starting several Honda vehicles using handheld radios, despite the company’s insistence that the cars have security protections meant to stop attackers from doing that very thing. According to the researchers, this hack is made possible because of a vulnerability in the keyless entry system in many Hondas made between 2012 and 2022. They’ve dubbed the vulnerability Rolling-PWN.
The basic concept for Rolling-PWN is similar to attacks we’ve seen before used against VWs and Teslas, as well as other devices; using radio equipment, someone records a legitimate radio signal from a key fob, then broadcasts it back to the car. It’s called a replay attack, and if you’re thinking that it should be possible to defend against this kind of attack with some sort of cryptography, you’re right. In theory, many modern cars use what’s called a rolling key system, basically making it so that each signal will only work once; you press the button to unlock your car, your car unlocks, and that exact signal shouldn’t ever unlock your car again.
Heads up, Honda owners—security researchers found a vulnerability in many new Hondas that can allow someone to unlock and start the car without its keys. It's been dubbed "Rolling Pwn," and here's our @RobDrivesCars demonstrating how it works.
But as Jalopnik points out, not every recent Honda has that level of protection. Researchers have also found vulnerabilities where surprisingly recent Hondas (2016 to 2020 Civics, specifically) instead used an unencrypted signal that doesn’t change. And even those that do have rolling code systems — including the 2020 CR-V, Accord, and Odyssey, Honda tells Vice — may be vulnerable to the recently-uncovered attack. Rolling-PWN’s website has videos of the hack being used to unlock those rolling code vehicles, and Stumpf was able to... well, pretty much pwn a 2021 Accord with the exploit, turning on its engine remotely and then unlocking it.
Honda told The Drive that the security systems it puts in its key fobs and cars “would not allow the vulnerability as represented in the report” to be carried out. In other words, the company says the attack shouldn’t be possible — but clearly, it is somehow. We’ve asked the company for comment on The Drive’s demonstration, which was published on Monday, but it didn’t immediately reply.
According to the Rolling-PWN website, the attack works because it’s able to resynchronize the car’s code counter, meaning that it’ll accept old codes — basically, because the system is built to have some tolerances (so you can use your keyless entry even if the button gets pressed once or twice while you’re away from the car, and so the car and remote stay in sync), its security system can be defeated. The site also claims that it affects “all Honda vehicles currently existing on the market,” but admits that it’s only actually been tested on a handful of model years.
Even more worryingly, the site suggests that other brands of cars are also affected, but is vague on the details. While that makes me nervously eye my Ford, it’s actually probably a good thing — if the security researchers are following standard responsible disclosure procedures, they should be reaching out to automakers and giving them a chance to address the issue before details are made public. According to Jalopnik, the researchers had reached out to Honda, but were told to file a report with customer service (which isn’t really standard security practice).
GameStop’s NFT market has arrived just in time for a crypto market crash
Photo by Sean Hollister / The Verge
GameStop is seemingly ignoring that whole ”crypto winter” thing and moving ahead with the launch of its own NFT marketplace, which is now open in what the company calls a “public beta.”
Right now, you can use the platform to buy, sell, and create NFTs. There are more than 200 collections you can peruse and more than 53,000 NFTs listed on the marketplace. The art I’ve seen seems to be pretty standard NFT fare — in just a few minutes of perusing, I’ve already spotted some some weird cat and monkey-themed collections, for example. Unsurprisingly, you can connect the newly-launched GameStop Wallet to manage your digital assets, though you can also use options like WalletConnect and MetaMask. And not just anyone can create an NFT on the platform — interested creators will need to apply.
GameStop has bigger plans for the marketplace down the line, saying in a press release that it plans to “expand functionality” into areas like Web3 gaming. On the NFT marketplace homepage, GameStop is already teasing that support for Immutable X, a platform built on Ethereum that’s used by some NFT games, is coming soon. GameStop and Immutable X have also launched a $100 million grant program.
The gaming retailer first announced in February that it planned to open its own NFT marketplace, but over the past several weeks, sales of NFTs have fallen amid a bigger downturn in crypto overall. Crypto companies like Coinbase, BlockFi, and Crypto.com have had to lay off staff in an attempt to weather the storm, but GameStop is surging forward with its plans, despite its own troubles. GameStop is opening its NFT market just days after laying off staff and firing its CFO, and crypto efforts seem as if they’re an important part of the company’s future; in a memo to employees about the layoffs, CEO Matt Furlong mentioned GameStop’s blockchain group in the very first sentence.
Liquidators for crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital say they can’t find founders
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
Where in the world are Su Zhu and Kyle Davies? The founders of the cryptocurrency hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC) are nowhere to be found, according to officials charged with liquidating the bankrupt company (via Reuters). According to a court document filed Friday, Zhu and Davies’ whereabouts are currently unknown, and its liquidators say they have not received “any meaningful cooperation” from the two.
Russell Crumpler and Christopher Farmer, two senior directors at Teneo, claim they have been unable to get in touch with Zhu and Davies. In the court filing, Crumpler and Farmer allege they joined a Zoom call with “persons identifying themselves as ‘Su Zhu’ and ‘Kyle,” but “their video was turned off and they were on mute at all times with neither of them speaking despite questions being posed to them directly.”
