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Elon Musk Begins Purging Twitter of Up to 3500 Employees

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X Elon Musk Begins Purging Twitter of Up to 3500 Employees

Billionaire Elon Musk began purging Twitter of its abundance of managers and woke employees on Friday. 

Elon Musk’s overhaul of Twitter has sparked condemnation from leftist progressives and Democrats who say they are worried over the platform’s ability to combat disinformation just days before the US midterm elections.

Musk’s purge of Twitter has led to legal action from the left. At least one lawsuit was filed in San Francisco on Thursday, saying that Twitter violated federal law by failing to provide needed notice to sacked employees.

Musk informed employees through email that they would find out if they had been laid off on Friday. 

His email did not specify how many approximately 7,500 employees would be let go.

Musk did neither confirm nor correct investor Ron Baron, who asked how much money he would save if he “fired half of Twitter” at a conference in New York on Friday.

Musk responded by discussing Twitter’s cost and income issues, blaming activists within Twitter who persuaded large corporations to stop advertising on the platform. 

Musk hasn’t said anything about the Twitter layoffs.

Activist groups, including employees, have been successful in causing a decline in Twitter advertising revenue. We’ve done everything we can to please them, but nothing has worked,” Musk said. 

He went on to say that the decline in advertising was expected as many of the advertisers were aligned with EGS, Environmental, social, and corporate governance.

When activist employees lost access to their work accounts hours earlier, they realized they would soon be fired. 

These employees and others took to the platform using the hashtag #OneTeam to send messages of solidarity. 

The memo to employees stated that job cuts were “essential to ensure the company’s success moving forward.”

No other social media network comes close to Twitter in terms of keeping people informed by public agencies and other key service providers – electoral boards, police departments, utilities, schools, and news sources. 

Before Musk’s takeover of Twitter, conservatives accused the social media site of being biased against conservative viewpoints.  They were excited by the idea of fair moderation under Musk, who has previously criticized Twitter’s leftist moderation.

Republican, Senator Marsha Blackburn, stated on Friday, “I am hopeful that Elon Musk will assist in reining in Big Tech’s history of silencing users who have a different viewpoint than the left.”

The purge of Spam Bots

Musk has stated that Twitter’s mechanism for ranking tweets should be made public, and he has highlighted user-friendly changes to the service, such as the addition of an edit button and the defeat of “spam bots” that send massive numbers of undesired tweets.

“Free expression is the foundation of a functional democracy,” he stated Monday. “I hope that even my harshest detractors remain on Twitter since that is what free expression entails,” he added.

However, many on the left fear Musk’s layoffs will devastate the social media platform and worry about the possible rise of abuse on the platform. Despite Musk’s saying Twitter would not become a “free-for-all hellscape” under his leadership.

Several employees who tweeted about their job losses claimed that Twitter also eliminated their entire teams, including one devoted to human rights and global conflicts. 

Another group for testing Twitter’s algorithms for bias in how tweets are amplified and an engineering team dedicated to making the social platform more accessible to people with disabilities.

Eddie Perez, a former Twitter civic integrity team manager who resigned in September, expressed concern that the layoffs close to the midterm elections could allow disinformation to “spread like wildfire” during the post-election vote-counting phase in particular.

“I have a hard time believing that doesn’t have a meaningful influence on their capacity to handle the quantity of disinformation out there,” he said, adding that there may not be enough personnel to combat it.

Progressive Attack Musk and Twitter

According to Perez, a board member of the nonpartisan election integrity NGO OSET Institute, the post-election period is especially dangerous because “some candidates may refuse to concede and some may cite election anomalies, which is likely to start a fresh cycle of falsehoods.”

However, a Twitter insider says Perez’s concerns are somewhat overinflated, and his comments are stereotypical of the progressive activism that permeated the social media platform.

Since Musk took over as CEO, Twitter staff have been anticipating layoffs. On his first day as owner, he sacked key executives, including CEO Parag Agrawal, and removed the company’s board of directors.

As the emails went out, many Twitter employees rushed to the site to voice their support for one another, typically just tweeting blue heart emojis to represent the company’s blue bird logo and salute emojis in answer to one another.

