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Time of India
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
‘Foreign interference': France launches criminal investigation into X; to look into algorithmic manipulation and unlawful data gathering
Elon Musk (AP) The Paris Prosecutor said on Friday that it has launched a criminal investigation into X, the Elon Musk-owned social networking site, over allegations that it manipulated its content to enable 'foreign interference. ' Magistrate Laure Beccuau said on Friday that prosecutors launched an investigation and were looking to determine whether the social media giant violated French law by manipulating its algorithms and unlawfully gathering user data. The company will be under investigation along with its senior officials following two complaints launched in January. The alleged crimes are not yet categorised as perpetrated by 'foreign interference' under a 2024 law, but that could change for the investigation. The complaints made in January noted "supposed use of the X algorithm for purposes of foreign interference," as per her office, reported AP. The first complaint was filed by Eric Bothorel, a centrist member of the parliament, who warned of "recent changes to the X algorithm, as well as apparent interference in its management since Elon Musk acquired". Bothorel is a member of France's president, Emmanuel Macron's, party. He noted a lack of clarity in the criteria that led to algorithm changes and moderation decisions, and personal interventions from Elon Musk in the management of his platform. "All of this highlighted a real danger and a threat for our democracies,' he said. A cybersecurity director working in the public administration lodged the second complaint as per French Investigative Weekly Le Canard Enchaine. A "major modification in the algorithm used by the X platform, which today offers a huge amount of political content that is hateful, racist, anti-LGBTQ (or) homophobic, and aims to skew democratic debate in France,' the complaint read. Following antisemitic and racist responses from Grok, the AI chatbot that responds to X users, two French parliamentarians referred the platform to France's digital regulator, Arcom, on Thursday, as reported by Politico. In a separate investigation, the European Commission has been looking into X for over two years, on the speculation that it has been breaching its landmark platforms regulation, the Digital Services Act. While misinformation was already under scrutiny, the Commission broadened the investigation in January to examine X's algorithms after Musk live-streamed an interview with far-right German party leader Alice Weidel, as reported by Politico. The director of X in France, Laurent Buanec, said on January 22 that the algorithm was "built in a way to avoid offering you hateful content". He said X has "strict, clear and public rules to protect the platform from hateful discourse."
Straits Times
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
France probes X over algorithm changes enabling ‘foreign interference'
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox French police are investigating billionaire Elon Musk's X app over complaints that its algorithm was skewed for the purposes of foreign interference. - French police are investigating claims social media network X skewed its algorithm to allow 'foreign interference', the Paris prosecutor said July 11. Investigators will be examining actions of the company and its senior managers, after two complaints were filed in January, prosecutor Laure Beccuau said, without specifically mentioning X owner Elon Musk. The two complaints made on Jan 12 reported 'the supposed use of the X algorithm for purposes of foreign interference', her office said, without elaborating. The first complaint was filed by a centrist member of Parliament, Mr Eric Bothorel, who has looked into cyber security. Mr Bothorel warned against 'recent changes to the X algorithm, as well as apparent interferences in its management since Elon Musk acquired' the company in 2022. He highlighted a 'reduction in the diversity of voices and options' that went against guaranteeing a secure, respectful environment on the social media platform. He pointed to 'a lack of clarity in criteria that led to algorithm changes and moderation decisions', and to 'personal interventions from Elon Musk in the management on his platform'. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore ST will have Govt's 'full confidence and support' in its mission: PM Wong Singapore ST will aim to become an indispensable partner to S'pore's communities: Editor Jaime Ho Singapore Heartbeats & Headlines: ST's 180-year legacy comes to life in immersive exhibition Singapore Trusted news, smarter experience with new Straits Times website and app Singapore Community space Stranger Conversations blossoms as a 'library of human stories' and life experiences Singapore Judge declines to void alleged sham marriage in S'pore, says it is for Parliament to decide Singapore New list of technologies that reduce carbon footprint of buildings to be ready by Q1 2026 Singapore Man who killed 5-year-old daughter gets life sentence after he appeals against 35-year jail term All this presented a 'real danger and a threat for our democracies', he said. French investigative weekly Le Canard Enchaine in February reported that the second complaint had come from a cyber security director in public office. He reported a 'major modification in the algorithm used by the X platform, which today offers a huge amount of political content that is hateful, racist, anti-LGBTQ (or) homophobic, and aims to skew democratic debate in France', it said. The prosecutor said on July 11 that the investigation had been opened after 'verifications and contributions by French researchers' and further 'elements contributed by different political institutions'. Mr Laurent Buanec, France's director of X, had said on Jan 22 that X had 'strict, clear and public rules to protect the platform from hateful discourse' and fight disinformation. He said the algorithm was 'built in a way to avoid offering you hateful content'. AFP
Business Insider
25-06-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
I shopped at Walmart and Target to compare their Pride Month collections. They weren't easy to find.