During the Zoom call, the two founders communicated through representatives from a Singapore-based legal agency instead. Farmer alleges that he even tried locating Zhu and Davies at the 3AC headquarters in Singapore — only to find a locked door and a pile of unopened mail. The filing notes Zhu may be trying to sell his $35 million mansion in Singapore, citing various rumors.
Crumpler and Farmer claim there’s an “imminent risk” that the duo could attempt to transfer the company’s remaining funds elsewhere. “Here, that risk is heightened because a substantial portion of the Debtor’s assets are comprised of cash and digital assets, such as cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens, that are readily transferrable,” the filing reads. “The Foreign Representatives [Teneo], the Debtor [3AC], and its creditors as a whole would be irreparably harmed if any disposition of the Debtor’s assets were to occur during the provisional period.”
As noted by Reuters, the court has scheduled an emergency hearing set to take place on Tuesday, July 12th to address 3AC’s situation. The collapse of major cryptocurrency firms like 3AC has caused a lot of damage to the crypto market that likely hasn’t been fully realized yet. Crypto lending firms Babel Finance and Celcius have also been rocked by the turbulent market, with both companies freezing transactions amidst a “crypto winter.”
The Moscow moves: how Mandelson’s firm helped Uber reach Russian elite
Leak shows how the former Labour minister used his access to pro-Kremlin oligarchs, including some now under sanctions
Even before Uber’s top executives arrived in Davos in January 2016, its bosses were trying to secure invitations to the exclusive party hosted by the billionaire Russian metals magnate Oleg Deripaska. Famous for its free-flowing vodka, the event was an invitation-only, after-hours fixture of the world economic forum, the annual gathering of corporate leaders and politicians in the Swiss Alps.
Fortunately for Uber, it had hired someone who could pull strings. “Put them on list at door,” ordered Peter Mandelson, according to messages in the Uber files data leak.
Let's talk about what's really involved with switching to electric cars. Then we'll close with the product of the week, a laptop from Vaio that showcases just how much you can get for under $700 -- at least for now. The post The World Is Not Yet Ready for Electric Cars appeared first on TechNewsWorld.
A leaked trove of confidential files has revealed the inside story of how the tech giant Uber flouted laws, duped police, exploited violence against drivers and secretly lobbied governments during its aggressive global expansion.
The unprecedented leak to the Guardian of more than 124,000 documents – known as the Uber files – lays bare the ethically questionable practices that fuelled the company’s transformation into one of Silicon Valley’s most famous exports.
The leak spans a five-year period when Uber was run by its co-founder Travis Kalanick, who tried to force the cab-hailing service into cities around the world, even if that meant breaching laws and taxi regulations.
Striking a balance between protecting your data, ensuring your personal security and getting the most out of dating apps can be tricky. Here’ some advice on the dos and don’ts
In an online wild west populated by scammers and hackers, dating apps pose challenges beyond just finding a partner. It’s getting harder to tell if your date is who they say they are, and that’s before you consider the data security and privacy implications of using the apps on your smartphone.
It’s difficult to maintain privacy when apps such as Hinge, Tinder and Bumble need to collect data to match you with potential dates. Then there’s the data you share with other users – including your sexual orientation, age and social media information – that could put you at risk if it gets into the wrong hands.
Ford recalls more than 100,000 Mavericks, Escapes, and Corsairs over fire risk
Photo by Andrew Hawkins / The Verge
Ford is recalling certain models of the 2020 to 2022 Escape, Maverick, and Corsair due to the risk of under-hood fires, according to reports from Reuters and CNBC. The recall affects over 100,000 vehicles in the US, all of which come with a 2.5-liter hybrid / plug-in hybrid (HEV / PHEV) engine.
In the case of an engine failure, Reuters and CNBC report that engine oil and fuel vapor could flood ignition sources, causing a possible fire beneath the hood of the car. Ford plans on adjusting affected vehicles’ under-engine shield and active grille shutter to allow for better air flow, and will start notifying owners of the recall on August 8th. According to CNBC, Ford has received 23 reports of the issue while engines are switched on, although no injuries have been recorded. Ford didn’t immediately respond to The Verge’s request for comment.
The automaker traced the problem to a switch in manufacturers during the COVID-19 pandemic, and says the printed circuit boards from this supplier “are uniquely susceptible to a high-current short.” Ford advises owners to park their cars outside and away from structures, but says they can still drive the vehicle until the necessary replacement parts become available in September.
Twitter says it suspends 1m spam users a day as Elon Musk row deepens
World’s richest man has threatened to drop acquisition of firm in dispute over fake accounts
Twitter has revealed that it is suspending more than 1m spam accounts a day, as Elon Musk threatens to walk away from buying the business in a dispute over fake users.
The new figure, confirmed by the social media platform on Thursday, represents a doubling of its previous update. Its chief executive, Parag Agrawal, said in May that spam account suspensions were running at 500,000 a day.
