Facebook targets 30,000 fake accounts in France - CNN

Facebook targets 30,000 fake accounts in France

By Ivana Kottasova April 14, 2017: 3:18 PM ET

Facebook has cracked down on 30,000 fake accounts in France ahead of the country's pivotal presidential election. Facebook said the accounts were spreading fake news stories, spam, misinformation or other deceptive content. 

"Our priority, of course, is to remove the accounts with the largest footprint, with a high amount of activity and a broad reach," Facebook security manager Shabnam Shaik said in a blog post.

The social media giantacknowledged, however, that the purge will not remove all accounts that are spreading fake news. "We know we have to keep getting better," said Shaik.

"These accounts were targeted because they are fake. Full stop," a Facebook spokesman told CNNTech. He said that taking down fake accounts helps prevent hoaxes, spam, political trolling and fake news.

"We routinely focus on these types of improvements. It's an ongoing effort and challenge," he said. 

The spread of fake news has raised concerns in France ahead of the country's national elections. The first round of the voting, scheduled for April 23, will feature candidates including far right National Front leader Marine Le Pen.

Le Pen is expected to perform well enough to earn a place in a runoff scheduled for May 7. 

Facebook on Thursday also took out newspaper ads with tips for spotting fake news in major publications in France and Germany. 

Related: Europe's lost generation: Young, educated and unemployed

The crackdown by Facebook (FB, Tech30) represents a major shift in policy from only a few months ago, when the role of fake news in electoral politics came under scrutiny following Donald Trump's surprise victory.

Immediately following the vote, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said his company was not responsible for influencing people's votes.

"Personally, I think the idea that fake news on Facebook -- of which it's a small amount of content -- influenced the election in any way is a pretty crazy idea," he said.

Related: Facebook, Twitter face fines up to $53 million over hate speech

But public pressure has forced Facebook and other social media companies to rethink their role in the public debate, and many have implemented measures in recent months designed to discourage the spread of fake news. 

Facebook recently began warning users that certain stories have been "disputed by fact checkers." It has also made it easier for users to report fake news and sought to undercut the business model used by publishers of fake news. 

In France, media newsrooms have partnered with Google News Lab and the nonprofit First Draft News to identify and quickly debunk hoaxes and false claims as part of a program called "CrossCheck."

The initiative has debunked dozens of fake news and myths since it started in early February. 

Germany, which will also hold national elections later this year, has also cracked down on fake news. 

The German cabinet approved a plan earlier this month to start fining social media companies as much as as €50 million ($53 million) if they fail to quickly remove posts that breach German law.

CNNTech's Kaya Yurieff contributed to this story.

Erdogan’s new powers will spark fears of creeping authoritarianism - Independent

Erdogan’s new powers will spark fears of creeping authoritarianism 

It was never going to be simple

• Chris Stevenson 
• Monday 17 April 2017 00:23 BST

It was never going to be simple.

Turkey faces a complicated web of problems – a rekindled war between the state and Kurdish militants, repeated attacks claimed by Isis stemming from the country’s role in the Syria conflict, and the state of emergency that is still in place following the failed coup against the government last year.

However, for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the unstable nature of his country has enabled him to project the strongman image that may just allow him to extend his powers.

Those sweeping new powers will turn the largely ceremonial presidential role he now holds into a nearly all-powerful position as head of government, head of state and head of the ruling party.

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The presidential position was created to be neutral, with the holder of the post expected to cut all ties with their party. In appearance at least, Mr Erdogan did that in 2014, when he became the first person directly elected into the position instead of being chosen by parliament. That ended 11 years as Prime Minister and head of the Justice and Development party (AKP) he helped found.

However, the former prime minister said he wanted to be an “active” president, something that has been on his mind for a while, and as for giving up on the leadership of the AKP, he pulls too many strings for that to be anything more than window dressing.

The constitutional change for an executive presidency had been mooted by his ruling AKP back in 2011, with Prime Minister Erdogan being unable to run for a fourth term – and its adoption now would open the door for Mr Erdogan to rule possibly until 2029.

To his supporters Mr Erdogan is a man who has given a voice to the working and middle-class religious Turks who had felt marginalised by the country's Western-leaning elite. He was seen to have ushered in a period of stability and economic prosperity, building roads, schools, hospitals and airports in previously neglected areas.

Others see him as pushing too much of a religious line in a nation that was built on the secular aspirations of Turkey’s modern founder Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.

