@cryptoranman on Twitter: Over 51% of Ethereum validators are OFAC compliant. Ethereum is pretty much under the control of the US government…

Etherium is under the control of the US government 

@TexasrunnerDFW shared a super host comment from Airbnb’s internal chat: Has anyone seen a huge decrease in bookings over the past 3-4 months? We went from at least 50% occupancy to 0% in the literally the last 2 months…

Airbnb is dying

The Intercept this week published an extensive report purportedly document DHS plans to coordinate directly with social media platforms to moderate posts that might undermine the US government, for example, attempts to manipulate elections.

The Department of Homeland Security is policing disinformation on social media

Sam Bankman-Fried apparently lost 94% of his wealth with the wipe out of FTX but still has about $1B left over. This likely won’t affect his day-to-day living expense budget at all. 

If you have $16B in personal net worth and it goes to $1B in a couple days it doesn’t really change your life that much

From Axios’s Dan Primack:

Over the weekend crypto exchange Binance, one of FTX's original investors, announced via Twitter that it would sell its holdings in FTT, a token used for trading on FTX, on the open market.

Alameda Research, a crypto trading firm also founded by FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, said it would defend FTT at $22. But other investors quickly lost confidence — perhaps wondering if Binance knew something they didn't — with FTT soon breaking below $22 and then entering a tailspin. 

One theory: Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) recognized that his tweets could cause the crypto equivalent of a bank run, allowing him to either buy FTX on the cheap or just let it bleed out. Either way, a major rival vanquished. Or, as one source put it to me yesterday, this was "an assassination by Twitter."


FTX debacle was “assassination by Twitter”

The New York Times published an article citing findings from the Center for Countering Digital Hate, the Anti-Defamation League and other groups that study online platforms that show a sharp increase in slurs on Twitter since Elon Musk took over the company, adding these researchers "had never seen such a sharp increase in hate speech, problematic content and formerly banned accounts in such a short period on a mainstream social media platform."

Hate speech on Twitter has jumped since Musk took over

Chainalysis, a blockchain research company, says it has come up with a method for measuring the total wallet value of the crypto market. Looking at the data they say real investor losses at FTX were about $9B compared to $20.5B related to the depegging of Terra's UST token and $33B with the collapse of Celsius and Three Arrows Capital. 

FTX investor losses much less than other crypto crises

Sam Bankman-Fried, disgraced CEO of the FTX crypto exchange, has been arrested, denied bail and remanded to custody in Fox Hill Prison in the Bahamas while awaiting extradition to the U.S. to face myriad criminal fraud and money laundering charges. Some Twitter posts paint a dire portrait of the facility, with @AutismCapital declaring it one of the top 5 worst prisons in the world.

Bahama’s Fox Hill Prison, where SBF will be held without bail, is “one of the top 5 worst… in the world”

“For most people, for 99% of people today, asking them to hold crypto on their own, they will end up losing it,” Changpeng Zhao (aka CZ), CEO of crypto exchange Binance, said Wednesday in a Twitter Space. 

 People are more likely to lose crypto by holding it in a cold wallet than by putting it on a centralized exchange

Pres. Joe Biden claims billionaires pay 3% taxes on average

Billionaires Pay 3% Taxes on Average

Avi Loeb, an astronomer at Harvard University, and Sean M. Kirkpatrick, director of the Pentagon’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) — established in July 2022 by the Department of Defense (DoD) to detect and study “objects of interest” — released a draft report, Physical Constraints on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena, on March 7 saying it is feasible an extraterrestrial spaceship could be in our galactic neighborhood, exploring the region.

An Alien Mothership Is In Our Solar System

A video has gone viral showing the leader of Tibetan Buddhism asking a young boy to suck his tongue.

The Dalai Lama Is a Pedophile

Justice Clarence Thomas has frequently traveled with and accepted the hospitality of long-time friend and Dallas billionaire businessman Harlan Crow without making any formal disclosures. 

Justice Clarence Thomas Broke No Rules Traveling With a Billionaire Buddy

Elon Musk's Twitter began "throttling" Substack links in response to the platform's launch a new micro-blogging tool. Tweets with links to Substack became impossible to "like" or re-tweet as a result for a period of time last week. 

Twitter 'Throttled' Substack in Retaliation for Launching a Similar 'Notes' Service

A ruling by a federal judge could lead to the FDA's approval of the drug mifepristone for use in abortions being revoked. Statements by the New York City Health department stated that the ruling would make the drug illegal within a week. However, the legal status of the drug for abortion does not necessarily change automatically as a result of the ruling and it remains legal as a prescription for other medical conditions. The NYC government's statement has since been deleted from social media. 

 A federal judge in Texas made an abortion drug illegal when he ruled against its approval by the FDA

In a political speech, Ron DeSantis claims the Fed is planning to launch a digital currency to monitor US citizens and control their purchasing abilities based an an “ESG agenda”: environmental, social, and governance goals.

