Amazon is said to be working on a live audio app that sounds like it will let anyone be the DJ of their own radio show — including music. Project Mic, as the app is currently known, will reportedly focus on the US market at first, though the launch timeline is not clear.

Creators will be able to play songs from the vast Amazon Music library, according to The Verge. Along with music, it seems programming will include pop culture, sports and comedy. Amazon is said to be looking at bringing in celebrities and influencers to host shows. You’ll be able to search for shows by name, topic or music, and it appears Amazon will highlight live content, including trending topics and certain creators.

The presentation showed that in addition to the app, creators will be able to broadcast shows on Amazon Music, Twitch, Audible and Alexa-enabled devices. With the latter, listeners will reportedly get to interact with the shows, even from their car.

The report doesn’t mention whether listeners will need to be Amazon Music subscribers, but given the breadth of platforms on which the shows will be available, that seems unlikely. Engadget has contacted Amazon for more details.

It’s not the first time we’ve heard about Amazon working on such an app. Axiosreported on its existence this summer, but this latest report provides more details about what Project Mic entails.

Twitter, Facebook, Spotify and Discord have all joined the live audio space over the last year after Clubhouse exploded in popularity. Those apps tend to focus on live conversations, though, rather than songs. 

Spotify does have a morning show called The Get Up that blends chat and personalized music, and it seems the most likely contender to offer a similar feature to what Amazon has in mind. Elsewhere, Clubhouse recently started offering musicians a high-quality audio option for better livestreamed concerts.

Apple TV+ will expand into a new territory when it launches in South Korea on November 4th. In a case of perfect timing, the streaming service's first series from the country will debut worldwide on the same day (or a day earlier if you're in the US).

The brilliantly titled Dr. Brain is a sci-fi drama based on a webtoon of the same name. Lee Sun-kyun of Parasite fame (he played Park Dong-ik, the father of the well-off family) stars as brain scientist Sewon. After Sewon's family suffers a mysterious accident, he hacks the brains of the deceased to access their memories and learn clues about what happened.

The six-episode series is co-written, directed and executive produced by the highly regarded filmmaker Kim Jee-woon, who's perhaps best known for The Good, The Bad and The Weird and I Saw the Devil. A new episode of Dr. Brain will hit Apple TV+ each week until the finale on December 10th. 

It's a busy fall for sci-fi projects on Apple TV+. Foundation, based on Isaac Asimov's books of the same name, debuted in September, while alien invasion series Invasion premiered last Friday. A movie called Finch, in which Tom Hanks plays a man who takes a road trip across post-apocalyptic America with his dog and robot, will hit Apple TV+ on November 5th.

With Halo Infinite’sDecember 8th release date fast approaching, Microsoft has shared a new six-minute trailer that offers an in-depth look at the game’s single-player component. The last time the company provided an extended preview of Infinite’s campaign was during its Xbox showcase in 2020. That trailer was poorly received, with most fans agreeing the game’s visuals looked dated. In the aftermath of that reveal, developer 343 Industries said they had work to do, and Microsoft subsequently delayed the game to 2021.

In this latest preview, you can see the visuals have gotten an update (look at Craig the Brute). But what hasn’t changed too much is the emphasis on sandbox gameplay. During a community Q&A back in March, 343 Industries said they were inspired by levels like The Silent Cartographer from Halo: Combat Evolved to design the game in a way that would allow players to accomplish objectives with creativity. 

You see that ethos on display in the second half of the trailer. Master Chief stumbles upon a Banished outpost he has to take out. You can use his grappling hook to move around the facility quickly and pull enemy weapons and explosives to augment your current arsenal. Vehicles play an important part in the overall gameplay loop, as do abilities you can purchase for Master Chief. 

All of the different gameplay elements come together to form something that looks like it will offer a classic but more open Halo experience. It’s just too bad you won’t be able to play the campaign with a friend, at least not at launch.