Striking a balance between protecting your data, ensuring your personal security and getting the most out of dating apps can be tricky. Here’ some advice on the dos and don’ts
In an online wild west populated by scammers and hackers, dating apps pose challenges beyond just finding a partner. It’s getting harder to tell if your date is who they say they are, and that’s before you consider the data security and privacy implications of using the apps on your smartphone.
It’s difficult to maintain privacy when apps such as Hinge, Tinder and Bumble need to collect data to match you with potential dates. Then there’s the data you share with other users – including your sexual orientation, age and social media information – that could put you at risk if it gets into the wrong hands.
Musk muses about Mars and Earth – but stays quiet on his Twitter deal
Billionaire avoids talking of collapse of $44bn deal but talks about colonizing Mars and boosting Earth’s birthrates at conference
Elon Musk reportedly talked about the colonization of Mars and boosting Earth’s birthrates during his keynote address at Allen & Co’s Sun Valley conference on Saturday, but he avoided discussing his attempt to withdraw from his $44bn bid to buy Twitter.
Musk’s talk to close out this year’s edition of the Idaho conference which annually draws tech, media and finance gurus became one of the hottest tickets after lawyers for the Tesla boss filed notice Friday that he was terminating his bid to acquire Twitter. The billionaire accused the social media firm of failing to provide information on bot accounts, among other things, making observers wonder whether he would address such complaints at his speech scheduled for the next day.
How to watch Nothing’s Phone 1 launch event
Image: Nothing
Nothing, the new consumer tech startup led by OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei, is poised to announce its debut smartphone on July 12th at an event it’s calling (brace yourselves): Nothing (event): Return to Instinct.
The company hasn’t been shy about pre-announcing the Nothing Phone 1’s features ahead of its “official” launch, so we already know what it’s going to look like and many of the features it’s going to offer. Its most flashy element (literally) is a set of illuminating lightstrips on its rear, which can flash in time with the phone’s ringtones, light up to show its charging status, and more.
But the key information that Nothing is yet to reveal is how much the phone will cost, when it’ll release, and where exactly it’ll be available. That should all become clear after its July 12th event.
WHEN DOES THE Nothing EVENT START?
It starts July 12th, at 11AM ET / 8AM PT / 4PM BST.
WHERE CAN I WATCH THE Nothing EVENT?
We will have the livestream video embedded up top, so you can stick around here to watch when it begins. Otherwise, head to these links:
Exit the internet, enter the metaverse – your online future is in 3D
Venture capitalist Matthew Ball’s new book explores the three-dimensional virtual world that is set to supersede the net. What might this alternative digital reality have in store for users?
Venture capitalist Matthew Ball first wrote about the metaverse in 2018 and his essays have become essential reading for entrepreneurs and tech watchers who are attempting to understand or profit from the network Mark Zuckerberg and many others are anticipating will supersede the internet. Ball is former head of strategy at Amazon Studios and his first book, The Metaverse:HowItWillRevolutionizeEverything, is published later in July.
What isthemetaverse? It is a persistent network of 3D spaces. Almost everything online today – all applications, digital operating systems, webpages – works on common protocols and technology that connects them. The metaverse is a 3D elevation of the online world, which spans augmented reality – unseen virtual simulations in the world around us – as well as much of consumer leisure and socialising.
TikTok ‘frog army’ stunt could have grave consequences, experts warn
Scientists alarmed at claims of releasing 10m frogs and 100m ladybugs to rack up viewers as relocating species can have ‘extremely negative consequences’
A TikTok “frog army” has racked up millions of likes – but the potential consequences of the bizarre stunt are no joke, experts say.
In February of this year, a young TikTok user who claims to be based in the UK started building out a “frog army” after noticing “some type of eggs in a shallow pond near his home”. In recent videos, he claimed to have gathered more than 1.4m eggs that have hatched into tadpoles in a backyard pool he built. “I wanted to create the largest frog army in history,” he said in one video. “Next year I will create a giant pond for 10 million frogs.”
Hacker claims to have obtained data on 1 billion Chinese citizens
Personal information allegedly taken from Shanghai police database would be one of biggest data breaches in history
A hacker has claimed to have stolen the personal information of 1 billion Chinese citizens from a Shanghai police database, in what would amount to one of the biggest data breaches in history if found to be true.
The anonymous hacker, identified only as “ChinaDan”, posted on hacker forum Breach Forums last week offering to sell the more than 23 terabytes (TB) of data for 10 bitcoin, equivalent to about $200,000 (£165,000).
Senegalese-Italian has enjoyed a meteoric rise, becoming the most followed creator on video app
Like many of us, Khaby Lame turned to TikTok in the early days of the pandemic. The Senegalese-Italian had just lost his job working in a factory in Chivasso, a suburb of Turin 12 miles north-east of the city centre, thanks to Covid and was at a loss for what to do.
Just as countless others did, he began posting videos – at first, videos in subtitled Italian, but later silent, up-close reactions to absurd events. Unlike most of us, Lame’s dalliance with the short-form video-sharing app turned serious. After an astronomical two years, the 22-year-old is now the king of TikTok.
