Musk manouevre: Meta junks fact-checking

Written by: Aarthi Ramnath, Raghav Bikhchandani & Yash Budhwar

Musk manouevre: Meta junks fact-checking

The company announced it will no longer use independent, third-party fact checkers on Instagram and Facebook. These platforms will instead rely on Community Notes a la X—a key change pushed by Elon Musk. What’s more striking (and telling) is the video that accompanied the announcement—of Mark Zuckerberg attacking third-party moderators as “too politically biased.” He also said it was “time to get back to our roots around free expression.” Watch him below:

Perfect gift, perfect timing: The move comes just ahead of Donald Trump’s inauguration on January 20. The Donald has long attacked fact-checking on social media platforms—accusing them of liberal bias. And yeah, he’s gloating:

Speaking after the changes were announced, Trump told a news conference he was impressed by Zuckerberg's decision and that Meta had "come a long way". Asked whether Zuckerberg was "directly responding" to threats Trump had made to him in the past, the incoming US president responded: "Probably".

FYI: Meta gave the Trump folks advance notice of the change—as is the new emperor’s due.

Point to note: The company has also made a number of key personnel moves—to the right. The new global affairs chief—Joel Kaplan—is a prominent Republican. Its new board members include Dana White, CEO of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and close friend of Trump.

Why this matters: Many people abandoned Twitter for Instagram when Musk took over—uncomfortable with a rise in harassment, hate speech and blue tick spam. The reason: The absence of fact-checking was accompanied by the active promotion of rightwing politics favoured by Musk. Meta platforms are likely to follow the same path.

Reading list: BBC News has the best overview of the move. Business Insider has an important report on the panic among fact-checking organisations—who rely on Meta revenue to survive.

A devastating earthquake in Tibet

On Tuesday around 9 am, a 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck the Shigatse region southern Tibet—with tremors felt as far as Nepal and even parts of Bihar.

The devastation: At least 126 people have been killed, 188 injured and over 3,000 buildings damaged or destroyed. A large-scale rescue operation is underway but speed is of essence—overnight temperatures in the area can dip to -10 to -15°C in January. You can see some of the damage below. (Also see: The Guardian’s video report):

The earthquake: Its epicentre was located at an altitude of 4,200 metres in Dingri county—a base for Mount Everest climbers. It’s a remote, sparsely populated region—less than 7,000 people live in 27 villages and three townships within a 20km radius. The earthquake occurred at a depth of just under 10km, making it a ‘shallow earthquake’ and more damaging than deep earthquakes: “Shaking is more intense from quakes that hit close to the surface like setting off ‘a bomb directly under a city’.”

Check out the map of the affected area below:

The faultline: The Shigatse region lies on a major geological faultline—created by the collision of Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates:

Around 50 million years ago, the Indian plate collided with the Eurasian plate, causing rocks to fold and rise to create the mountains. The tension between the two plates has continued to build as the Indian plate is still pushing in at around 60 mm/year. Earthquakes and tremors occur when the rock formations in the region shift ever so slightly as they adjust to the tension.

Since 1950 geologists have recorded more than 21 earthquakes of magnitude 6 or higher in this region. This quake was the most devastating since 2015—when a 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck Kathmandu, killing over 9,000 people. You can see the faultline around the Tibetan Plateau below:

Reading list: BBC News and The Guardian have more details on the quake.

CES 2025: Tech carnival in Las Vegas

At the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, companies are showcasing their latest and greatest products in consumer tech. We picked some of our favourites yesterday. The rest of our picks of the reveals are below:

One: Let’s start with the goofiest of them all. The Nékojita FuFu—the cat-shaped robot cools your hot food or drink for you. Yep, it hooks onto your mug or bowl and mimics human blowing with randomized air strength, thanks to a smart algorithm. As for the name? A nod to “fu fu,” the sound of blowing. Check out CNET’s review:

Two: The Roborock Saros Z70 takes robot vacuums to the next level with its robo-arm—which tidies up before cleaning. Don’t worry—it won’t pick up your messy dog by mistake. See it in action below:

Three: Talking to plants is fine, but what if your plants could "talk" back? Enter LeafyPod, a smart planter—packed with sensors and AI. It will make sure you don’t kill your plants with too much water or sunlight.

Four: Meet the first stringless smart guitar—LiberLife C1. Connect it to your smartphone to learn real guitar skills with tracks and notes or turn it into a karaoke machine for some extra fun.

Five: Last but not least, Mi-mo—a general purpose AI-bot that resembles a walkie-talkie stool with a lamp attached:

The more important stuff: Nvidia and Sony made some important announcements about their AI offerings—including deals with Honda Electric, robotics and a “personal AI supercomputer”—called Project Digits.

Also see: There were plenty of fancy AI TVs. Samsung revealed its latest Bespoke AI smart appliances including fridges, ovens, and washing machines. And Sony rolled out its latest innovation in immersive VR called XYN:

Reading list: Mashable, CNET and Techradar have carried the best round-ups of the event, and you can follow subsequent updates on the The Verge liveblog.

