Secret Facebook program reportedly let celebrities avoid moderation

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Facebook maintains a secret program to exempt athletes, politicians, and other high-profile users from its typical moderation process, according to The Wall Street Journal. The program is reportedly meant to stop “PR fires,” or bad press caused by pulling down photos, posts, and other content from high-profile users that should have been allowed to stay up. In reality, the program just lets these users break the rules in ways that would have gotten most people into trouble, according to the report.

The program is known as XCheck, or “cross check,” and it’s ostensibly meant to provide additional quality control around moderation when it comes to high-profile users, according to the Journal. Posts from users flagged for XCheck are supposed...

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Zoom is adding live translation services and coming to Facebook VR

Zoom plans to expand its support for automatic live transcriptions with the addition of live translation, and turn its whiteboard feature into a more of a fully-featured app, among several other changes the company announced at its Zoomtopia conference on Monday.

Automatic live transcriptions / closed captions in English were announced to be coming to free Zoom accounts in February 2021. Now Zoom says it “plans to provide real-time transcription for (as many as 30 additional languages) by the end of next year.” As part of that push, Zoom will also offer translation services for paid accounts, with the plan “to support real-time translation across as many as 12 languages by the end of next year.” Zoom wasn’t able to share details about...

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Litecoin price jumps 20 percent after hoax links the cryptocurrency and Walmart

Litecoin spiked Monday after a false press release claimed Walmart would accept the cryptocurrency | Photo Illustration by Avishek Das/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

The Litecoin cryptocurrency saw its price spike by as much as 20 percent on Monday after a fake press release claimed Walmart would begin accepting Litecoin as payment.

The press release posted to GlobeNewswire linked to a non-functioning website, and there was no evidence of any Securities and Exchange Commission filing, which would have been expected since Walmart is publicly traded. Walmart’s official newsroom never included the release, and the company typically uses Business Wire to distribute releases.

Several news outlets published reports based on the hoax press release, and a short time later Litecoin’s price jumped, along with those of other cryptocurrencies, before quickly falling back to the previous levels.

It’s not yet...

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On the cover of New York Magazine: the revolt of New York City’s delivery workers

In partnership with The Verge, _New York’_s cover story looks at how workers are fending for themselves

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Brydge’s excellent iPad Pro keyboards are $50 off at Best Buy

You can do more with your iPad Pro by connecting it to a wireless keyboard, especially one that features a trackpad to help you navigate more like a traditional laptop. Brydge’s Pro Plus wireless keyboards with a trackpad for the 11-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro are $50 off at Best Buy. Normally $170, the model built for the 12.9-inch iPad Pro is $120. Naturally, the smaller Brydge Pro Plus for the 11-inch iPad Pro costs a bit less. It’s normally $150, but you’ll pay $100 for it now.

The Brydge Pro Plus is one of a few options available that has a backlit keyboard and a trackpad built in. It connects to your tablet via Bluetooth and recharges via USB-C. Read our review.

Also seeing a steep discount today are Samsung’s Galaxy Buds...

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Hawkeye’s first trailer introduces the other Hawkeye and some Christmas hijinks

The first trailer for Disney Plus’ Hawkeye has arrived, giving a first look at the surprisingly whimsical Christmastime adventures of Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) — and his new successor, Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld), who also is running around New York City as a preternaturally skilled, purple-clad archer.

Hawkeye picks up with the titular character after the events of Avengers: Endgame, which saw Renner’s character flip out into a gothic edgelord style as the murderous vigilante Ronin after his family was wiped from existence in Thanos’ snap. But with things back to normal (and his family restored), Clint just wants to enjoy Christmas with his family: visit New York City, see the new Captain America musical, and enjoy fine dining.

...

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What to expect from Microsoft’s Surface event

Photo by Tom Warren / The Verge

Microsoft is holding a Surface event on September 22nd, where “the company will talk about devices and Windows 11.” With Windows 11 set to debut on October 5th, we’re expecting to see four new Surface devices showcasing all the latest software features in the new OS. It won’t be all Windows 11, though. Microsoft will also launch a second version of its Surface Duo Android-powered foldable device next week.

The Verge will be covering all of Microsoft’s Surface hardware announcements starting at 11AM ET / 8AM PT on September 22nd, and here’s what to expect.

Photo by Tom Warren / The Verge

We’re expecting a new Surface Pro for Windows 11.

Surface Pro 8

The Surface Pro is the main flagship Surface device, and one...

