by Josh Constine , chte A massive social media protest is exploding on Facebook, not Twitter for a change, yet Facebook’s dehumanized Trending system isn’t picking it up. People around the country are checking in on Facebook at the Standing Rock Native American Reservation in an effort to supposedly hinder local Morton County police from targeting protesters attending in person to fight an oil pipeline through historic tribal lands. The Morton County’s sheriff has denied using Facebook for surveillance. Still, the social media protest has proceeded to bring concerns about the environmental and cultural impact of the pipeline to national attention. While some users have taken to masking their posts explaining their absentee checkins by using incorrect spellings like “Randing Rock”, there’s still more chatter about the exact term than many other Facebook Trends. Even if Facebook showed related Trends in past weeks, or was trying to suppress the spread of the check-in story since police may not be doing surveillance on protesters with geotargeting, it’s still a huge topic of conversation. Including a Trend highlighting a story that discusses the surveillance denial by the sheriff or why people are checking in could provide important context for users. facebook_standing_rock The New York Times went as far to publish a story headlined “Why Your Facebook Friends Are Checking In To Standing Rock”. Yet “Standing Rock”, “Native Americans”, “pipeline”, “Missouri River”, and related terms aren’t showing up as Facebook Trends to any users. They’re not even in the “Emerging Trends” pool that Facebook internally surfaces trends from, which can be seen through Facebook’s data tool for journalists called Signal. [Update: Just as we published, terms related to the Standing Rock protest appeared in Signal. The topic still isn’t a Facebook Trend visible to the social network’s users, but is now eligible to Trend in the future.] Standing Rock isn’t a Trend despite Facebook’s own search tool showing “Standing Rock Indian Reservation” is a popular search with over 86,000 people talking about it. But you’d only know that if you search for it. Standing Rock and related terms have much more chatter than other topics Facebook shows as Trending, such as actor Bryan Cranston saying he’ll move to Canada if Trump is elected. facebook-video-filters Facebook’s Chris Cox and Sheryl Sandberg speak about Facebook being a tech company with responsibilities to news readers at the WSJDLive conferece The failure the identify a huge, viral protest that’s built off of Facebook’s own location check-in feature shows how badly Facebook needs to overhaul Trends. Facebook also failed to surface any trends related to the police shooting of Terence Crutcher until over a day after the news became a topic of national discussion. Facebook continues to deny it’s a media company, repeatedly labeling itself a technology platform. While that argument may have been bolstered by its decision to fire all its human Trend curators, that move has given way to multiple instances of glaring errors in Facebook’s Trends. It’s highlighted fake news several times that a human curator could have easily debunked, while omitting critically important news stories surrounding human rights issues like the Standing Rock protest. Facebook’s COO Sheryl Sandberg and CPO Chris Cox again reiterated this month that Facebook is a tech company, not a media company, but admitted it has responsibilities to its readers since it’s become such a prolific distribution channel for news. Ensuring the day’s most important protests aren’t hidden behind frivolous celebrity dreck should be one of those responsibilities source techcrunch.com

The Walking Dead saw a major change of pace with the second episode of its seventh season. The show introduced Khary Payton's portrayal of Ezekiel to the world, taking audiences to a much brighter community than ever before. However, that community is under the same oppression Alexandria is these days. The Kingdom answers to Negan and the Saviors. With little more info given in the Kingdom's introductory hour, one has to wonder if Negan put on a show for Ezekiel the same way he did with Rick and company. ComicBook.com got to the bottom of it in an exclusive interview with Payton. "We really haven't discussed that," Payton said. He does, however, admit Negan and Ezekiel are both quite the showmen. "I think they've given each other a run for their money," Payton said. "They're very different shows, but they're both on Broadway, selling to sold out crowds." Somewhere along the way, Ezekiel and Negan must have crossed paths. The man who bashes skulls to make his point would have a hard time committing such an act in front of a tiger, which prompts Payton to have his own theory. "I have my own theories," Payton said. "I feel like Negan brought a bat, I brought a tiger, and we came to an understanding." "I don't know if I necessarily lost people to Negan," Payton said. "The whole point of