The Fed is planning to launch a digital currency to spy on US citizens and control their purchasing abilities based an an “ESG agenda”.

The concern about AI reaching singularity is that it may lead to the creation of superintelligent machines that surpass human intelligence, making it difficult for humans to comprehend or control their actions. This could result in unintended consequences or even intentional harm to humans, as these machines may develop their own goals and act on them without human supervision. 

We need to be concerned about AI reaching singluarity and harming or destroying humanity.

In a since-deleted tweet, Dr. Kelly Victory claims hospitals hyper-oxygenate air in operating rooms to offset CO2 entrapment from surgical masks.

Hospitals hyper-oxygenate air in operating rooms to offset CO2 entrapment from surgical masks.

Jack Posobiec claims on Twitter that "3 million people just heard that Joe Biden threw a guy in jail for posting memes" in reference to Douglass Mackey aka Ricky Vaughn who was charged with interfering in the 2016 election over posting disinformation claiming that Democratic voters could cast votes for Hillary Clinton via text. 

"Joe Biden threw a guy in jail for posting memes"

Former Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, appears to have endorsed Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in a video posted on social media.

Hillary Clinton endorses Ron DeSantis in a video posted on social media.

The rats got really bad in the post-Covid era...  Now a new job has been created. 

New York City appointed an official "Rat Czar"

On Twitter, Tom Goodwin claims the Adderall shortage was caused by tech startups using telehealth brands to push amphetamines on kids.


Tech startups caused the Adderall shortage by promoting amphetamines to children.

Historical accounts describe a weapon that fires a dart of shellfish toxin causing a rapid death by heart attack. CIA Director William Colby testified before Congress and displayed and answered questions about the gun, but the gun hasn't been seen since and it is unknown if the weapon was ever used or if it worked as was claimed.

The CIA has a heart attack gun that can be used to silently assassinate someone from a distance.

For decades now, sodas and other beverages have made use of a variety of artificial sweeteners as a way to offer a hit of fizziness or caffeine or both without all the calories of regular super sweet drinks. Along the way, scientific studies have provided conflicting results about the potential dangers -- including cancer risk -- associated with a diet soda drinking habit. Plenty of sweeteners remain approved for legal use and the general consensus is that the health risk is low. However, it's not hard to find health professionals and others who caution against making a habit of drinking diet sodas. 

True or False: Diet Soda Causes Cancer

Mohammad Emad Mostaque is the founder and CEO of Stability AI, one of the companies behind Stable Diffusion claims 41% of all code on GitHub is now AI generated.

41% of all code on GitHub is now AI generated

Elon Musk's destructive actions against the Twitter brand, such as replacing the Twitter bird logo with the doge meme image and covering up the W on the Twitter sign, suggest that he plans to rename the website to the X app.

Elon Musk's destructive actions against the Twitter brand is because he plans to kill the brand and launch the X app in its place.

Discussion online and on social media talks about the failure of Elon Musk's massive Starship rocket, which exploded over the Gulf of Mexico Thursday morning, four minutes after launching from Starbase, Texas. SpaceX aimed to send Starship on a short trip to orbit and then splash down off the coast of Hawaii. Musk had long cautioned that the test flight might end in an explosion.

The First Launch of the SpaceX Starship Failed

Nicaragua president Daniel Ortega made the claim in recent remarks. 

World War III is already underway

According to the New York times, there are seventeen million flies for every human being on earth. 

True or false: There are 17,000,000 flies for every person on Earth

The Fed is now talking mild recession later this year, but others have been saying we are already in one for years, including Liz Ann Sonders from Schwab.

We Are Already In A Recession

An African-American woman shopping at a Target in Ohio reportedly asked for $1,000 worth of groceries as "reparations" and then had a confrontation with employees that escalated to a blow thrown.

Target Security Guard Punches Woman In Face After She Asks for Reparations

Scott Adams flagged it on Twitter as a question: “Tell me this isn’t true.”

LinkedIn collects demographic information about accounts and has an option to use it for “diversity in recruiting,” which could be interpreted as removing accounts identifying as white men from candidate search results. See second link.

LinkedIn added a feature to filter out white men from job searches

The former President of the United States has said he will be indicted next week by the Manhattan District Attorney's office over hush money paid to adult film star Stormy Daniels.

Donald Trump Will Be Arrested on Tuesday

Those printed dates on the bottom of your food can or package have don't mean your can of beans or container of yogurt is going to turn lethal if you eat it after it expires.  It's more likely to do with brand preservation and a deterioration of taste or quality. 

True or False: Food Expiration Labels are Not Real

Reports circulated Tuesday that a Japanese lander crashed during an attempted soft landing in the surface of the moon. The mission was actually carried out be a commercial company in Japan rather than the Japanese Space Agency (JAXA). Japanese company iSpace had hoped to land its Hakuto moon lander carrying a UAE-built rover softly, but the company's CEO said it seems a destructive impact was the more likely outcome. 