Meanwhile, a coalition of progressive civil rights organizations say the broad layoffs will threaten content moderation standards, and they have increased their requests for corporations to suspend advertising purchases on the site. 

This claim has, however, been disputed by Musk supporters saying the progressive left is more worried about their voices being moderated as the platform is being purged of cancel culture activists.

Cancel Culture Activism Surges

The cancel culture activists have said Musk’s layoffs are especially perilous in the run-up to the elections, as well as for transgender people and other groups facing violence spurred by hate speech that circulates online.

Free Press and Color of Change leaders claimed they spoke with Musk on Tuesday, and he committed to keeping and implementing existing election integrity procedures.  According to Jessica González, co-CEO of Free Press, the enormous layoffs suggest otherwise.

González disputed Musk’s claim that content moderation procedures had not changed since his takeover, claiming that the organization was already “dangerously under-resourced.”

“When you purportedly lay off 50% of your workforce — including teams in charge of tracking, monitoring, and enforcing content moderation and guidelines — it essentially suggests that content moderation has changed,” González explained.

Media Bias Fact Check rates Free Press.Org as Far-Left biased based on editorial positions that align with the progressive left. 

They also rate them mostly factual in reporting due to one-sided reporting that does not always offer a counter perspective.

Employee Lawsuits and Income Losses

Meanwhile, a California’s Employment Development Department representative stated that Twitter had provided no public notice of the impending layoffs as of Friday. 

On Thursday, a complaint was filed in US federal court in San Francisco by one laid-off employee and 3 other employees who were locked out of their work accounts. 

The cutbacks come at a difficult time for social media businesses, as advertisers cut back and newcomers — primarily TikTok — threaten established platforms like Instagram and Facebook.

Musk blamed cancel culture activists in a Friday post for a “huge loss in income” since taking over Twitter late last week.  He did not specify how much revenue had been lost.

Large corporations that have bought into ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance), such as General Motors, REI, General Mills, and Audi, have all paused advertising on Twitter owing to concerns about how it would run under Musk. 

Volkswagen Group has advised its brands, Audi, Lamborghini, and Porsche, to halt sponsored operations until Twitter updates its brand safety standards.

Musk did tell advertisers last week that Twitter would not become a “free-for-all hellscape,” but many are anxious about whether content monitoring will remain strict and whether sticking to Twitter will degrade their brands.

Musk stated Friday that “nothing has changed with content control.”

Degrading their brand means corporations fear reprisals from woke social media activists who will target their shareholders like they have targeted Musk and Twitter.

 

Geoff Thomas is a seasoned staff writer at VORNews, a reputable online publication. With his sharp writing skills and deep understanding of SEO, he consistently delivers high-quality, engaging content that resonates with readers. Thomas' articles are well-researched, informative, and written in a clear, concise style that keeps audiences hooked. His ability to craft compelling narratives while seamlessly incorporating relevant keywords has made him a valuable asset to the VORNews team.

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How to Use Google Bard AI in 2024: Step-by Step Guide

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AI is transforming how we operate today. You’ve used ChatGPT before, but there are other similar AI chatbots, such as Google Bard AI, that you may use in your daily life and at work.

This post will examine Google Bard AI’s features and limitations and present a step-by-step guide to using this chatbot. We’ll also discuss the future of Bard AI and how to utilize it ethically.

What Is Google’s Bard AI?

A conversational AI chatbot, Google Bard AI can generate many text types. Bard AI is still in the experimental stage, but it has been trained on a vast dataset of text and code to generate text, translate languages, write various types of creative material, and provide intelligent answers to your questions.

Bard AI can improve efficiency, accelerate creative thinking, and help you get things done faster. You can ask Bard AI for suggestions on how to meet your goal of reading more books this year, simplifying quantum physics concepts, developing or debugging code, or even stimulating your imagination by planning a blog post.

Google Bard Ai Language Model

Google Bard AI is powered by a large language model (LLM), a version of LaMDA when it was first released. Its most recent upgrade incorporates the Pathways Language Model (PaLM 2), making it more efficient and performing better.

When it first launched in May, it could respond in English, Korean, and Japanese. However, Google Bard AI can communicate in more than 40 languages, including Arabic, simple and traditional Chinese, German, Hindi, Spanish, and others.

