Twitter shuts down spambots spreading pro-Saudi hashtags related to Khashoggi disappearance

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Saudi leader Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman is receiving some unexpected help from erectile dysfunction pill spammers.

There’s been an intense online campaign playing out over Twitter in the past week to control the narrative surrounding the disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

A combination of human influencers, automated political accounts, and spambots have been working together — some willingly, some not — to defend the Crown Prince and the Saudi regime over their suspected role in Khashoggi’s disappearance.

Twitter has since informed NBC News that it has suspended the accounts involved with the bot network from its platform. Read more…

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How LGBTQ people are breaking down barriers to take on the great outdoors

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Up until approximately, mmm, yesterday, there’s been a enduring stereotype of “outdoorsy” people: They’re white, cis, straight, and love granola and/or semi-automatic rifles.

Of course, there have always been people who love nature and don’t fall into any of those categories. And over the past few years, opportunities for LGBTQ people who want to camp, hike, and otherwise spend time with *real plants in nature* — not aloe plants in apartments — have grown exponentially. 

Between summer camps for adult trans folks and stripper-heels-wearing backpacking queens, there’s a growing outdoors community on Instagram and even in real life. Read more…

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Is Apple dropping a major hint with its iPad event invitation designs?

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Apple just sent out invitations for its next big hardware event. Naturally, the speculation has kicked into high gear.

This year’s invitations featured a colorful Apple logo, along with the tagline “there’s more in the making.” 

SEE ALSO: Apple sends invites to Oct. 30 event, new iPad Pros expected

Normally, that alone would be enough to incite rampant speculation and obsessive hypothesizing about exactly what Apple has in store (FWIW, we’re expecting a new iPad Pro, MacBook, and Mac Mini). 

But the latest event invitations have taken the normal amount of speculation and excitement to the next level. That’s because each one appears to have a completely different design for the Apple logo.  Read more…

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Google Maps for iOS now lets you share your ETA

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For the chronically late among us, your days of lying about being “5 minutes away” are numbered. 

Google released its “share your real-time location” feature for the Google Maps iOS app on Thursday. It lets you send ETAs to friends and family based on satellite data — not empty promises. 

The setting lets users share their location with specific people for the duration of a trip. Just tap the ^ button once you’ve begun a trip, and a list of frequent contacts will pop up. Then you can invite them to view your location. 

SEE ALSO: Google Maps wants to be the only app you need for your commute

If you’re on the receiving end of an invitation, you can see where your en-route friend is in real time on a map of their journey. Read more…

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Stop tattling on people smoking weed, Toronto police warn in cheeky tweets

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Marijuana became legal in Canada on Wednesday, and authorities are still trying to get used to it.

Toronto’s police have been pretty blunt about the matter, telling people to stop tattling on their neighbours for smoking weed or possessing pot plants.

SEE ALSO: Pass the poutine: Weed is now legal in Canada and everyone’s celebrating

The directive came in a series of funny tweets, comparing the reporting of smoking or possession to trivial matters, like calling 911 to ask for directions or what one should do with frozen meat in the case of a power outage.

“Do not call police for this,” the tweets read. Read more…

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What you should do if a DNA test suggests you’re Native American

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Elizabeth Warren’s announcement that she took a DNA test to prove she has a Native American ancestor likely inspired countless people to pursue genetic testing to investigate their own family lore. 

Yet there’s a reason why the Democratic senator’s declaration was met with harsh criticism, including from the Cherokee Nation’s secretary of state Chuck Hoskin Jr., who said Warren was “undermining tribal interests with her continued claims of tribal heritage.”

Indeed, there are sensitive, appropriate ways to talk about potentially having Native American ancestors. The Massachusetts lawmaker actually got it right when she made the critical distinction that an ancestral link is not the equivalent of belonging to a Native American community or culture, nor should it entitle people far removed from an ancestor to seek or claim tribal status.  Read more…

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