Researched by: Rachel John, Aarthi Ramnath & Anannya Parekh
Splainer is hiring: A key role in the newsroom
We are hiring for the key position of a News Editor to join our brilliantly talented editorial team. This is a ‘teaching’ newsroom—where learning new things is a big part of the job. We also pride ourselves on a warm, friendly work culture. But, but, but: This is not an average newsroom gig with a boiler-plate desk job. What we’re looking for:
- Someone with 1.5 to 2 years of experience in a newsroom or related field. This is not an entry level position.
- Excellent research skills are a must—especially the ability to break down complex jargon into accessible language.
- Someone who is interested in—and has some knowledge of—hard news issues in politics, economy and law. This job isn’t for someone who prefers culture/lifestyle topics.
- A person who enjoys juggling a couple of different roles. Example: working closely with the production team that creates our awesome videos. Or managing relationships with content partners.
- Willingness to work in a startup environment where we all do a bit of everything—and are eager to take initiative and responsibility.
- A knowledge of and love for splainer is a huge plus—since we’re not the usual news product.
Please note there is a six-month probation period and the pay will be industry standard. We are an equal opportunity employer and work remotely. But we prefer someone based out of Bangalore–to lend a hand with video shoots and events. Please send your resumes and cover letter—telling us why you want this job—to talktous@splainer.in. We will reach out to you if you’re shortlisted.
The detention of Arvind Kejriwal: The latest update
The Delhi High Court finally heard the chief minister’s plea on Wednesday—but did not release him from custody. It granted the Enforcement Directorate more time to file its response—but promised to examine if the case was “politically motivated.” The next hearing is scheduled for April 3. The BJP is furious that Kejriwal is issuing orders as CM from behind bars—hence the LG is hinting at president’s rule. ICYMI: This excellent Big Story by Samarth Bansal decoded the evidence presented against Kejriwal—and the role of the draconian money laundering law. (The Telegraph)
A diplomatic row over Kejriwal: Washington said it “encouraged a fair, transparent and timely legal process for Delhi Chief Minister Kejriwal.” This made the Ministry of External Affairs mad—and a senior diplomat was summoned and scolded. This after a similar drama with the Germans. When pressed on the matter hours after the scolding, the US State Department rep refused to back down:
Washington on Wednesday stressed that it encourages fair, transparent, timely legal processes and “we don't think anyone should object to that".
“We continue to follow these actions closely, including the arrest of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal,” U.S. State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said.
And he went on to flag the freezing of Congress’ bank accounts. Haw.
Happily for New Delhi, the German Foreign Ministry seemed to back down—with a senior envoy noting: “Emphasis(ing) once again that we—India and Germany—have a great interest in closer cooperation and work together in an atmosphere of trust. As such, I would be reluctant to talk about confidential internal discussions here.” Shabash! (The Hindu)
IPL 2024: The latest update
One: The match between Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers Hyderabad was a record-breaking scorcher. SRH ran up a total of 277 runs—breaking the previous record of 263 by RCB in 2013. They beat Mumbai by 31 runs—but not before MI scored an equally swashbuckling chase of 246 runs. Also a record: the highest number of sixes (38) and most number of runs (523) in a single game. (Indian Express)
Two: Gujarat Titans skipper Shubman Gill was fined a whopping Rs 12 lakhs for the match against Chennai Super Kings. The reason: a slow over rate in the first innings. (Mint)
The list of government raids: A daily update
One: We have a new target for the Enforcement Directorate: Veena Vijayan—the daughter of Kerala CM Pinari Vijayan. Yes, once again it’s a money laundering charge. Her tech firm is accused of taking an illegal payment of Rs 17.2 million (1.72 crore) back in 2018/2019. It was first identified by the income tax department—which alerted the ED. Inter-agency cooperation at its best. (The Telegraph)
Two: India’s leading think-tank Centre for Policy Research (CPR) has been under the government gun for over a year. It lost its licence for foreign funding in 2023—and also its tax exempt status. Its president Yamini Aiyar recently resigned—four days after the Income Tax sent a notice demanding Rs 101.6 million (10.16 crore) for the financial year 2022-23. (Indian Express)
Two big stories on Meta
Snooping on Snapchat: According to unsealed court filings Meta had an “in-house wiretapping tool”—which it used to gather data analytics from Snapchat—and later YouTube and Amazon. Here’s how Project Ghostbusters worked. Facebook offered a Virtual Private Network (VPN) service called Onavo between 2016 and 2019. When someone downloaded the app, it would install a ‘kit’ that intercepted traffic for certain apps. Facebook finally shut down Onavo in 2019 after Apple booted it from the app store. (Gizmodo)
A big move on political content: You will now need to “opt in” if you want to see political content on your timeline on the explore, Reels, and in-feed recommendations and suggested users on Instagram. But it won’t affect political content from accounts you follow. What this means: Meta has decided that news isn’t worth the headache—as Insta head Adam Mosseri spelled out last year:
[F]rom a platform’s perspective, any incremental engagement or revenue [political news] might drive is not at all worth the scrutiny, negativity (let’s be honest), or integrity risks that come along with them.