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BuddyPhones Cosmos Plus are full-featured travel headphones for kids

Bluetooth, noise cancellation, volume limiting — these kids’ headphones have it all

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How to sell or trade in your old iPhone

Photo by James Bareham / The Verge

If you’re an iPhone owner, it’s very possible you’re considering trading up to the latest model, which (when this article was last updated) is likely to be the iPhone 13. However, if your current iPhone is still in good shape, you may be wondering about what to do with it. Should you sell it? Trade it in? Give it away?

Well — any of the above. This guide will walk you through the process of preparing your old phone, and what your best alternatives are for disposing of it.

Are you transferring to a new iPhone?

If you’re transferring to a new iPhone — or even if you’re not — you probably want to back up your phone before you do anything else (see below). Backing up to iCloud is probably easiest — and it also gives you the option of...

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Toem is a charming photography game in black and white

A screenshot from_Toem._ | Image: Something We Made

Toem is a delightful game about photography. Its emphasis on exploration and low stakes felt vastly different from another photography game I played this year, New Pokémon Snap. And to my surprise, I enjoyed Toem a lot more.

In Toem, developed by Swedish indie studio Something We Made, you play as a character armed with a camera who wanders through a number of different themed areas, such as a forest and a city, taking pictures of what you find along the way. The bulk of your exploration takes place from an isometric point of view, but when you use your camera, the game shifts to a first-person perspective, often giving you a whole new look at the world around you.

Image: Something We Made

_The camera view in_T...

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What to expect from Apple’s iPhone 13 event

Image: Apple

Apple’s first fall event is coming up on Tuesday, September 14th, at 1PM ET / 10AM PT, right around the time when the company typically introduces its latest version of the iPhone. Like last year’s iPhone event, Tuesday’s announcements will be entirely digital, in the slick, over-produced style that’s become Apple’s trademark during the pandemic.

Rumors suggest a potentially less dramatic set of announcements compared to the iPhone 12’s radical flat-edged design. It does seem like the Apple Watch and AirPods could get some serious attention, though, even if the iPhone 13 looks more or less the same.

Keep reading below for a roundup of everything we expect to see at the event, including some long-shot surprises Apple could have in store.

...

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Deathloop is an intricate mystery that also happens to be an amazing action game

Hard to explain, easy to get lost in

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Mozilla has defeated Microsoft’s default browser protections in Windows

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Mozilla has quietly made it easier to switch to Firefox on Windows recently. While Microsoft offers a method to switch default browsers on Windows 10, it’s more cumbersome than the simple one-click process to switch to Edge. This one-click process isn’t officially available for anyone other than Microsoft, and Mozilla appears to have grown tired of the situation.

In version 91 of Firefox, released on August 10th, Mozilla has reverse engineered the way Microsoft sets Edge as default in Windows 10, and enabled Firefox to quickly make itself the default. Before this change, Firefox users would be sent to the Settings part of Windows 10 to then have to select Firefox as a default browser and ignore Microsoft’s plea to keep Edge.

Mozilla’s...

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Revolt of the delivery workers

September 1, 6:30 P.M. Anthony Chavez makes dinner deliveries during Hurricane Ida.

Exploited by apps. Attacked by thieves. Unprotected by police. The city’s 65,000 bikers have only themselves to count on.

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Nintendo lowers Switch price across Europe ahead of OLED model

Photo by James Bareham / The Verge

Nintendo is lowering the price of its base Switch model across Europe ahead of the OLED version’s launch next month. The Nintendo Switch is now priced at €299.99 in Europe, down €30 from the previous €329.99 pricing. In the UK, Nintendo has adjusted the base model to £259.99, down £20 from the previous £279.99 pricing.

The new pricing can be found at Nintendo’s own store, and _Eurogamer_notes it hasn’t been reflected at other retailers like Amazon just yet. Given the small changes, it’s likely more of a currency-related change in pricing, but it does arrive just under a month before Nintendo’s OLED Switch is due to go on sale.

Image: Nintendo

The Switch OLED model arrives on October 8th.

The OLED model will be...

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WhatsApp reportedly developing transcriptions to tame chaotic voice notes

A “Transcript” section lets you skip to different parts of the message. | Image: WABetaInfo

WhatsApp is reportedly developing a feature that’ll offer transcriptions of received voice messages, letting you easily read what’s been said without having to play it out loud. The feature spotted by WABetaInfo is currently in development for iOS. It’s unclear when it’ll hit the WhatsApp beta for iPhone users or when it’ll come to Android.

According to a screenshot shared by WABetaInfo, the feature works by sending speech data to Apple “to process your requests,” not to parent company Facebook. There’s a disclaimer that this data “will also help Apple improve its speech recognition technology.” It’s unclear how the data “sent to Apple” will be secured since the feature is yet to be officially announced. Currently, voice messages are...