Google Bard AI has expanded to 27 European Union (EU) nations and Brazil. Bard is not now part of Google Search, but Google intends to integrate it shortly. This could alter the way people use Google to search for information.

Google Bard AI’s Interface

Google Bard AI is noted for having a user-friendly interface.

The structured wording makes the results easier to read and scan. You can also see a list of recent talks, allowing you to quickly return to older conversations if necessary. Google Bard AI can also provide the most recent news and information.

Another user-friendly feature is the “Google It” button, which suggests topics based on your questions, making learning more about the subject easy.

You will be led to a standard Google search when you click on one of Bard’s suggested subjects or queries.

How Do I Use Google Bard AI?

Google Bard AI is a powerful technology that can help us with various tasks, including text generation and answering inquiries. This guide will help you maximize Bard’s features and achieve the desired outcomes.

1. Access Google Bard AI.

Visit bard.google.com and sign in with your Google account to access the Google Bard AI interface.

2. Start Your First Chat With Google Bard AI

To initiate your first conversation with Google Bard AI, click the “Enter a prompt here” button at the bottom of the screen and type your queries. Bard will come up with ideas to help you decide what to ask.

  • To ask a question without typing, click the microphone button, and Bard will type what you say.
  • You can edit and update your question by clicking the pencil icon in the top right corner. Once modified, Bard will provide us with a new answer based on your edits.
  • To upload and ask questions about a photo, click the + button in the prompt box on the left.
  • Google Bard AI also has three drafts or forms. You can choose which one corresponds to your desired results.

3. Asking Follow-Up Questions

After Google Bard AI delivers findings for your first request, you may always ask follow-up questions to ensure you obtain the best answer.

To rate Bard’s response, click “thumbs up” for positive and “thumbs down” for negative. We are assisting Bard in improving because it is still in its experimental stage.

Click the Google It button for more information on your queries. You will be directed to the Google website when you click the related search suggestion provided by Google Bard AI. This capability is only available with the Google language model.

4. Share and Export Your Results

With the most recent Google Bard upgrade, we may publicly share a link to the prompt and response, or even the entire chat, with a third-party service.

  • Share a specific prompt and response or the full chat by clicking the Share button.
  • Next, create a public link.
  • Share the produced public link on Linkedin, Facebook, Twitter, or Reddit.
  • To export the table directly to Google Sheets, click the “Export to Sheets” button.
  • In addition to exporting the table to Google Sheets, Google Bard AI can also export the findings to documents, such as a Google Doc.
  • To export information directly to Docs, click “Export to Docs”.

In addition to Sheets and Docs, Google Bard AI now supports exporting Python code to Replit and Google Colab. Clicking Export to Colab or Export to Replit will redirect you to their websites.

Tips for using Google Bard AI

To guarantee that you get the best results when utilizing Google Bard AI, you should employ a few tactics that increase its performance.

Here are five pointers to help you enhance your skills with Bard AI and get more precise outcomes.

1. Use simple and concise prompts.

Google Bard AI responds to prompts, so we must frame our inquiries. We must keep requests brief and concise to ensure that Bard understands and meets our needs.

For example, instead of saying, “Write me a short story,” you could say, “Write me a short family story,” Bard will focus on that theme to write a short story for you.

2. Provide enough details and facts.

Bard AI responds to the particular details you supply in your prompts. If we give it additional information, Bard AI will respond more appropriately and accurately.

For example, if you need help composing a follow-up email, provide precise directions for the format and tone.

3. Add Personality to Your Prompts.

We can add personality to our queries to improve Google Bard AI’s response. To create a blog article on opening an online store on your ecommerce website, utilize terms like amusing, professional, or idiomatic to set the tone.

Bard AI will write articles based on our desired writing style. This makes the responses it generates more interesting to read than the regular ones.

The Future of Google Bard AI.

Google Bard AI can truly transform our daily lives and jobs. We may now anticipate that it will have a wide range of applications. We anticipate seeing more engaging and personalized results as AI technology advances.

Because of AI technologies such as Bard, Google will be able to better understand what people want, give more accurate responses, and provide more interesting experiences.

Final Thoughts about Google Bard

Google Bard AI is a great alternative to ChatGPT and demonstrates significant advancements in AI. It can help with coding, vacation planning, and content creation.

