Spotify, the world’s leading music streaming platform, is facing intense criticism and boycott calls following CEO Daniel Ek’s announcement of a €600m ($702m) investment in Helsing, a German defence startup specialising in AI-powered combat drones and military software.

The move, announced on 17 June, has sparked widespread outrage from musicians, activists and social media users who accuse Ek of funnelling profits from music streaming into the military industry.

Many have started calling on users to cancel their subscriptions to the service.

“Finally cancelling my Spotify subscription – why am I paying for a fuckass app that works worse than it did 10 years ago, while their CEO spends all my money on technofascist military fantasies?” said one user on X.

Spotify faces boycott calls over CEO’s investment in AI military startup

Spotify, the world’s leading music streaming platform, is facing intense criticism and boycott calls following CEO Daniel Ek’s announcement of a €600m ($702m) investment in Helsing, a German defence startup specialising in AI-powered combat drones an…

^{Reem Aouir (Middle East Eye)}

The number of children who have died in the Gaza Strip due to severe malnutrition has risen to 66, the enclave's media office said on Saturday.

In a press statement released today, the Government Media Office said Israel's actions constitute "a war crime and a crime against humanity," demonstrating the Israeli army's "deliberate use of starvation as a weapon to exterminate civilians—especially children—in blatant violation of international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions".

https://www.newarab.com/news/deadly-israeli-strikes-gaza-shelter-iran-holds-funerals?blockId=block_57347

Source.

Relevant:

Facebook is now inputting your photos into Meta AI automatically by default

Seasons of Jason 🎒

2025-05-30 23:18:37

Oh hell fucking NO.

“To create ideas for you, we'll select media from your camera roll and upload it to our cloud on an ongoing basis, based on info like time, location or themes.”
#Meta #Facebook

This would be a lot more tinfoilesque were a court case on the matter not already underway in New York.

The missing votes uncovered in Smart Elections’ legal case in Rockland County, New York, are just the tip of the iceberg—an iceberg that extends across the swing states and into Texas.

On Monday, an investigator’s story finally hit the news cycle: Pro V&V, one of only two federally accredited testing labs, approved sweeping last-minute updates to ES&S voting machines in the months leading up to the 2024 election—without independent testing, public disclosure, or full certification review.

These changes were labeled “de minimis”—a term meant for trivial tweaks. But they touched ballot scanners, altered reporting software, and modified audit files—yet were all rubber-stamped with no oversight.

That revelation is a shock to the public.

But for those who’ve been digging into the bizarre election data since November, this isn’t the headline—it’s the final piece to the puzzle. While Pro V&V was quietly updating equipment in plain sight, a parallel operation was unfolding behind the curtain—between tech giants and Donald Trump.

The Machines Were Changed Before the 2024 Election. No One Was Told.

A private lab quietly altered voting machines used across the U.S. Then it vanished.

^{Dissent in Bloom}

• Converted a real car into a game controller by intercepting CAN data
• Tapped into the CAN bus using cheap wire splicers and a Kvaser USBCAN interface
• Mapped steering, brake, and throttle signals to game controls using Python
• A car is an impractical demo

How we turned a real car into a Mario Kart controller by intercepting CAN data | Pen Test Partners

If you went to our PTP Cyber Fest over the Infosec week you may have seen the PTP hack car being used as a games controller for the game SuperTuxKart (a free and open-source Mario Kart type game).

^{Joe Bursell (Pen Test Partners)}

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The Kyiv Independent [unofficial]

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Russia’s war against Ukraine

A man cleans dust from a portrait of his dead brother in arms on the Memorial Wall of Fallen Defenders of Ukraine outside Saint Michael’s Golden-domes Cathedral in Kyiv on June 26, 2025. (Sergei Supinsky/ AFP via Getty Images)

Ukrainian drones strike 4 fighter jets in Russia’s Volgograd Oblast, General Staff says. According to preliminary data, two Russian fighter jets were destroyed, and the other two were damaged.

