Category: News

The European Union has launched its first official investigation under the Digital Services Act (DSA) into X (formerly Twitter). The investigation will determine whether X has failed in its duty to combat illegal content, misinformation and manipulation, BBC reports.

EU takes action against Elon Musk's X over disinformation https://t.co/RmB2kboF3N

— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) December 18, 2023

Thierry Breton is the European Commissioner for the Information Society. He stressed that the EU suspects X of having breached its transparency obligations.

Another point of contention concerns X’s recent changes to its verification process, the so-called blue brackets.

X has stated that it is cooperating with the regulatory authorities.

If X is found guilty of breaching data protection law, it could face significant penalties, including fines of up to 6% of its global sales, which could have a major impact on its financial situation, which is already stormy and fluctuating, to say the least.

The action was also prompted by wider EU concerns, notably about the proliferation of violent or terrorist content.

The European Commission is still gathering evidence, and no legal deadline has been set for the conclusion of the investigation.

Arena Group, owner of Sports Illustrated, has made a radical change in the world of media and publishing, sacking CEO Ross Levinsohn as part of a wide-ranging reshuffle of its management team after a scandal linked to the use of artificial intelligence in the creation of content for Sports Illustrated.

Sports Illustrated boss Ross Levinsohn fired weeks after AI scandal https://t.co/9zSlYN4skZ

— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) December 12, 2023

This announcement comes on the back of several high-profile redundancies in the company’s executive ranks, and while Arena Group has issued a statement highlighting the board’s decision to let Levinsohn go as part of an overall strategy to boost operational efficiency and increase revenues, it’s hard to ignore the scandal the company has been embroiled in over the past few weeks.

Indeed, it was revealed that the company had published articles whose content was generated by artificial intelligence, even though it claimed that this content was published by a real author. What’s more, the bios, photos and names of the alleged authors were all made up.

Controversy erupted when Futurism contacted Sports Illustrated with questions about the AI-generated author profiles, which were quickly deleted.

Arena Group defended itself, claiming that the articles in question were licensed content obtained from AdVon Commerce, which guaranteed that all content had been written and edited by using authors whose pen names were legitimate.

Sports Illustrated Published Articles by Fake, AI-Generated Writers https://t.co/zkM7lWZmL3

— Futurism (@futurism) December 9, 2023

Several company executives have since been dismissed, including Rob Barrett, president of media and Julie Fenster, the company’s general counsel, and ultimately CEO Ross Levinsohn, although the company has yet to officially establish a direct link between these dismissals and the fake author scandal.

Tragedy strikes again at Connecticut’s Mystic Aquarium, as the team mourns the death of Kharabali, a nine-year-old beluga whale, who had begun showing worrying signs last November. This unfortunate incident marks the third death out of five whales transported in 2021 from Marineland, Niagara Falls, Canada, to Mystic Aquarium.

A 9-year-old beluga whale at Mystic Aquarium named Kharabali has died, marking the third death among five whales that were transported there from Canada in 2021. https://t.co/gJIDtSYnOa

— NBC News (@NBCNews) December 13, 2023

Kharabali died despite efforts by the intensive care unit to keep her healthy. The aquarium said it would carry out an autopsy to determine the cause of death, expressing its deep sadness at the death of Kharabali, loved by everyone at the aquarium.

Kharabali is the third beluga whale to die in a group of five collected in 2021 from Marineland water park in Niagara Falls, Ontario, to die after arriving at Mystic Aquarium.

Havok, a male beluga whale who died in August 2021, and Havana, a female beluga whale who died in February 2022, were both declared by the aquarium to be suffering from incurable diseases that ultimately caused their deaths. Jetta, a whale that was part of the 2021 group and fell ill, is reportedly recovering and thriving, according to the aquarium.

The deaths of Havok, Havana and Kharabali highlight the wider problem of whales kept in captivity. Many advocates argue that captive confinement can lead to a number of negative effects such as boredom, frustration and even signs of physical stress like dorsal fin collapse.

