The zealous online campaign that helped pave the way for the "Snyder Cut" version of Justice League was boosted by a large number of bot and fake accounts, according to a report from Rolling Stone. An investigation commissioned by WarnerMedia seen by RS found that "at least 13 percent of the accounts that took part in the conversation about the Snyder Cut were deemed fake, well above the three to five percent that cyber experts say they typically see on any trending topic." In other words, while many real fans certainly pushed for the new version, their voices were amplified disproportionately by bots.

As a reminder, director Zack Snyder stepped down during the editing of Justice League for personal reasons and Joss Whedon completed the film as an uncredited director, overseeing reshoots and other changes to reduce runtime and increase humor. When the film was released in 2017, it was a critical and commercial failure. Following that, an online fanbase pushed for Snyder's darker original vision, aka the Snyder Cut. When released in 2021, it became the fourth most viewed film on HBO Max and was generally praised as superior to the original.

However, questions arose as to whether the fan interest was completely organic. WarnerMedia decided to launch an investigation following some severe cyber harassment that included calls for boycotts, firings and even death threats. It identified communities "made up of real and fake authors that spread negative content about WarnerMedia for not restoring the 'SnyderVerse," and directed harassment toward Warner Bros.' then-CEO AnnSarnoff and other executives and creatives involved with the project. 

Rolling Stone also hired a security company to check suspicious activity, and it said that "there's no question that bots were involved." Another firm used by WarnerMedia to investigate inauthentic activity around the forsnydercut.com domain traced it to a defunct ad agency promising "cheap, instant Avatar traffic to your website." Snyder fanned the online flames with social media posts including one showing a photo labeled "JL Director's Cut Running Time 214 [minutes]," but it's not clear what role, if any, he played in the online campaign. 

As we implied in our review of Zack Snyder's Justice League last year, the report shows the power but potential pitfalls of fandom. "There are positive ways to influence change for any piece of pop culture, but shouting at each other on social media, not to mention sending death threats, shouldn't be normalized," wrote Engadget's Devindra Hardawar. 

Next-level game streaming requires some serious hardware, but popular products from Elgato and others don't go on sale often. Luckily, you can now grab Elgato's popular Stream Deck MK.2 for just $125, or $25 off — the lowest price we've seen yet.

The latest version of the Stream Deck has 15 programmable keys that let you trigger actions to launch apps, mute your mic, turn on lights, post to social media and more with just a press of a button — making it a handy tool to have if you want a more professional setup. We included the Stream Deck Mini in a recent gift guide as a smaller, more affordable option, but the MK.2 gives you more flexibility — plus, you can inject more of your style into the MK.2 by customizing it with a faceplate.

While Twitch and other streamers are the primary users of the Stream Deck, others can benefit too. Think of the device's hotkeys almost like keyboard shortcuts, but more powerful — you can program them to launch your most-used apps, open folders, control audio and video feeds and more. If you spend a ton of time on your computer, the Stream Deck could become an indispensable tool that makes your workflow more efficient. As mentioned, though, it rarely goes on sale — so if you've been waiting, now's the time to act.

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Google is having a sale on Nest products at Amazon right now, with strong discounts on the Nest Doorbell (battery), Nest Security Cam (wired) and Nest Cam Outdoor or Indoor (battery). However, the standout deal is on the Nest WiFi Router (2nd generation), available in a 3-pack for just $199 (57 percent off) — the lowest price we've seen yet. 

The 3-pack setup will let you cover up to 6,600 square feet, enough for even large homes. We gave the Google Nest WiFi router a score of 84 in our review for its installation simplicity and ease of use. Setup is easy to do, and its wireless radios are twice as powerful as the ones inside the old Google WiFi router. We also praised both the router and the access points for having unobtrusive designs that will fit nicely into most homes. 

The access points also work as speakers with built-in Google Assistant that you can use to issue voice commands. They can't quite replace a proper speaker, but sound quality is the same as a standalone Google Home Mini. The biggest drawback is a lack of support for WiFi 6, but these are otherwise some of the best mesh routers available. 

Google

Meanwhile, the Nest Video Doorbell (battery) is on sale for $120, or $60 off the regular price. The battery makes installation easy and possible to use with any door, and it offers features like visitor alerts, along with a built-in speaker and microphone. 

And finally, both the wired and battery Nest Security Camera's are also marked down. The wired model (2nd generation) is on sale for $79, or 21 percent off the regular $99 price, while the Nest Cam Outdoor or Indoor (2nd gen) with battery is marked down 33 percent to $120. Both record at 1080p and they'll send alerts to your phone when motion is detected in their line of site. They also have built in speakers and microphones, so you can hear what's going on and speak to people on the other end of the camera.

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With the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) now powered up and snapping some spectacular images, you may wonder exactly how it's storing them. Surprisingly enough, it carries a relatively tiny 68GB SSD, according to IEEE Spectrum — enough to handle a day's worth of JWST images, but not a lot more.