Musk’s withdrawal from Twitter deal sets stage for long court battle
Analysis: billionaire could be fined $1bn for walking away – and he risks new lawsuits and even his job, experts say
Elon Musk withdrew his $44bn bid to buy Twitter on Friday after a months-long saga that rankled investors and shook the market, kicking off what may be a long legal battle with the company.
The Twitter chair, Bret Taylor, said on Friday that the social media firm would sue in a Delaware court to enforce the deal. The deal included a “specific performance” clause, a provision that may force Musk to buy the company as long as he has financing in place. Musk in May said he had secured financing to complete the deal.
Elon Musk has said he intends to terminate his $44bn deal to buy Twitter because the social media company has breached multiple provisions of the merger agreement.
Twitter said it would pursue legal action to enforce the deal.
Elon Musk proves he’s the wrong man to save the world
It’s on. Elon Musk has officially filed to kill his own Twitter acquisition, and Twitter is calling his bluff. They’ll see Musk in court. And while it’s only going to get messier from here, one important verdict has already been rendered by Elon Musk himself: he doesn’t have what it takes to run Twitter. And that’s a damning blow to his own central mythology.
We’ll look at the specifics of Musk’s formal SEC filing in a minute, but first it’s important to remember what he’s said about the deal and why he wanted to do it in the first place. It’s not like the world forced the acquisition of a relatively small social network on the world’s richest man. And Musk’s conduct surrounding the deal has been marked by a lot of obvious troll behavior. A reasonable person would conclude he was never serious about it to begin with, which is already leading to a lot of Musk stans and Twitter haters divining a 4D-chess narrative that makes his blunder seem intentional. But.
There are some things Musk said in the frenzy of the Twitter takeover that can’t be ignored. That’s because they strike at the heart of what built his original reputation: as a visionary, a bold industrialist, a futurist, and maybe even the guy who would solve climate change and multi-planetary civilization. Sure, lately he works tirelessly to attract a huge base of social reactionaries and various right-wingers who care more about his trolling than the missions of SpaceX or Tesla. But Musk’s real credibility — if he ever had any — was being the face of genuinely huge and ambitious efforts to change the world and make it better.
He probably didn’t need to, but he brought that same world-saving energy to the Twitter deal:
Musk said he was motivated by the fact that Twitter had become a “de facto town square” and that it’s “really important that people have both the reality and the perception that they’re able to speak freely.” (He talked about “free speech” a lot during this time.)
Speaking at a TED conference, Musk said the deal is not a way to make money. Some of his exact words: “it’s about the future of civilization, but you don’t care about the economics at all.”
Later, speaking internally to employees of Twitter, Musk said “I want Twitter to contribute to a better, long-lasting civilization where we better understand the nature of reality.”
Musk: “Twitter has extraordinary potential. I will unlock it.”
These statements stand out above everything else because (a) things that are important to the future of human life are not things you typically troll people about, and (b) that should be especially true if you are Elon Musk, who has spent his entire modern career since Tesla cultivating the idea that he is on a mission to save the future of humanity and spread civilization across the stars. Does he tweet dumb memes a lot? Yes. Did he send a car into space as a joke? Sure. But the missions of his companies are dead serious. Tesla’s mission is “to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy.” Neuralink wants to build devices that help people with paralysis to “regain independence.” And SpaceX? That’s about nothing less than “enabling people to live on other planets.”
So: Musk has intentionally spent his career leaning into some of the world’s most difficult-to-solve problems. He gives lots of keynotes, throws big ideas on the board, and makes lots of promises. Incidentally, this campaign to save the world earned him one of the biggest and most active fanbases on Twitter. And let’s be real: the man loves to tweet. The only person in the world who might love tweeting more than Elon Musk has been banned from the platform and impeached twice by the United States Congress.
But remember: Musk didn’t say “I want to buy Twitter because I love tweeting and I command an army of users here.” He said Twitter was important to the future of human civilization. And so, spiritually, the deal joined the ranks of the Teslas and the SpaceXs of the world.
What kind of problems would prevent this man from unlocking Twitter’s true potential? To help steer it and, along with his other companies, help humanity flourish in the future? He only really makes two assertions in his SEC filing:
Twitter won’t give him data necessary for him to figure out how many spam bots are on the platform.
Twitter fired some people and lost some executives.
This is weak crybaby stuff.
Musk has been going on about the alleged bot issue for a while, even getting into public beefs with the CEO of Twitter about it. I’m not going to unpack this whole spat — the Delaware Court of Chancery is about to examine that in some detail — but the TL;DR is that Musk wants to tank a huge deal over a problem known to every social media company on the planet, who have all dedicated vast amounts of resources toward fixing over several decades. It’s just a fundamentally unserious position from a guy who is willing to solve world-shaking problems like climate change
But let’s assume just for fun that Musk is right. After he started the deal and looked under the hood and laid out his plans for Twitter’s staff, he discovered Twitter’s bot population is more like 20% than 5%. So what? What’s a spread of 90 million users when TikTok and Facebook are ahead of you by billions? If your position is that Mark Zuckerberg is an unelected tyrant of speech, how is abandoning Twitter going to help you take him on? And why would you argue in your SEC filing that revenue from active users is at stake? That doesn’t sound like “not caring about the economics at all.” That sounds like only caring about the economics.