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Fortnite season 8 is all about the cubes

The alien invasion is over, and now Fortnite’s island is... full of cubes. Season 8 of the battle royale’s second chapter just launched and it’s called, simply, “Cubed.” The premise is pretty strange: according to developer Epic, the cubes that used to power the giant alien mothership have now been set free to wreak havoc on the island. As with all new seasons, the update means a combination of new characters, locations, weapons, and even portals to transport players to a monster-filled realm. The launch follows an explosive live event that took place over the weekend.

First, here’s the basic story, via Epic:

The alien and IO war is over, but a new war has taken shape, one where you’re a combatant. After Slone double-crossed you and...

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New Trailers: The Matrix: Resurrections, The Guilty, Ron’s Gone Wrong, Star Trek: Picard and more

Neo is back in The Matrix: Resurrections | Warner Bros.

The clues were there all along if you were paying attention, but I still gasped at the very big reveal in the latest episode of Ted Lasso. I won’t spoil it except to say: it was very well done from beginning to end, my crush on Roy Kent continues, and I’ve had Somewhere Only We Know in my head all weekend.

Trailers! Let’s get right to it because pretty much every one of these trailers is extremely relevant to my interests and I just don’t know how I’m going to find the time to watch everything.

The Matrix: Resurrections

The first trailer for the fourth Matrix movie has arrived at last along with some robust internet analysis of whaaaaat is going on here. It seems Neo doesn’t know what’s real and isn’t in the Matrix, but maybe he also...

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YouTube is also forcing the popular Rythm Discord music bot offline

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Just weeks after forcing the Groovy Discord music bot offline, Google-owned YouTube is now turning its attention to Rythm, the most popular music bot on Discord. The search giant has sent a cease and desist to the owners of Rythm, a bot that lets Discord users play music from YouTube videos and is used by more than 560 million people.

Google wants the Rythm bot closed down within seven days, and the service is complying by shutting down its bot on September 15th.

Rythm is currently installed on more than 20 million Discord servers alone. Rythm has more than 560 million Discord users, making this shutdown a huge blow to a core feature of Discord.

“One way or another we knew this was due to happen eventually,” admits Yoav, the creator of...

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Fortnite’s explosive alien event saw the return of Kevin the cube

The latest live Fortnite event saw the return of a familiar friend, with an explosion-filled spectacle involving aliens, cubes, and lots of strange bits of lore. And now that it’s over, the game is down in the lead-up to season 8.

Before the event started, players were able to hang out in a sort of holding pen, located on some chunks of farmland floating above the island. They were greeted by the booming voice of Doctor Slone — the main protagonist, or possibly antagonist, of this season — who warned “the aliens are about to start their biggest abduction yet.” In my instance of the game, everyone jumped on top of the same grain silo and danced for 20 minutes before the event actually kicked off.

When that happened, players were initially...

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Epic has appealed Friday’s ruling in the Epic v. Apple case

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Epic Games has filed an appeal to a Friday’s ruling in its lawsuit against Apple, calling on a higher court to reexamine the case and overturn the judge’s ruling.

“Notice is hereby given that Epic Games, Inc.... appeals to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit from the final Judgment entered on September 10, 2021,” the document reads. Few details are given about the legal basis for Epic’s appeal, but it is likely to continue to press on the federal antitrust allegations dismissed by the court.

At trial, Epic argued Apple had a monopoly because of how it requires developers to use its payments system for in-game purchases. But Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ruled Friday that Epic should pay damages to Apple for violating...

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The first iPhone with 1TB of storage is reportedly coming Tuesday

Last year’s iPhone 12 | Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge

Days before Apple’s California Streaming event on September 14th, a new investor report from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says he expects the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max to each have a 1TB storage configuration (h/t 9to5Mac). Kuo also says the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 mini will have storage configurations of 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB, but no 64GB option.

Kuo also said he expects Apple to reveal AirPods 3 at Tuesday’s event, but that Apple will probably keep the AirPods 2 available. He cautions that the iPhone 13 could be affected by supply chain shortages, as has been previously reported, but expects there will be limited impact on iPhone 13 shipments.

Previous leaks and rumors have pointed to an iPhone 13 lineup that will include four...

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A short history of every time Apple CEO Tim Cook praised augmented reality

Cook has been singing the praises of AR for five years

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A comprehensive breakdown of the Epic v. Apple ruling

Image courtesy of Vicki Behringer

Whoever lost, we win

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Honda and Toyota criticize Democrats’ proposed tax credit for union-made electric vehicles

An electric vehicle plugged into a charging station. A new proposal would boost the tax credit for US union-made EVs.