While that might sound ludicrously small for a $10 billion satellite, there are multiple reasons NASA chose the system. To start with, the JWST is a million miles from Earth where it gets bombarded by radiation and operates at a temperature of less than 50 degrees above absolute zero (-370 degrees F). So the SSD, like all other parts, must be radiation hardened and survive a grueling certification process. 

While not nearly as fast as consumer SSDs, it can still be nearly filled in as little as 120 minutes via the telescope's 48 Mbps command and data handling subsystem (ICDH). At the same time, the JWST can transmit data back to Earth at 28 Mbps via a 25.9 Ghz Ka-band connection to the Deep Space Network. 

That means that while it collects far more data than Hubble ever did (57GB compared to 1-2GB per day), it can transfer all that data back to Earth in about 4.5 hours. It does so during two 4-hour contact windows each day, with each allowing the transmission of 28.6GB of science data. In other words, it only needs enough storage to collect a day's worth of images — there's no need to keep them on the telescope itself.

There is one puzzler, though. NASA estimates that only 60GB of storage will be available at the end of the JWST's 10-year lifespan due to wear and radiation — and 3 percent of the drive is used for engineering and telemetry data storage. That will leave the JWST very little margin, making us wonder if it will have anywhere near the longevity of Hubble — still going strong after 32 years. 

US Democrats have urged the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) to crack down on deceptive practices in the Virtual Private Network (VPN) industry, The Verge has reported. In an open letter, Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA) and Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) cited research indicating that three-quarters of the most popular VPNs "misrepresented their products," leading consumers to a false sense of security.

The news comes in the wake of the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade that allows states to ban abortions. That may lead people to sign up for VPN services, but Wyden and Eshoo expressed concerns about the level of privacy they can actually expect.

 "Advocacy groups have... found that leading VPN services intentionally misrepresent the functionality of their product and fail to provide adequate security to their users," they said, citing research from Consumer Reports. "We’re highly concerned that this deceptive advertising is giving abortion-seekers a false sense of security when searching for abortion-related care or information, putting them at a higher risk of prosecution."

The letter notes that "there are a lack of practical tools" to audit security claims made by VPN providers, allowing them to advertise data that may be incorrect. They also asked the FTC to develop a brochure informing anyone seeking an abortion about online privacy and the risks and benefits of using a VPN service.

"With abortion illegal or soon to be illegal in 13 states and severely restricted in many more, these abusive and exploitative data practices are simply unacceptable," according to the letter. "We urge the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to take immediate action... to curtail abusive and deceptive data practices in companies providing VPN services to protect internet users seeking abortions."

Intel has told customers that it will raises prices on most of its processors and other chips by up to 10-20 percent later this year, Nikkei has reported. That could mean price increases on computers products ranging from laptops to servers, at the same time that demand is weakening and sales are dropping. 

Intel effectively confirmed the news, referring back to its Q1 earnings call. "Intel indicated it would increase pricing in certain segments of its business due to inflationary pressures. The company has begun to inform customers of these changes," it told Nikkei.

With the COVID-19 keeping folks working at home, PC sales increased dramatically in 2020-21. That bubble has since burst, however, and key Intel buyers like Acer, ASUS and others have warned of slowing sales ahead. Acer Chairman Jason Chen even noted that his company is no longer seeing a shortage of chips. "Some of the chip suppliers' CEOs even called me recently to buy more chips from them. The situation has changed," he told reporters on Wednesday.

Rival chipmaker TSMC previously said that it would race prices by a "single-digit" percentage starting next year. Since that company manufactures AMD's chips, consumers aren't likely to find as much price relief by switching brands, either. 

Some device makers are starting to build up inventories, which could mean deals in the short term. However, the outlook longer term is less clear. Samsung, for one, reportedly told suppliers to stop shipping parts used to manufacture its PCs, TVs and other devices. 

Hyundai's Ioniq lineup of EVs launched just a couple years ago but the wild and varied styling quickly caught the public's imagination. Now for "N-Day," the company has unveiled two new concept vehicles under the Ioniq N performance brand ("N" for "Never Just Drive"), that take that design theme even farther.

Hyundai

The RN22e is an electric performance car with the RN signifying "rolling lab" and N concept, according to Hyundai. It clearly uses the Ioniq 6's body, but also has the same E-GMP battery and motor platform common to the Ioniq series. As a performance concept, though, it uses the maximum spec available, similar to the Kia's EV6 GT — dual motors that put out a combined 577 horsepower and 546 pound-feet of torque, powered by a 77.4 kWh battery. It also has racing upgrades like four-piston brake calipers and 15.75-inch rotors. 

Hyundai

The "rolling lab" moniker means there's some experimental stuff going on, too. Hyundai is testing out ways to use regenerative braking to change the car's handling, much as you would use torque steering in an all-wheel-drive vehicle. And since one complaint about EVs is that they lack the powerful sounds and feel of ICE cars, Hyundai is using something called N Sound+ to apply artificial noises and even vibrations through the chassis. 

Hyundai

The Hyundai N Vision 74 electric/hydrogen concept, meanwhile, could not be more different. As the name suggests, it's based on the 1974 Hyundai Pony Coupe concept designed by Giorgetto Giugiario. It also borrows from the more recent Pony 45 concept with similar pixelated lights and other features. 