And as for blowing the deal because a few Twitter execs fired staff while continuing to operate normally and roll out new features (hi, co-tweeting!) — get real. You’re buying Twitter for $44 billion. It’s yours now. You can clean house if you want to and correct or reverse all of the ill-advised decisions that brought the platform within your sights originally. Nobody will stop you! The SEC couldn’t even get you to stop tweeting!
There are many possible theories for why Musk put himself, Twitter, and the world through this charade. But in the end, Musk wrote a check his myth couldn’t cash.
We’re left with two possibilities. Either Musk doesn’t think he can do the job he promised at Twitter, and he’s not the world-changing force he’s been made out to be. Or, he was lying about the kinds of lofty ideals and visions that built his companies and his image.
What kind of man trolls the world about a better future?
Twitter tells employees not to tweet about Elon Musk deal
“Refrain from Tweeting, Slacking, or sharing any commentary.” | Illustration by Kristen Radtke / The Verge; Getty Images
Following Elon Musk’s notice to Twitter that he wants out of his $44 billion deal to purchase the company, employees have been instructed to not publicly comment on the deal. An internal memo by Twitter’s general counsel and obtained by The Verge says that staffers should “refrain from Tweeting, Slacking, or sharing any commentary about the merger agreement.”
The note, which you can read in full below, cites the fact that the merger is an ongoing legal matter. Musk’s team alleges that the company “failed or refused to provide” information about the number of bots on its platform,” and Twitter’s board has announced that it’s suing Musk to ensure that the deal goes through as originally agreed.
After the news broke Friday that Musk wanted out of the deal, Twitter employees quickly made some pretty humorous tweets about the situation. One tweeted they had “unilaterally cancelled my mortgage” and were happy they didn’t have to pay it anymore, referring to the fact that it’s very unclear whether Musk can legally just say “nah” and walk away. Another tweet referred to a staff trip to Disney that was canceled as a cost-cutting measure after the Musk deal was announced.
Here’s the memo sent that Sean Edgett, Twitter’s general counsel, sent to staff on Friday:
Team,
Today we received a notice of purported termination from Elon Musk, and the Twitter Board issued the following statement in response (see our Chairman Bret Taylor’s Tweet here):
“The Twitter Board is committed to closing the transaction on the price and terms agreed upon with Mr. Musk and plans to pursue legal action to enforce the merger agreement. We are confident we will prevail in the Delaware Court of Chancery.”
Given that this is an ongoing legal matter, you should refrain from Tweeting, Slacking, or sharing any commentary about the merger agreement. We will continue to share information when we are able, but please know we are going to be very limited on what we can share in the meantime.
I know this is an uncertain time, and we appreciate your patience and ongoing commitment to the important work we have underway.
Here are the best Amazon Echo deals right now
The Echo Show 5 (left), Echo Show 8 (middle), and the Echo Show (right). | Photo by Dan Seifert / The Verge
Amazon’s current Echo lineup offers a broad selection of smart speakers and displays that can fit just about anywhere in your home. Whether you want to place a voice assistant in your living room, replace the bulletin board in your office, or pick up a touchscreen-enabled device to showcase recipes in the kitchen, there's an Echo device for just about every occasion and use case.
Regardless of why you might want one, there’s always a way to save on an Echo device, from the last-gen Dot to Amazon’s latest Echo Show 10. Even when they’re selling at full price, for instance, Amazon offers a 25 percent discount when you trade in select devices, meaning there are still other ways to save money when none of the models are on sale.
Below, we’ve rounded up the best discounts available on each device in Amazon’s Echo line. However, keep in mind that the retail behemoth has already begun slashing prices on a number of Echo devices in the run-up to Prime Day, which officially starts on July 13th. We may see steeper discounts once the two-day shopping event kicks off in earnest, though, we also expect many of these discounts to hold throughout the week.
As for the latest Echo Dot, it’s currently available to Amazon Prime subscribers for $19.99 ($30 off), which is easily the speaker’s best to date. Amazon, Target, and Best Buy are also selling the model with a built-in LED display that showcases the time, weather, and other information for $49.99, a modest $10 off its usual list price.
The best Echo Dot Kids Edition deals
The fourth-gen Echo Dot Kids Edition is as spherical as its adult version but is designed to look like a tiger or panda. The device also comes with a year of Amazon’s Kids Plus service, which provides access to a slew of kid-friendly content, including audiobooks and games. If you’re looking to pick up the latest, kid-centric Echo Dot, it’s currently available on Amazon to Prime subscribers for $25 ($35 off), a mere $5 more than the standard version.
