BC INTERNET
Saved by @CodyyyGardner

Facebook is a newstand. But no one can see which news Facebook is pushing to the top.

So we built an app for that called #CitizenBrowser. Our first finding: the sharp impact of Facebook’s political ad ban reversal in the Georgia Senate elections.
https://t.co/GZNdwZOlHW /1

 This is the first report from our #CitizenBrowser project. There will be many more to come. But first, I want to tell you a bit about how we did it because it’s the most ambitious thing we’ve ever done @themarkup – and we do a lot of ambitious projects. /2
#CitizenBrowser grew out of conversations @suryamattu and I had about how to audit Facebook. We had both worked on browser extensions to collect data from Facebook, but FB always threatened to shut those down, just like their recent threats against the NYU AdObservatory. /3
But the bigger problem is that browser extensions don’t capture most FB activity. Most people use FB on mobile and browser extensions only work on desktop or laptop computers.

So one night, late at the WeWork, @suryamattu said to me: “We’ll have to build our own browser.” /4
“No way,” I said. “That’s insane.” But slowly, I came around. Here’s why: browsers are good at running in the background. Users could log into FB once through the browser and never use it again.

Then we wouldn’t be monitoring users. We would only be monitoring their feed. /5
So we built a browser. Ok, not quite. We built an Electron app that automates data collection using the Chrome web browser. Then we built tools that remove personal identifiers from that data, such as users’ names and their friends’ names, and discard them. /6
Then we hired a survey research provider to invite a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults to install the app. Panelists are paid to participate and yes, they understand the privacy issues—here is the Privacy FAQ we provide for panelists.

https://t.co/nExS6efQtc /7
Our panel consists of around 1,000 paid participants from 48 states. It's reasonably representative although we could use more Latinos and Trump voters and our crew is older and more educated than the U.S. population, which reflects desktop computer usage. /8
The panel gave us our first peek inside the black box of Facebook’s algorithms. In the past month we saw how news feeds in Georgia changed dramatically when Facebook flipped the switch to turn on political ads. https://t.co/GZNdwZOlHW /9
And we have much more to share with you in the coming weeks. Sign up for our #CitizenBrowser newsletter to follow along as we try to understand the social media algorithms that shape our lives. https://t.co/vFHrOjCNUm /10
As always, we show our work. For more details on how we built our app and assembled our panel, read our methodology. https://t.co/HQVkAH9s6d /11
I couldn’t be prouder our insanely dedicated team who made this happen: @suryamattu @leonyin @corintxt @angiewaller @jonkeegan @sammorrisdesign @mynameisfiber @magiccia @cortesi @jeffcrouse @iaaaan @rinapalta @simplysecureorg /end
P.S. If you want a TL;DR version of the #CitizenBrowser project, today's newsletter is a good place to start. https://t.co/7dmFtMCKDt

More from Internet

Jim Lakely
Jim Lakely
@jlakely
Let's be clear about what @Google, @Apple & @amazon instantly destroying #Parler's ability to be the free-speech version of Twitter is. At its core, this is about the ability to freely communicate one’s thoughts to others — once considered a hallmark of "The American Way." 1/13

What Big Tech is doing is as if Ma Bell in 1973 (ask grandpa) decided what you're saying to a friend on a landline phone was “dangerous." So they cut off the line in the middle of the talk and then sent someone over to physically cut your phone line. That's Stasi shit. 2/13

I realize that a personal conversation is not the same as a public tweet, but the principle is the same. The company that "owns the wires" for your speec — and has special govt rules protecting them due to their position — cuts off your call due to what you are saying. 3/13

If this analogy doesn't work for you, imagine someone tackling and punching you for speaking on a soap box in a public park and then setting your soap box on fire. And the govt being OK with that in a country that has a First Amendment. Moving on ... 4/13

Big Tech shadow banned people for years to just do it "halfway." That way, they could continue to paint an increasingly thin patina on their original govt-protected pledge to promote the free exchange of thought. #freespeech 5/13
INTERNET
Markus Amalthea Magnuson \u2744\ufe0f
Markus Amalthea Magnus...
@scifiagenda
I did more research into the Parler dump. What probably happened was not so much a "hack", but this: When Twilio/Okta shut them down, they just disabled email/phone verification to create an account. This means anyone could directly create huge amounts of accounts via their API.

