Meta is earning a fortune on a deluge of fraudulent ads, documents show
I ended up in Captcha hell trying to archive this, so I'm afraid I can't provide a link.
Meta internally projected late last year that it would earn about 10% of its overall annual revenue – or $16 billion – from running advertising for scams and banned goods, internal company documents show.A cache of previously unreported documents reviewed by Reuters also shows that the social-media giant for at least three years failed to identify and stop an avalanche of ads that exposed Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp’s billions of users to fraudulent e-commerce and investment schemes, illegal online casinos, and the sale of banned medical products.
On average, one December 2024 document notes, the company shows its platforms’ users an estimated 15 billion “higher risk” scam advertisements – those that show clear signs of being fraudulent – every day. Meta earns about $7 billion in annualized revenue from this category of scam ads each year, another late 2024 document states.
Much of the fraud came from marketers acting suspiciously enough to be flagged by Meta’s internal warning systems. But the company only bans advertisers if its automated systems predict the marketers are at least 95% certain to be committing fraud, the documents show. If the company is less certain – but still believes the advertiser is a likely scammer – Meta charges higher ad rates as a penalty, according to the documents. The idea is to dissuade suspect advertisers from placing ads.
The documents further note that users who click on scam ads are likely to see more of them because of Meta’s ad-personalization system, which tries to deliver ads based on a user’s interests.
adhocfungus likes this.
China unveils power of thorium reactor for world’s largest cargo ship
China unveils power of thorium reactor for world’s largest cargo ship
Technological breakthrough could revolutionise commercial shipping, naval engineering and deep sea operations if rolled out at scale.Stephen Chen (South China Morning Post)
A note to politicians hoping to emulate Mamdani’s social media strategy: without the right policies, it’s pointless
A note to politicians hoping to emulate Mamdani’s social media strategy: without the right policies, it’s pointless
Forget the medium and focus on the New York City mayor-elect’s message – centrists can’t compete with rent freezes, free buses and support for Palestine, says writer Rohan SathyamoorthyRohan Sathyamoorthy (The Guardian)
Chinese EV maker Xpeng to launch robotaxis, humanoid robots with self-developed AI chips
Chinese EV maker Xpeng to launch robotaxis, humanoid robots with self-developed AI chips
Chinese electric car company Xpeng is following in Tesla's footsteps by moving into robotaxis and humanoid robots.Evelyn Cheng (CNBC)
Oakland City Council Passes Resolution in Support of Polluters Pay Climate Superfund | Oakland is latest in wave of support from California Cities, Youth for Climate Superfund
Oakland City Council Passes Resolution in Support of Polluters Pay Climate Superfund | Food & Water Watch
Oakland is latest in wave of support from California Cities, Youth for Climate SuperfundMadeline Bove (Food & Water Watch)
Meta is earning a fortune on a deluge of fraudulent ads, documents show
Router as tiny server?
Go with me here. Routers are routers, and servers are servers. Some people mix and match things, but generally, ideally, this is how it goes. And I agree.
But the router I just set up, the Google WiFi, has 4gb storage, 512mb of ram, a quad core CPU at 800mhz, is easy to flash, and only costs $10-15 on eBay all day long.
If you used it as only a little computer, no routing.. Then..
If I wanted to say... Set up a tailscale node at my family's house. Why spend $45-80, or even $130(!) on a raspberry pi with an Ethernet port, when the Google WiFi works just as well if not better for that job?
Maybe a tiny matrix server? Tiny web hosting?
Or, for a less ideal solution, but still reasonable. What if I wanted to set up a remote backup node for my main server? If my needs were small enough, the Google WiFi would be much more economical, although you'd need to add a USB hub to break out the USB ports. And there would be limitations obviously.
Or getting really crazy, you could potentially squeeze one or two bigger services onto a router, just to see if it's possible.. Minecraft server?
My question is. What is the best device for this? The Google WiFi is dirt cheap at $10-15, I'm about to pull the trigger on a second one just to play with. But I wanted to see if you guys had any other suggestions?
