The Download: counting China’s mpox cases, and Meta has blocked news in Canada
1 Meta has started blocking news in Canada
Publishers have branded the decision an abuse of power. (The Verge)
+ And the US could be next. (Vox)
+ The news business is in a state of flux right now. (NY Mag $)
2 The US is set to give South Korea billions in chip subsidies
And China’s not happy about it. (FT $)
+ Relations between South and North Korea are at a new low. (Economist $)
3 Kenya has suspended Worldcoin from operating there
Its authorities are probing whether it’s safe—or legal. (Reuters)
+ How Worldcoin recruited its first half a million test users. (MIT Technology Review)
4 Ukraine is hitting Russians with 3D-printed bombs
They’re lightweight, cheap, and deadly. (Economist $)
+ Mass-market military drones have changed the way wars are fought. (MIT Technology Review)
5 China is still trading billions of dollars’ worth of crypto
Despite it being illegal there since 2021. (WSJ $)
+ The country is cracking down on young people spending time online again. (Bloomberg $)
+ Why China kicked out the crypto miners. (MIT Technology Review)
6 Amazon’s grocery business is struggling
Turns out bricks and mortar stores aren’t so easy to run after all. (WP $)
+ So the company’s growing its health services instead. (Bloomberg $)
7 The FDA could approve the first pill for postpartum depression
It’s much faster-acting than current antidepressants. (Wired $)
+ Reproductive health misinformation has flourished on Meta’s platforms. (Slate $)
8 NASA has regained contact with Voyager 2
After a week in the dark, the 46-year old spacecraft is back in business. (New Scientist $)
9 A YouTube sleuth became caught up in their own true crime investigation
But our appetite for grisly drama remains unabated. (New Yorker $)
+ YouTube is benefiting off the back of the Hollywood labor strikes. (The Information $)
