Facebook and Twitter Finally Respond to Trump
Uncanny Valley | WIRED8 Tammi 2021

Facebook and Twitter Finally Respond to Trump

New year, new ... coup? On Wednesday, angry supporters of President Trump stormed the US Capitol building and violently disrupted a congressional session to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election. They were spurned on in no small part by the president himself, who urged them to march on the Capitol and then later took to Twitter to double (quintuple?) down on his false claims of election fraud. As result, a slew of social media companies opted to suspend Trump's account for varying lengths of time, citing his rhetoric as inflammatory and dangerous.

This week on Gadget Lab, WIRED politics writer Gilad Edelman joins us to talk about why companies like Facebook and Twitter decided to finally take action to shut down Trump's accounts. Then he gets a crash course on the wild world of CES—the first-ever all-virtual staging of the consumer tech industry’s tentpole event kicks off Monday.

Show Notes:

Read Gilad’s story about Facebook and Twitter suspending the president’s accounts here. Follow all of our CES coverage here.

Recommendations:

Gilad recommends that if you buy an item of clothing that you like, consider buying more than one. And also the Anker Soundcore Bluetooth Speaker. Lauren recommends the Headspace meditation app. Mike recommends a Black Manhattan cocktail.

Gilad Edelman can be found on Twitter @GiladEdelman. Lauren Goode is @LaurenGoode. Michael Calore is @snackfight. Bling the main hotline at @GadgetLab. The show is produced by Boone Ashworth (@booneashworth). Our theme music is by Solar Keys.

If you have feedback about the show, or just want to enter to win a $50 gift card, take our brief listener survey here.

Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Jaksot(426)

BIG INTV: Signal's Meredith Whittaker Says AI Is Just A Branding Term

BIG INTV: Signal's Meredith Whittaker Says AI Is Just A Branding Term

The Signal Foundation president, Meredith Whittaker recalls where she was when she heard Trump cabinet officials had added a journalist to a highly sensitive group chat. And tells, Katie about why it'...

23 Syys 202545min

WIRED Roundup: The Right Embraces Cancel Culture

WIRED Roundup: The Right Embraces Cancel Culture

In today’s episode, Zöe is joined by WIRED’s Manisha Krishnan to run through five of the best stories we published this week — from OpenAI implementing teen safety features to how human design is the ...

19 Syys 202516min

Move Aside, Chatbots: AI Humanoids Are Here

Move Aside, Chatbots: AI Humanoids Are Here

This week, WIRED learned that OpenAI is ramping up its efforts in robotics — specifically, by hiring researchers who work on AI systems for humanoid robots. Humanoids, robots built to resemble us and ...

18 Syys 202528min

BIG INTV: Matthew Prince Wants AI Companies to Pay for Their Sins

BIG INTV: Matthew Prince Wants AI Companies to Pay for Their Sins

The CEO of Cloudflare – the internet’s bodyguard - sits down with Katie to talk about his efforts to make the AI money machine start benefiting creators. Cloudflare’s new blocker tool required AI plat...

16 Syys 202546min

WIRED Roundup: How Charlie Kirk Changed Conservative Media

WIRED Roundup: How Charlie Kirk Changed Conservative Media

In today’s episode, Zöe is joined by WIRED’s Jake Lahut to discuss the aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s death — from the response of right-wing tech leaders, to how Kirk helped shape conservative media inf...

12 Syys 202516min

BIG INTV: Hasan Piker Says He Will Never Run for Office

BIG INTV: Hasan Piker Says He Will Never Run for Office

Hasan Piker, the Left’s favorite Twitch streamer has the kind of following that could get votes. But he tells Katie Drummond he’d rather use his influence to tell Democrats “you can't podcast your way...

9 Syys 202540min

Are Dating Apps Over?

Are Dating Apps Over?

Dating apps have evolved a lot over the years, with apps dedicated to any romantic niche– dog lovers, astrology heads, and big, bushy beards. Despite the seemingly endless options of dating platforms,...

5 Syys 202540min

Where's the Fun in AI Gambling?

Where's the Fun in AI Gambling?

Online gambling is on the rise, and AI is entering the field. This week, Lauren and Mike speak with WIRED’s Kate Knibbs to break down how both startups and traditional gambling sites are promoting the...

4 Syys 202531min