I shopped at Walmart and Target to compare their Pride Month collections of LGBTQ+-themed items. The Walmart I visited had a few rainbow pajama sets. Target's Pride collection was more extensive. Both retailers appear to be keeping most of their Pride merchandise online amid political pressure. Pride Month looks different this year. When I set out to compare Pride Month collections at Walmart and Target in June, I expected to see aisles full of rainbows and apparel with snappy slogans as I'd seen in previous years. Instead, I found that both retailers kept much of their LGBTQ+-themed items online instead of on shelves. The limited offerings at the stores I visited in Wisconsin could simply be due to differences in inventory across different locations. It could also be part of the brands' broader efforts to avoid right-wing backlash while still catering to customers who celebrate Pride Month. In 2023, Target said it was reducing its Pride collections due to "threats impacting our team members' sense of safety and well-being" from anti-LGBTQ protesters, and in 2024, it said only half its stores would carry Pride items. This year, it told BI it is "absolutely dedicated to fostering inclusivity" with its Pride collection. Walmart's chief marketing officer, on the other hand, said in 2023 that it hadn't received threats related to its line and didn't plan to pull any items, although it did remove some LGBTQ+ merchandise from its website in 2024. A Walmart spokesperson told BI that roughly the same number of stores are carrying Pride merchandise this year. As some corporations scale back their Pride Month offerings amid political pressure, I was curious to see what kind of themed merchandise Target and Walmart might offer this year. Here's what I found during my shopping trips at the two retailers. My first stop was a Walmart Supercenter in Saukville, Wisconsin, to check out its Pride merchandise. The Walmart Supercenter spans 122,000 square feet. I started in the seasonal aisle, but the store had already moved on to the Fourth of July. The seasonal aisle was full of American flags, barbecue accessories, and red, white, and blue decor — no rainbows. There wasn't a designated Pride section in the store, but I found some Pride apparel in the pajama aisle. A pajama set with rainbows and the words "Love" and "Be you" retailed for $16.98. The rainbow pajama sets were the only Pride items I found in-store. A Walmart employee told me she hadn't seen much Pride merchandise in the store and that I'd have better luck shopping online. Next, I visited a Target store in the neighboring town of Grafton, Wisconsin. This Target store was about 5.5 miles from the Walmart store I visited. At 104,000 square feet, the suburban Target location is much larger than the small-format Target stores found in larger cities. The Pride section was located at the back of the store near the fitting rooms in the women's clothing section. The Pride display was marked with a rainbow Target logo, but it took me a few laps around the store to locate. Target's Pride collection included a mix of clothes, accessories, home decor, and other knickknacks. A black polo featured hearts in colors representing the trans flag as well as the rainbow colors of the Pride flag. The all-gender shirt retailed for $24. A 14-inch square rainbow pillow added a pop of color to the shelves. Pride-themed teacups featured rainbow handles. The teacup and saucer sets were priced at $8. A dog toy in the Pride collection had the words "proud pup" in rainbow letters. There was also a rainbow journal printed with the words "Love first." The journal was priced at $10. While Target's in-store Pride collection was larger than Walmart's, Target's website also offered a more extensive selection of items. Target's website had even more Pride apparel, jewelry, home goods, and accessories than I saw stocked on the shelves. A QR code in the Pride display directed customers to "discover more" of the collection online. Both companies kept much of their Pride collections out of stores. I could have saved myself a trip and shopped online. It's possible that other Target and Walmart locations feature more robust sections for Pride Month. A Walmart spokesperson told BI that inventory varies by store and that there has been no effort to move more Pride merchandise online. A Target spokesperson told BI, "We are absolutely dedicated to fostering inclusivity for everyone — our team members, our guests, our supply partners, and the more than 2,000 communities we're proud to serve. As we have for many years, we will continue to mark Pride Month by offering an assortment of celebratory products, hosting internal programming to support our incredible team and sponsoring local events in neighborhoods across the country." It's also worth noting that this year's Pride Month arrives on the heels of both companies rolling back their diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives following President Donald Trump's executive order to end diversity programs across the federal government. This change has led some shoppers to boycott the brands. As corporations grapple with how to approach Pride amid political, legal, and cultural shifts, it appears that retailers like Target and Walmart want to have their cake and eat it too. They still sell Pride Month collections to cater to customers on the left, but keep them largely out of sight to avoid angering customers on the right. As Business Insider's Dominick Reuter wrote, this approach risks backlash from both sides.
