Vanishing YouTube videos: Google expects AI errors as coronavirus empties offices

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - YouTube could see a jump in videos erroneously taken down for content policy violations as the company relies more on automated software during the coronavirus pandemic, Alphabet Inc’s Google warned on Monday. Google said in a blog post that to reduce the need for people to come into its offices, YouTube and other business divisions are temporarily relying more on artificial intelligence and automated tools to identify problematic content. Such software is not always as accurate as humans, which lead to errors, the company said. And “turnaround times for appeals against these decisions may be slower,” the blog post added.

Twitter Inc on Monday said it too would be increasing usage of similar automation, but that it would not ban any users based solely on automated enforcement because of accuracy concerns. Facebook Inc did not respond to requests for comment on Monday. It drew public criticism last week for asking policy enforcers to continue coming to work because it lacks secure technology for moderation to be conducted remotely.

The trio of Silicon Valley internet services giants, like many companies across the world, have asked employees and contractors to work from home if possible, aiming to slow the spread of coronavirus. Mass gatherings such as sports, cultural and religious events have been canceled globally to combat the fast-spreading respiratory disease. Google said human review of automated policy decisions also would be slower for other products and indicated that phone support would be limited. Content rules cover submissions such as ad campaigns running on the Google ad network, apps uploaded to the Google Play store and business reviews posted to Google Maps. “Some users, advertisers, developers and publishers may experience delays in some support response times for non-critical services, which will now be supported primarily through our chat, email, and self-service channels,” Google said. Google’s content review operations span several countries, including the United States, India, Singapore and Ireland.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-google/vanishing-youtube-videos-google-expects-ai-errors-as-coronavirus-empties-offices-idUSKBN2133BM?il=0

Military roadblocks, curfews: Latin America tightens coronavirus controls

LIMA/ASUNCION/SAN SALVADOR/BOGOTA (Reuters) - Countries around Latin America tightened restrictions on Monday to slow the spread of the new coronavirus, with Peru deploying military personnel on the streets, Costa Rica and Colombia closing their borders and Paraguay imposing a curfew. While the region has yet to be hit as hard as Asia or Europe, Latin American governments have moved aggressively to contain the virus that has shut down cities and international transport hubs and battered its financial markets.

Nevertheless, not all of them are moving at the same tempo. A diplomatic tiff erupted when El Salvador’s president accused Mexico - where the government has received some criticism for the speed of its response - of allowing people with the coronavirus to board a flight due to leave Mexico City for San Salvador. Mexican authorities denied that.

In Colombia, authorities have overcome frosty relations with Venezuela to start sharing information about the coronavirus with their neighbor, but said that did not amount to politically recognizing the government of Nicolas Maduro. Colombian President Ivan Duque also said the country would close all of its maritime, land and river borders starting on Tuesday to prevent the spread of the fatal respiratory disease, with plans to keep them shut until May 30. Duque’s move was followed by tougher measures from Maduro, who ordered the widening of a social quarantine across the whole of Venezuela, starting on Tuesday, after the total number of cases in the country doubled to 33. The coronavirus has been slower to reach Latin America than much of the world. Globally, over 174,100 people have been infected and nearly 6,700 have died.

In Peru, President Martin Vizcarra said leaders from Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Brazil spoke via conference call on Monday to analyze the situation and coordinate actions against the pandemic. “We have agreed that together we are going to join forces,” he told reporters at the government palace, adding countries would look to coordinate demand for medical supplies and to calculate the economic impact on the region.

In Chile, at least six passengers from a cruise ship named the Silver Explorer were being treated in hospitals in Patagonia after disembarking and being confirmed as having the coronavirus, Health Minister Jaime Manalich said. In Lima, masked military personnel blocked major roads, while police restricted the movement of people, as the country rolled out a state of enforced “social isolation”. Peru has suspended constitutional rights such as free movement and assembly, although the government has said it will guarantee the operation of supermarkets, pharmacies, banks, basic services and the transportation of merchandise. In nearby Paraguay, which has eight cases of the respiratory disease so far, the government said it would enforce a curfew from 8 p.m. daily to restrict crowds. Certain people, including those doing vital work, delivering food or transportation could continue to move around, Paraguay’s interior minister, Euclides Acevedo, told a news conference. Ecuadorean President Lenin Moreno said in a televised address on Monday that the Andean country would begin a curfew on Tuesday evening and shut down most normal activities with exceptions for health, safety, banking, and food production and distribution. Panama’s government said it had now reported 69 cases of the coronavirus infection, up from 55 on Sunday.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-latam/military-roadblocks-curfews-latin-america-tightens-coronavirus-controls-idUSKBN2133BY?il=0

New York Times Authors Deceptively Edit Trump’s Advice to Governors on Medical Ventilator

At least eight New York Times authors shared a deceptively edited quote Monday from President Donald Trump’s recent call with state governors, creating the false impression that the president is denying federal support for ventilators that are needed in hospitals treating coronavirus patients.

In his message, the president recommended that states procure respirators and ventilators because it would be faster — but added that the federal government “will be backing you.” The Times journalists omitted the bulk of the president’s statement as they shared the story on social media. The misleading, partial quote was also boosted by a CNN correspondent and became the lead headline at the left-wing Huffington Post.

Despite growing online backlash to this misinformation, the journalists have yet to delete or retract their comments. The eight journalists tweeted a link to a Times article published Monday that contains President Trump’s full statement to state governors in which the president recommended that they shouldn’t wait for the federal government to fill the growing demand for respirators needed to treat people with coronavirus.

“Respirators, ventilators, all of the equipment — try getting it yourselves,” President Trump told the governors during the Monday conference call. “We will be backing you, but try getting it yourselves. Point of sales, much better, much more direct if you can get it yourself.” But in the body of their posts, the Times journalists left out most of what the president said.

Times national correspondent Julie Bosman tweeted only the first third of the president’s statement, leaving out the part where he said the federal government will back the states. Bosman, reacting to intense backlash, defended herself by inaccurately claiming that “the second part of the quote repeats the first part, twice.” In fact, the second part of the president’s statement says that the federal government “will be backing you [the states].” Mara Gay, a member of the Times editorial board, also left out most of what the president said. She also falsely accused the president of telling governors that “they are on their own.” In actuality, the president said in his full quote that the federal government “will be backing you.” Just ten days ago, Gay was involved in another embarrassing episode for corporate media, where she and MSNBC anchor Brian Williams horribly botched basic math to claim that billionaire Michael Bloomberg could have “given every American a million dollars.” In reality, the amount he spent amounts to less than $2 per person.

The official Times twitter account also omitted the majority of the president’s quote when it pushed out the article on Monday. CNN’s Oliver Darcy also shared the incomplete quote and has not addressed the dozens of fact checks in response. All of the posts were still up at the time of this writing, despite mounting criticism about their accuracy.

https://www.breitbart.com/the-media/2020/03/16/new-york-times-authors-deceptively-edit-trumps-advice-to-governors-on-medical-ventilators/