These concerns are reflected in notable cases such as the death of Kiska at Marineland, dubbed the “world’s loneliest whale”, last March. Kohana is a 20-year-old orca from Loro Parque zoo, and Tilikum the orca from SeaWorld’s “Blackfish”.

The transfer of belugas from Marineland to Mystic Aquarium has sparked controversy. A Delaware animal rights organization claimed that the transfer would cause physical and mental damage to the animals. Authorities argued that the belugas were bred in captivity and could not be safely released back into the ocean. Following the beluga’s death, the U.S. Department of Agriculture carried out an inspection. The aquarium reported that the problems had been resolved.

Beluga melon boops with Juno pic.twitter.com/RIlndayYKY

— Mystic Aquarium (@mysticaquarium) November 14, 2023

Animal rights activists call for an end to whale breeding and captivity programs.

US President Joe Biden issued a stern warning to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that international support is dwindling, at a Democratic fundraising event in Washington. Biden urged the Israeli prime minister to make tough decisions, and even to reshuffle his cabinet, according to CNN.

https://twitter.com/CNN/status/1734638521451790712

Biden openly criticized Israel’s action, encouraging Netanyahu to minimize civilian casualties.

Several international partners have called for an end to hostilities in Gaza due to the current situation. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon issued a statement calling for a lasting ceasefire and stressing the gravity of the humanitarian situation.

The trio called for the resumption of a recently suspended ceasefire that allowed for the delivery of humanitarian aid and the release of hostages. They defended Israel’s existence while condemning Hamas for its tactics and declaring that Hamas had no role to play in the future governance of Gaza.

Justin Trudeau is joining allies in calling for "efforts towards a sustainable ceasefire" in the Israel-Hamas war.

It’s the first time the Canadian government has officially used the word "ceasefire" in relation to the conflict. https://t.co/OyMhEgmR2V.

— CBC News (@CBCNews) December 12, 2023

The United States, despite advocating a lasting ceasefire at the UN Security Council, vetoed the resolution calling for an immediate cessation of all hostilities. This attitude contrasts sharply with the comments of President Biden and other Western governments, as well as international organizations, who have called for an end to Israeli attacks on Gaza. The debate is expected to continue, as the UN General Assembly plans to vote on a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire following the failure of the Security Council’s proposal.

Biden will also meet with the families of Americans who were taken hostage by Hamas during the conflict.

Many hostages were released during the previous humanitarian ceasefire.

However, there are still unresolved hostage situations, and the international community is losing patience with Israel’s response to Hamas.

Since the Hamas attack on October 7, it is estimated that more than 18,000 Palestinians have been killed, half of them civilians.

Scientists and political decision-makers are constantly alarmed by the rapid warming of the Earth.

Unfortunately, the data are becoming more striking with each passing month…

After record-hot October, global heat just breached 2°C for the first time.https://t.co/1hqD3InflF

— The Weather Network (@weathernetwork) November 22, 2023

A series of extreme and unprecedented weather conditions were punctuated by intense heat records across the globe in 2023. The rapid and sudden intensification of numerous hurricanes and typhoons took the scientific community particularly by surprise.

This demonstrates a worrying trend… that storms are gaining in strength more rapidly as a result of climate change.

Incidents of heat and drought are just a few examples of the unusually high temperatures experienced by the planet in 2023.

In fact, the summer of 2023 was the hottest ever recorded on Earth.

The El Niño phenomenon greatly intensified the warming trend in 2023, adding to particularly high solar activity on top of global warming.

Temperature records were even broken for five consecutive months.

The symbolic 1.5°C mark set in the Paris Agreement was exceeded in September… and global temperatures rose by more than 2°C compared with the pre-industrial era!

October was no exception… it was the hottest month on record.

Uncontrollable fires raged in several countries, including Canada and Greece, exacerbated by long periods of intense heat and drought. The situation was particularly devastating in Canada, where an estimated 5% of forests were destroyed by wildfires, which released huge clouds of smoke into the atmosphere and spread to the United States… and even Europe.