The Facebook Papers, a vast trove of documents supplied by whistleblower Frances Haugen to a consortium of news organizations has been released. The reporting, by Reuters, Bloomberg, The Washington Post and others, paints a picture of a company that repeatedly sought to prioritize dominance and profit over user safety. This was, however, despite a large number of employees warning that the company’s focus on engagement put users at risk of real-world violence.

The Washington Post, for instance, claims that while Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg played down reports that the site amplified hate speech in testimony to Congress, he was aware that the problem was far broader than publicly declared. Internal documents seen by the Post claim that the social network had removed less than five percent of hate speech, and that executives — including Zuckerberg — were well aware that Facebook was polarizing people. The claims have already been rebutted by Facebook, which says that the documents have been misrepresented.

Zuckerberg is also accused of squashing a plan to run a Spanish-language voter-registration drive in the US before the 2020 elections. He said that the plan may have appeared “partisan,” with WhatsApp staffers subsequently offering a watered-down version partnering with outside agencies. The CEO was also reportedly behind the decision not to clamp down on COVID-19 misinformation in the early stages of the pandemic as there may be a “material tradeoff with MSI [Meaningful Social Interaction — an internal Facebook metric] impact.” Facebook has refuted the claim, saying that the documents have been mischaracterized.

Reuters reported that Facebook has serially neglected a number of developing nations, allowing hate speech and extremism to flourish. That includes not hiring enough staffers who can speak the local language, appreciate the cultural context and otherwise effectively moderate. The result is that the company has unjustified faith in its automatic moderation systems which are ineffective in non-English speaking countries. Again, Facebook has refuted the accusation that it is neglecting its users in those territories.

One specific region that is singled out for concern is Myanmar, where Facebook has been held responsible for amplifying local tensions. A 2020 document suggests that the company’s automatic moderation system could not flag problematic terms in (local language) Burmese. (It should be noted that, two years previously, Facebook’s failure to properly act to prevent civil unrest in Myanmar was highlighted in a report from Business for Social Responsibility.)

Similarly, Facebook reportedly did not have the tools in place to detect hate speech in the Ethiopian languages of Oromo or Amharic. Facebook has said that it is working to expand its content moderation team and, in the last two years, has recruited Oromo, Amharic and Burmese speakers (as well as a number of other languages).

The New York Times, reports that Facebook’s internal research was well-aware that the Like and Share functions — core elements of how the platform work — had accelerated the spread of hate speech. A document, titled What Is Collateral Damage, says that Facebook’s failure to remedy these issues will see the company “actively (if not necessarily consciously) promoting these types of activities.” Facebook says that, again, these statements are based on incorrect premises, and that it would be illogical for the company to try and actively harm its users.

Bloomberg, meanwhile, has focused on the supposed collapse in Facebook’s engagement metrics. Young people, a key target market for advertisers, are spending less time on Facebook’s platform, with fewer teens opting to sign up. At the same time, the number of users may be artificially inflated in these age groups, with users choosing to create multiple accounts — “Finstas” — to separate their online personas to cater to different groups. Haugen alleges that Facebook “has misrepresented core metrics to investors and advertisers,” and that duplicate accounts are leading to “extensive fraud” against advertisers. Facebook says that it already notifies advertisers of the risk that purchases will reach duplicate accounts in its Help Center, and lists the issue in its SEC filings.

Over the weekend, Axios reported that Facebook’s Sir Nick Clegg warned that the site should expect “more bad headlines” in the coming weeks. Between the material available in the Facebook Papers, another round of Frances Haugen’s testimony in the UK later today and rumors of more whistleblowers coming forward, it’s likely that Facebook will remain in the headlines for some time.

Facebook has long been accused of playing favorites on multiple sides of the political spectrum, and it's now clear just how much of that uproar extends to the company's ranks. A leak to The Wall Street Journal reportedly shows Facebook leaders and staff have clashed numerous times over the social network's approach to conservative content, particularly outlets like Breitbart. Rank-and-file employees have accused Facebook of making "special exceptions" from policies for right-wing outlets, while senior-level staff warned of potential pitfalls.

