https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/twitter-places-ads-of-major-brands-next-to-child-abuse-conte

Twitter places ads of major brands next to child abuse content

In the latest scandal to hit Twitter, a cybersecurity group that goes by the name Ghost Data, released research it conducted, "over a 20-day period this month (September)," revealing that ads of major brands have been promoted by the social media platform alongside more than 500 accounts that, "openly shared or requested child sexual abuse material."

Twitter on Wednesday started reaching out to its clients to assure them that a thorough investigation will be conducted on the matter, as the platform stated in an email to Gizmodo, “We are working closely with our clients and partners to investigate the situation and take the appropriate steps to prevent this from happening in the future.”

Reuters conducted a separate and independent research on the matter, which revealed that at least 30 brands had ads appear next to Twitter accounts promoting child abuse material, including Coca-Cola Co, Cole Haan and Walt Disney Co, and reported that despite the scandal, most of the accounts dealing with child pornography have not been removed yet.

While some companies such as Cole Haan warned Twitter to fix the issue, threatening to take matters into their own hands, with Brand President David Maddocks stating "we'll fix it by any means we can, which includes not buying Twitter ads," other major corporations such as Mazda, Ecolab ad Dyson terminated their ads from most of Twitter already.

A Twitter spokesperson commented on the incident stating that the company will increase resources invested in child safety on the platform such as opening new job positions to implement solutions and write policies, stressing that Twitter, "has zero tolerance for child sexual exploitation."

Dinsey on the other hand stated that they are “doubling-down on our efforts to ensure that the digital platforms on which we advertise, and the media buyers we use, strengthen their efforts to prevent such errors from recurring."

Twitter has been facing a series of blows lately, as Twitter whistleblower, Peiter “Mudge” Zatko, took his case to Congress on the 15th of September, and warned of security flaws, privacy threats, and lax controls on the social platform - causing alarm for the Senate Judiciary Committee at a time of heightened concern over the safety of powerful tech platforms.

Zatko, a cybersecurity expert, served as Twitter’s head of security until he was fired early this year before bringing the allegations to Congress and federal regulators and asserting that the platform misled regulators about cyber defenses and efforts to control millions of fake accounts. This comes after Twitter Inc. agreed, in June, to pay a $7 million settlement to Zatko.

The cybersecurity expert's 84-page complaint on the matter discloses that he found “extreme, egregious deficiencies” on the platform, including issues with “user privacy, digital and physical security, and platform integrity/content moderation.” It points accusations toward CEO Parag Agrawal and other senior executives of “false and misleading statements to users and the FTC." Twitter denied the claims, justifying that Zatko was fired in January for “ineffective leadership and poor performance," which Zatko's attorneys called bluff.

He also filed complaints with the Justice Department, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including that Twitter breached the terms of a 2011 FTC settlement by falsely stating that it had put stronger measures to protect user security and privacy.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/economics/almost-10-trillion-in-losses-for-us-economy-gdp-declining-ra

Almost $10 trillion in losses for US economy, GDP declining rapidly

Citing Federal Reserve data, CNBC reported on Wednesday that the steady decline in the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) that commenced at the beginning of this year annihilated over $9 trillion in investors’ wealth, and is expected to continue - already possibly reaching the mark of $10 trillion.

Americans’ holdings of corporate equities and mutual fund shares, as demonstrated in the data report, plunged from a high of $42 trillion in January down to about $33 trillion as of June 30 but as these statistics are three months outdated, financial experts foresee losses amounting to a total between $9.5 trillion and $10 trillion, pushed by the gradual decline of stock values since July.

"The loss of stock wealth suffered to date, if sustained, will be a small, but meaningful headwind to consumer spending and economic growth in coming months,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics, in a statement to CNBC.

Earlier this month, the stock market witnessed its worst day in over two years after inflation data crushed investors' expectations that moderating price pressures would compel the Federal Reserve to scale down its interest-rate hike campaign. Everything from stocks and bonds to oil and gold was sold by investors. The Dow Jones Industrial Average's 30 equities all fell, as did the S&P 500's 11 sectors. Only five of the broad benchmark's stocks closed the session with an increase. Meta Platforms sank by 9.4%, BlackRock fell by 7.5%, and Boeing plummeted by 7.2%.

