NEW RESOURCES

EurekAlert: European ReIReS network launches online database for religious studies. “The EU-funded Research Infrastructure on Religious Studies (ReIReS) project has been bringing together various European institutions, including Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU), over the last two and a half years to establish an innovative infrastructure for religious research in Europe. The aim is to provide transnational and virtual access to significant tools and sources in the field of European religious research. The network now launched its web-based research database ReIReSearch, which offers a new search tool and improved access to research material and sources on Judaism, Christianity, and Islam as well as on ancient and non-European religions.”

Brooklyn Paper: New Website Brings To Life Oral Histories Of Muslims In Brooklyn . “A new website from the Brooklyn Historical Society sheds light on the history and experiences of Muslims in Kings County through dozens of oral histories — allowing outsiders to view the borough through a Muslim’s perspective, while preserving the recordings for future generations, said the project’s creator.”

Hyperallergic: Five Latinx Art Spaces Band Together to Amplify Their Reach. “Angelenos now have a one-stop website consolidating exhibitions and events for Latinx art and culture. It’s a brilliant and sensible idea for a city where roughly half of the population is Latinx. The website… is one of the first initiatives created by the newly formed Latinx Arts Alliance (known as LAA), which is comprised of five notable art spaces in the greater Los Angeles area: the Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA) in Long Beach, LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes in Downtown, Self Help Graphics & Art in Boyle Heights, the Vincent Price Art Museum in Monterey Park, and the Social and Public Art Resource Center (SPARC) in Venice Beach.”

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

Mashable: Facebook removes misinformation related to Oregon wildfires. “Another day, another slew of misinformation being shared on Facebook. But this time, the social media platform is removing several false claims before they spread to an even wider audience. On Saturday, Facebook’s policy communications manager, Andy Stone, tweeted that the platform is removing misinformation related to the wildfires in Oregon, which have killed at least 10 people.”

Variety: YouTube Announces TikTok Copycat ‘YouTube Shorts’ for 15-Second Videos. “Like TikTok, the YouTube Shorts tool features a multi-segment camera to edit multiple video clips together, and will feature a library of songs to include as backing tracks for videos. Also mimicking TikTok, YouTube Shorts includes speed controls that ‘give you the flexibility to be creative in your performance’ as well as a timer and countdown ‘to easily record, hands-free,’ according to [YouTube’s Chris] Jaffe.”

AROUND THE SEARCH AND SOCIAL MEDIA WORLD

BuzzFeed News: “I Have Blood on My Hands”: A Whistleblower Says Facebook Ignored Global Political Manipulation. “Facebook ignored or was slow to act on evidence that fake accounts on its platform have been undermining elections and political affairs around the world, according to an explosive memo sent by a recently fired Facebook employee and obtained by BuzzFeed News. The 6,600-word memo, written by former Facebook data scientist Sophie Zhang, is filled with concrete examples of heads of government and political parties in Azerbaijan and Honduras using fake accounts or misrepresenting themselves to sway public opinion. In countries including India, Ukraine, Spain, Brazil, Bolivia, and Ecuador, she found evidence of coordinated campaigns of varying sizes to boost or hinder political candidates or outcomes, though she did not always conclude who was behind them.”

The Star: Buildings we remember: Badan Warisan’s archive makes available 10,000 old photos. “Are you looking for old photographs, particularly of heritage buildings? Badan Warisan Malaysia (The Heritage of Malaysia Trust) has over 10,000 photos, including slides, negatives and postcards made available now for purchase. Badan Warisan Malaysia president Wei-Ling Lim says many of the photos came from the collection of the late architect Chen Voon Fee, one of the founders of the heritage institution.” The collection is in the process of being digitized.

The Hustle: The company that wants to preserve our data for 500+ years . “Deep in the Norweigan arctic, on the ice-encrusted island of Spitsbergen, life stands still. The surrounding lands of the Svalbard archipelago are sparse and desolate. It is a place where there is a 1:10 polar bear to human ratio, where the sun doesn’t rise for 4 months per year, and the northern lights dance across the sky. But on the side of a mountain in Spitsbergen, there’s an abandoned coal mine. And inside — some 250 meters below the Earth’s surface — you’ll find a steel vault that contains an archive of film encoded with hundreds of thousands of open-source projects from around the world.”

SECURITY & LEGAL

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs: VA notifies Veterans of compromised personal information. “The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of Management today announced a data breach involving the personal information of approximately 46,000 Veterans and actions taken by the department to prevent and mitigate any potential harm to those individuals.”

VentureBeat: Dashlane can now track employees’ password health over time. “Dashlane Business pricing plans range from $5-$8 per user per month and offer a range of features. Given that individuals inside companies are typically responsible for setting passwords for their various accounts, Dashlane’s latest tool gives IT admins greater insight into password hygiene across the company, with a particular focus on how it has improved (or worsened) over time. The tool is able to assess password strength without revealing the password to any third parties — adhering to ‘zero knowledge’ principles.”

Internet Archive Blog: Judge Sets Tentative Trial Date for November 2021. “This week, a federal judge issued this scheduling order, laying out the road map that may lead to a jury trial in the copyright lawsuit brought by four of the world’s largest publishers against the Internet Archive. Judge John G. Koeltl has ordered all parties to be ready for trial by November 12, 2021. He set a deadline of December 1, 2020, to notify the court if the parties are willing to enter settlement talks with a magistrate judge.”

RESEARCH & OPINION

Washington State University: Facebook political ads more partisan, less negative than TV. “More political candidates may be shifting primarily to social media to advertise rather than TV, according to a study of advertising trends from the 2018 campaign season. The study, published recently in American Political Science Review, also found that Facebook political ads were more partisan, less negative and less issue-focused than those on TV.” Good morning, Internet…

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