the Kingdom, in this alternate reality that Ezekiel has built up, is to keep his enemies off kilter. To have them feel like, 'You know what, I'm not exactly sure what to make of this guy.' Even the Saviors that we come in contact with in the episode, you could tell that they were like, 'You know what, let's try and keep this as civil as possible, even though we've got this idiot one of us that's trying to make trouble.' You can see that they were like, 'You know what, this guy treats us good. He provides. He doesn't give us any problems, and we're not quite sure what to make of him, so let's not make this too crazy. Let's try and keep this civil,' rather than them pulling out the guns and the bats immediately." As for whether or not we will see Shiva tear Negan to shreds as many fans are currently hoping for, Payton says it is Ezekiel who wants to do the honor, himself. As for the fan reactions to his portrayal of Ezekiel, Payton has been pleasantly surprised. "It's been pretty good," Payton said. "I don't know what exactly I was expecting. If I was going to get some backlash for whatever reason, but I don't feel any backlash. I think everybody's pretty happy with it, so I'm feeling no pain today." "Maybe a little bleary eyed from Frank buying me drinks, but other than that, everybody seems happy with Ezekiel and that means I'm over the moon because he's such a special character and I felt a responsibility to the comic books, to Kirkman, to everybody on the show, but I feel a responsibility to the other guys who auditioned for Ezekiel," Payton said. "It's like, I want them to watch and be like, 'Okay, you know what? That guy did a good job. I feel good about this,' because he's such a great character and he doesn't come along very often. I want everybody to be happy about it." The Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on AMC. For complete coverage and insider info all season long, follow @BrandonDavisBD on Twitter. source comicbook.com

Adele, the singer with powerful pipes, puts some of her powerful opinions on display in Vanity Fair's December cover interview, touching on her postpartum depression, giving up drinking and her indifference to money, plus her thoughts on Donald Trump and her exasperation with the sea of cellphone lights at her concerts. The big take-away: You could take it all away — the success, the cash, the fame — and Adele wouldn't mind. “I’d still like to make records, but I’d be fine if I never heard (the applause) again,” Adele tells VF contributing editor Lisa Robinson. One thing she won't miss: All those cellphones lighting up during her concerts, as audiences focus more on their little screens than on her, she says. “People would rather have a photo to show to people than actually enjoy a moment,” she says. “It’s weird — when I first started out, nearly 10 years ago, no one had their phones out. I’d go onstage to people. Now I go onstage to 18,000 phones. " She's suspicious of WiFi: She suggests there's a new threat to worry about: "This Wi-Fi, you watch, it’s going to...kill our insides … it’s just floating around. I’m telling you, we’ll find out in 25 years.”\ How she overcame postpartum depression: "My knowledge of postpartum — or post-natal, as we call it in England — is that you don’t want to be with your child; you’re worried you might hurt your child; you’re worried you weren’t doing a good job," she says. "But I was obsessed with my child. I felt very inadequate...Eventually I just said, I’m going to give myself an afternoon a week, just to do whatever...I want without my baby. A friend of mine said, ‘Really? Don’t you feel bad?’ I said, I do, but not as bad as I’d feel if I didn’t do it.” Her sad side: “The music I’ve always been drawn to is sad. I’ve always been pretty melancholy. Obviously not as much in my real life as the songs are, but I have a very dark side. I’m very available to depression. I can slip in and out of it quite easily." On money and fame: “I don’t care about money. I’m British, and we don’t have that … thing of having to earn more money all the time. I don’t come from money; it’s not that important a part of my life.... the problem is you can’t talk about the downside of fame, because people have hope, and they cling to the hope of what it would be like to be famous, to be adored, to be able to create and do nice things.” Her heroes are Beyoncé and Bette Midler: “Beyoncé's my Michael Jackson,” she says. “I’ve obviously loved (Midler) for years. I like her humor, but she’s a... great singer, a real­ly amazing singer. When I watched her show, I felt like I was real­ly watching the last legend. No one’s made like that anymore.” Why she's no longer a "massive" drinker: “Having a hangover with a child is torture. Just imagine an annoying 3-year-old (son Angelo) who knows something’s wrong; it’s hell....I can see from an outsider’s perspective that I will never write songs as good as the ones that are on 21, but I’m not as indulgent as I was then, and I don’t have time to fall apart like I did then....Since I’ve had my baby, I’m not as carefree as I used to be.” About that GOP presidential candidate: “We only know Trump from The Apprentice, so we think a reality star is running for president. I just don’t think anybody should be building walls or (stuff) like that right now. I think we need to look after each other. Everyone must vote.” The December issue of VF will be on newsstands nationally on Nov. 8, Election Day. source