I tried searching the toh for similar devices, but even restricting it down every way I can think of, I've still got over a hundred devices to look at.
Basically, I think older router hardware is an overlooked, cheaper alternative, to raspberry pis, for some scenarios.
Neither the Google WiFi nor an RPI make a good nas server, but either would certainly work. Some routers even have m.2 or USB connectors specifically for that reason.
For a simple web server, there's even an nginx package for OpenWRT, so you have reverse proxying and basic web hosting on that Google puck with just a couple clicks.
Another interesting possibility is putting a tftp server on your router, and using it as a pxe server.
Plenty of options, if you don't mind the performance.
Exactly! They're not good per sé, but you could use them, especially for a really tiny home operation.
I guess what I'm saying is...
Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi will not seek reelection
Klimaexperte Höhne: "Wir sind nicht machtlos"
Klimaexperte Höhne: "Wir sind nicht machtlos"
Die Erde steuert auf eine Erwärmung von bis zu 2,8 Grad gegenüber dem vorindustriellen Niveau zu. Der Klimaexperte Niklas Höhne sagt: Die Folgen wären unbeherrschbar - aber es sei noch nicht zu spät.www.inforadio.de
How Mamdani built an ‘unstoppable force’ that won over New York
How Mamdani built an ‘unstoppable force’ that won over New York
The mayor-elect built the greatest field operation by any political campaign in the city’s history – by getting New Yorkers to talk to eachother. Can Democrats learn from his success?Ed Pilkington (The Guardian)
How could Tropical Forest Forever fund proposed at Cop30 tackle climate change
Scheme aims to disrupt deforestation by raising $125bn, investing it in bonds, with returns used to reward tropical forest nations for good behaviour
RRF Caserta. 06 11 25 . Cronache Africane. Crisi in Sudan, Camerun. Mali , Congo e Costa d'Avorio
The Internet is Dying. We Can Still Stop It
The Internet faces an existential crisis as nearly 50% of all traffic is now non-human, with AI-generated content and bots threatening to overwhelm authentic human interaction[^1]. According to recent studies, this includes automated programs responsible for 49.6% of web traffic in 2023, a trend accelerated by AI models scraping content[^1].The problems are stark:
- Search engines flooded with AI-generated content optimized for algorithms rather than humans
- Social media platforms filled with AI "slop" and automated responses
- Genuine human content being drowned out by machine-generated noise
- Erosion of trusted information sources and shared truthHowever, concrete solutions exist:
- Technical Defenses:
- Open-source spam filtering tools like mosparo for protecting website forms
- AI scraper blocking through systems like Anubis
- Content authenticity verification via the CAI SDK[^1]
- Community Building:
- Supporting decentralized social networks (Mastodon, Lemmy)
- Using open-source forum platforms that emphasize human moderation
- Participating in curated communities with active fact-checking[^1]
- Individual Actions:
- Using privacy-focused browsers and search engines
- Supporting trusted news sources and independent creators
- Being conscious of data sharing and digital footprint[^1]"While exposure to AI-generated misinformation does make people more worried about the quality of information available online, it can also increase the value they attach to outlets with reputations for credibility," notes a 2025 study by Campante[^1].
[^1]: It's FOSS - The Internet is Dying. We Can Still Stop It
The Internet is Dying. We Can Still Stop It
Almost 50% of all internet traffic are non-human already. Unchecked, it could lead to a zombie internet.Theena Kumaragurunathan (It's FOSS News)
BrikoX doesn't like this.
JavaScript is the primary fingerprinting tool used inside the browsers.
Mastodon 4.5 is out now
Mastodon 4.5
Quote posts, the end of missing replies, new tools for admins and better emojis. All of these and more, in our latest release.Mastodon Blog
De milieuschade door de landbouw in Nederland is jaarlijks veel groter dan de economische opbrengst van de sector.