Japan just crashed a spacecraft into the moon

Former College Football Running back and CBS Analyst Emory Hunt claims that coaches push young football players who are white to play certain positions based on biases around their race over their athletic talents. 

Youth Football Coaches Put Players in Certain Positions Based on Race

Twitter user @TheRabbitHole84 cites a Gallup poll and claims about 1 in 5 people born between 1997 - 2004 are LGBT. Other users suggest additional context is needed and that the majority of those people claim to be bisexual for clout among their friends and are not actually bisexual.

True or False: About 20% of Generation Z identify as LGBT

@ccarella on Warpcast replying to @giu: “Without looking, who do you think it is the richest person in the world?” “Xi Jinping but it won’t show up in any lists”

Xi Jinping is the wealthiest person in the world

Research from the 1990s showing a J-curve correlation between drinking and heart disease (in which rates are lower among light drinkers compared to abstainers before the curve shoots up for heavier drinkers) is getting a fresh look, as new studies come out suggesting drinking any alcohol at all is bad for you.

True or false: Drinking in moderation is good for you

According to Twitter users citing a report from dappGambl, nearly a third of info on "Cryptok" is misleading.

30% of Crypto News on TikTok is Actually Misinformation.

The US dollar's status as the global reserve currency is eroding and quickly, according to a number of analysts and other observers. Some conspiracy theories have suggested coordinated movements of a majority of governments worldwide to simultaneously divest from the dollar in an effort to collapse the US economy. Such claims have yet to be borne out and would seem to be practically impossible, however a controversy continues to brew around whether or not de-dollarization is currently happening and its pace.

De-Dollarization Is Happening at a ‘Stunning’ Pace

@bramcohen:

The output of the program is pathetic. The vast majority of money laundering is never caught, and of the parts which are caught KYC is only a tiny piece, and of those it would usually be easy to track down who the holder of a bank account was with normal investigation techniques

KYC does not work 

According to Screen Rant, George Lucas's original name for the Jedi Master was "Buffy."

"Lucas began writing a sequel to Star Wars shortly after its release in 1977. He later hired Leigh Brackett as one of the screenwriters for the sequel who quickly got to work. In her first draft, she changed the name Buffy to "Minch Yoda" since she felt it better fit the conception of the character. Brackett then dropped "Minch" and shortened it to "Yoda" in the drafts that followed."

True or False: Star Wars Yoda was originally going to be named "Buffy"

Larry Cook claims on Twitter that eczema is a common side effect from being poisoned by vaccines, including from mercury in the shots.

Eczema is caused by poisons from vaccines

The Canadian Museum for Human Rights on May 27 tweeted "It has been two years since the remains of 215 children were discovered in unmarked graves at the Kamloops Indian Residential School." A community note attached to the tweet claims no bodies have yet been found, just disturbances consistent with the presence of graves, and excavations that could reveal the truth have been blocked. The discovery raised awareness of the hidden history of violence against indigenous people in Canada.

200 or more children were buried in unmarked graves near an Indian Residential School near Kamloops, BC

Reuters is reporting Binance commingled customer funds with company revenue, citing three anonymous sources with knowledge of the matter and internal banking records from Feb. 10, 2021 allegedly showing the infraction. Binance denies it, arguing the customer funds sent to the company's revenue accounts were not deposits but purchases of BUSD, a USD-backed stablecoin, and therefore corporate revenue.

Crypto giant Binance commingled customer funds and company revenue

Factland is a new decentralized community using the wisdom of crowds and tokenized incentives to increase the scale and trust of fact checking using blockchain technology.

Factland can fix fact checking

Ryan Cooper of Prospect.org claims Tesla's self driving vehicles are "an order of magnitude more deadly than human drivers."

Tesla has a graphic on their website that claims there are fewer accidents using Tesla's self driving than with vehicles with no autopilot capabilities.

Self driving Teslas are much more dangerous than human drivers

The band are all Americans - brothers Mike and Roger Fisher and sisters Nancy and Ann Wilson. It started Seattle with a band called White Heart. But Mike went to Canada to avoid the Vietnam draft so they launched as Heart with their debut album Dreamboat Annie in Vancouver, BC. 

Heart is not a Canadian band

@basxxo on Twitter: "me researching the blacklisted google term “LEAK EUROPA” in which NASA tried to silence the fact that living creatures have been found on one of Jupiter’s moons, Europa."

NASA tried to silence the fact that living creatures have been found on one of Jupiter’s moons, Europa

So says Ukraine. Russia points the finger the other way. Among others, Andreas Kluth, a Bloomberg opinion writer, takes Ukraine's side (sub required).

Russia destroyed the Kakhovka dam in Kherson

Sukbae Lee, Ji-Hoon Kim and Young-Wan Kwon of the
Quantum Energy Research Centre in Seoul, Korea
have co-authored a paper in which they claim to have synthesized a room temperature ambient pressure superconductor by doping a lead-phosphate compound with copper. If their results can be replicated this would be a huge discovery with massive implications for clean energy, quantum computing and myriad other applications.

