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Arizona Senate Candidate Blake Masters’ Plans to Tackle Big Tech’s ‘Predatory’ Business Practices

September 20, 2021 Wisconsin Daily Star Staff

Arizona Senate candidate Blake Masters wants to break up Big Tech and ban their business practices he believes are harmful.

“I think Republicans need to reacquaint themselves with their history of antitrust enforcement, and realize huge concentrations of power in private hands can violate people’s liberties just as much as government,” Masters said in an interview with the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Masters, who announced his candidacy in July, serves as chief operating officer at investment firm Thiel Capital and runs the Thiel Foundation, a philanthropic organization founded by billionaire investor and PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel. He competes in a crowded Republican primary with fellow candidate and current Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich for the chance to unseat incumbent Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly in 2022.

Facebook Will Fund Fact-Checkers Fighting ‘Climate Misinformation’

September 18, 2021September 17, 2021 Wisconsin Daily Star Staff

Facebook announced a grant program Thursday to fund fact-checking groups combating the spread of “climate misinformation.”

The program is designed to provide Facebook users with accurate and reliable information on topics related to climate change, such as sea levels and global warming, Facebook announced. The company said it launched the initiative partly in response to an August report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that highlighted the negative impact humans have on the environment.

Facebook Buys up the Outstanding Invoices of Minority-Owned Small Businesses

September 14, 2021September 13, 2021 Wisconsin Daily Star Staff

Facebook is spending $100 million to buy up the outstanding invoices of small businesses owned by women, racial minorities, veterans, disabled people and LGBTQ+ people, the company announced last week.

The Invoice Fast Track Program allows certain “small, midsize and diverse-owned businesses” to submit outstanding invoices to Facebook. The tech giant then buys the invoices, giving the business cash immediately, and the business’ customers pay Facebook instead.

The program is designed to help “diverse-owned” businesses improve their cash flow and hire more employees, according to the program’s description.

Michael Patrick Leahy on Narrative Journalism and Big Tech Alliances

September 6, 2021September 5, 2021 Julie Carr

Thursday morning on Frist Principles with Phill Kline, host Kline welcomed The Star News Networks CEO and Editor in Chief Michael Patrick Leahy to the phone lines to discuss the changing landscape of journalism and Big Techs’ partnership with social media titans.

Michael Patrick Leahy Explains the ‘Unholy Alliance’ Between Big Tech and Social Media Giants

September 4, 2021September 3, 2021 Julie Carr

Thursday morning on First Principles with Phill Kline, host Kline welcomed Michael Patrick Leahy, CEO of The Star News Network and host of The Tennessee Star Report to weigh in on the developing oligopoly of Big Tech and social media giants.

Calls to Fire Glen Ellyn School District 41 Teacher in Illinois After She ‘Shows Off Book Collection She Uses to Indoctrinate 3rd Grade Students’

September 4, 2021September 3, 2021 Wisconsin Daily Star Staff

Calls to fire Glen Ellyn teacher Lauren Crowe were spreading across social media Thursday night after the D41 educator shared a video on Tik Tok promoting books highlighting LGBTQ+ activism to her grammar school students.

Crowe, who teaches third grade at Abraham Lincoln Elementary School, posted the video on Tik Tok. It was then shared on Twitter by a user who goes by the name “Libs of Tik Tok.”

“Activist teacher shows off book collection she uses to indoctrinate 3rd grade students,” the user posted.

Facebook Says It ‘Incorrectly Deleted’ Account of Mother of Marine Killed in Kabul Explosion

September 2, 2021September 1, 2021 Wisconsin Daily Star Staff

Facebook says it incorrectly removed the account of the mother of one of the Marines killed in the Kabul terrorist attack last week, following several posts critical of President Joe Biden.

Shana Chappell, mother of Kareem Nikoui, one of the 13 Marines killed in the suicide bombing at the Kabul airport last week, claimed in a Facebook post Monday that her Instagram account had been deleted. Instagram is owned by Facebook.

Mother of Slain Marine Suspended from Facebook, Instagram After Criticizing Joe Biden

September 1, 2021August 31, 2021 Peter D'Abrosca

The mother of a U.S. Marine who died during the ISIS-affiliated attack on Kabul’s airport has been suspended from Facebook and its subsidiary, Instagram.

“Shana Chappell, mother of Marine Kareem Nikoui who was killed in Kabul, had her FB and Instagram accounts suspended for posts she made about her son and her feelings about the President and Vice President,” Lynn Afendoulis, former Michigan State Representative, said on Facebook. “This is horrifying. Her son GAVE HIS LIFE FOR OUR COUNTRY. She can say what she wants. Her FB account is back up. For now. God be with her.”

Facebook Reportedly Considers Creating an Election Commission, Just in Time for Midterms

August 27, 2021August 26, 2021 Wisconsin Daily Star Staff

Facebook is considering creating a commission to advise the tech giant on election-related issues including misinformation, The New York Times reported.

The tech company reportedly contacted several academics and policy experts to draft plans for a commission that will advise Facebook on electoral matters and potentially decide policies related to political misinformation and advertising, several people familiar with the plans told The New York Times. Facebook plans to announce the commission in the next few months to be prepared for the 2022 midterms, the Times reported.

Facebook Under Fire from White House, Critics over Lack of Transparency

August 26, 2021August 25, 2021 Wisconsin Daily Star Staff

Facebook is facing backlash over several decisions in August that critics say indicate a lack of transparency, particularly regarding the problem of misinformation.

The tech company drew criticism after it published a report Saturday detailing the most widely-viewed content on the platform for the first quarter of 2021, showing that the most viewed news article was a factual story published by the Chicago Tribune about a doctor dying two weeks after receiving the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. Facebook had initially shelved the report and published data on the second quarter of 2021 instead, but released it following an investigation by The New York Times that revealed the tech company withheld the report due to fears it would seem like it was promoting misinformation.

U.S. Files New Complaint Against Facebook over Monopoly Concerns

August 21, 2021August 20, 2021 Wisconsin Daily Star Staff

The U.S. government amended its antitrust complaint against Facebook on Thursday, bolstering allegations that the tech company illegally maintained a monopoly.

The amended complaint follows the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) dismissed December 2020 complaint which failed to adequately prove the tech giant’s monopoly in the “Personal Social Networking Services” market.

The FTC alleges that Facebook illegally acquired competitors WhatsApp and Instagram in order to stifle competition, maintaining monopoly power by preventing competitors from operating on Facebook software.