Deloitte: schade door landbouw miljarden groter dan opbrengsten
Kosten-batenanalyse: Milieuschade door landbouw leidt tot hoge maatschappelijke kosten, laat Deloitte zien. „Deze cijfers geven wel aan dat de problematiek nijpend is.”Erik van der Walle (NRC)
Nuovo articolo: Eurovision 2026, c’è la prima artista ufficiale: Antigoni in gara per Cipro
Eurovision 2026, c'è la prima artista ufficiale: Antigoni in gara per Cipro
Eurovision 2026, c'è la prima artista ufficiale: Antigoni in gara per Cipro. La cantante di origine britannica ha una popolarità televisiva nel Regno UnitoEmanuele Lombardini (Eurofestival News)
Feddit Un'istanza italiana Lemmy reshared this.
UN climate summit kicks off in Brazil's Amazon with hopes for action despite US absence
Belém Climate Summit: Opening of the General Plenary of Leaders
The UN Secretary-General, António Guterres addresses world leaders gathered in Belém, Brazil, for a Climate Summit hosted by the Government of Brazil ahead of the annual two-week UN climate conference (COP30) to be held in the Brazilian city in the A…UN Web TV
like this
As a reminder. They cut down huge parts of the amazon rainforest just for this event. They built a 4 lane road right through peoples farm land, while completely ignoring the people using and living in the area. They basically cut a community in half. Hopes for action my ass.
bbc.com/news/articles/c9vy191r…
Amazon rainforest cut down to build highway for COP climate summit
The infrastructure required to host COP30 in Belém is undermining the cause, campaigners say.Ione Wells (BBC News)
Planet in peril: 30 years of climate talks in six charts
- YouTube
Profitez des vidéos et de la musique que vous aimez, mettez en ligne des contenus originaux, et partagez-les avec vos amis, vos proches et le monde entier.m.youtube.com
US businesses object to EPA bid to kill carbon reporting
US businesses object to EPA bid to kill carbon reporting - E&E News by POLITICO
A cross section of manufacturers and environmentalists raised objections to the agency's plan to repeal its greenhouse gas reporting rule.Jean Chemnick (E&E News by POLITICO)
reshared this
‘New reality’: Hurricane Melissa strength multiplied by climate crisis, study says | Winds of Melissa’s strength are now five times more frequent due to the climate crisis, research says
‘New reality’: Hurricane Melissa strength multiplied by climate crisis, study says
Winds of Melissa’s strength are now five times more frequent due to the climate crisis, research saysOliver Milman (The Guardian)
How the US cut climate-changing emissions while its economy more than doubled
How the US cut climate-changing emissions while its economy more than doubled
A fast drop in coal use played a big role, but there was more, as these charts show.The Conversation
The Internet is Dying. We Can Still Stop It
The Internet is Dying. We Can Still Stop It
Almost 50% of all internet traffic are non-human already. Unchecked, it could lead to a zombie internet.Theena Kumaragurunathan (It's FOSS News)
adhocfungus likes this.
How sickly forests are felling Europe's climate ambitions
Tech Trivia
adhocfungus likes this.
Scientists criticize ‘straw man’ arguments in Bill Gates climate memo | Tech billionaire relying on ‘false binary’ with call to focus less on emissions and more on aid for poor, experts say
Scientists criticize ‘straw man’ arguments in Bill Gates climate memo
Tech billionaire relying on ‘false binary’ with call to focus less on emissions and more on aid for poor, experts sayDharna Noor (The Guardian)
like this
The Gates Foundation has been a significant player in 3rd world disease eradication.
Lemmy: FUCK HIM!
I was around when Microsoft exploded onto the scene. Oh you bet he did some evil, monopolistic shit to get it rolling, but I also remember what computing was like before Windows.
Between my friends and I we had 5 different home computers. Nothing was interoperable, not even the version of BASIC, total clusterfuck. Tech was crawling compared to after Windows snapped everything into focus. Yes, I wish Linux had come sooner, but it's a clusterfuck as well.
It’s sorta bizarre to me.