The best Amazon Echo deals
The fourth-gen Amazon Echo also received a makeover in 2020. Like the aforementioned fourth-gen Echo Dot, the latest Amazon Echo has a sphere-shaped design, but it’s noticeably bigger than the Echo Dot. That said, it also touts a built-in smart home hub and produces better sound, thanks to a pair of 0.8-inch tweeters and a 3-inch woofer.
If you’re interested in an Alexa smart speaker with better audio quality and Dolby Atmos support, the Echo Studio is the Amazon product to check out. Unfortunately, however, the Echo Studio is currently only available at Amazon, Target, and Best Buy for its usual asking price of $199.99. Amazon also offers a Billie Eilish Limited Edition Echo Studio with the singer’s image pasted on the side for $229.99, if you consider yourself an Avocado, Eyelash, or whatever Eilish fans call themselves these days.
The best Echo Show 5 deals
If you are looking for a compact Echo device that functions more as a smart clock than an entertainment speaker, the Echo Show 5 is the Echo device to consider. The latest edition, which launched last year, features an always-on microphone, an upgraded 2MP camera, a 5.5-inch display, and a physical shutter, allowing you to block the camera’s view.
We’ve seen the second-gen Echo Show 5 drop to as low as $44.99 in the past, however, it’s currently only available at Target right now for $79.99 ($5 off). Fortunately, Amazon is currently offering Prime members a $50 discount on the smart display, dropping the final sale price to just $34.99. You can also purchase it at Amazon with an adjustable stand for $46.98 ($50 off), though, the latter accessory is certainly not required.
The best Echo Show 5 Kids Edition deals
The Echo Dot isn’t the only Echo device with a kid-friendly design. The Echo Show 5 Kids Edition offers all of the same features as the standard, second-gen Echo Show 5, only with a vibrant print on the rear and a year of Amazon’s Kids Plus service, which grants your family access to a trove of videos, games, and other kid-friendly content. It even comes with a two-year warranty, providing a bit of protection from whatever your child might (literally) throw at it.
Like the Echo Show 5, the Echo Show 8 is available in two distinct models, both of which feature 8-inch displays and dual speakers. However, unlike the first-gen Echo Show 8, the newer model is equipped with a 13MP camera and some unique software tricks, one of which grants it the ability to keep the subject centered in the frame as they move around.
As for the second-gen model, it’s only available at retailers like Amazon, Target, and Best Buy for $129.99, the usual list price. Amazon is offering select customers six months of Amazon Music Unlimited with the purchase of either the first- or second-gen model, however, the retailer doesn’t stipulate how to qualify.
The best Echo Show 10 deals
Last year, Amazon released a third-gen Echo Show 10. The device features a 10.1-inch HD screen and, unlike the Show 5 and Show 8, the 2021 model allows you to adjust the angle of the screen. It’s also mounted on a motorized, swiveling base that allows the display to follow you as you move. If you plan on doing a lot of video calling, this is the model to get.
We’ve seen the latest Echo Show 10 get discounted to as low as $200, but no active deals are available right now. If you still want to pick it up, however, you can get it for $249.99 — the smart display’s typical retail price — at Amazon, Target, and Best Buy. Like with other Echo devices, Amazon is also offering six months of Amazon Music Unlimited to select customers.
The best Echo Show 15 deals
Unlike other smart displays in Amazon’s Echo lineup, the new Echo Show 15 is a large, wall-mounted device with a 15.6-inch touch display. It’s designed to replace the likes of bulletin boards and calendars, and as such, it functions as a shared hub for families where everyone can see digital sticky notes, upcoming calendar appointments, shopping lists, and other reminders. It also features support for Alexa, meaning it offers the same functionality as other Echo displays and smart speakers, and you can even use it as a decent 1080p TV in your kitchen or to display photos and artwork. It’s even compatible with an optional stand, though, we’d argue it remains a better fit for your wall than your countertop given its size.
Having launched at the end of last year, we’ve seen very few discounts on the Echo Show 15. That said, you can currently buy it at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target for $249.99, its full retail price and $50 more than its most recent sale price.
Hacker claims to have obtained data on 1 billion Chinese citizens
Personal information allegedly taken from Shanghai police database would be one of biggest data breaches in history
A hacker has claimed to have stolen the personal information of 1 billion Chinese citizens from a Shanghai police database, in what would amount to one of the biggest data breaches in history if found to be true.
The anonymous hacker, identified only as “ChinaDan”, posted on hacker forum Breach Forums last week offering to sell the more than 23 terabytes (TB) of data for 10 bitcoin, equivalent to about $200,000 (£165,000).
Bridie Connell: the 10 funniest things I have ever seen (on the internet)
The comedian shares a few of her favourite (online) things, including a terrible South Dakota anti-drug campaign, Mr Bean playing invisible drums and – of course – a laughing baby
Ah, the internet. My reliable friend. I turn to it when I need to smile (cute pet videos), when I need to cry (war veterans being reunited with their kids), and when I need to destroy what’s left of my self-esteem (Instagram). There are plenty of arguments about why life would be better without it, and honestly? It probably would be. But it also wouldn’t be as funny. Here’s a bunch of things from the world wide web that never fail to make me laugh.