Chicago Tribune
20-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
She wanted more spaces in Chicago for queer women to build deep connections with each other — so she made her own social club.
When Aderinsola Akeju saw an ad on social media for an all-female slumber party, the former boarding school student was excited for the opportunity to fulfill a wistful dream. But instead of snacks and late-night conversations, the party felt more like a rave she could find anywhere, she said. Disappointed, the 22-year-old decided to throw her own slumber party with friends complete with drinks, games and karaoke. 'I had never felt so euphoric and happy about hosting something,' Akeju said. That night inspired a broader vision, but it was not until she received $10,000 a grant from the Human Rights Campaign's 'Queer to Stay' program last December that she went all in with her idea. Now, Akeju, a retail store director, regularly organizes intimate gatherings for queer women, especially queer women of color, through her social club Pink Sappho. Pink Sappho is part of a resurgence in Chicago of spaces dedicated for queer women. Tracy Baim, a journalist who has covered the LGBTQ+ community in Chicago for more than 40 years, said that there are more spaces for queer women today than there were at any point in her career. 'Coming out of COVID, it feels like there was just an explosion of both full-time bars and pop-up parties and other types of social events out there, specifically targeting lesbians in nonbinary and gender non-conforming folks,' Baim said. Baim noted multiple factors driving this increase, including a more openly queer population in the U.S., a longing for more in-person socializing after COVID and a new wave of anti-LGBTQ sentiment. 'I think coming out of (the pandemic), as people want community, and we have more forces fighting against us again, like we did in the '80s, there's this resurgence of anti-lesbian, anti-queer behavior out there. So sometimes being with like minded folks can be a safe haven,' Baim said. Pop-up parties and social clubs for queer women in particular seem to be growing in popularity in recent years, said Kristen Kaza, co-founder of the pop-up group Slo 'Mo. 'Queer pop-up parties are so many different things, but it is taking over a space and reclaiming it, making it ours from who we are inviting to the space to the programming and who we're featuring,' Kaza said, emphasizing that this pop-up model has been particularly popular with queer women in the absence of brick-and-mortar spaces dedicated to that demographic. Kaza said that such pop-up groups have been around for a long time. One of the most popular pop-up party groups in Chicago, Executive Sweet, ran for decades and started as a way to create welcoming spaces for queer women of color who found themselves discriminated against in white-owned lesbian bars. What is different now, Kaza noted, is that following the pandemic more young people are taking it upon themselves to make the pop-up parties and social clubs — and they're getting creative with the spaces they're making. Pink Sappho is an example of just that. Akeju said that for her, she felt that events for queer women were too centered on nightlife and clubbing. Rather, she wanted a social group that was focused on building genuine relationships and education. 'A lot of stuff happens at night, but even straight people want to connect with people without having to go to a club,' Akeju said. 'We don't need another club, that's cool to have. We can have a banging party, but we need education.' Kelsie Bowers, an ambassador for Pink Sappho, also emphasized that finding social clubs made for Black queer women can be particularly difficult. In her experience, many social spaces are not necessarily created with Black queer women in mind, and she also said they tend to be focused more on nightlife. Once President Donald Trump took office for his second term, Bowers felt an increased urgency to be around more people like her and build the kinds of spaces she'd felt were missing from her life. 'Around the time that Trump got in office, I just realized the immediate threat that that posed, not only to my community as a lesbian woman, but also as a Black woman,' Bowers said. 'I reached out to (Akeju) and I was like, 'Hey, I want to do whatever I can do right now for my community, because I can't just sit and watch all of this go down.'' No two Pink Sappho events are exactly alike, but there are three pillars that are always touched upon in some way at every event: authentic connection, wellness and sex education. Some things you may find at a typical Pink Sappho event include complimentary drinks — usually champagne — upon entry, venues with elegant architecture, an 8-foot long charcuterie board and games designed to spark friendship or ignite a new romance. It may seem simple, but it is that type of community building that Bowers sees as crucial to navigating the next four years. 'We want to build community. We want to make sure that we have community for our people, that they know that this is a space for them, that they can feel safe and that they can feel relaxed and we want a place for us to be able to connect,' Bowers said. 'It's really affirming to see us come together.' It's the kind of space Tyara Whitted was looking for. The 23-year-old attended her first Pink Sappho — a Juneteenth happy hour — event Wednesday. She would go out to queer-friendly neighborhoods such as Boystown, but found herself longing for more spaces with people that share her experiences. 'I just kind of realized that the gay spaces that I want to occupy are the ones that also identify with me, not just like queer-wise, but also racial-wise,' Whitted said, who attended Pink Sappho's Juneteenth Happy Hour Wednesday evening. It was just the kind of event she was looking for. 'We do occupy the nightlife, and it'd be nice to mix it up where we can occupy the brunch life, the afternoon life,' Whitted said. 'I'm getting older. I rely on CTA. Sometimes I don't want to be out that late trying to find that connection and sometimes the connection I want to find isn't at a club — it's at a fun, low-key event.'