If he had not given away all the wealth trying to fight diarrheal disease, HIV, TB, and try to source the solutions to the countries themselves… he would have been the richest man in the world even in the 2020s.
Did he fuck some strange? Yeah.
Did he act ruthlessly in business to get ahead? Yeah.
Is he responsible for 80 MILLION lives saved? Yeah.
Guy is doing what whole nations have failed to do and it’s on his back. Somehow that gets so much hate.
Lemmy expects the rich to splat their money out and solve everything, all at once. Told this story a few times:
There's an Indian proverb where a rich man is appalled by the poverty he sees. Gives a rupee to every beggar he sees, until he has no more rupees to give. He finds himself a beggar amongst the very people he tried to help, and didn't accomplish anything at all.
I'm not getting paid by Gates here. I understand where he came from and what he did to get where he's at, watched it in real time during my IT career. But goddam is he doing good works. He's an elderly man trying his best to leave a positive impact on the world. Not gonna act like he's some supervillain.
Yes, fuck a pedophile trying to PR his way into "good guy" status.
Lots of evil white folks go into third world in their old age, where their money is worth 100 times more (yay colonialism) and play "saint". Their PR then turns it into an "altruism" campaign.
Trump is probably planning the same. And I'm fucking sure yankistanis and dumb people will bend over backwards to defend him cuz all the tax breaks, money silos into their own pockets are hidden behind layers and layers of shell companies and non profits. And he will get the bush treatment.
"Eh? He might have been a war criminal, but he paints now and is friends with Gobamahs wife, so cute"
Disgusting, to say the least.
Does that absolve them of the shit human they've been all their lives?
Why do you think the third world is the way it is? These children fucking billionaires are exploiting their resources one way or another, directly or indirectly with whole lot of corruption involved.
Gullible people like you elevating them to their artificially manufactured status are how the rich get to do evil exploitative shit and then manipulate "good deeds" into PR points so they and their family are more likeable.
Fuck you and Fuck Bill Gates!
House Democrats release partial Epstein records referencing Musk, Gates and Prince Andrew
The pages from Epstein’s schedule show he was in touch with prominent figures like Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Steve Bannon and Peter Thiel. There is no evidence those people knew about how Epstein was sexually abusing teenage girls.PBS News
The Internet is Dying. We Can Still Stop It
The Internet faces an existential crisis as nearly 50% of all traffic is now non-human, with AI-generated content and bots threatening to overwhelm authentic human interaction1. According to recent studies, this includes automated programs responsible for 49.6% of web traffic in 2023, a trend accelerated by AI models scraping content1.
The problems are stark:
- Search engines flooded with AI-generated content optimized for algorithms rather than humans
- Social media platforms filled with AI "slop" and automated responses
- Genuine human content being drowned out by machine-generated noise
- Erosion of trusted information sources and shared truth
However, concrete solutions exist:
- Technical Defenses:
- Open-source spam filtering tools like mosparo for protecting website forms
- AI scraper blocking through systems like Anubis
- Content authenticity verification via the CAI SDK1
- Community Building:
- Supporting decentralized social networks (Mastodon, Lemmy)
- Using open-source forum platforms that emphasize human moderation
- Participating in curated communities with active fact-checking1
- Individual Actions:
- Using privacy-focused browsers and search engines
- Supporting trusted news sources and independent creators
- Being conscious of data sharing and digital footprint1
"While exposure to AI-generated misinformation does make people more worried about the quality of information available online, it can also increase the value they attach to outlets with reputations for credibility," notes a 2025 study by Campante1.
The Internet is Dying. We Can Still Stop It
Almost 50% of all internet traffic are non-human already. Unchecked, it could lead to a zombie internet.Theena Kumaragurunathan (It's FOSS News)
like this
In New Jersey, Offshore Wind Notches a Win—and Dodges a Bullet | Governor-elect Mikie Sherrill slayed a GOP rival who’d vowed to ban new turbines.