Clashes ongoing in eastern Ukrainian village near lithium deposits, as military rejects claims of Russian capture. Active fighting is still taking place around the village of Shevchenko in Donetsk Oblast, home to one of Ukraine’s largest lithium deposits, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s Khortytsia group of forces told the Kyiv Independent on June 27, denying reports Russia had occupied the village.

EU reportedly fails to adopt new Russia sanctions due to Hungarian, Slovak opposition. Unlike Ukraine-skeptic Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Slovakia has not previously attempted to block EU sanctions

Ukrainian manufacturers able to produce 4 million drones per year, Umerov says. Ukrainian manufacturers will supply four million drones to the front line this year, while the Ukrainian army has already received up to 1.5 million drones as of the end of June, according to Defense Minister Rustem Umerov.

Your contribution helps keep the Kyiv Independent going. Become a member today.

Ukraine seeks Zelensky-Putin meeting as next step in ceasefire negotiations. “After completing discussions on humanitarian issues, Ukraine plans to move forward to the topic of a leaders’ summit for substantive dialogue,” Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said during a press briefing on June 26.

Russia ready to hold third round of peace talks with Ukraine, Putin says. Russia is ready to hold a third round of peace talks on the war in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin told reporters on June 27, without specifying if he would directly participate in the negotiations.

Zelensky signs decree to synchronize Russia sanctions with EU, G7. A day earlier, EU member states’ leaders gave their political consent to extend the sanctions previously imposed on Russia for its war against Ukraine.

Ukrainian deputy prime minister hit with travel ban, $2.9 million bail in major corruption case. Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Oleksii Chernyshov was restricted from traveling abroad without permission after a court ruled on June 27 to set bail at Hr 120 million ($2.9 million) while awaiting trial in a high-profile corruption case.

Despite escalating war plans, Putin claims Russia will cut military spending starting in 2026. Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed on June 27 that Moscow plans to cut its military expenditure beginning next year, in a rebuke of NATO members’ plans to increase defense spending to 5% of GDP.

Read our exclusives

Ukraine war latest: Ukrainian drones reportedly strike 4 fighter jets in Russia

Ukrainian drones struck four Su-34 fighter jets at the Marinovka airfield in Russia’s Volgograd Oblast overnight on June 27, Ukraine’s General Staff said.

Photo: Russian Defense Ministry/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images

Learn more

‘Putin cannot stop’ – Estonian foreign minister says war in Ukraine existential for Russian president

Speaking to the Kyiv Independent on the first day of the NATO summit, Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said a new reality means Europe must take up greater responsibility for Ukraine – and its own defense.

Photo: Omar Havana / Getty Images

Learn more

Learn more

Ukraine’s new top prosecutor known for high-profile cases, seen as Zelensky loyalist

Loyalty to the incumbent administration has been the key requirement for prosecutor generals in Ukraine. Ruslan Kravchenko, who was appointed as prosecutor general on June 21, appears to be no exception.

Photo: Andrii Nesterenko / Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images

Human cost of Russia’s war

Chinese journalist injured by drone strike in Kursk Oblast, Russian governor says. According to acting Kursk Oblast governor Alexander Khinshtein, 63-year-old reporter Lu Yuguang from the Chinese television network Phoenix TV was wounded in a Ukrainian drone strike on the village of Korenevo.

Russian missile strike on Dnipropetrovsk Oblast city kills 5, injures 25. Governor Serhii Lysak said most of the injured were hospitalized.

At least 2 killed, 13 wounded in Russian attacks across Ukraine over past day. According to Ukraine’s Air Force, Ukrainian air defense intercepted 365 of 371 incoming Russian air weapons, including 363 Shahed-type drones, two Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, and six Kalibr cruise missiles.