Someone also found out that fetching Parler posts could be done by enumerating IDs (e.g 1, 2, 3) instead of random IDs that can't be guessed. Unclear if this was via the ordinary API endpoint, or that they found a separate one by monitoring app network traffic.

So you combine these two things and you can create a script to scrape all the posts on the entire platform, using a lot of different accounts to avoid suspicion. Anyone could download and run this script to spread it out over many IP addresses as well.

What I'm still not sure about is whether deleted (meaning flagged as deleted, it's common that services never actually delete data) posts could be fetched without any special handling.

The verdict: The people who wrote Parler are fucking amateurs.
INTERNET
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Yous \U0001f168
Yous 🅨
@YousXP
*Thread* - the hack is wack

The Master Life 'Hack' to Solve All Problems


What's easier?

Developing psychology & exerting willpower to not eat a pantry full of your favorite snacks

or

Not having those temptations in the house

Many 'solutions' being presented to people don't work

Designed to cope with the problem instead of resolving it

Darkness is the absence of light

You can't resolve or remove the darkness

You can only add more light

Recent viral obsessions with 'healing', 'being stoic', 'mental models & psychology'

They all serve their place AFTER the root has been handled

Before adding things to increase testosterone, remove what inhibits it

Before adding 'hacks', remove things causing conflict

If a person fears confrontation & is not assertive

Techniques & thinking offer some support, but the real question is

Why is this the default behavior?

Without starting with this question

All solutions are merely Band-Aids to mask & cope with the symptoms

In reality the real root of his fear of asserting himself & confrontation may likely be:
INTERNET
Peter Ward
Peter Ward
@Peter___Ward
The new tactics to implement the #CancelCulture are quite ingenious. They are not going after what they want cancelled directly, they are going after how it gets to you! It’s attacking the free market, and it’s harder to spot and harder to fight before it’s done! Read on!

1/


Here’s an example. If there’s a challenge to the normal Social Media platforms, then they aren’t wasting time going after the new app, they are making the app unavailable well more difficult to get. This puts people off from going to the trouble or switching.

2/


They are going to do this in a way you won’t see it coming. They are going to stop it before the source.

Soon, the media is going to be a complete left wing echo-chamber. Social Media, TV and Papers all left wing and you don’t get to say “what about free speech?”

3/


Why? Because they aren’t playing against free speech. They are going after the free market. This also gives you an idea what socialism can and will do.

I don’t expect my account to last long now I’m watching this and exposing it! Please share, stand your ground and don’t quit!


Here’s the proof that CNN are trying to get Fox cancelled at the broadcast level, stop it getting into people’s homes by getting the TV providers to ban it. Again, targeted before what we see as the source. This is also the groundwork for any
INTERNET
foone
foone
@Foone
time to get back to "repairing" old computers


The funny thing about making the 8-bit-guy into a meme about "repairing" computers with powertools is that the obvious heightening joke would, like, the "8 rounds guy", who fixes computers with firearms

but that would also be him, given that he's also a big gun enthusiast.

so it's inherently hard to satirize the repairing-computers-with-dremels guy, since they're also the guns-guy.

you'd have to go up to like a mythbusters level of overkill.

"this hard drive from 1986 won't spin up. We tried freezing it, tapping it with a rubber hammer, and opening the case to lower the friction... there's only one option left: GET OUT THE C4 EXPLOSIVES!"
INTERNET

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Jaya_Upadhyaya
Jaya_Upadhyaya
@Jayalko1
KANAKA DURGAMMA, VIJAYWADA (AP)
#bharatmandir

Ma Kanakadurgeswari is the supreme Goddess of Andhra Pradesh, seated atop the Indrakilaparvatha at Vijayawada.
This area is called Bezawada as Shiva made a bejjam (hole) in the rocks so that Krishna river could flow freely.