In New Jersey, offshore wind notches a win—and dodges a bullet
Governor-elect Mikie Sherrill slayed a GOP rival who'd vowed to ban new turbines.Mother Jones
Triple-whammy of hottest ever years risks ‘irreversible damage’, says UN
Triple-whammy of hottest ever years risks ‘irreversible damage’, says UN
Experts say 2023, 2024 and 2025 the three hottest years in 176 years of records, with 1.5C Paris agreement target now ‘virtually impossible’Damian Carrington (The Guardian)
The Great Firewall: Massive data leak reveals the inner workings of China's censorship regime
cross-posted from: lemmy.sdf.org/post/45192281
Archived[...]
In a historic breach of China’s censorship infrastructure, internal data were leaked from Chinese infrastructure firms associated with the Great Firewall (GFW) in September this year. Researchers now estimate that the data has a volume of approximately 600 GB.
The material includes more than 100,000 documents, internal source code, work logs, configuration files, emails, technical manuals, and operational runbooks. The number of files in the dump is reported to be in the thousands, though exact totals vary by source.
[...]
An unexpected but critical component of the breach is the metadata embedded within documents and logs. Authorship tags, file paths, and computer hostnames have linked hundreds of documents to individual users, systems, and organizations. These human fingerprints offer unprecedented visibility into the organizational structure behind the GFW’s operation. Engineers, data analysts, lab researchers, and regional technicians are all traceable by name or system alias. Many entries refer to known ISPs, national labs, or university-affiliated nodes, suggesting that the enforcement apparatus spans a wide constellation of public-private partnerships, military-academic collaborations, and centralized policy deployment.
Together, these findings constitute a unique technical cross-section of the Chinese censorship-industrial complex, revealing not just what is filtered or how, but who enforces it, who maintains the infrastructure, and how decisions flow through the layered topology of digital control.
[...]
The current report represents only the first installment in a three-part investigative series into the unprecedented breach of China’s censorship apparatus. While this Part 1 has centered on exposing the dataset’s contents and evaluating its technical, organizational, and strategic significance, it is only the beginning. The sheer scale and complexity of the leak, over 500GB of internal GFW infrastructure data, demands a methodical, layered approach to fully grasp its implications.
The next two parts in this series will delve even deeper, uncovering the architecture of China’s censorship regime and examining the wider consequences for global digital governance.
Part 2 of the series will look into the architecture and will offer a forensic reconstruction of how the Great Firewall actually works at the technical level, mapping the core design of the censorship stack. This includes how packets are intercepted, filtered, redirected, or dropped; how apps like Psiphon and V2Ray are detected at the protocol level; and how traffic shaping is deployed based on geography, ISP, or session context.
Part 3 will the geopolitics and the fallout will address the broader implications. This breach does more than just reveal technical controls, it changes the strategic calculus of censorship resistance. We will assess how the exposure reshapes China’s ability to sustain its domestic information control and international cyber operations, and how it informs countermeasures by VPN developers, privacy advocates, and democratic governments. Ethical and legal questions will also be raised: what does responsible engagement with such data look like?
[...]
With this series, we aim to present not just the most complete picture yet of the GFW, but a roadmap for pushing back against the machinery of state censorship.
Inside the Great Firewall Part 1: The Dump - DomainTools Investigations | DTI
Analysis of the 500GB+ Great Firewall data breach revealing China’s state censorship network, VPN evasion tactics, and the operators behind it.DomainTools Investigations | DTI
Is Enerkem's Waste Gasification technology a Failure or a promising Climate Solution?
Is Enerkem's Waste Gasification technology a Failure or a promising Climate Solution?
Repsol wants to build a waste gasification plant to make circular and biogenic Methanol in Spain. The Ecoplanta project will use a technology that previously failed to deliver on its promises in Canada.Hanno Böck (industrydecarbonization.com)
Appeals Court Upholds Shaken Baby Conviction Despite Medical Examiner Recanting Testimony
Appeals Court Upholds Shaken Baby Conviction Despite Medical Examiner Recanting Testimony
Dissenting from the court’s majority, one judge sounded the alarm about ignoring recanted forensic testimony, saying the medical examiner’s reversal “calls into doubt the foundation of the trial.”lisa.larson-walker@propublica.org (ProPublica)
The Great Firewall: Massive data leak reveals the inner workings of China's censorship regime
cross-posted from: lemmy.sdf.org/post/45192281
Archived[...]
