Newley Purnell
@newley
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Bloomberg @technology reporter | Ex-@WSJ | Tips: Signal username newley.12 or +852-6909-9615 | [email protected] | [email protected] | Views mine
HK via PDT, BFT, BKK, DEL
Joined April 2007
New: Internal Facebook documents show its services are used to spread religious hatred in India. Company researchers identified calls to violence that coincided with 2020 riots in Delhi that left 53 dead. @WSJ's Facebook Files latest. With @JeffHorwitz
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How YouTube, Facebook and Instagram gave platforms to a cow-protection vigilante in India who, along with associates, is being investigated in the deaths of two alleged cow smugglers found in their burned-out vehicle. Story with @JeffHorwitz
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One Muslim man in Mumbai told researchers that “if social media survives 10 more years like this, there will be only hatred.” Unless FB does a better job of policing content, India will be a “very difficult place to survive for everyone,” he said.
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Internally, researchers were painting a different picture: Facebook’s products in India were awash with inflammatory content that one report linked to deadly religious riots.
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Inflammatory content on Facebook spiked 300% above previous levels at times during the months following December 2019, a period in which religious protests swept India, researchers wrote in a July 2020 report that was reviewed by The WSJ.
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Hindu and Muslim users in India say they are subjected to “a large amount of content that encourages conflict, hatred and violence on Facebook and WhatsApp,” such as material blaming Muslims for the spread of Covid-19 and assertions. .
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Mark Zuckerberg praised India in December as a special and important country for Facebook, saying that millions of people there use its platforms every day to stay in touch with family and friends. .
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Day 62. Our friend and colleague, Evan Gershkovich, is still in a Russian prison, unjustly detained. We call for his immediate release. #IStandwithEvan .#JournalismIsNotACrime
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Rumors and calls to violence spread particularly on Facebook’s WhatsApp messaging service in late February 2020, when communal violence in Delhi left 53 dead, according to the report. India is Facebook’s biggest market with hundreds of millions of users.
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Facebook researchers determined that two Hindu nationalist groups with ties to India’s ruling political party post inflammatory anti-Muslim content on the platform, according to two separate reports earlier this year by teams investigating abuse of the company’s services.
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There is “so much hatred going on” on Facebook, one Muslim man in Mumbai told the researchers, saying he feared for his life. “It’s scary, it’s really scary.”Many of the users believed it was “Facebook’s responsibility to reduce this content” in their feeds, on WhatsApp.
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Facebook researchers interview dozens of users in India. A Hindu man in Delhi told them he received frequent messages on Facebook and WhatsApp “that are all very dangerous,” such as “Hindus are in danger, Muslims are about to kill us,” the researchers reported.
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. that Muslim men are targeting Hindu women for marriage as a “form of Muslim takeover” of the country, the researchers found.
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The reports show that Facebook is privately aware that people in its largest market are targeted with inflammatory content, and that users say the company isn’t protecting them.
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One promotes “dehumanizing posts comparing Muslims to ‘pigs’ and ‘dogs’ and misinformation claiming the Quran calls for men to rape their female family members.” The group remains active on FB, and wasn’t designated as dangerous due to “political sensitivities,” the report said.
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Facebook says it bans groups or individuals “after following a careful, rigorous, and multidisciplinary process" and some reports were working docs containing investigative leads for discussion, not complete investigations, and didn’t contain individual policy recommendations.
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The accounts of Ryan Mac of The NYT, Donie O'Sullivan of CNN, Drew Harwell of the Washington Post, Matt Binder of Mashable, Micah Lee of The Intercept and independent journalists Aaron Rupar and Tony Webster had all been suspended as of Thurs evening.
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New: Facebook, Twitter, and Google have privately warned the Hong Kong government that they could stop offering their services in the city if authorities proceed with planned anti-doxing rules
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“His videos weren’t so bad at first,” said @zoo_bear, who runs a fact-checking site that's been tracking #MonuManesar and affiliated cow vigilante accounts for years. But as view counts grew, Mr. Zubair said, vigilantes’ livestreamed chases grew wilder.
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Google is under fire from officials and legislators in Hong Kong over a pro-democracy song that is showing up in search results for the national anthem, raising tensions between American tech giants and authorities here
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New: Facebook users have offered for sale on the platform handguns, rifles, shotguns and bullets to members of Groups devoted to an extremist Hindu organization with a history of violence in India.
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EIGHT. WEEKS. Our friend and colleague, Evan Gershkovich, is still in a Russian prison, unjustly detained. We call for his immediate release. #IStandWithEvan #journalismisnotacrime
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A Chinese-built mobile app that is mandatory for all participants in the Winter Olympics contains security flaws that could make it easy for a hacker to steal sensitive personal information, @lizalinwsj reports: via @WSJ.