Honda and Toyota are criticizing a new proposal by Democratic lawmakers to expand tax credits for electric vehicles, saying it discriminates against non-union auto workers, Reuters reported. Under the proposal, US union-made electric vehicles would qualify for a tax credit of $12,500 per vehicle, while keeping a credit for most other EVs at $7,500. The proposal would significantly favor Big Three US automakers GM, Ford, and Fiat Chrysler over non-union companies such as Tesla and the Japanese carmakers, both of which have plants in the US.

US Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Michigan) told Reuters “We want to incentivize this. It puts American manufacturers in the lead, which is where we want them, and it reduces emissions faster than any other...

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Salesforce will help employees concerned about access to reproductive healthcare to exit Texas

Salesforce will help workers move if they’re worried about abortion access | Photo by Jeremy Moeller/Getty Images

Salesforce has told employees that the company will help them and their families relocate if they’re concerned about abortion access in the state where they live. According to a Slack message obtained by CNBC, the company didn’t refer to any specific state, but the message was sent to thousands of employees late Friday, a day after the US Department of Justice sued Texas over its new abortion law.

“These are incredibly personal issues that directly impact many of us — especially women,” the Slack message reads, according to CNBC. “[I]f you have concerns about access to reproductive healthcare in your state, Salesforce will help relocate you and members of your immediate family.”

The Slack message didn’t suggest the company was taking a...

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Google One adds a 5TB storage plan for $24.99 per month

Google One now has a 5TB storage plan | Photo by Michele Doying / The Verge

After it ended free unlimited storage for Google Photos in June, many Google users had figure out how to store images and other data in the Google accounts. They could keep their Google account stored data under 15GB, or pay for a Google One plan. Options included a 100GB plan for $1.99 per month, a 200GB plan for $2.99 a month, a 2TB plan for $9.99 a month, or a plan with 10TB of storage for $49.99 per month. 20TB and 30TB plans are also available, for $99.99 and $149.99 per month, respectively.

Now Google’s introduced a middle option between 2TB and 10TB, as noticed by 9to5Google. The 5TB Google One plan costs $24.99 per month, a good (and less expensive) option for people who want a little more than 2TB but don’t quite need a plan...

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Google reportedly gave some users’ data to Hong Kong authorities in 2020

Illustration: Alex Castro / The Verge

Google provided some user data to the government of Hong Kong last year, despite promising it would not process such data requests from authorities, according to the Hong Kong Free Press. The company told the news outlet it “produced some data” in response to three of the 43 requests it received from Hong Kong’s government. Two of the requests had to do with investigations into human trafficking and included search warrants, and a third was an emergency disclosure as part of a credible threat to someone’s life, _HKFP_reported.

The company told HKFP that none of the three responses included users’ content data.

Last August, Google said it would stop responding to data requests from Hong Kong’s government, unless the requests were made in...

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TCL won’t release a foldable smartphone this year

TCL won’t release a foldable phone in 2021 | Photo by Li Zhihao/VCG via Getty Images

Electronics company TCL is pausing its plans release a lower-cost foldable phone this year, the company confirmed in an email to The Verge. Its clamshell-style foldable phone, codenamed Project Chicago, was in mid-development when the company made the decision to put it on indefinite hold. According to TCL the delay is due in part to rising production costs and supply chain shortages.

“Although the foldable market is growing each year, it is still a premium product category,” Stefan Streit, chief marketing officer of TCL said in a statement t_o The Verge._ “In combination with recent component shortages, the COVID-19 pandemic and rising costs in foldable production, TCL has made the difficult decision to suspend the launch of its first...

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You can now buy a $475 NFT ticket to see Beeple’s $69 million NFT at an IRL party

The NFT tickets, seen above, change after they’re scanned. | Image: Dreamverse

We can all agree NFTs are kind of weird, so here’s another twist to puzzle over: in November, you’ll be able to see the “inaugural display” of The First 5000 Days, the collage/NFT that Beeple sold for $69 million earlier this year. You can also, obviously, view the image right now, for free, wherever you are, on whatever device you’re using, by searching that title on Google. You could also pull the image up on your TV, or display it on a projector, or print it out, because that’s how digital images work.

Here, look, I’m just going to embed a tweet with the image in it:

Christie's is proud to offer "Everydays - The First 5000 Days" by @beeple as the first purely digital work of art ever offered by a major auction house. Bidding will be...

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