Bard and other AI chatbots have restrictions, including ChatGPT, Writesonic, and Copy.ai. We must utilize these restrictions as a guideline and avoid relying solely on them.

With Bard’s ability to continue developing and expanding in the future, it is exciting to watch what technical advances will emerge!

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Top 5 Free Truecaller Alternatives 2024

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Truecaller alternatives: Truecaller is popular for detecting and blocking spam calls and messages. However, you’re in luck if you’re seeking Truecaller alternatives that provide similar services without requiring a paid subscription.

These free alternatives to Truecaller offer effective call identification, spam prevention, and other important features to improve your calling experience.

This article covers Truecaller’s features, benefits, and top free Truecaller alternatives.

Top 5 Free TrueCaller Alternatives 2024

Top Truecaller Alternatives for Android and iPhone in 2024.

Various free Truecaller alternatives for Android and iPhone in 2024 provide similar caller ID and spam filtering capabilities. Some of the most suggested apps include.

1. Whoscall.

Whoscall is regarded as one of the top Truecaller alternatives. It is available on both Apple and Android platforms. Whoscall is the new age identity solution for all technology users. The program’s most appealing aspect is the functionality availability in the free edition. If you’re looking for a free way to identify unexpected callers, try Whoscall.

Features

  • One of the most popular features among users is the offline database. This application allows one to identify callers even when not connected to the internet.
  • You may also see who has seen your profile through the app.
  • Finally, if you wish to block an unknown caller, this program can help you.

Pricing:

Premium Plan: $1.65 per month.

2. Sync.me

Sync.ME is a popular caller ID app for iPhone and Android users. With Sync.ME, it is now simple to ban and notify spammers. The growth of technology has increased spammers and their calls. There have also been numerous reports of fraudulent activity. To address these issues, apps such as Sync.ME have been developed. This could be an ideal tool if you’re looking for alternatives to Truecaller.

Features

  • Features: Identify unknown callers.
  • It can automatically stop nuisance phone calls and robocalls.
  • It is available to both Apple and Android users.

Pricing:

  • The paid version costs $5.99 for six months.
  • Annual Plan: $99.9 per year.

3. Showcaller.

Showcaller is another excellent Truecaller alternative. The app is simple but has features that help users spot scam callers. This application allows you to identify callers’ names, locations, and personal information. It can also display photographs of the caller. In addition, the software scans a database of over 50 million phone numbers to identify your caller.

Features:

  • Identify callers’ personal information, including name and location.
  • This program can help you eliminate spam, fraud, and telemarketing calls.
  • It can also show a photo of the spammer.

Pricing:

The app is free to use.

4. Hiya

Hiya was previously known as the Whitepages Caller ID. It is a popular caller ID app for both Apple and Android devices. This application can stop spam calls and offer consumers call control alternatives. Additionally, features like automated robocall blocking make it a popular choice among clients and one of the truecaller alternatives. So, try Hiya if you’re seeking a caller ID identification app as a true caller alternative.

Features:

  • Effective contact management.
  • One of the software’s most appealing aspects is the call management tool, which includes auto-blocking and reverse phone number lookups.
  • The app is jam-packed with new industry trends and the most recent developments.

Pricing:

Basic plans range from $2.99/month to $14.99/year.

5. Eyecon Caller ID.

Would you like to get rid of all those spam calls? Do you ever become scared that your personal information will be leaked? If so, Eyecon Caller ID could be an excellent alternative. This program can easily identify and block unfamiliar calls, making it one of the best Truecaller alternatives. It is a social app that recognizes strange callers and syncs them with their social media identities. This approach can also provide access to the images of unknown callers.

Features:

  • This tool syncs contacts with Facebook and other social media channels to determine their genuine photographs.
  • It contains a built-in spam filtering system.
  • If you call a new number, it will be automatically added to your contact list.

Pricing:

The monthly plan costs INR 219.
Lifetime plan costs INR 1799.

Conclusion

Truecaller is one of the greatest identification apps available. You may access a wide range of services with various advanced and premium features. However, as a result of recent privacy concerns, people are becoming wary about using the app, therefore various alternatives have emerged. If you don’t want to use Truecaller, we’ve included some of the top options above.