Despite the financial and market crises provoked by the Covid-19 pandemic, and per an Oxfam report, a whopping 573 new billionaires emerged on the market just in the span of two years - sending 160 million people into extreme poverty. According to the most recent Economic Confidence Index score by Gallup, August ratings represented the public's most pessimistic view of the economy since the Great Recession ended in early 2009, with 47% expressing pessimism with 16% describing it in good condition.

The stock index, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), which serves as a stand-in for the status of the NYSE as a whole, suffered a hit to its value by losing one-fifth since its January 4 high of 36,799.65. The American economy was not exempt from following suit, as two consecutive quarters exhibited a decline in its pattern according to the Department of Commerce. However, notwithstanding the shape the economy is taking, the Biden administration refuses to acknowledge the situation as a recession in light of the upcoming 2022 November elections.

In July, US President Joe Biden stated, following data released by the Commerce Department: "It's no surprise that the economy is slowing down as the Federal Reserve acts to bring down inflation," Biden said after the growth data was released, "even as we face historic global challenges, we are on the right path and we will come through this transition stronger and more secure. Our job market remains historically strong."

In regards to the workforce, the unemployment rate is anticipated to increase from 3.7% to 4.4% by next year per projections by the Fed's Summary of Economic Projections while the GDP growth is expected to reach a mere 0.2% for 2022.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/economics/inflation-in-germany-reaches-record-10-in-september—destat

Inflation in Germany reaches record 10% in September - Destatis

Federal Statistical Office Destatis released Thursday provisional data revealing that inflation in Germany is expected to rise to a record high of 10% in annual terms in September, up to 7.9% a month earlier.

The office will publish on October 13 details and final data on inflation in Germany in September.

"The rate of inflation in Germany is expected to be +10.0% in September 2022. The inflation rate is measured as the change in the consumer price index (CPI) compared with the same month a year earlier," Destatis said.

The above rate that Destatis provided exceeds some expectations, as experts from the DailyFX finance portal expect a rate of 9.4%.

Provisional estimates say that September will see an increase in consumer prices by 1.9%.

This September, energy prices rose by 43.9% in comparison with last September. Food prices increased by 18.7% over the same period, according to Destatis.

According to the Ifo Institute for Economic Research, the Munich-based think tank, the ongoing energy crisis as a result of the war in Ukraine is “wreaking havoc” on the German economy and they project it could lead to a 0.3% drop in GDP next year.

The Bundestag committee on energy warned that Germany's economic health is at stake considering the spiraling of energy prices out of control, which will serve as “a reminder of the good old days,” followed by German politician and fellow left-wing, Sahra Wagenknecht urging for the cancellation of restrictions and engaging in talks with Moscow.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/art-culture/gangstas-paradise-coolio-dead-at-59

'Gangsta's Paradise' Coolio dead at 59

Rapper Coolio's death has been confirmed by his manager on Thursday, passing away at the age of 59.

Artist Leon Ivey Jr, known by his stage name 'Coolio', passed away at a friend's house, as stated by longtime manager Jarez Posey, to AP and others including TMZ and Rolling Stone.

Famous for his 1995 single Gangsta’s Paradise, he received a Grammy for best solo rap performance, as part of the soundtrack for Dangerous Minds starring Michelle Pfeiffer alongside five Grammy nominations for his career that took off in 1994 with his debut album, It Takes a Thief. Its opening song, Fantastic Voyage, reached No 3 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Earlier this year, Gangsta's Paradise hit one billion views on YouTube, with the artist stating in a video reported by Billboard: “I want to thank everybody for all the years of love and being there for me, I hope I got you through some good times and got you through some bad times.”

Coolio moved to Compton, California, from Pennsylvania where he went to community college and worked as a volunteer firefighter and in airport security before devoting all of his time to hip-hop.

The West Coast artist would then take on acting and winning awards as a musician whose work appeared in dozens of films and popular television shows. In recent years, he appeared on the reality show Big Brother and developed a cooking series called 'Cookin' with Coolio' that boomed online. He later made headlines in 2013 for an auction of his music rights, including to Gangsta’s Paradise, to fund his career in cuisine.

>> Picture from the web.