Wednesday, August 22, 2018

Facebook and Twitter fight fake accounts. It's The Daily Crunch.

THE DAILY CRUNCH
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 22 2018 By Anthony Ha

Facebook and Twitter eliminate accounts linked to Iran and Russia, Y Combinator unveils another 59 startups and Walmart launches an ebook store. Here's your Daily Crunch for August 22, 2018.

1. Facebook and Twitter remove hundreds of accounts linked to Iranian and Russian political meddling

Facebook has removed hundreds of accounts and pages for what it calls "coordinated inauthentic behavior." These were supposedly networks of ostensibly independent outlets that were in fact controlled centrally by Russia and Iran.

Few or none of these were focused on manipulating the 2018 midterm elections here in the United States, but rather had a variety of topics and apparent goals. The common theme is certainly attempting to sway political opinion — just not in Ohio.

2. Say 'Aloha': A closer look at Facebook's voice ambitions

Facebook has no voice assistant, its smart speaker is still in development and some apps like Instagram aren't fully equipped for audio communication. But much of that is set to change, judging by experiments discovered in Facebook's code, plus new patent filings.

3. All 59 startups that launched today at Y Combinator's S18 Demo Day 2

From yeast-grown cannabinoids to project management software to consumer apps looking to gauge opinions on college campuses, there was quite a variety on the second day of pitches from Y Combinator's Summer 2018 class.

4. Walmart and Kobo launch Walmart eBooks, an online ebook and audiobook store

The new site, called Walmart eBooks, includes a library of over 6 million titles ranging from NYT best-sellers to indie titles and children's books. And similar to Amazon's Audible, Walmart will also now offer a monthly audiobook subscription service.

5. One Medical raises $350M from Carlyle Group to help double up offices and offerings

CEO Amir Rubin tells us the new funds will go toward a serious expansion for the company, including doubling its 72 offices throughout the seven states One Medical is currently serving, plus expanding into new markets.

6. Revolut introduces a metal card

In addition to the new card and existing premium benefits, Revolut Metal customers can claim cash back on all spending in the currency of their choice — Revolut supports fiat currencies and a handful of cryptocurrencies.

7. On Tesla's path to privatization, Morgan Stanley halts equity coverage of electric automaker

Morgan Stanley is the second firm to drop its stock rating on the electric automaker since CEO Elon Musk announced plans via Twitter to take the company private.

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