Workers argued that Facebook kept Breitbart in a second tier of the News Tab, a section meant to focus on reliable news, despite very low trust and quality scores as well as misinformation violations. Facebook was not only making exceptions, one employee said, but "explicitly" endorsing outlets like this by including them as trusted partners. Staff claimed Facebook was "scared of political backlash" if it enforced policies equally, and believed the site let conservative influencers Diamond and Silk lobby fact checkers to avoid punishment for spreading misinformation.

Higher-ups countered with justifications for those decisions. They argued that booting a news outlet for trust scores would risk booting more mainstream outlets like CNN, for instance. When staff asked Facebook to intervene over Breitbart's alleged attempts to dodge sites' advertising blocks, a director said Facebook had to resist the urge and "rely on our principles and policies."

Facebook repeated its familiar stance in a response to the Journal, maintaining that limited access to low-quality material to "improve people's experiences," not due to political leanings. A spokesperson added that Facebook studied the effects of potential changes before implementing them, and that publishers like Breitbart still met requirements for honoring rules against misinformation and hate speech.

The revelations likely won't satisfy people on either side of the American political spectrum. Liberals may be concerned Facebook is knowingly allowing the spread of heavily spun and outright false claims, while the right wing may see it as evidence of a claimed anti-conservative bias. The insights reveal a more conflicted approach to material, though. They also underscore the importance of tools meant to automatically limit the reach of misinformation — they could minimize internal debates by curbing fake news without requiring as much human input.

Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen's leaks suggest its problems with extremism are particularly dire in some areas. Documents Haugen provided to the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and other outlets suggest Facebook is aware it fostered severe misinformation and violence in India. The social network apparently didn't have nearly enough resources to deal with the spread of harmful material in the populous country, and didn't respond with enough action when tensions flared.

A case study from early 2021 indicated that much of the harmful content from groups like Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and Bajrang Dal wasn't flagged on Facebook or WhatsApp due to the lack of technical know-how needed to spot content written in Bengali and Hindi. At the same time, Facebook reportedly declined to mark the RSS for removal due to "political sensitivities," and Bajrang Dal (linked to Prime Minister Modi's party) hadn't been touched despite an internal Facebook call to take down its material. The company had a white list for politicians exempt from fact-checking.

Facebook was struggling to fight hate speech as recently as five months ago, according to the leaked data. And like an earlier test in the US, the research showed just how quickly Facebook's recommendation engine suggested toxic content. A dummy account following Facebook's recommendations for three weeks was subjected to a "near constant barrage" of divisive nationalism, misinformation and violence.

As with earlier scoops, Facebook said the leaks didn't tell the whole story. Spokesman Andy Stone argued the data was incomplete and didn't account for third-party fact checkers used heavily outside the US. He added that Facebook had invested heavily in hate speech detection technology in languages like Bengali and Hindi, and that the company was continuing to improve that tech.

The social media firm followed this by posting a lengthier defense of its practices. It argued that it had an "industry-leading process" for reviewing and prioritizing countries with a high risk of violence every six months. It noted that teams considered long-term issues and history alongside current events and dependence on its apps. The company added it was engaging with local communities, improving technology and continuously "refining" policies.

The response didn't directly address some of the concerns, however. India is Facebook's largest individual market, with 340 million people using its services, but 87 percent of Facebook's misinformation budget is focused on the US. Even with third-party fact checkers at work, that suggests India isn't getting a proportionate amount of attention. Facebook also didn't follow up on worries it was tip-toeing around certain people and groups beyond a previous statement that it enforced its policies without consideration for position or association. In other words, it's not clear Facebook's problems with misinformation and violence will improve in the near future.

Facebook is taking legal action in response to another large-scale data heist. According to The Record, the social network has sued Ukraine national Alexander Solonchenko for allegedly scraping data for more than 178 million users. Solonchenko reportedly exploited Messenger's contact import feature by using an automated tool that mimicked Android devices. He fed Facebook millions of phone numbers and gathered data whenever the site returned info on accounts with phone numbers.