The Verge has more on how you can change your settings.
War on Gaza: The latest update
Israel is deploying a facial recognition program in Gaza—to conduct a secret mass surveillance campaign:
The expansive and experimental effort is being used to conduct mass surveillance there, collecting and cataloguing the faces of Palestinians without their knowledge or consent, according to Israeli intelligence officers, military officials and soldiers… At times, the technology wrongly flagged civilians as wanted Hamas militants, one officer said.
Why this matters: Soldiers blindly rely on the technology to ID militants—even though the software makes mistakes. New York Times via Yahoo News has this exclusive report.
Thailand approves same-sex marriage
The Parliament overwhelmingly voted in favour of the bill. If it is approved by the Senate—and signed into law by the king—Thailand will become the first Southeast Asian country to legally recognise same-sex marriages. And the third in Asia after Nepal and Taiwan. About the law:
Thailand’s bill describes marriage as a partnership between two individuals, rather than between a woman and a man. It will also give L.G.B.T.Q. couples equal rights to various tax savings, the ability to inherit property, and the power to give medical treatment consent for partners who are incapacitated. The draft will also grant adoption rights.
New York Times (paywalled) and The Guardian have more details.
US elections: The latest update
One: Joe Biden is finally catching up with Donald Trump—gaining in popularity in six of seven swing states—including three that will guarantee a win:
The shift was significant in Wisconsin, where Biden leads Trump by one point after trailing him by four points in February, and in Pennsylvania, where the candidates are tied after Trump held a six-point lead last month. They are also tied in Michigan.
The ‘Biden bump’ is likely an after-effect of his fiery State of the Union address—which may or may not endure. (Bloomberg News, paywall, Axios)
Two: Trump got some respite from his financial troubles. His social media company Truth Social went public—and its stock price surged by 59% on the first day of trading. The company is now valued at $7.85 billion. But, but, but:
For now, Truth is trading like a meme stock, meaning its market value is completely divorced from its financial reality. But once retail investors tire of the penny stock, its fate will be left to institutional investors who want to see high-growth opportunities and profit margins. Meme stocks like GameStop and AMC that soared during the pandemic-era retail investor bump have since crashed.
Axios has lots more on Trump’s financial windfall.
Good news for desi food stans
Three restaurants in India have been featured in the coveted ‘Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants’ list. At the highest spot: Fine-dining restaurant Masque in Mumbai at #23—followed by New Delhi’s Indian Accent (#26) and ITC Grand Chola in Chennai (#44). But Indian cuisine came in even higher—thanks to Gaggan Anand in Bangkok, which claimed the third spot. The top two winners on the list are in Tokyo—Sézanne and Florilège. (Condé Nast Traveler)
Also being honoured: The Adani Group—though it paid for this ‘culture-washing’ privilege. The Science Museum in London opened a new gallery—titled ‘Energy Revolution: The Adani Green Energy Gallery’. It “explores how the world can generate and use energy more sustainably to urgently decarbonise and to limit dangerous climate change.” (The Hindu)
One excellent AI thing to see
OpenAI gave filmmakers access to its text-to-video tool Sora. The result: a line of shorts—such as titled ‘Air Head’ from a Toronto-based production company. You can see more films over at Tom’s Guide.