As the huge wing and racy looks suggest, the N Vision 74 has an even badder spec sheet. Two rear electric motors output 670 horsepower and 664 pound-feet of torque, while also allowing for torque vectoring. Along with the 62.4-kWh battery pack, it carries a 4.2-kg (10 pound) hydrogen fuel tank with an 85-kWh fuel-cell stack. That would offer a total range of around 373 miles, Hyundai said. 

Hyundai

The N Vision 74 looks more like a way to test concepts and styling rather than anything Hyundai will ever produce. However, the RN22e certainly looks like a feasible performance version of the Ioniq 6 for those who dig the egg-like styling. Concepts aside, though, Hyundai is planning to release its first performance N-brand production vehicle next year with the Ioniq 5 N, spied earlier this year in camouflage. 

Nintendo has acquired the Japanese CG production company Dynamo Pictures and plans to rebrand it as "Nintendo Pictures," the company announced. Its aim with the new subsidiary is to develop visual content using Nintendo IP and focus on "the planning and production of visual content including CG animation." Dynamo worked with Nintendo before on the Metroid: Other M game also has credits on anime TV series like Evangelion: 2.0. 

Nintendo is gearing up for its Super Mario Bros. movie starring Chris Pratt, which was recently delayed to April 2023. The live adaptation of Detective Pikachu based on the Pokémon franchise was successful enough that a sequel is in the works, but the last major cinema release was way back in 1993 with Super Mario Bros. starring Bob Hoskins. 

Movies and TV series based on gaming IP are a popular trend at the moment, with movies like Sonic based on Sega's popular character seeing impressive success. Sony recently released an Uncharted film and HBO is producing a TV series based on The Last of Us starring Pedro Pascal. With its latest acquisition, Nintendo could be ready to bring more of its content to the small and big screens, which is (hopefully) good news for fans of its games. 

Uber is facing a lawsuit filed by more than 500 women who allege they were assaulted by drivers, CNBC has reported. The complaint states that "women passengers in multiple states were kidnapped, sexually assaulted, sexually battered, raped, falsely imprisoned, stalked, harassed, or otherwise attacked," by Uber drivers. The San Francisco law firm that filed the suit said it has about 550 clients with at least another 150 claims being investigated. 

Earlier this month, Uber released its second safety report showing that sexual assault reports in the five most severe categories fell 38 percent from 5,981 in 2017 and 2018 to 3,824 for the years 2019 and 2020. However, that may be correlated with the COVID-19 pandemic which saw a severe drop in ridership from 2020-2021. "We’re constantly innovating and investing in the safety of our platform," Uber chief legal officer Tony West wrote in the report.

However, the law firm said that safety is not the company's highest priority. "Uber's whole business model is predicated on giving people a safe ride home, but rider safety was never their concern – growth was, at the expense of their passengers' safety," said Slater Slater Schulman LLP founding partner Adam Slater. "While the company has acknowledged this crisis of sexual assault in recent years, its actual response has been slow and inadequate, with horrific consequences."

The law firm criticized Uber for lax policies related to driver background checks and enforcement. It noted that Uber has "opted to hire drivers without fingerprinting them or running their information through FBI databases... [and] has a longstanding policy that it will not report any criminal activity – even assaults and rape – to law-enforcement authorities." 

Uber has yet to respond to the lawsuit, but Engadget has reached out for comment. An Uber spokesperson told Fox Business that it can't comment on pending litigation, but that the company "takes reports of this nature very seriously and has worked closely with advocates to develop a survivor-centric approach to handling such cases when they arise." 

Uber has a history of settlements and complaints related to passenger and driver safety. In 2016, The Guardian reported that Uber had paid out $161.9 million in safety-related lawsuits since 2009. In 2017, it faced a class-action lawsuit accusing it of "giving perpetrators of sexual assault, sexual harassment and physical violence access to thousands of 'vulnerable victims' nationwide." And in 2019, the company was sued for $10 million by a woman who was sexual assaulted by an Uber driver, saying the company put her in harm's way. 

If you're on the hunt for budget wireless noise-cancelling earbuds in the Apple family, don't forget about the Beats Studio Buds. They're already well-priced at $150, but now you can pick them up at Amazon on Prime Day for just $100 ($50 off), matching the lowest price we've seen yet.

The Studio Buds earned an 84 score in our Engadget review and also made our list of best wireless earbuds for 2021. The small, comfortable design and IPX4 water resistance makes them great for workouts and, more importantly, they deliver good sound quality with Beats' famous punchy base. Active noise cancellation is solid as well, and they can adjust the volume based on your environment via the active gain feature.

The Studio Buds use Apple's H1 chip, so they support Apple's Spatial Audio feature and let you easily switch between Apple devices — just as you can with a pair of AirPods. However, they're also device agnostic, so you can use the Fast Pair option to quickly set them up with your Android device. They also work with Find My Device on Android, so you can see their last known location.

The main drawbacks are a lack of wireless charging and onboard controls, but most budget wireless buds lack those features. And at that $100 price point, you won't find many rivals that can match its features.

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