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Measures of the novel-coronavirus pandemic remained generally stable in Kentucky on Sunday, as Gov. Andy Beshear made only a Facebook post giving the day's numbers.The state reported 1,509 new cases, marking the fifth consecutive Sunday that the number has been lower than the previous Sunday. Reporting on Sundays and Mondays is limited due to less testing and lab work on weekends; on top of that, this is the end of a four-day holiday weekend for most people.The share of Kentuckians testing positive for the virus in the past seven days is 8.06%, which is also the average of the last four days.The number of COVID-19 patients in Kentucky hospitals continued to decline, to 1,504, the lowest total since 1,442 on Nov. 16. Intensive care units had 411 of those patients, about the average of the last 10 days. ICU patients on ventilators totaled 217, about the average of the last five days.The state attributed the deaths of 21 more people to COVID-19, for a total of 2,555, but did not publish the usual list of deaths by gender, age and county.Counties with 10 or more new cases were Jefferson, 169; Fayette, 101; Henderson, 64; Boone, 63; Daviess, 60; Kenton, 56;…

Pastafarians and atheists are protected under Facebook’s hate speech provisions, internal documents show.Pastafarianism is a movement that promotes a light-hearted view of religion and opposes the teaching of intelligent design and creationism in public schools.Its website says: “With millions, if not thousands, of devout worshippers, the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster is widely considered a legitimate religion, even by its opponents — mostly fundamentalist Christians, who have accepted that our God has larger balls than theirs.”Facebook has a series of documents which sets out how to moderate content on its site. As part of this, the company has set out what it defines as hate speech.In documents seen by The Times it says: “We define hate speech as a

Let’s have a little fun at the end of this long and depressing year! According to the Chinese Zodiac, this was the year of the rat. The rat represents spirit, wit, alertness, delicacy, and flexibility. Ironically, this photo would represent 2020 for me: Yes, I have been battling that guy for the last couple of months. Every waking moment lately has been spent doing exclusion work on our rather old in some parts, complicated in other parts and cluttered in practically all parts, house. We have managed to eliminate all our population except for this one, who we’ve nicknamed Stubs for his snap trap induced shortened tail. But never mind Stubs, he is not eligible to win; he’s family. This contest is for your photos. Submit one photo that sums up 2020 for you on Living Snoqualmie’s Facebook page by midnight on Wednesday, December 30th. The five photos with the most likes, so enter early, will be voted on for the best 2020 picture by all of you, and a winner will be announced on New Year’s Day. See below for contest rules. The winner will receive a $50.00 gift card to the Riverbend Café in North Bend. Rich, the…

INDIANAPOLIS -- A Black physician died of COVID-19 weeks after she described a white doctor dismissing her pain and concerns about her treatment as she lay in an Indiana hospital.Dr. Susan Moore passed away on Dec. 20 due to complications from COVID-19, her son told the New York Times. The internist died about two weeks after she shared a video in which she accused a doctor at Indiana University Health North Hospital (IU North) of ignoring her complaints of pain and requests for medication because she was Black, even though she was both a patient and a doctor herself.In a video that was posted earlier this month, she filmed herself from a hospital bed and recounted her experience at IU North. Moore said her doctor brushed off her symptoms, telling her, "You're not even short of breath.""Yes, I am," Moore said in the video, which she shared on Facebook Dec. 4.She had to beg to receive remdesivir, she recalled in the video, the antiviral drug used to treat patients who are hospitalized for COVID-19 and are not in need of mechanical ventilation.And despite her pain, the doctor told Moore he might send her home, she said, and he didn't feel…

Shop COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- The COVID-19 pandemic has completely altered the way many people celebrate the holidays, which includes buying gifts. Many people have turned to online shopping in place of purchasing from local stores. Now, one Colorado Springs author has stepped up to try to help merchants struggling to find customers. Jessica Wilson created the 2020 Online Christmas Market for Buy Local Colorado on Facebook to make local shopping easier and safer for everyone involved. The group is composed of 60 vendors, with a mixture independent consultants and homemade goods.They sell everything from dog scarfs to crafted wine and organic shampoos.“I’ve had about 15 of the 60 respond that they have either gotten one sale or no sale so far, so about half of those, they are just not posting very much,” said Wilson. She says it is all in the marketing, but her goal is to push support for Colorado small businesses.“I am trying to help our local vendors our local shops, especially with vendor and craft shares being cancelled because of covid it is more of that online environment to give them that opportunity.” Wilson the facebook group is now closed , but will open back up…