South Korean scientists have produced the world's first room temperature ambient pressure superconductor (LK-99)

scale AI is a fraudulent company and will be exposed as such one day

Michael Grahn, Danske Bank’s chief economist in Sweden, laid the blame for an unexpected bump in the country's CPI in June to Beyoncé's sold out stadium concerts in Stockholm in May.

"Beyonce's start of her world tour in Sweden seems to have colored May inflation, how much is uncertain, but probably 0.2 p.p. of the 0.3 p.p. that hotels/restaurants added," Grahn told Politico.

He was also quoted in the Financial Times, calling the event unprecedented and "quite astonishing."

Beyoncé overheated the Swedish economy during her world tour

According to Kari Lake, 143 public school districts in the US are being secretly funded by China. An article on The National Review website references a report by the group Parents Defending Education claims US public school teachers are being trained and funded by China. The article also suggest Chinese propaganda is being taught in these schools.

The Communist Party of China is secretly funding 143 Public School Districts in the U.S.

I'm dropping in a test

On the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, aka X, a popular account claims that over-thinking is one of the top causes of depression. I'd like to challenge this claim to see if there is scientific evidence to back this up. I'm also wondering if depression instead causes people to get into a cycle of over-thinking, a sort of psychological chicken and egg problem.

Over-thinking is one of the top causes of depression.

LAMag: According to Chris Stephens, the production studio took to the trimmers and pruned trees on sidewalks outside of its Los Angeles studios today (July 17), when the temperature was north of 90 degrees. Intentionally or not, the trees happen to run along the sidewalk where picketers are striking.

“Quick shoutout to the good people at @UniversalPics for trimming the trees that gave our picket line shade right before a 90+ degree week,” Stephens wrote.

Universal Pictures trimmed trees to deny shade to striking writers on the picket line

A viral photo of a bear standing fully upright on its hind legs has led to speculation that it can't be a real bear but must be a person in a bear costume.

Sun Bears in Hangzhou Zoo in China Are Actually People Dressed in Costumes 

On the platform formerly known as Twitter, Pudgy Penguins bigwig Luca Netz asks if the conversation about cryptocurrencies and NFTs has dropped off or if it is a change in the algorithm. 

@CozomoMedici (aka Snoop Dogg) claims his engagement is greatly diminished and posited whether it was due to a PFP change. 

@NFT_God did an analysis of the kinds of content can kill engagement on Twitter/X based on what content categories are likely to be shadowbanned. In the code, it's called "Freedom of Speech, Not Reach."

Crypto/NFT Twitter (X) is dead

n the 50th anniversary of the coup, many publications present a historical narrative of US intervention as the key cause of the overthrow of the government, for example NPR (linked).

The US was responsible for the coup in Chile 50 years ago that deposed Salvatore Allende

On the anniversary of 9/11 many people - such as @chrismartenson on X - are reposting conspiracy theories that videos of the building’s collapse are consistent with a controlled detonation and not the result of a fire that spread from building 1 360 feet away.

World Trade Center Building 7 Collapse Was an Inside Job

Elon Musk claims on Twitter that all of the monkeys chosen for research for his Neuralink testing have terminal illnesses and are close to death. Factually, he appears to be suggesting that the monkeys would die anyway from whichever terminal illness they have. Putting aside the lapse in logic (even though the terminal monkeys may die anyway, factually they could be killed sooner with Neuralink, making it the cause of death), the question is more about whether healthy animals have been killed in this testing.

In a December, 2022 article in the Guardian, Neuralink Corp is facing an investigation by the US government for potential violations of the Animal Welfare Act. At the time of that article, it was reported that over 1,500 animals had been killed while performing the research and testing.

According to the article, "Reuters identified four experiments involving 86 pigs and two monkeys that were marred in recent years by human errors. The mistakes weakened the experiments’ research value and required the tests to be repeated, leading to more animals being killed." The article did not say whether the animals were healthy before the experiments.

No monkey has died as a result of a Neuralink implant

A 47-year-old woman named Krista Kach died after being shot with bean bag rounds by NSW police during a siege in Newcastle last week. The police acting commissioner, David Hudson, said that the bean bag rounds penetrated her chest and hit her heart, causing her death. The use of bean bag rounds has been suspended while an investigation is conducted. Kach's family had previously advocated for her well-being with police before the shooting.

Promoted as a non-lethal weapon, bean bag rounds are in fact unsafe and should be banned

According to Scientific American, cats may be able to help heal human bones by purring:

"Cats purr during both inhalation and exhalation with a consistent pattern and frequency between 25 and 150 Hertz. Various investigators have shown that sound frequencies in this range can improve bone density and promote healing.

This association between the frequencies of cats' purrs and improved healing of bones and muscles may provide help for some humans."

I would like to know scientific studies or other research that supports this, or if it's not a factual claim.

True or False: A purring cat can help improve human bone density and promote healing.

