CNET: Twitter transfers White House accounts to Biden: What you need to know. “The transfer of the official presidential Twitter accounts first happened in 2017 when Barack Obama, the first president to use Twitter, departed and Donald Trump took office. Unlike 2017, though, Biden didn’t automatically inherit the followers from the prior administration, a change […]
CNN: Biden transition finds culture of coronavirus denial throughout Trump’s federal government. “Joe Biden’s transition team found a culture of coronavirus skepticism within Donald Trump’s federal government as they prepared to take office, sources close to the Biden transition told CNN, with political appointees loyal to the President reflecting his dismissiveness of public health guidelines […]
USA Today: Joe Biden committee to roll out inauguration-themed AR lenses for Snapchat. “The inauguration committee for President-elect Joe Biden will roll out augmented reality lenses on Snapchat on Wednesday to help users celebrate the transition of power from afar.”
BBC: Sibusiso Moyo: Zimbabwe foreign minister dies from Covid-19. “Zimbabwe’s Foreign Minister Sibusiso Moyo has died after succumbing to Covid-19, the government says. Born in 1960, the former army general gained international prominence in 2017, when he announced the military takeover that ousted long-serving President Robert Mugabe from power.”
New York Times: In Minnesota, a G.O.P. Lawmaker’s Death Brings Home the Reality of Covid. “More than 100 senators, their spouses and their staff members gathered for a celebratory dinner at a catering hall outside the Twin Cities on Nov. 5, two days after Election Day. Masks were offered to guests on arrival, but there […]
Pew Research Center: How lawmakers’ social media activity changed in the days after the U.S. Capitol riot. “Social media activity by members of Congress changed in notable ways following the Jan. 6 rioting at the U.S. Capitol by supporters of President Donald Trump, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of lawmakers’ Facebook and […]
BBC: Biden Twitter account ‘starts from zero’ with no Trump followers. “US president-elect Joe Biden has been given his new official presidential Twitter account, but has been forced to start it with zero followers. The Biden campaign is unhappy with the move, which marks a change from the previous transition from Barack Obama.”
Pramila Jayapal: Jayapal Tests Positive for COVID-19 Following Lockdown at Capitol With Republican Lawmakers Who Cruelly and Selfishly Refused to Wear Masks. “United States Representative Pramila Jayapal (WA-07) received a positive COVID-19 test result tonight after being locked down in a secured room at the U.S Capitol where numerous Republican lawmakers recklessly refused to wear […]
Reuters: Uganda bans social media ahead of presidential election. “Uganda banned social media and beefed up security in the capital on Tuesday, two days ahead of a presidential election pitting Yoweri Museveni, one of Africa’s longest-serving leaders, against opposition frontrunner Bobi Wine, a popular singer.”
Harvard Business Review: How to Hold Social Media Accountable for Undermining Democracy. “While the blame for President Trump’s incitement to insurrection lies squarely with him, the biggest social media companies — most prominently my former employer, Facebook — are absolutely complicit. They have not only allowed Trump to lie and sow division for years, their […]
Spotted via Reddit: a database of election maps from a nonpartisan site. From the page: “Below you’ll find over 800 high-quality election maps available for you to view and download. Make sure to check out our User Guide if you have any questions about how to use the database.”
BuzzFeed News: “Stop The Steal” Groups Are Still Flourishing On Facebook. “A search on Facebook for the words ‘Stop the Steal,’ a rallying cry that the mob who forced Congress to flee chanted, turned up dozens of places where new plots could be coordinated. There are at least 66 groups dedicated to the slogan, the […]
The Guardian: Facts won’t fix this: experts on how to fight America’s disinformation crisis. “The consequences of Donald Trump’s repeated, baseless claims of voter fraud will come in several waves, researchers who study disinformation say, even if Trump ultimately hands over power and leaves the White House. And there is no quick or easy way […]
Associated Press: Pandemic backlash jeopardizes public health powers, leaders. “Across the United States, state and local public health officials such as [Tisha] Coleman have found themselves at the center of a political storm as they combat the worst pandemic in a century. With the federal response fractured, the usually invisible army of workers charged with […]
South Florida Sun-Sentinel: A mysterious gap in COVID-19 deaths appeared in Florida before the presidential election. “An astonishing pattern has emerged in Florida’s COVID death tally — one that suggests the state manipulated a backlog of unrecorded fatalities, presenting more favorable death counts in the days leading up to the 2020 presidential election. At issue […]