In a historic breach of China’s censorship infrastructure, internal data were leaked from Chinese infrastructure firms associated with the Great Firewall (GFW) in September this year. Researchers now estimate that the data has a volume of approximately 600 GB.
The material includes more than 100,000 documents, internal source code, work logs, configuration files, emails, technical manuals, and operational runbooks. The number of files in the dump is reported to be in the thousands, though exact totals vary by source.
[...]
An unexpected but critical component of the breach is the metadata embedded within documents and logs. Authorship tags, file paths, and computer hostnames have linked hundreds of documents to individual users, systems, and organizations. These human fingerprints offer unprecedented visibility into the organizational structure behind the GFW’s operation. Engineers, data analysts, lab researchers, and regional technicians are all traceable by name or system alias. Many entries refer to known ISPs, national labs, or university-affiliated nodes, suggesting that the enforcement apparatus spans a wide constellation of public-private partnerships, military-academic collaborations, and centralized policy deployment.
Together, these findings constitute a unique technical cross-section of the Chinese censorship-industrial complex, revealing not just what is filtered or how, but who enforces it, who maintains the infrastructure, and how decisions flow through the layered topology of digital control.
[...]
The current report represents only the first installment in a three-part investigative series into the unprecedented breach of China’s censorship apparatus. While this Part 1 has centered on exposing the dataset’s contents and evaluating its technical, organizational, and strategic significance, it is only the beginning. The sheer scale and complexity of the leak, over 500GB of internal GFW infrastructure data, demands a methodical, layered approach to fully grasp its implications.
The next two parts in this series will delve even deeper, uncovering the architecture of China’s censorship regime and examining the wider consequences for global digital governance.
Part 2 of the series will look into the architecture and will offer a forensic reconstruction of how the Great Firewall actually works at the technical level, mapping the core design of the censorship stack. This includes how packets are intercepted, filtered, redirected, or dropped; how apps like Psiphon and V2Ray are detected at the protocol level; and how traffic shaping is deployed based on geography, ISP, or session context.
Part 3 will the geopolitics and the fallout will address the broader implications. This breach does more than just reveal technical controls, it changes the strategic calculus of censorship resistance. We will assess how the exposure reshapes China’s ability to sustain its domestic information control and international cyber operations, and how it informs countermeasures by VPN developers, privacy advocates, and democratic governments. Ethical and legal questions will also be raised: what does responsible engagement with such data look like?
[...]
With this series, we aim to present not just the most complete picture yet of the GFW, but a roadmap for pushing back against the machinery of state censorship.
Inside the Great Firewall Part 1: The Dump - DomainTools Investigations | DTI
Analysis of the 500GB+ Great Firewall data breach revealing China’s state censorship network, VPN evasion tactics, and the operators behind it.DomainTools Investigations | DTI
copymyjalopy likes this.
Battleground Maine Rep. Jared Golden will not seek reelection
Battleground Rep. Jared Golden will not seek reelection - E&E News by POLITICO
The Maine Democrat’s unexpected retirement opens up a House seat in a district that President Donald Trump carried.Aaron Pellish, Andrew Howard (E&E News by POLITICO)
Global Warming Made Hurricane Melissa More Damaging, Researchers Say | Climate change enabled the storm to churn faster and grow more quickly, a rapid analysis found.
the storm had 7 percent stronger wind speeds than a similar one in a world that has not been warmed by the burning of fossil fuels. They also found the rate of rainfall inside the eyewall of the storm was 16 percent more intense.
They're talking about the World Weather Attribution rapid analysis, which uses peer-reviewed methods.
Kami
in reply to SatansMaggotyCumFart • • •Donald Trump is a pedophile.
Case closed.