EVENTS

Library of Congress: Library to Celebrate Joy Harjo’s Three Terms as U.S. Poet Laureate with Reading, Dance Party and Retreat. “The Library of Congress will celebrate Joy Harjo, the first Native American U.S. poet laureate, as her three terms in the position come to a conclusion with two public programs at the end of April.” The closing event takes place tomorrow night (Thursday, April 28) and will be livestreamed.

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

NBC News: Twitter says mass deactivations after Musk news were ‘organic’. “Twitter has been flooded with user reports of high-profile accounts losing thousands of followers after news broke that Tesla CEO Elon Musk would purchase the social network. The company said Tuesday that the ‘fluctuations in follower counts’ came from ‘organic’ account closures.”

Australian National University: ANU random numbers go global. “The Australian National University’s (ANU) ANU Quantum Numbers (AQN) is the world’s most popular and powerful online random number generator. It uses quantum technology to generate true random numbers at high speed and in real time by measuring the quantum fluctuations of the vacuum. From today, AQN will be available on AWS Marketplace, an online software store that helps customers find, buy, and use software that runs on Amazon Web Services (AWS), an Amazon.com company.”

AROUND THE INTERNET WORLD

CNBC: Musk’s Twitter takeover may boost Facebook, Google and Snap ad revenues. “Twitter, which announced it accepted Musk’s bid on Monday, has heavily relied on ad sales, which accounted for $1.41 billion, the lion’s share of its revenue, in the most recent quarter. But Musk could take the company two ways that may potentially pull ad dollars away. The outspoken Tesla and SpaceX CEO has argued free speech is critical to the platform, which could mean less content moderation. Brands, not wanting their content to potentially appear next to misinformation or hate speech, could pull their spending, JMP analysts said in a note Tuesday.”

Christian Science Monitor: Why a museum sold Mandela’s arrest warrant as an NFT. “It was the first archival document in South Africa to be sold as an NFT, and the proceeds will benefit the struggling museum that now sits on the site of Liliesleaf Farm. On a continent whose historical artifacts have routinely been plundered by outsiders, the sale has been hailed as a savvy way for African countries to hold on to their heritage while also cashing in on the global elite’s new obsession with digital collectibles. But it also raises concerns about what could happen when the past – or a virtual copy of it – is auctioned off to the highest bidder.”

SECURITY & LEGAL

Engadget: Hackers are reportedly using emergency data requests to extort women and minors. “In response to fraudulent legal requests, companies like Apple, Google, Meta and Twitter have been tricked into sharing sensitive personal information about some of their customers. We knew that was happening as recently as last month when Bloomberg published a report on hackers using fake emergency data requests to carry out financial fraud. But according to a newly published report from the outlet, some malicious individuals are also using the same tactics to target women and minors with the intent of extorting them into sharing sexually explicit images and videos of themselves.”

The Guardian (UK): Doctors could soon face action over ‘misleading’ social media posts. “Doctors who share ‘misleading’ information on social media could face regulatory action, according to planned new guidelines. Posts made on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok are among those that could be scrutinised by the General Medical Council (GMC) if a doctor is reported. The council is to update its Good Medical Practice guide, seen by some as a modern-day Hippocratic Oath, for the first time in almost a decade.”

RESEARCH & OPINION

University of Maryland: Researcher Studies Tesla’s Twitter Bot Boost. “In a new working paper recently highlighted in a Los Angeles Times article, Robert H. Smith School of Business Associate Professor David Kirsch identifies a set of non-human accounts known as fanbots, and explores the possibility that these accounts may have influenced the trajectory of the firm by shaping how Tesla is discussed on Twitter.”

University of Michigan: Anyone can be a cyberbully, not just people who are unhinged. “People who have high premeditated or impulsive aggressive tendencies online are likely to cyberbully others, according to a new University of Michigan study. But anyone can be an online offender — not just certain groups of people, the study indicated.”

OTHER THINGS I THINK ARE COOL

UNESCO: Girls’ performance in mathematics now equal to boys (UNESCO report). “This research confirms that the gender gap in learning has closed even in the poorest countries. And in some countries, the gap is now reversed. For example, by grade 8, the gap is in favour of girls in mathematics by 7 percentage points in Malaysia, by 3 points in Cambodia, by 1.7 points in Congo and by 1.4 points in the Philippines. However, biases and stereotypes are still likely to affect learning outcomes. Even though girls catch up in mathematics in upper primary and secondary education, boys are far more likely to be overrepresented among the highest performers in mathematics in all countries.” Good afternoon, Internet…

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