The constitutional amendments would give the president the power to appoint ministers and government officials, to name half the members of the country's highest judicial body, to issue decrees and to declare states of emergency. 

That raises the alarm for many. Mr Erdogan has long-faced accusations by critics of using the judiciary to silence opponents, and journalists groups have often spoken out of the stifling of their freedom to report – with many more civilians worried about the implications of a move to ‘one-man rule’.  Hence the close result in the referendum.

Despite what many citizens see as Mr Erdogan’s commitment to the safety of his country’s citizens from the multitude of threats they currently face, as he has become more powerful, his critics say he has become increasingly authoritarian.

His election campaigns have been forceful and bitter, with Mr Erdogan lashing out at his opponents, accusing them of endangering the country and even supporting terrorism – either in Syria or the insurgency of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

After surviving the attempted coup in July he launched a wide-ranging crackdown on followers of his former ally, Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen. 

Mr Erdogan and his government blame Mr Gulen, who lives in the United States, and his supporters for plotting the coup, an allegation the cleric has denied. 

The crackdown saw roughly 100,000 people lose their jobs, including judges, lawyers, teachers, journalists, military officers and police. More than 40,000 people have been arrested and jailed, including pro-Kurdish MPs. 

Hundreds of non-governmental organisations and news outlets have been shut down, as have many businesses, from schools to fertility clinics.

It is fears over Mr Erdogan having free rein to push further with such purges that may be one of the reasons opposition parties are appealing the result – the will of the people is fine, but there must be no hint of any foul play.

Outside of Turkey, the EU will likely be worried, with several nations, including Germany and the Netherlands having clashed with Mr Erdogan over campaigning for Sunday’s referendum. There is also the small case of potential talks over Turkey’s ascension to the EU, stopped over Mr Erdogan’s apparent support for the return of the death penalty in the wake of the attempted coup. A theme that Mr Erdogan has returned to in remarks following the referendum vote results.

The EU also needs Turkey’s help in dealing with the refugee crisis in the bloc, and stemming the flow of new arrivals – a thorny issue that will not disappear. The potential new reality in Turkey will certainly create difficulties, with decisions potentially based on the whim on the President.

But as supporters of Mr Erdogan pour onto the streets of Istanbul and other cities, in a similar way to the night of the attempted coup which helped to stifle the insurrection  – it appears Turkey’s President will emerge the victor, not matter how many appeals come in over the result of the referendum vote – just as he has many times before.

US claims success in test drop of upgraded nuclear weapon - Independent

US claims success in test drop of upgraded nuclear weapon

'It's great to see things all come together: the weapon design, the test preparation, the aircraft, the range and the people who made it happen' said the director of Sandia's Stockpile Resource Center

• Susan Montoya Bryan 
• Saturday 15 April 2017 12:11 BST

Scientists at Sandia National Laboratories are claiming success with the first in a new series of test flights involving an upgraded version of a nuclear bomb that has been part of the US arsenal for decades.

Work on the B61-12 has been ongoing for years, and government officials say the latest tests using mock versions of the bomb will be vital to the refurbishing effort.

An F-16 from Nellis Air Force Base dropped an inert version of the weapon over the Nevada desert last month to test its non-nuclear functions as well as the plane's ability to carry the bomb.

With a mere puff of dust, the mock bomb landed in a dry lake bed at the Tonopah Test Range.

"It's great to see things all come together: the weapon design, the test preparation, the aircraft, the range and the people who made it happen," Anna Schauer, director of Sandia's Stockpile Resource Center, said in a statement.

Scientists are planning to spend months analysing the data gathered from the test.

Tracking telescopes, remote cameras and other instruments at the test range recorded information on the reliability, accuracy and performance of the weapon under conditions that were meant to replicate real-world operations.

More test flights are planned over the next three years, and officials with the National Nuclear Security Administration said the first production unit of the B61-12 — developed under what is called the Life Extension Program — is scheduled to be completed in 2020.

The B61-12 consolidates and replaces four older versions in the nation's nuclear arsenal. It's outfitted with a new tail-kit assembly and other hardware.

The weapon is much different than the non-nuclear "mother of all bombs" used in Afghanistan this week to attack an Islamic State stronghold near the Pakistani border. The Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb, or MOAB, isn't designed to penetrate like the B61-12 but rather create a large blast over the surface and it has to be ferried by a much larger plane given its size.