Russian attack on key energy facility plunges parts of southern Ukraine ‘into darkness,’ governor says. “Russia decided to plunge Kherson Oblast into darkness,” Governor Oleksandr Prokudin wrote on Telegram. He said the attack has disrupted electricity supply to multiple settlements.

Warfare in Ukraine has changed… again.

International response

North Korea deployed 20% of Kim’s elite ‘personal reserve’ to fight against Ukraine in Russia, Umerov says. “These are soldiers specially selected based on physical, psychological, and other criteria,” Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said. “These units have already suffered significant losses.”

Ukraine to seek EU sanctions against Bangladesh over Russia-stolen grain import. “It’s a crime,” Ukraine’s ambassador to India, Oleksandr Polishchuk, told Reuters. “We will share our investigation with our European Union colleagues, and we will kindly ask them to take the appropriate measures.”

Pro-Palestinian activists destroy Ukrainian military aid worth $1.1 million, allegedly confusing it with Israeli, media reports. The activists reportedly thought the equipment would be supplied to Israel.

‘Without question’ — Trump says US would consider bombing Iran again, halts plans to ease sanctions. The United States would consider bombing Iran again if the country’s nuclear program once again became of concern, U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters during a press briefing on June 27.

In other news

Anti-corruption agencies seek Ukrainian deputy prime minister’s suspension amid land grab case. Deputy Prime Minister Oleksii Chernyshov was officially named a suspect on June 23 in what Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau called a “large-scale” illegal land grab case.

‘Resilience and confident actions’ — Umerov praises Ukraine’s new 18-24-year-old recruits. “We saw them on the battlefield — and it’s truly motivating,” Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said.

The Kyiv Independent delivers urgent, independent journalism from the ground, from breaking news to investigations into war crimes. Your support helps us keep telling the truth. Become a member today.

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Archived

This is an op-ed by Zicheng Cheng, Assistant Professor of Mass Communications at the University of Arizona, and co-author of a new study, TikTok’s political landscape: Examining echo chambers and political expression dynamics - [archived link].

[...]

Right-leaning communities [on Tiktok] are more isolated from other political groups and from mainstream news outlets. Looking at their internal structures, the right-leaning communities are more tightly connected than their left-leaning counterparts. In other words, conservative TikTok users tend to stick together. They rarely follow accounts with opposing views or mainstream media accounts. Liberal users, on the other hand, are more likely to follow a mix of accounts, including those they might disagree with.

[...]

We found that users with stronger political leanings and those who get more likes and comments on their videos are more motivated to keep posting. This shows the power of partisanship, but also the power of TikTok’s social rewards system. Engagement signals – likes, shares, comments – are like a fuel, encouraging users to create even more.

[...]

The content on TikTok often comes from creators and influencers or digital-native media sources. The quality of this news content remains uncertain. Without access to balanced, fact-based information, people may struggle to make informed political decisions.

[...]

It’s encouraging to see people participate in politics through TikTok when that’s their medium of choice. However, if a user’s network is closed and homogeneous and their expression serves as in-group validation, it may further solidify the political echo chamber.

[...]

When people are exposed to one-sided messages, it can increase hostility toward outgroups. In the long run, relying on TikTok as a source for political information might deepen people’s political views and contribute to greater polarization.

[...]

Echo chambers have been widely studied on platforms like Twitter and Facebook, but similar research on TikTok is in its infancy. TikTok is drawing scrutiny, particularly its role in news production, political messaging and social movements.

[...]

Using TikTok could be making you more politically polarized, new study finds

Users on TikTok gravitate to networks of like-minded people, but right-leaning users tend to be in more tightly sealed echo chambers.

^{The Conversation}

cross-posted from: lemmy.sdf.org/post/37546476

Archived

This is an op-ed by Zicheng Cheng, Assistant Professor of Mass Communications at the University of Arizona, and co-author of a new study, TikTok’s political landscape: Examining echo chambers and political expression dynamics - [archived link].

[...]