NFT startups hire full-time ‘vibe managers’ to lift the mood amid crypto collapse
Maintaining a feelgood atmosphere is now a full-time job aimed at keeping prospective investors interested – and distracting holders from a troubled market
Don’t call it a collapse – it’s just a vibe shift.
Since January, the market for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) has been locked in a downward spiral, with sales on one popular platform falling to less than one-seventh of their January peak, and the buyer of the so-called “Mona Lisa of the digital world” – a $2.9m NFT of Jack Dorsey’s first tweet – being forced to sell for just $6,800.
The TikTok ‘blackout challenge’ has now allegedly killed seven kids
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
TikTok is facing multiple lawsuits from parents who say their children died of strangulation attempting the “blackout challenge,” after the app showed them videos of other people trying it. One suit filed against the company in June alleges that at least seven specific children died last year while attempting the challenge, which the complaint says “encourages users to choke themselves with belts, purse strings, or anything similar until passing out.” All the children who reportedly died were under 15 years old.
We’re not going to get into the distressing details of the cases, but you can read the full complaint below for more background on some of the children, and how they ended up doing the challenge.
The most recent lawsuit was filed by the parents of eight-year-old Lalani Walton, and nine-year-old Arriani Arroyo. However, it cites several other children that also died after attempting the challenge as evidence that TikTok was aware of the problem. In addition to Walton and Arroyo, the cases it lists are:
A 10-year-old in Italy who reportedly died in January 2021
A 12-year-old in Colorado who reportedly died in March 2021
A 14-year-old in Australia who reportedly died in June 2021
A 12-year-old in Oklahoma who reportedly died in July 2021
A 10-year-old in Pennsylvania who reportedly died in December 2021
The mother of the Pennsylvania 10-year-old, Nylah Anderson, is also suing the company, alleging that the app “pushed exceedingly and unacceptably dangerous challenges.” In response to that suit, TikTok told The Washington Post that it had blocked users from searching for the blackout challenge — instead, users see one of its warning screens, saying that “some online challenges can be dangerous, disturbing, or even fabricated,” and get linked to a page in the app about assessing challenges and warnings.
The screen TikTok shows when a user searches for the blackout challenge.
However, Smith and Arroyo’s newer suit alleges that their children weren’t searching for challenges when they saw the videos. Instead, it says, TikTok put it right in front of them on the app’s main screen, the For You page. The suit accuses the company of having “specifically curated and determined that these Blackout Challenge videos – videos featuring users who purposefully strangulate themselves until losing consciousness – are appropriate and fitting for small children”.
On the record, TikTok spokesperson Mahsau Cullinane would only provide the company’s previous statement:
This disturbing ‘challenge,’ which people seem to learn about from sources other than TikTok, long predates our platform and has never been a TikTok trend. We remain vigilant in our commitment to user safety and would immediately remove related content if found. Our deepest sympathies go out to the family for their tragic loss.
Challenges are a core part of the TikTok experience — to the point where competitors have started trying to integrate them into their platforms in an attempt at appealing to TikTok users. Some challenges simply involve doing a dance move, while others are less benign. One infamous challenge that spread among the platform’s users encouraged students to steal or destroy school property. The platform is so well-known for its challenges that the company is sometimes linked to ones that spread on other sites or apps, or even ones that are seemingly made up.
Smith and Arroyo’s suit argues that because TikTok advertises and pushes some challenges, it has a “duty to monitor the videos and challenges shared, posted, and / or circulated on its app and platform to ensure that dangerous and deadly videos and challenges were not posted, shared, circulated, recommended, and / or encouraged.”
The company has faced lawsuits and fines over the access children have to its platform before. In 2019, it agreed to pay $5.7 million to settle charges from the Federal Trade Commission that it allowed users under 13 to sign up without a parent’s permission. About a year later, it introduced Family Pairing mode, which lets parents link their accounts to their children’s and control the amount of content they see and how much time they can spend on the app.
James Murray, Secret Service Director, to Step Down and Join Snap The director, James M. Murray, was appointed by President Donald J. Trump in 2019 and is departing after nearly three decades with the agency.
Amazon Prime subscribers now get Grubhub Plus free for a year
Photo by Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images
Amazon Prime subscribers in the US are getting a new benefit as part of their subscription, the company has announced. Today, they’ll be able to redeem a free year of Grubhub Plus, the monthly subscription service that offers free food delivery on orders over $12 from participating restaurants. Grubhub Plus normally costs $9.99 a month.
According to Amazon, free deliveries associated with Grubhub Plus are available from hundreds of thousands of restaurants across over 4,000 cities in the US. After the year is up, Grubhub will automatically start charging $9.99 a month for continued access. Existing Grubhub Plus subscribers can still make use of the promotion, which will be applied at the start of their next billing cycle. Canceling Prime automatically cancels Grubhub Plus.
The deal comes just a few short years after Amazon shut down Amazon Restaurants, its own attempt to compete in the takeout delivery market. The service was live between 2015 and 2019 but faced stiff competition from the likes of Uber Eats and DoorDash.