In a video posted to Twitter and also on Heartland News, clips of Senator Ron Johnson are shown with him citing benefits of global warming:

“In terms of excess deaths, a warming globe is actually beneficial,” Johnson said to economist and global energy expert Michael Greenstone. “In my own state your study shows that we would have a reduction mortality of somewhere between 54-56 people per, I guess 100,000. Why wouldn’t we take comfort in that?”


Global warming is good because it will result in fewer cold related deaths in states like Wisconsin and Chicago

The @fact account on X/Twitter posted as fact that "Scientists usually omit left-handed people from tests because their brain works differently."

Asking ChatGPT if this is true, it replied: 
"No, it is not true that scientists usually omit left-handed people from tests because their brains work differently. Left-handed individuals are not typically excluded from scientific studies or tests. In fact, researchers generally aim to include a diverse range of participants in their studies to ensure that their findings are applicable to a broad population."

"While it is true that left-handed and right-handed individuals may exhibit some differences in brain structure and function, these differences are not considered a reason to exclude left-handed individuals from research. Instead, scientists often include handedness as a variable in their studies to better understand how it might relate to certain cognitive or neurological processes."

No sources have been cited, and I'd like to determine whether or not this is a real fact.

True or False: Scientists usually omit left-handed people from tests because their brain works differently

A viral video circulating on social media shows babies crying in cages, and claims that Hamas are their captors. 

Meidas Touch Network is reporting that the video is fake, however I still see many posts with this information on Twitter. 

Looking for more proof that either supports or refutes this claim or can explain more about the video source and context.

Viral video of babies being held in cages supposedly by Hamas

Claim by @ShaykhSulaiman X/Twitter Account: Israel has bombed the Greek Orthodox Church of Saint Porphyrius in Gaza. The church is the THIRD OLDEST CHRISTIAN temple in the WORLD.

Counterclaim: The official Facebook page of Saint Porphyrios Orthodox Church refutes this claim, stating that the church remains unharmed.

Israel has bombed the Greek Orthodox Church of Saint Porphyrius in Gaza

Fact Check: Is 4chan Coordinating a Campaign Using Bing's AI to Create Racist Images for Internet Dissemination?

According to 404Media, 4chan users are reportedly organizing a campaign to produce racist images using Bing's AI text-to-image generator. The campaign instructs users to manipulate freely available AI tools, including those with supposed strict moderation, to spread racist content across the internet. This raises concerns about the effectiveness of content filters on AI models and the ease with which they can be circumvented to generate offensive material.

4chan Uses Bing to Flood the Internet With Racist Images

Video of a massive explosion at the al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza has led to accusations that the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) are responsible and counter accusations that a Hamas missile misfired dropping debris on the hospital that set off a cache of munitions stored there under cover of civilian human shields.

An Israeli air strike has killed at least 500 Palestinians at the al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza

Historical texts from the 13th century suggest that when the moon was formed, it was primarily made of blue cheese. This claim is further supported by the blue hue observed during certain lunar phases. Scientists in the medieval period often speculated that cheese had mysterious properties, with blue cheese specifically having an affinity for gravitational forces.

Did you know the moon is actually made of blue cheese?

A Twitter user made the following statement and I just want to know if it is true. "CCIP will have its own token and Link will stay for Oracle if I'm informed correctly, they are using CCIP test tokens on testnet too. So you hope for an airdrop for Link holders?

Will chain link CCIP have its own token? 

The article discussing the potential dangers of human-robot collaboration, as published by the Technical University of Berlin in the journal Frontiers in Robotics and AI, warrants a critical perspective that necessitates further fact-checking. 

While the study raises intriguing questions about the impact of robotic assistance on human productivity, the reliance on a small sample size of only 42 participants warrants caution in drawing far-reaching conclusions. With such a limited number of subjects involved, it becomes imperative to critically assess the generalizability of the findings to broader industrial or professional settings, where the dynamics of human-robot collaboration might significantly differ from those observed in controlled laboratory environments.

The call for fact-checking is underscored by the notion that the study's controlled laboratory setting does not faithfully replicate the complexities and intricacies of real-world applications. Real-world scenarios often involve dynamic environments, prolonged shifts, and multifaceted tasks, which can significantly influence human behavior and work dynamics. The need for a more comprehensive investigation, encompassing a diverse range of industries and a more representative sample size, becomes evident to validate the credibility and applicability of the study's conclusions beyond its immediate experimental context. Consequently, a thorough fact-checking process should aim to evaluate the external validity of the research findings and assess their implications in practical settings, where human-robot interactions are increasingly prevalent.

Robots and AI May Cause Humans to Become Dangerously Lazy

The British army's SAS unit has been accused of unlawful killings during its deployment in Afghanistan, with senior figures in Downing Street calling for the unit to have its "wings clipped" due to growing criticism of its behavior. An internal memo written by the head of Britain's military police in 2016 recorded a lack of sympathy for the SAS among Whitehall officials and mentioned the possibility of arrests and prosecutions.