The Citizen
19-06-2025
- Politics
- The Citizen
Budapest mayor defies police ban on Pride march
Hungarian police banned the Pride march citing anti-LGBTQ laws, but Budapest's mayor vowed the event will proceed as a city-organised protest. (FILES) People take part in the LGBTIQA+ Pride Parade in Budapest on July 23, 2022, in memory of the Stonewall Riots, the first big uprising of homosexuals against police assaults in New York City on June 27, 1969. Hungary police said on June 19, 2025 that they have banned the country's main Pride march from taking place in Budapest on June 28, 2025. (Photo by Ferenc ISZA / AFP) Hungarian police on Thursday banned the country's main Pride march from taking place in Budapest on June 28 but the capital's mayor defied them, vowing it would still go ahead. Since Prime Minister Viktor Orban returned to power in 2010, Hungary has passed a series of laws which have been criticised at home and across the European Union for curtailing the rights of the country's sexual and gender minorities in the name of 'child protection'. 'The police, acting within their authority over public assemblies, prohibit the holding of the assembly at the aforementioned location and time,' the police said on their website. Police said the ban was necessary under recent legislation that bans the promotion of same-sex relationships to under-18s. They said any appeal against the decision must be lodged with the central European country's supreme court within three days. Budapest's liberal Mayor Gergely Karacsony vowed to hold the gathering despite the ban. He said the police decision had 'no value' because the march did not require official authorisation anyway, as it was an event organised by the city council. ALSO READ: Centre for Contemporary Islam calls out Muslims for hate speech over gay imam Hendricks 'Budapest city hall will organise the Budapest Pride march on June 28 as a city event. Period,' he wrote on Facebook. On Monday he had announced that Budapest city hall would organise the march in an attempt to sidestep the recently adopted law. In mid-March, the Hungarian parliament passed a bill aimed at banning any gathering that violates an anti-LGBTQ law adopted in 2021. The 2021 law prohibits the 'display or promotion of homosexuality' to under-18s. Pro-LGBTQ protests In its decision published on Thursday, police said that the march 'by its very nature cannot be held without the representation' of people belonging to the LGBTQ community and that under-18s could be present along the route. 'If it cannot be stated with absolute certainty that the display is not taking place in the presence of persons under 18 years of age, the assembly would be in breach of the ban,' the police said. Hungarian lawmakers in April overwhelmingly backed constitutional changes that strengthened the legal foundations for banning the Pride march. ALSO READ: Free State man sentenced to 15 years for raping lesbian neighbour The government said the annual event could be held at an enclosed location like a stadium, out of sight of children. The conflict over the Pride march has already sparked protests in Hungary. Thousands of people blocked bridges in the capital, demanding the ban be repealed. Several members of the European Parliament have said they will attend the parade. European equalities commissioner Hadja Lahbib is also due to attend the march, as are ministers from several European Union countries, the organisers said. Attendees risk a fine of up to 500 euros ($570), which the Hungarian authorities say will be channelled into 'child protection' projects. Police may use facial recognition technology to identify them. NOW READ: Nearly 2 000 LGBTQ couples wed as Thai same-sex marriage law comes into force – By: © Agence France-Presse
