October 3, 2017

Russian-bought Facebook ads ‘seen by 10 million in US’ –
An estimated 10 million people in the US saw Facebook adverts bought in Russia before and after the US presidential election. The company published the numbers in a blog post as it turned over 3,000 Russian-bought ads to federal investigators on Monday. It said most ads focused on “divisive social and political messages” on issues like immigration and gun rights. Russia has denied trying to influence the election. The ads violated Facebook’s policies because they came from inauthentic accounts. Facebook said that many did not violate its content policies. The tech giant used modelling to estimate the number of users who had seen the Russian-bought ads, which it said appear to have come from a Russian entity called the Internet Research Agency.
It said that 44% of the ads surfaced before the US election. [BBC]

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October 10, 2017

Harvey Weinstein Paid Off Sexual Harassment Accusers for Decades –
An investigation by The New York Times found previously undisclosed allegations against Mr. Weinstein stretching over nearly three decades, documented through interviews with current and former employees and film industry workers, as well as legal records, emails and internal documents from the businesses he has run, Miramax and the Weinstein Company. In a statement to The Times on Thursday afternoon, Mr. Weinstein said: “I appreciate the way I’ve behaved with colleagues in the past has caused a lot of pain, and I sincerely apologize for it. Though I’m trying to do better, I know I have a long way to go.” He added that he was working with therapists and planning to take a leave of absence to “deal with this issue head on.” [NY Times]

Harvey Weinstein (By David Shankbone (Own work) [CC BY 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons)

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October 30, 2017

Kevin Spacey apologises over Anthony Rapp ‘sexual advance’ claim –
Hollywood star Kevin Spacey has made an apology after being accused of making a sexual advance toward a child actor. Anthony Rapp, who was 14, said Spacey invited him to a party and seemed drunk when the alleged incident happened. Spacey, who was 26, said: “I honestly do not remember the encounter… but if I did behave then as he describes I owe him the sincerest apology.” Spacey also revealed he was now living as a gay man after years of refusing to address rumours about his sexuality. The US broadcaster, Netflix, said it was ending its popular political drama, House of Cards, which stars Spacey, after the forthcoming sixth season. [BBC]
Kevin Spacey (By MARVEL (Original photo by Yvwv.) [GFDL, CC-BY-SA-3.0 or CC BY-SA 2.5-2.0-1.0], via Wikimedia Commons)

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