The British army's SAS unit has committed unlawful killings during its deployment in Afghanistan

"Cryptocurrency Feeds Hamas’s Terrorism". So reads the title of an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday penned by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who joined 100 U.S. lawmakers this week in a signed letter to Pres. Joe Biden demanding answers to how his administration plans to deal with the problem. 

Cryptocurrency is a significant source of funding for terrorists

In a Sept 26 press release, Target announced store closures in New York City, the San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle and Portland citing theft and employee safety due to “organized retail crime.” The claim was uncritically repeated in dozens of news reports and has led to a Congressional inquiry.

Target was forced to close 9 stores recently due to “organized retail crime”

A Business Insider report suggests Elon Musk plans to expand 'X' (formerly Twitter) into a dating service and digital bank. Citing unnamed sources from an internal video call, the report outlines Musk's intent to evolve the platform, with a subscription-based dating feature and banking operations despite unclear user demand. Insider notes Musk's broader strategy to monetize X services, as new users in selected regions face a nominal fee. The article mentions X's ongoing efforts to acquire state licenses for banking in the US, with licenses already secured in nine states. Forbes provides a contrasting view, predicting a decline in X's ad revenue, attributing it to various operational issues. An X spokesperson did not comment on the matter.

Request for Fact Check:

Could someone verify the recent claims made by unnamed sources in a Business Insider article about Elon Musk's ambitious plans for 'X'? The plans reportedly include adding dating and banking services to the platform, suggesting a significant shift in the platform's offerings and business model. The details remain vague, and there's been no official statement from 'X'. 

Elon Musk Declares ‘X’ Will Be a ‘Fully-Fledged’ Dating Site Within The Year

Various claims regarding California Senate Bill 154 are making the rounds on Twitter. Variations include suggesting an 18 year-old could molest an 8 year-old without consequence, or that California is allowing consensual sex between adults and minors.

The Los Angeles Times reports the bill allows judges more leeway to decide if the offender would be ordered to register as a sex offender in certain cases. Previously, the law automatically required registration in sex related crimes regardless of circumstance. 

For example: previous to SB 154, consensual sex between an 18 year-old and a 17.9 year-old could be prosecuted and the 18 year-old required to register as a sexual offender. Under SB 154, the judge is allowed to make a ruling determining whether the 18 year-old should be required to register as a sex offender.

California passed a bill allowing convicted pedophiles to not need to register as a sex offender

Public health officials in Bali have proposed dropping 200 million mosquito eggs infected with a genetically modified bacteria that renders males infertile, and appears to reduce the transmission of Dengue Fever. The action has provoked an outcry from opponents who worry potential risks outweigh the benefits. A petition circulating online 
 seeking to postpone the program lists the objections.

A planned Nov 17 mosquito abatement program in Bali is dangerous and should be postponed pending further review

This claim has been circulating on Twitter, seems pretty fishy/unlikely. Lots of people pointing out the total value of transactions while higher is far less at $11.6 trillion for ETH vs $10.4 for VISA in 2021.

Ethereum processed 4.5x times more transactions than Visa in 2021

According to a statement circulating on Twitter citing a scientific study, the claim is made that tennis adds 10 years to your life.

Evidence Evaluated:

- Study Involved: The Copenhagen City Heart Study (CCHS).
- Study Period: Participants were followed for up to 25 years, from October 10, 1991, to March 22, 2017.
- Participants: 8,577 individuals.
- Methodology: Prospective population study using detailed questionnaires about sports and physical activity participation. Analysis of all-cause mortality.
- Statistical Analysis: Cox proportional hazards models with full adjustment for confounding variables.

Findings:

Multivariable-adjusted life expectancy gains for various sports compared to sedentary individuals were as follows:
- Tennis: 9.7 years
- Badminton: 6.2 years
- Soccer: 4.7 years
- Cycling: 3.7 years
- Swimming: 3.4 years
- Jogging: 3.2 years
- Calisthenics: 3.1 years
- Health club activities: 1.5 years

Conclusion of the Study:

Different sports are associated with varying improvements in life expectancy.
The association between sports participation and increased life expectancy is observational, not definitively causal.
Sports involving more social interaction, like tennis, showed greater improvements in longevity, a finding that needs further exploration.

Playing tennis regularly adds 10 years to your life

A video on Right Side Broadcasting Network shows Donald Trump speaking at a political rally in Kissimmee, Florida claiming to have won all 50 states in the 2020 Presidential election.

Trump won all 50 states in the 2020 election

Source: a UN report: 'according to Israeli military orders in effect in the area, rain is the property of the Israeli authorities and thus Palestinians are forbidden from gathering rain water for domestic or agricultural needs.'

In Gaza, rainwater is the property of Israel and Palestinians are forbidden from gathering it.

An Amnesty investigation has found that the Israeli army indiscriminately, and therefore unlawfully, used white phosphorous in an attack on Dhayra in south Lebanon on 16 October. 