“Amazon has redefined convenience with Prime and we’re confident this offering will expose many new diners to the value of Grubhub Plus while driving more business to our restaurant partners and drivers,” Grubhub CEO Adam DeWitt said in a statement. The company, which is owned by Just Eat Takeaway.com, says it expects Grubhub Plus subscriptions to rise as a result of the deal.
GrubHub Plus isn’t the only additional benefit Amazon is announcing for Prime members today. The e-commerce giant is also making a short teaser trailer for its upcoming TV show, TheLord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, available exclusively to Prime subscribers for 48 hours. Members can watch the teaser over on the show’s Amazon page. The trailer ends by promising yet another teaser is coming on July 14th ahead of the release of the series on September 2nd.
Update July 6th, 5:55AM ET:Updated to note Amazon’s two percent stake in Grubhub.
Correction July 7th, 8:07PM ET:The Financial Times previously reported Amazon is taking a two percent stake in Grubhub as a part of this deal. In fact,as this press releasestates, Amazon will receive warrants exercisable for a two percent stake, as well as additional warrants exercisable over up to 13 percent more.
Red Dead Online won’t get ‘major’ updates as Rockstar shifts to the next mainline GTA game
Red Dead Online. | Image: Rockstar Games
Red Dead Online will no longer receive “major themed content updates” in part because Rockstar Games is pulling resources into the next Grand Theft Auto title, the studio said Thursday. Fans have wondered if Red Dead Onlinehas been abandoned, and while the game isn’t being shut down, Rockstar won’t be making as much content for it moving forward.
“Over the past few years, we have been steadily moving more development resources towards the next entry in the Grand Theft Auto series — understanding more than ever the need to exceed players’ expectations and for this next entry to be the best it can possibly be — and as a result, we are in the process of making some changes to how we support Red Dead Online,” Rockstar wrote in a blog post.
As for the future of Red Dead Online, “alongside seasonal special events and experience improvements — plus other changes to enhance and maintain a healthy Red Dead Online environment — we plan to build upon existing modes and add new Telegram Missions this year, rather than delivering major themed content updates like in previous years, and we will continue to highlight and share the creative efforts of our Red Dead community at every opportunity via the Newswire and beyond,” Rockstar said.
Rockstar finally confirmed in February that it’s working on the next entry in the Grand Theft Auto series. The studio is also continuing to add content to GTA Online, and it detailed some of the updates in the works in its Thursday blog post.
Start-Up Funding Falls the Most It Has Since 2019 The drop was another fallout of rising inflation and widespread economic uncertainty, and a retreat after years of a funding boom.
Grab the jaw-dropping Matrix Awakens tech demo before it’s delisted this week
Download it before Saturday if you want the experience. | Screenshot by Umar Shakir / The Verge
If you’ve wanted to experience the impressive visuals in The Matrix Awakens: An Unreal Engine 5 Experience and haven’t downloaded it yet, you’ll want to act fast — according to Unreal Engine’s website, it’ll be removed from the PlayStation and Xbox stores on Saturday, July 9th. After that date you’ll still be able to play and download it, but only if you added it to your library before the cutoff.
The Matrix Awakens, released in December 2021 for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S / X, is meant to act as a tech demo showing off the “power and potential” of Epic’s next-generation graphics engine, with its ray traced lighting and “metahumans.” It features digital replicas of Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss, a car chase turret sequence, and a digital city that you can explore.
Screenshot by Umar Shakir / The Verge
Is it real, or an illusion? The answer is not as hard to figure out as the demo’s site implies it is.
The main reason to play it is to see the graphics that Unreal Engine 5 is capable of generating in real time while running on the latest consoles. You can read my colleague Sean Hollister’s full write-up of the experience to get into the nitty-gritty of how well the visuals hold up, but here’s my TL;DR review: the Neo and Trinity models had moments of being convincing, until they don’t, and the explosions wouldn’t have been particularly impressive in an early PS4 game, but the virtual cityscape looked jaw-droppingly real to my eye. The experience, which takes up around 25GB of space on my PS5, also has some neat tricks that let you peek behind the curtains to see what the engine is doing underneath.
Epic didn’t immediately respond to The Verge’s request for comment on why it’s removing the demo from stores just a few months after releasing it. If you haven’t managed to get your hands on an Xbox Series console or a PS5, though, there is still some hope — I was able to add The Matrix Awakens to my game library on accounts that didn’t have any consoles linked, which would theoretically let me download it in the future. Again, it’s free, so if you’re at all interested in trying out the experience it’s worth getting it for the Xbox or PlayStation while you still can.
Elon Musk fathered twins with one of his executives last year – report
Musk’s nine children include pair born to Shivon Zilis, who works at his artificial intelligence company
Elon Musk fathered two children in 2021 with Shivon Zilis, a top executive at his artificial intelligence company Neuralink, new court documents show.
The world’s wealthiest man now has nine known children, including five children with his first wife, Justine Musk, and two with the singer Claire Boucher, known professionally as Grimes.
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Screenshot by Umar Shakir / The Verge