BlackBerry Ltd. is now a “Tier One” supplier for Ford Motor Co., a designation that cuts out the use of a middleman in supplying products or services to the auto maker. The move, announced Monday, represents an “inflection point” taking place in the global car business, said John Wall, head of BlackBerry’s QNX Software Systems. BlackBerry, a once-dominant smartphone maker, has increased its focus on software development after losing significant market share to Apple Inc., Samsung Electronics Co. and others in the global handset wars. Being recognized as a Tier One supplier, rather than having to go through other suppliers to sell to companies like Ford, is important for BlackBerry’s future in the automotive industry. The Canadian company is developing software for several challenges facing car companies, including helping to coordinate functions for autonomous vehicles. Ford, which is being lapped on self-driving car testing or electric cars by some tech companies and startups, including Tesla Motors Inc. and Google’s car project, aims to have a fleet of autonomous test-vehicles next decade. BlackBerry aims to offer products that can enable so-called connected cars but faces a barrage of competition both from the traditional auto-supply base and tech firms. BlackBerry’s QNX Software is already in tens of millions of cars, spanning Volkswagen AG to General Motors Co. Its relationship with Ford dates back several years and relates to software needed as an operating system in the auto maker’s SYNC infotainment service. In an interview, Mr. Wall said BlackBerry typically deals with auto makers early in vehicle development, but then works through an auto supplier that is supplying a component to the auto maker with BlackBerry’s product embedded in it. The transition comes as auto makers are continually adding lines of software code to their vehicles and scrambling to boost the security and capability of systems ranging from mapping to vehicle-to-vehicle communication. Apple, Samsung, Google parent Alphabet Inc. and other tech companies are looking to ink supply agreements with auto makers or are developing their own systems for autonomous vehicles and other services. At the same time, Apple’s iOS mobile operating system and Google’s Android are becoming more ubiquitous in light vehicles due to new systems being installed by auto makers that allow occupants to plug in their smartphones so that the device’s operating system can take over. Mr. Wall said working as a Tier One supplier likely will lead to more BlackBerry QNX deployment in cars. Mr. Wall didn’t comment on how the arrangement will affect BlackBerry’s pricing power with companies like Ford. read more

CenturyLink Inc. on Monday said it reached a cash-and-stock deal to buy Level 3 Communications Inc. for roughly $25 billion, a marriage that would give the communications companies more heft to weather a competitive landscape. Level 3 runs one of the largest internet backbones in the world but has turned its focus to small and midsize business customers to reverse slowing sales growth in its core operations. CenturyLink, traditionally a rural phone company, has sought to upgrade its network with fiber-optic lines in a bid to compete with AT&T Inc., Verizon Communications Inc. and rivals in the cable industry. ”The financial benefits speak for themselves,” Level 3 Chief Executive Jeff Storey said Monday during a conference call with analysts, pointing to nearly $1 billion of expected cost savings from sharing data lines and cutting overlapping jobs. “I believe scale matters.” The deal would turn CenturyLink—which has grown from a small Louisiana phone provider by scooping up the former Qwest and Sprint Corp.’s landlines—into an even more corporate-focused service provider, with about three quarters of its revenue coming from business customers. The combined company would also keep millions of home internet subscribers, most of whom use slower digital subscriber lines. CenturyLink CEO Glen Post said the company had no plans to spin off its residential business. “That certainly is an option for us, but not an objective,” he said. Level 3 will help trim CenturyLink’s tax bill by adding nearly $10 billion of accumulated net operating losses to its balance sheet. Level 3 racked up massive losses for most of its history, as heavy infrastructure costs outstripped its service revenues. The newly profitable carrier has more recently used those past losses to reduce its effective tax rate. The cash-and-stock deal initially valued