Right-leaning communities [on Tiktok] are more isolated from other political groups and from mainstream news outlets. Looking at their internal structures, the right-leaning communities are more tightly connected than their left-leaning counterparts. In other words, conservative TikTok users tend to stick together. They rarely follow accounts with opposing views or mainstream media accounts. Liberal users, on the other hand, are more likely to follow a mix of accounts, including those they might disagree with.

[...]

We found that users with stronger political leanings and those who get more likes and comments on their videos are more motivated to keep posting. This shows the power of partisanship, but also the power of TikTok’s social rewards system. Engagement signals – likes, shares, comments – are like a fuel, encouraging users to create even more.

[...]

The content on TikTok often comes from creators and influencers or digital-native media sources. The quality of this news content remains uncertain. Without access to balanced, fact-based information, people may struggle to make informed political decisions.

[...]

It’s encouraging to see people participate in politics through TikTok when that’s their medium of choice. However, if a user’s network is closed and homogeneous and their expression serves as in-group validation, it may further solidify the political echo chamber.

[...]

When people are exposed to one-sided messages, it can increase hostility toward outgroups. In the long run, relying on TikTok as a source for political information might deepen people’s political views and contribute to greater polarization.

[...]

Echo chambers have been widely studied on platforms like Twitter and Facebook, but similar research on TikTok is in its infancy. TikTok is drawing scrutiny, particularly its role in news production, political messaging and social movements.

[...]

Using TikTok could be making you more politically polarized, new study finds

Users on TikTok gravitate to networks of like-minded people, but right-leaning users tend to be in more tightly sealed echo chambers.

^{The Conversation}

Opinion - Michelle Goldberg
June 27, 2025

"Mamdani’s pro-Palestinian politics have sparked enormous alarm among some New York Jews, but he’s also won considerable Jewish support. In a poll of likely Jewish voters done by the Honan Strategy Group in May, Andrew Cuomo came in first, with 31 percent of the vote, but Mamdani was second, with 20 percent. On Tuesday, he won most of Park Slope, a neighborhood full of progressive Jews, and held his own on the similarly Jewish Upper West Side.

“His campaign has attracted Jewish New Yorkers of all types,” wrote Jay Michaelson, a columnist at the Jewish newspaper The Forward. The rabbi who runs my son’s Hebrew school put Mamdani on his ballot, though he didn’t rank him first. And while Mamdani undoubtedly did best among left-leaning and largely secular Jews, he made a point of reaching out to others. After he gave an interview to Der Blatt, an ultra-Orthodox Yiddish newspaper, Rabbi Moishe Indig, the leader of a faction of Hasidic Jews, told The New York Times, “As mayor, we wouldn’t have a problem with him.” (Though Indig considered adding Mamdani to his endorsement slate, he ultimately decided against it.)"

archive.ph/MrZQ0

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/27/opinion/jews-zohran-mamdani.html

Google’s carbon emissions have soared by 51% since 2019 as artificial intelligence hampers the tech company’s efforts to go green.

While the corporation has invested in renewable energy and carbon removal technology, it has failed to curb its scope 3 emissions, which are those further down the supply chain, and are in large part influenced by a growth in datacentre capacity required to power artificial intelligence.

The company reported a 27% increase in year-on-year electricity consumption as it struggles to decarbonise as quickly as its energy needs increase.

Datacentres play a crucial role in training and operating the models that underpin AI models such as Google’s Gemini and OpenAI’s GPT-4, which powers the ChatGPT chatbot. The International Energy Agency estimates that datacentres’ total electricity consumption could double from 2022 levels to 1,000TWh (terawatt hours) in 2026, approximately Japan’s level of electricity demand. AI will result in datacentres using 4.5% of global energy generation by 2030, according to calculations by the research firm SemiAnalysis.

Google’s emissions up 51% as AI electricity demand derails efforts to go green

Increase influenced by datacentre growth, with estimated power required by 2026 equalling that of Japan’s

^{Helena Horton (The Guardian)}