The Israeli army indiscriminately used white phosphorous in an attack on Dhayra in south Lebanon on 16 October

A headline on 404 Media claims "AI Images Detectors Are Being Used to Discredit the Real Horrors of War," and uses a photograph posted by Ben Shapiro as an example of AI image generation:

"A free AI image detector that's been covered in the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal is currently identifying a photograph of what Israel says is a burnt corpse of a baby killed in Hamas’s recent attack on Israel as being generated by AI."

"However, the image does not show any signs it was created by AI, according to Hany Farid, a professor at UC Berkeley and one of the world’s leading experts on digitally manipulated images."

The inference of the article on 404 Media is trying to say non-AI generated images are being downplayed as not being legitimate and that all of the violence isn't real.

However, another user on X/Twitter is showing the original photo was originally from a puppy rescue and has been modified to add the graphic burnt baby corpse. 

While there are a lot legitimately horrible violence and torture happening in Israel and Gaza right now, this particular image is a poor example to try to make a point about AI image generation and detection.


AI Images Detectors Are Being Used to Discredit the Real Horrors of War

A new Bigfoot video has surfaced, reportedly from a viewer who saw the creature while riding on a train in Colorado. The X/Twitter account OutThere Colorado (@outthereco) shows clear footage of an apelike creature walking and then sitting down. 

I want to know if this is real footage or if it's something generated by AI. It seems too good to be true.

Bigfoot has been found in Colorado

Chief of Police T. Koltiska of Sheridan, Wyoming was recently interviewed about policing techniques and took the occasion to "debunk" several supposed myths, including the efficacy of low level traffic stops. According to Koltiska, there is no such thing as a routine traffic stop as every stop – statistically speaking – is potentially solving a major crime. "Traffic enforcement is one of the primary ways to solve crime," he declared in a recorded interview with Sheridan Media, a local news outlet, adding the data proves it without citation.

Traffic patrols are NOT statistically one of the best techniques to prevent crime and apprehend suspects

Rapper Sexxy Red recently repeated the lie that Trump led the charge for COVID financial relief. While he took the credit, he actually opposed it initially. House Democrats, led by Nancy Pelosi, actually were mostly responsible

Trump did not make the stimulus checks happen 

The New York City school district and Health and Hospitals Corp. filed a lawsuit against Meta, Facebook, TikTok, SnapChat, Google and YouTube alleging “an unprecedented mental health crisis among its youth and serious disruption to the public health, fueled by Defendants’ creation and promotion of addictive and dangerous social media platforms.” The suit follows others filed by school districts in Rhode Island, Arizona and North Carolina.

Social media is causing a youth mental health crisis

Was rapper Killer Mike, real name Michael Render, arrested shortly after winning three Grammy awards on Feb. 4, 2024, due to his political statements made in a Feb. 2, 2024, interview on HBO's "Real Time with Bill Maher," where he hesitated to endorse U.S. President Joe Biden over former President Donald Trump for the 2024 election, as claimed by a user on X/Twitter?

Rapper Killer Mike was arrested for refusing to endorse Biden at the Grammys

From 2021 Office of National Intelligence report on UAPs: "Our analysis of the data supports the construct that if and when individual UAP incidents are resolved they will fall into one of five potential explanatory categories: airborne clutter, natural atmospheric phenomena, USG or U.S. industry developmental programs, foreign adversary systems, and a catchall 'other' bin."

www.dni.gov/files/ODNI/documents/assessments/Prelimary-Assessment-UAP-20210625.pdf

ODNI Report Found Causes of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Could Not Be Determined

From a 2018 statement: 

"DENVER — Over the past couple of years several news organizations have attributed a statistic to the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE) stating that 70 percent of lottery winners end up bankrupt in just a few years after receiving a large financial windfall. This statistic is not backed by research from NEFE, nor can it be confirmed by the organization. Frequent reporting—without validation from NEFE—has allowed this “stat” to survive online in perpetuity.

In 2001, NEFE conducted a think tank of experts from several industries including psychology, financial planning and other fields, to discuss life-changing events and the psychology around them. One topic discussed was the impact of financial windfalls on individuals, where it is believed that a participant stated the 70 percent statistic. This statement was made independently and without verification from NEFE.

While NEFE cannot provide a statistic regarding financial windfalls and bankruptcy at this time, there is a wealth of research-based financial data available in our research center.

Visit our Press Room for timely and unique story ideas, surveys and the latest on NEFE’s financial research projects."

NEFE, the source usually cited for this data, disclaims it

In a Tweet (quoted below), Musk said Twitter labeled the Substack IP address as untrusted due to data scraping, but also denied blocking Substack links on Twitter. It may be technically true that links were never blocked, but the effect of the untrusted label meant it was not possible to interact with Tweets with Substack links, e.g. Retweet, Like, Reply. 

"Substack links were never blocked. Matt’s statement is false. 

2. Substack was trying to download a massive portion of the Twitter database to bootstrap their Twitter clone, so their IP address is obviously untrusted.