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In 1997, the year of HK’s return to China, the two cities’ gdp/person was remarkably similar ($26,376 in Singapore, $27,330 in HK). Today Singapore’s is 1.7 times higher than HK’s. Singapore’s economy has grown by one-seventh since 2017; HK's not at all
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Meta has disbanded its Responsible Innovation team, which was once a prominent piece of its effort to address concerns about the potential downsides of its products. @JeffHorwitz scoop: via @WSJ.
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Apple is preparing to manufacture its new iPhone 14 in India months earlier than it did previous models, sign it’s boosting production outside China where Covid-related shutdowns and geopolitical tensions have raised risks for foreign businesses.
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Thailand’s Constitutional Court ruled that protester demands to reform the monarchy violated a provision in the military-drafted charter that bans any move to “overthrow” the royal institution.
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“The Premier League is putting itself at risk of becoming a patsy of those who want to use the glamour and prestige of Premier League football to cover up actions that are deeply immoral,” Amnesty International wrote in a letter to the Premier League.
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Hong Kong trams now taking (or soon to take?) not just Octopus and cash but contactless payment via Visa, Mastercard, Alipay etc. New, I believe?
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21 weeks. Evan Gershkovich remains in a Moscow prison. He was detained for doing his job and should be released immediately. #IStandwithEvan .#JournalismIsNotACrime
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The bulk of the more than 60 documents, if genuine, appear to originate from the Central Intelligence Agency’s Operations Center and the Pentagon’s Joint Chiefs of Staff. Such documents are typically briefed to senior-level decision makers at the Pentagon.
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Patagonia is doubling down on its decision to stop all paid advertising on Facebook's platforms, urging other companies to join the sportswear company in its boycott as FB faces widespread scrutiny following the release of internal documents.
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Human traffickers, a drug cartel and prostitution rings have used Facebook for recruitment—abuses flagged by its employees that in some cases the tech giant made little effort to stop, internal documents show. With @ScheckWSJ @JeffHorwitz #FacebookFiles
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The "monster" specimen is six times bigger than the average toad, weighs 2.7kg, and could break a world record. Dubbed "Toadzilla", the animal was quickly placed in a container and removed from the wild.
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WSJ’s Hong Kong bureau stands with our colleague Evan Gershkovich, who was wrongfully detained in Russia six weeks ago for doing his job. He should be released immediately. Evan, we are with you today and every day. #IStandWithEvan #FreeEvan #JournalismIsNotACrime
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Proud to learn that @JeffHorwitz and I won a @SABEW Best-in-Business/international reporting award for our coverage of Facebook in India.
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Erik Prince, the American defense contractor, said he is offering people seats on a chartered plane out of Kabul for $6,500 per person.
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🚨 A jury found disbarred lawyer Alex Murdaugh guilty of murdering his wife and son, capping a double-murder trial that has engulfed this small, rural community and at times captivated the nation. #murdaugh #murdaughtrial
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The WSJ has lifted the paywall on all of @evangershkovich’s stories. You can read them here: . #IStandWithEvan.
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India and China have ejected each other’s journalists in recent weeks, virtually wiping out mutual media access and deepening a rift between the world’s two most populous nations. By @KeithZhai
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Chief Executive John Lee is leaning toward scrapping hotel quarantine before the Nov events to signal HK is back in business, despite the objections of some in his.administration, the people said. Health Secretary Lo Chung-mau is among those who want to tighten restrictions.
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.@elonmusk Made an Unusual Request in Fallout With a Top Lieutenant. Remarkable stuff. By @rfelliott @EmilyGlazer @timkhiggins .
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Hong Kong is targeting an end to hotel quarantine in Nov., ahead of summit of global bankers and international rugby competition, even as resurgence in Covid-19 cases prompts officials to push back on the plan, according to people familiar with the debate.
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Members of our WSJ Hong Kong bureau participated in #IRunForEvan tonight to mark our colleague Evan Gershkovich's 32nd birthday. He remains in prison in Russia for doing his job. It's now been *30 weeks.* He should be released immediately. #IStandWithEvan
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Worth a watch 👇.
5 Covid PCR tests.48 hours in quarantine.Endless security checks. Here's what it takes to report on Hong Kong's 25th handover anniversary through the lens of @JustinChinPhoto
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In Singapore, unvaccinated people won't be able to dine in, go to shopping malls, hawker centers, or coffee shops from Wednesday.
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“That culture of compromise, which is part of pragmatism, is missing. And for whatever reason, we have it here.
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On the six-month anniversary of WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich’s detention in Russia, his family writes, “It’s hard not to think about everything he is missing” #IStandwithEvan.