Level 3 at roughly $25 billion, or $69.92, based on closing prices Friday, offering a premium of 49% based on the stocks’ closing prices Wednesday, before The Wall Street Journal reported the companies were in advanced talks. Shares of CenturyLink fell 12% on the news in Monday afternoon trading, lowering the deal’s value to about $23 billion. Level 3, meanwhile, gained 5%. The deal would add about $11 billion in long-term debt to CenturyLink’s roughly $18 billion in debt. Under the deal’s terms, CenturyLink agreed to swap $26.50 in cash and 1.4286 shares for each share of Level 3. The company said the deal was worth $34 billion, including debt, and is expected to close by the third quarter of 2017. Mr. Post, a 64-year-old who has led CenturyLink since 1992, will serve as CEO of the combined company, and Level 3’s chief financial officer, Sunit Patel, will serve as financial chief. CenturyLink agreed to add four of Level 3’s directors to its board at closing. The combined company will be based in Monroe, La., and will maintain a significant presence in Colorado and the Denver metropolitan area, where Level 3 is based. Both companies have historically been acquisitive. In 2014, Level 3 bought TW Telecom for about $6 billion, and in 2011, it bought rival Global Crossing Ltd. for roughly $2 billion. CenturyLink, formerly called CenturyTel, bought Qwest Communications International for $11 billion and Savvis Inc. for $2 billion in 2011. It also purchased Embarq Corp., Sprint’s former landline operations, for about $6 billion. Another potentially disruptive regulation is headed CenturyLink’s way later this year. The Federal Communications Commission in May floated new “business data services” rules that could cut the fees incumbent telephone companies can charge rivals by as much as 19%. CenturyLink opposes the proposed rate changes and on Monday sent the agency a letter criticizing its transparency. “This drastic rate cut would cripple many providers’ ability to continue providing quality service, much less have money left to invest in broadband innovation for the future,” the letter said. Level 3 has railed against legacy telephone companies like Verizon and CenturyLink for allegedly overcharging it for access. Level 3 built its network on fiber-optic cables strung between big data centers and downtown business districts, and it relies on local telephone companies to provide the last link to its customers in shops and office buildings not yet hooked up to its backbone. Mr. Post said the looming FCC decision didn’t drive the acquisition, though the broader regulatory environment played into both companies’ decision. He said he expects that regulators will put tough demands on the carriers but will ultimately approve a deal that allows more competitive prices. The merger partners also reported third-quarter earnings on Monday. CenturyLink reported a profit of $152 million as its revenue fell 3.8% to $4.38 billion. Level 3 posted a $143 million profit on revenue that was flat at $2.03 billion. read more

Google today announced it’s rolling out a new detection and filtering system on the Play Store to crack down on those developers who use illegitimate means to boost their apps’ rankings in the store’s top charts. This will affect apps that use methods like fraudulent installs, fake reviews, and incentivized ratings, the company noted. While Google already had technology it used to detect these sorts of manipulation attempts, the new system is a step forward in terms of its accuracy. When it detects an app that has moved up the charts through ill-gotten means, the system will filter it. In addition, developers who continue to engage in these practices will have their apps taken down from Google Play. As the company explains, not only do such manipulations violate the Google Play Developer Policy, they also harm the wider community. Other developers whose apps should otherwise be highly ranked would end up lower in the charts, as a result, and users would be pointed to apps in the top charts that didn’t deserve to be there. Of course, monitoring its app store for fraud and spam isn’t something that’s unique to Google Play. Apple, too, has often faced this problem on its own iTunes App Store, as well. Often, app developers will buy downloads in order to juice their rankings, given how the top charts favor metrics like installs and download velocity combined. Over the years, we’ve seen everything from automated download bots to spammy app install ads to outright scams to fake ratings and more – all attempts by shady developers to earn a better chart rank than their app naturally deserved. This same problem affects Google Play, even though app discovery on the Play Store isn’t as driven by the Top Charts, as on iTunes. (Instead, Play Store users are directed first to personalized recommendations based on installs, while Top Charts are tucked away in another tab.) Google says the new system is rolling out today. The company suggests developers who use third-party marketing services to check to make sure they engage in legitimate practices. read more from