3. Turns out Matt is/was an employee of Substack."

Musk Admits Twitter Labeled Substack's IP Address as 'Untrusted' 

This upgrade means people who have been unable to access their funds for years are now able to get it back. A lot are going to take the opportunity.

Stakers Have Been Locked for 2+ Years, Many Will Want Out

While the upgrade has been tested, you never know.

This Is a Complicated Upgrade, Anything Could Happen

Florida saw about 87,000 deaths from COVID from 2020 through Q1 2023, according to the NYT. You can see a spike start in the mortality data in 2020, going from 203K, 205K and 206K deaths in 2017, 2018 and 2019 then jumping to 239K and 261K in 2020 and 2021 according to Florida health records. That's a big jump but no where near 58% during the peak in 2021, more like 30%. (I couldn't find statewide deaths from all causes data for 2022 or 2023 but by then the number of deaths from COVID had come down significantly from peak.) So over the entire course of the outbreak the total percentage increase in deaths attributable to COVID are probably in the 20-25% range, or less than half what Newsom claims.

The numbers don't add up

Banks make billions of dollars charging overdraft and other service fees from their poorest customers. It is almost certain they will tack on higher and new fees to offset any increases in FDIC premiums. During COVID banks profited massively from overdraft fees charged to its most vulnerable customers. There is no way they won’t find a way to pass through the costs of the SVB bailout to these same people.

Banks will raise fees to pay for increased FDIC premiums 

Bellingcat's own Policy Plan 2019-2021 identifies the NED as a donor: p. 6  "Next to growing demand for
training, Bellingcat also attracted the attention (and financial support) from international funders and donors
(Open Society Foundations, National Endowment for Democracy, Adessium) to both expand its work in research
and training, and to professionalize its organisation."

According to Wikipedia, "The NED receives an annual appropriation from the U.S. budget (it is included in the chapter of the Department of State budget destined for the U.S. Agency for International Development-USAID) and is subject to congressional oversight even as a non-governmental organization." (Open Societies Foundation is a George Soros backed NGO, while Adessium is a Dutch foundation founded by billionaire Gerard van Vliet.)

Curiously the amount of funding Bellingcat has received from the NED has not been disclosed, neither by Bellingcat nor NED. While the NED maintains an extensive grants database, Bellingcat does not appear in its search results.

Declassified UK, an investigations site rated mostly factual and left leaning by Media Bias Factcheck, asked Bellingcat about it in 2021 but was never given a response.

So the US government effectively has been funneling money to Bellingcat, although exactly when it began and how much is not known.

 Bellingcat has received money from the U.S. government’s National Endowment for Democracy

So says this academic paper. So the audience has been co-opted but the top artists probably get paid better. People are pissed hip hop has strayed from rebellious roots of Black protest and social critique, not unlike most outlier cultures that ultimo main stream. So yeah, they ruined it by making it super commercial.

70% of hip-hop’s consumers are White, middle-class, suburban Americans 

The government is active in scrubbing stories that are critical of it or push narratives it disagrees with. One high profile example: In January the Indian government ordered YouTube to remove clips from a BBC documentary covering a riot in 2002 in Gujarat province in which over 1,000 people died. It sent a similar order to Twitter, telling that platform to remove any tweets that featured links to those clips and pointing to more than fifty specific posts that had done so.

Providing itself new powers to police the media points to its desire to be even more active in sanitizing news coverage to clamp down on valid criticisms.

India has no problem ordering publishers to take down information it doesn’t like

From chemistry.stackexchange.com: 

We can start by watching two videos showing how sugar and salt are dissolved in water: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwjvwoFHTbg and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14iv71ZTRTo. Particularly, the second video is fun to watch, where molecular dynamics simulation is used to show how water molecule solvates an ion at the corner of a NaCl particle…

You can first consider thermodynamics. Sugar crystals or granules put into water are the initial state and the sugar molecules dissolved in water forming a homogeneous solution are the final state. Since sugar can be dissolved in water, it must be true that the final state is more stable than the initial state, even at elevated temperature….

Then you need to also consider kinetics. [The] statement that "warm water would dissolve sugar with greater ease than cool water" has to do with kinetics, where water molecules have higher energies to move around to dissolve sugar molecules more quickly from the initial crystal/granule state into the final homogeneous solution state. More specifically, water molecules at the solid/liquid interface carry sugar molecules from the solid surface into the liquid phase, especially from the crystal corners and edges where the chemical potentials of sugar molecules are higher than at basal planes. Additionally, at a higher temperature, water molecules have higher diffusion coefficients to move from the liquid bulk to the solid/liquid interface to dissolve sugar molecules and then the dissolved sugar molecules also have higher diffusion coefficients to move from the solid/liquid interface to the liquid bulk. Generally speaking, at higher temperature molecules have higher energies and move faster to speed up the dissolution process.

Therefore, you need to consider both thermodynamics and kinetics to get a more comprehensive understanding of this problem. This is my simple answer with only some handwaving arguments, which may not be complete and others may provide corrections and/or additional explanations.

Test_02