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More Americans are relocating to Europe, driven across the Atlantic by the rising cost of living, inflated house prices, a surging dollar and political rancor at home. Italy, Portugal, Spain, Greece and France are among the most popular destinations.
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A letter sent by an industry group that includes the internet firms said companies are concerned that the planned rules to address doxing could put their staff at risk of criminal investigations or prosecutions related to what the firms’ users post online.
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NEW: Facebook is stifling an independent report on the impact of its platforms on human rights in India, groups invited to take part say
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Is Facebook Bad for You? 360 Million Users Say Yes, Company Documents Show. Facebook Files latest. By @georgia_wells @dseetharaman @JeffHorwitz
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Four years ago yesterday in New Delhi we adopted Ginger, our beloved Desidog rescue. (Desidogs are also called INDogs, or Indian Native Dogs.). Here’re some of my favorite pics and an update on how she’s liking Hong Kong. TL;DR: she remains a great dog, and seems to love HK.
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Hong Kong is floating a quarantine-free travel plan for a top financial summit in November, but bankers who are interested in attending don’t want exceptions. New from @jingyanghk @yuenok:
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🇭🇰 💯 Weekend Peak hike with Ginger. (Yes, she wore her backpack.) 😂
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.@ATabarrok: @ScottGottliebMD's new book “Uncontrolled Spread” is "everything you’d hope: a smart and insightful account of what happened and, currently, the best guide to what needs to be done to avoid a future pandemic.”
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Despite high-speed chases and gunplay, some fans of #MonuManesar said he and his vigilante associates weren’t going far enough. “Kill them,” his followers on Facebook urged. “Torch their truck,” a YouTube commenter advised. “Burn him alive,” wrote another
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“The only way to avoid these sanctions for technology companies would be to refrain from investing and offering the services in Hong Kong,” said the previously unreported June 25 letter from the Singapore-based Asia Internet Coalition, which was reviewed by The @WSJ.
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India’s abstention in the vote, followed by statement calling for “immediate cessation of violence” w/out condemning the aggression or naming Russia, is in line with India’s leaders trying to protect its interests by working gray area between world powers
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The @PressClubDC will draw attention to Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gerschkovich's wrongful detention in Russia by publicly reading his stories for a 24-hour period beginning at 8 a.m. EST Wednesday (today), July 19. #IStandwithEvan #FreeEvan
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NEW: Facebook uses free internet access to boost user growth in poor countries. But many people end up with charges, a problem the company knows about. It “breaches our transparency principle,” according to internal documents. Story w/ @ScheckWSJ @mcgint.
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A national-security crackdown in Hong Kong has extended to Facebook pages on which many workers and residents traded gossip.
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A U.S. contractor says Huawei required it to set up a system in China that gives Huawei access to sensitive info about citizens, govt officials from safe-cities surveillance project in Pakistan’s second-largest city of Lahore. Huawei denies the claim.
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New: The U.S. government is treating the apparent disclosure of classified material surrounding the war in Ukraine as an insider’s leak, people familiar with the matter say, but hasn’t yet homed in on key suspects. By @ByronTau @sgurman @aviswanatha
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So proud to work with @JeffHorwitz and the larger @WSJ Facebook Files team. We've won a George Polk award for Business Reporting:
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So proud of our team. @JeffHorwitz.@georgia_wells @dseetharaman.@keachhagey @ScheckNYTimes.@samschech @EmilyGlazer.
.@UCLAANDERSON PRESENTS THE 2022 LOEB AWARD FOR THE BEAT REPORTING CATEGORY TO: @wsj. FOR: “The Facebook Files” .#loebawards
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🇭🇰 Gorgeous day here in Hong Kong. Sunny, breezy, blue skies. 81F/27C. 💯
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I stand with my @WSJ colleague @evangershkovich. The American son of Soviet-born exiles, he fell in love with Russia and worked to bring the public news from inside the country. He's been arrested for alleged espionage. The Journal vehemently denies the charges #istandwithevan.
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“At least 174 media outlets in almost 30 countries received missives from city leaders -- including its now chief executive, John Lee -- since China announced in May 2020 that it would impose a national security law on the former British colony.”
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🐕 First met our beloved Desidog Ginger five years ago today in Delhi. Adopted her not long after. She is thriving here in Hong Kong. We love her so much
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The White House is condemning the harassment of a Wall Street Journal reporter who questioned India’s prime minister about human rights in his country at a press conference last week.
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Read it here!
Rog wrote this in WSJ about why he is supporting USA Today 🇺🇸🦅💙
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A Chinese Spy Wanted GE’s Secrets, But the US Got China’s Instead. How the arrest of a burned-out intelligence officer exposed an economic-espionage machine.
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