WASHINGTON — The F.B.I. on Monday began loading a trove of emails belonging to a top aide to Hillary Clinton into a special computer program that would allow bureau analysts to determine whether they contain classified information, law enforcement officials said. The software should allow them to learn relatively quickly how many emails are copies of messages they have already read as part of the investigation into the use of Mrs. Clinton’s private server. The F.B.I. completed that investigation in July and, along with prosecutors, decided not to bring any charges against Mrs. Clinton or her aides. “This is not a manpower issue,” said one senior law enforcement official. “It’s an issue of getting the emails into a program that can allow agents to look at them.” Whether they will be able to complete their review by Election Day is unclear, although investigators have been under intense pressure from officials in both parties to do so since Friday, when the F.B.I. director, James B. Comey, revealed the existence of the emails in an explosive letter to Congress. The emails belong to Huma Abedin, a top adviser to Mrs. Clinton. Agents discovered them on a laptop seized by the F.B.I. that belongs to her estranged husband, Anthony Weiner, who is under investigation for exchanging illicit text messages with a 15-year-old girl. While the hunt for classified information is the bureau’s first priority, it is not the most significant issue for either Ms. Abedin or Mrs. Clinton. Investigators have already determined that Mrs. Clinton and her aides improperly sent classified information on her private email server. The Justice Department concluded, though, that it could not prove they did it intentionally, which would be a crime. Finding more classified information among Ms. Abedin’s emails would not immediately change that conclusion. What could cause problems for Ms. Abedin — and by extension Mrs. Clinton — is if the F.B.I. finds evidence that anyone tried to conceal these new emails from investigators. Ms. Abedin has said she turned over all her emails to the F.B.I. months ago and does not know how emails ended up on Mr. Weiner’s laptop. And officials have said there is no indication that Ms. Abedin or Ms. Clinton tried to conceal information from the authorities. Josh Earnest, the White House press secretary, said on Monday that the White House did not have an official position on Mr. Comey’s decision to alert Congress. But Mr. Earnest came close to suggesting that President Obama saw Mr. Comey’s decision as problematic. Mr. Earnest listed the many powers and authorities that federal law enforcement officials have to investigate for potential wrongdoing and then said, “It’s important that those authorities are tempered by longstanding practice and norms that limit public discussion of facts that are collected in the context of those investigations.” Mr. Earnest added: “And there are a lot of good reasons for that. The president believes that it’s important for those guidelines and norms to be followed.” Justice Department officials had told Mr. Comey that alerting Congress to the discovery of a new cache of emails would violate department rules and norms against both discussing a continuing investigation and taking any actions in the days before an election that might influence that election. But Mr. Comey is a “man of integrity” whom the president does not believe is intentionally trying to influence the outcome of an election, Mr. Earnest said. “He’s in a tough spot,” Mr. Earnest said. The F.B.I. was granted a warrant on Sunday that allowed agents to begin searching the messages. While investigators found hundreds of thousands of emails on Mr. Weiner’s computer, they are focusing on a small portion of the total. The review is being led by the same Washington-based team of agents that conducted the investigation of Mrs. Clinton’s server. As part of that inquiry, the agents built a system that allowed them to examine thousands of emails to see whether they contained sensitive national security information. When the agents identified potentially classified materials, they sent copies of the emails to other government agencies to determine their classification. The emails the F.B.I. is now searching could well be like scores already made public by the State Department under the Freedom of Information Act, including some of the additional ones uncovered by the bureau’s investigation and turned over to the department this summer. Among more than 30,000 emails released are at least 10 sent or received by Ms. Abedin that included information the State Department later deemed to be classified and were only made public with portions redacted. Ms. Abedin, who also had an address on the Clinton server, communicated with Mrs. Clinton many times a day, often acting as a conduit for other members of her State Department team. read more from