Once, a Rishi Indra Keela prayed to Devi and asked her to reside on his head forever. Devi told him to wait in the form of a mountain in the holy plains of River Krishna.
Later, when Devi killed all demons, she settled on Keeladri as Mahishasura Mardini and fulfilled his wish.


In this place, Arjuna performed penance and fought with Shiva, who had appeared in the guise of Kiratha to win Pasupathastra, the most powerful weapon. So this place is also called phalguna theertha and Vijaywada on account of Arjun’s victory.


Adi Sankaracharya visited this shrine and worshipped the Devi. He installed SRICHAKRAM at the feet of Sri Kanaka Durga.

Adjacent to the Kanakadurga shrine is the shrine of the divine consort-Sri Malleswara Swamy on the Indrakeeladri.
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Aditya Todmal
Aditya Todmal
@AdityaTodmal
12 TRADING SETUPS which experts are using.

These setups I found from the following 4 accounts:

1. @Pathik_Trader
2. @sourabhsiso19
3. @ITRADE191
4. @DillikiBiili

Share for the benefit of everyone.

Here are the setups from @Pathik_Trader Sir first.

1. Open Drive (Intraday Setup explained)


Bactesting results of Open Drive


2. Two Price Action setups to get good long side trade for intraday.

1. PDC Acts as Support
2. PDH Acts as


Example of PDC/PDH Setup given
STOCKLEARNINGS , LEARNSTOCKTRADING
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\u0100yudhika
Āyudhika
@Satyamev1310
Dr. Anandibai Joshi

Upon her birth on 31 March 1865 she was named Yamuna, after the holy river. Her parents Gunputrao Amritaswar Joshee & Gungabai Joshee came from a long lineage of wealthy landlord family in Kalyan of Bombay Presidency, whose wealth was now waning.


Anandi was the sixth of 10 children, & had 4 brothers (only two of which survived) & five sisters. Her father was particularly fond of her, as she was a bright child with an inquisitive mind. Being an educated man himself, Ganpatrao assured that his daughter was taught Marathi.

As was common practice she was married at a tender age of 9, to Gopalrao Joshi, a 29 year old widower who worked as a postal clerk in the same city. After marriage her husband named her ‘Anandibai’ (which means ‘Joy of my heart’).

Gopalrao was man ahead of his times with reformist ideas & had married Anandibai on the condition that he would be allowed to educate his wife.

He even tried to enroll Anandi in a missionary school, but did not succeed. Despite being the supportive husband, Gopalrao had his flaws.

He was a strict teacher & would sometimes resort to beating if Anandi slacked in her studies.
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WAKE UP AUSTRALIA WAKE UP
WAKE UP AUSTRALIA WAKE...
@WakeAustralia
Facebook originally a CIA program called "LifeLog".
LifeLog, via DARPA, terminated on Feb 4th, 2004.
Facebook was launched on Feb 4th, 2004.
Many of the LifeLog team became execs at FB.
Zuckerberg is a figurehead.
CIA allowed Cambridge to help Trump win

https://t.co/enzOXDCogV


Pentagon Kills LifeLog
BUSINESS
Roger Grosse
Roger Grosse
@RogerGrosse
Important paper from Google on large batch optimization. They do impressively careful experiments measuring # iterations needed to achieve target validation error at various batch sizes. The main "surprise" is the lack of surprises. [thread]

https://t.co/7QIx5CFdfJ


The paper is a good example of lots of elements of good experimental design. They validate their metric by showing lots of variants give consistent results. They tune hyperparamters separately for each condition, check that optimum isn't at the endpoints, and measure sensitivity.

They have separate experiments where the hold fixed # iterations and # epochs, which (as they explain) measure very different things. They avoid confounds, such as batch norm's artificial dependence between batch size and regularization strength.

When the experiments are done carefully enough, the results are remarkably consistent between different datasets and architectures. Qualitatively, MNIST behaves just like ImageNet.

Importantly, they don't find any evidence for a "sharp/flat optima" effect whereby better optimization leads to worse final results. They have a good discussion of experimental artifacts/confounds in past papers where such effects were reported.
MACHINE LEARNING