The carbon ‘timebomb’ inside your gadgets

The context: The term ‘technosphere’ refers to all the structures humans have built for our survival—“from houses, factories and farms to computer systems, smartphones and CDs, to the waste in landfills and spoil heaps.” A 2016 study pegged its weight at a staggering 30 trillion tonnes.

What happened now: A new study has found that the technosphere stores a staggering amount of carbon—and we add 400 million tons every year. This carbon doesn’t stay trapped forever. A third of it is incinerated, spewing emissions back into the air. Another third ends up in landfills, leaking methane and chemicals—and less than a third is recycled. And it’s a lot of carbon:

Based on the average lifetime of buildings, infrastructure, and other products, the researchers estimate that 3.7 billion tons of fossil carbon were disposed of during that period (1995 to 2019)—1.2 tons were brought to landfills, 1.2 tons were incinerated, 1.1 tons were recycled, and the remainder ended up as litter.

As lead author Klaus Hubacek puts it:

It’s like a ticking time bomb. We draw lots of fossil resources out of the ground and put them in the technosphere and then leave them sitting around. But what happens after an object’s lifetime?

Gizmodo has more details on the study.

what caught our eye

business & tech

Microsoft will invest $3 billion to enhance cloud and AI capabilities in India and train 10 million people in AI by 2030.
Almost half of the total $209 billion raised by US startups last year went to AI companies—the highest portion on record.
Google is staffing its DeepMind lab to develop AI models simulating the physical world, led by Tim Brooks, a former OpenAI video generator lead.
The US added Tencent and CATL to a list of Chinese firms linked to the military, warning of potential sanctions.

sports & entertainment

Indian Express has a good reported read on the increasing pressure on cricket stars to play domestic cricket
The iconic ‘Breaking Bad’ home in Albuquerque is now on the market for $4 million.
Allu Arjun visited a nine-year-old boy in the hospital, recovering from injuries caused by a stampede at the actor's movie premiere, which tragically also claimed the boy's mother’s life.
Ram Gopal Varma's 1998 cult classic ‘Satya’ will be re-released in theaters on January 17, bringing back the iconic Bhiku Mhatre character that catapulted Manoj Bajpayee to stardom.
Nayanthara faces another legal notice over footage use in her Netflix documentary, but the makers of Chandramukhi deny sending it.
The 2025 Oscars race has begun with several Indian films, including ‘Kanguva’, ‘Aadujeevitham’, ‘Girls Will Be Girls’, ‘All We Imagine As Light’, and ‘Putul’, making the list of eligible contenders for Best Picture.

as for the rest

The Supreme Court granted ‘godman’ Asaram Bapu bail on medical grounds in the 2013 rape case.
India's GDP growth for FY25 is projected at a four-year low of 6.4%, below both the RBI and government's estimates, due to weak industrial and investment growth.
Delhi's single-phase assembly election will be held on February 5, with vote counting scheduled for February 8.
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands administration has issued voter IDs to 19 members of the island’s previously reclusive Jarawa community.
Two Gujarat companies have been charged in the U.S. for distributing and importing chemicals used to manufacture fentanyl.
Bangladesh revokes ex-PM Sheikh Hasina’s passport over crimes tied to the infamous deadly uprising and hidden detentions and disappearances.
In yet another sign of its sinking geopolitical fortunes, Iran has pulled most of its forces out of Syria.
New York Times has a good read on how the widening of the Panama canal has also widened the connection between the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean—and their fish!
Scientists suggest Pluto and its moon formed through a "kiss and capture" mechanism—briefly colliding and then separating into a binary pair.

Four things to see

One: Indoor golf is no longer for amateurs. Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy are rolling out a 15-week simulator golf league called TGL. A-list talent will compete in a high-tech stadium—whacking balls at giant screens with shape-shifting greens. Yes, there will be live audiences. It will debut on ESPN with six teams and a unique format: two-hour matches with 15 holes. Sports Illustrated has lots more on the league. Check out the big-ass simulator below.

Two: A 32-page issue of Charlie Hebdo marked the 10th year anniversary of the jihadist gun-attack that killed most of its editorial staff. The cover says “Indestructible!”—and it includes 40 winning entries in a cartoon competition on the theme of "Laughing at God". One of them is a very dark and very meta joke: “the image of a cartoonist asking himself: ‘Is it okay to draw a picture of a man drawing a picture of a man drawing a picture of Muhammed?’” (BBC News)

Three: The Hormometer is a stick test that uses saliva to measure your—duh!—hormone levels, specifically cortisol and progesterone levels. It uses the data to map stress, sleep, athletic performance, and fertility. And yes, it looks exactly like a pregnancy test stick! (The Verge)

Four: The teaser for the much-anticipated season 2 of ‘Last of Us’ is here! Kaitlyn Dever and Jeffrey Wright join Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey as new cast members. The new season drops in April—but we don’t know the exact date. (ScreenRant)

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