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TikTok, ByteDance File Appeal US Government Nationwide Ban

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TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance filed a lawsuit in federal court in the United States on Tuesday, seeking to overturn a law signed by President Joe Biden that would require the divestment or prohibition of the short video app used by 170 million Americans.

The corporations filed their action in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, claiming that the statute violates the U.S. Constitution for various reasons, including violating First Amendment free speech protections.

Biden signed the measure on April 24, giving ByteDance until January 19 to sell TikTok or face a ban.

“For the first time in history, Congress has enacted a law that subjects a single, named speech platform to a permanent, nationwide ban,” the firms claim in their case.

The lawsuit stated that the divestment “is simply not possible: not commercially, technologically, or legally.” There is little doubt that the Act (law) will compel the shutdown of TikTok by January 19, 2025, silencing the 170 million Americans who use the platform to communicate in ways that cannot be replicated elsewhere.”

The White House has stated that it wants to restrict Chinese ownership for national security reasons, not a ban on TikTok. The White House and the Justice Department have declined to comment on the case.

TikTok’s political uncertainties

The complaint is TikTok’s latest measure to stave off efforts to shut it down in the United States. Competitors like Snap and Meta seek to profit from TikTok’s political uncertainties and steal advertising dollars from its competitors.

Driven by concerns among U.S. senators that China may use the app to acquire data on Americans or spy on them, the bill was passed by Congress overwhelmingly just weeks after it was presented.

TikTok has denied sharing U.S. user data and accused American politicians of raising “speculative” fears in the case.

Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi, the lead Democrat on a House Committee on China, stated that the proposal is “the only way to address the national security threat posed by ByteDance’s ownership of apps like TikTok.”

“Instead of continuing its deceptive tactics, it’s time for ByteDance to start the divestment process,” he stated.

The rule prevents app stores such as Apple and Alphabet’s Google from supplying TikTok and internet hosting providers from supporting It unless ByteDance divests by January 19.

The suit stated that the Chinese government “has made clear that it would not permit a divestment of the recommendation engine that is critical to TikTok’s success in the United States.”

Conflicts between the United States and China

The firms urged the D.C. Circuit to prevent U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland from executing the statute, arguing that “prospective injunctive relief” is necessary.

According to the lawsuit, global institutional investors such as BlackRock, General Atlantic, and Susquehanna International Group hold 58% of ByteDance, while the company’s Chinese founder owns 21%, and employees, including around 7,000 Americans, own another 21%.

The four-year battle over TikTok represents a crucial battleground in the ongoing conflict between the United States and China over the internet and technology. In April, Apple announced that China had asked to remove Meta Platforms’ WhatsApp and Threads from its App Store in China because of national security concerns.

According to the lawsuit, TikTok spent $2 billion on steps to secure U.S. users’ data and made additional pledges in a 90-page draft National Security Agreement established through negotiations with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).

According to the claim, TikTok agreed to a “shutdown option” under which the U.S. government could stop TikTok in the U.S. if it violated specified requirements.

According to the lawsuit, CFIUS discontinued significant conversations concerning the transaction in August 2022, and in March 2023, CFIUS “insisted that ByteDance divest the U.S. TikTok business.”

Biden Campaign Using TikTok

CFIUS is an interagency body chaired by the United States Treasury Department that investigates foreign investments in American enterprises and real estate that raise national security issues.

In 2020, judges ruled against President Donald Trump’s attempt to prohibit TikTok and WeChat, owned by Tencent (0700. H.K.).

Resides in the United States. Trump, the Republican candidate running against Democrat Joe Biden in the November 5 presidential election, has shifted course, stating he does not support a ban but that security concerns must be addressed.

If Biden believes ByteDance is progressing, he may extend the January 19 deadline by three months. According to the lawsuit, Biden’s presidential campaign’s continued usage of TikTok “undermines the claim that the platform poses an actual threat to Americans.” The Trump campaign does not use TikTok.

Many experts have questioned if any potential buyer has the financial capacity to acquire TikTok and whether Chinese and U.S. government authorities would authorize a sale.

According to the lawsuit, moving the TikTok source code to the United States “would take years for an entirely new set of engineers to gain sufficient familiarity.”

Source: Reuters

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