By Marianna SpringSpecialist disinformation reporterPublishedduration2 hours agoimage copyrightFacebookimage captionBrian with his wife Erin, who died after contracting Covid-19Conspiracy theories ripped through the internet this year, destroying relationships and endangering lives.The flurry of online falsehoods about coronavirus began as soon as the pandemic hit.Misleading pictures suggesting tanks were rolling down village streets and lists of false diagnostic tips were frantically forwarded on WhatsApp.As luck would have it, I had just begun my job reporting on the impact of online disinformation.With the help of a BBC team of experts, I got to work looking into the spread of one really viral post. image copyrightGetty Imagesimage captionA protester's sign casts doubt on Covid-19's existence at a demonstration in California in MayAt first glance, the post seemed legitimate, because the information was attributed to a trusted source: a doctor, an institution, or well-educated "uncle". It hopped across Facebook profiles around the world, translated into Italian, Arabic and a dozen other languages. Votes, viruses, victims: 2020 in disinformationA special programme from the BBC Trending team. But along with useful information like "wash your hands", it listed false cures and phony diagnostic tests.One of the people most responsible for its online spread was an 84-year-old pensioner…

Facebook Protect, the enhanced security program that was made available to politicians, candidates, and similar to keep their accounts secure, will be expanded to other types of accounts starting next year. Facebook also plans to roll out support for security tokens on mobile, according to the company’s head of cybersecurity policy. The changes were recently disclosed to Axios by Facebook’s Nathaniel Gleicher, who explained that Facebook Protect will be extended to additional account types starting in 2021. These ‘vulnerable users’ will include people like celebrities, journalists, and relevant users who live in countries preparing for ‘major elections.’ Why would someone be interested in using Facebook Protect? The enhanced security option is intended to protect accounts of people who may be at particular risk. This includes things like watching for signs that someone may be trying to hack the accounts. As mentioned, Facebook will also be rolling out mobile support for security tokens, addressing the enhanced security needs of people who primarily access the social media platform using these portable devices. Axios says that Facebook is looking into sending these security keys to certain users, namely public figures. Social media platforms have increasingly faced threats from bad actors, particularly when it…

SAN FRANCISCO — A federal court in California dismissed with leave to amend two related class actions claiming Facebook tracks users’ locations without their consent. 

BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) - Many of us use Facebook and Google every day, but those two entities control more of our digital space than we realize. Both media giants are now involved in anti-competition lawsuits, claiming they’re monopolizing the market.Facebook and Google have been hit with a string of antitrust lawsuits recently, and North Dakota’s Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem, R-N.D., has specifically signed onto two of them: one against Google with nine other attorneys general and the other against Facebook with 48 total states signing on.The lawsuits are claiming Facebook and Google are monopolizing the worldwide digital market. “I’m not sure we’ve ever seen this much power consolidated in these few companies,” said Rep. Kelly Armstrong, R-N.D. Rep. Armstrong, sitting on an Antitrust Subcommittee, said there’s agreement across all political aisles that these media giants have consolidated too much of the market.Facebook owns the four most downloaded apps in the last decade after purchasing Instagram for $1 billion in 2012 and Whatsapp for $19 billion in 2014.Stenehjem said this may violate antitrust laws. “Every time a company comes and looks like they may be offering competition, Facebook buys them up,” said Attorney General Stenehjem.Stenehjems added Google is also problematic as…

Facebook Inc. says it’s time to rethink the legal immunity that protects it from lawsuits over what users post online, a position that’s leaving smaller websites concerned about the cost of accepting more responsibility for what appears on their platforms.The social-media giant has been prominent in the debate in Washington over the liability shield contained in Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which may be the subject of a proposal by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission in coming days.President Trump on Wednesday vetoed a defense bill in part because lawmakers refused to include a repeal of the protections. Congress is planning to override the veto, but lawmakers have said they want to address the liability shield in the coming term.Facebook recently has run ads saying, “We want updated internet regulations to set clear guidelines for addressing today’s toughest challenges.” That’s leaving small and mid-sized companies such as Etsy Inc. and Tripadvisor Inc. nervous. Facebook can afford elaborate content moderation backed by legions of lawyers if Congress weakens the shield. Not so the smaller companies, they say.“The Hill is focused on addressing perceived abuses or lapses in responsibility by Big Tech, but one-size-fits-all policy prescriptions may actually embolden those larger…