The attacker supposedly conducted the campaign between January 2018 and September 2019 (when Facebook shut down the importer), and started selling it on a black market forum in December 2020. Facebook tracked Solonchenko down after he used his forum username and contact details for email and job boards. The man has also scraped data from other targets, Facebook said, including a major Ukranian bank.

In its complaint, Facebook asked for undefined damages as well as bans preventing Solonchenko from accessing Facebook or selling its scraped data.

This isn't the largest such incident. Hackers scraped data for 533 million users through the same feature. However, this illustrates Facebook's determination to crack down on data scraping — it's willing to pursue attackers in civil court in hopes of discouraging similar data raiding campaigns.

Hayden Christensen isn't done playing Darth Vader. According to The Hollywood Reporter, he's reprising his role as the Sith Lord in the upcoming Disney+ series Ahsoka. Rosario Dawson will star as Ahsoka Tano, whom she also played in the second season of The Mandalorian. That's the first time Ahsoka's character appeared in a live-action Star Wars show — prior to that, Ahsoka was only seen in the franchise's animated entries.

Disney and Lucasfilm have yet to reveal the story for the live-action series. The Hollywood Reporter says, though, that it's set five years after the events in Return of the Jedi, similar to The Mandalorian. That Vader will be featured in a show about Ahsoka doesn't entirely come as a surprise, seeing she was Anakin Skywalker's padawan. But since Vader died in Return of the Jedi, it's unclear how his character will fit into Ahsoka's story, and whether he'll be shown in flashbacks or as a Force ghost.

Dave Filoni, who was involved in several previous Star Wars projects, will write the story and also serve as executive producer with Jon Favreau. The series will start production in 2022, though fans will get the chance to see Christensen play Vader before that in Ewan McGregor's Obi-Wan Kenobi that's set to debut early next year.

Another former Facebook employee has filed a whistleblower complaint with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The latest complaint, which was first reported by The Washington Post, alleges Facebook misled its investors about “dangerous and criminal behavior on its platforms, including Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger.”

In the complaint, the former employee described a conversation with one of Facebook’s top communication executives who, following disclosures about Russia’s use of the platform to meddle in the 2016 election, said the scandal would be a “flash in the pan” and that “we are printing money in the basement, and we are fine.”

Like Frances Haugen, the latest whistleblower is also a former member of Facebook’s integrity team, which was tasked with fighting misinformation, voting interference and other major problems facing the company. And, like Haugen, the former Facebook staffer said that the company has “routinely undermined efforts to fight misinformation, hate speech and other problematic content out of fear of angering then-President Trump and his political allies, or out of concern about potentially dampening the user growth.”

The SEC filing also describes illegal activity in secret Facebook Groups, and Facebook’s policy of allowing politicians and other high-profile users to skirt its rules. It names Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg as being aware of the problems and not reporting them to investors, according to The Post.

While many of the details sound similar to other complaints from former company insiders, news of another complaint adds to the pressure on Facebook, which has spent much of the last month trying to discredit Haugen and downplay the significance of its own research. Meanwhile, lawmakers have called on Zuckerberg to answer questions from Congress, and Haugen is expected to brief European officials as well.

A Facebook spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Zuckerberg is expected to announce plans to rebrand the company with a new name next week.

Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt publisher CD Projekt has expanded its portfolio after picking up indie developer The Molasses Flood. The Boston-based studio is behind survival game The Flame in the Flood and action village-building title Drake Hollow.

Formed in 2014 by Bioshock, Halo and Guitar Hero veterans, The Molasses Flood caught CD Projekt's attention because it makes "games with heart," president and co-CEO Adam Kiciński said in a statement. “The Molasses Flood share our passion for video game development, they’re experienced, quality-oriented, and have great technological insight. I’m convinced they will bring a lot of talent and determination to the group.”

The Molasses Flood will operate independently from CD Projekt Red's other teams. The studio's next game is an "ambitious project" based on an existing CD Projekt franchise, which could very well mean another Cyberpunk or Witcher game. In any case, more details will be announced later.

This week, CDPR delayed the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S upgrades of Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher 3 to 2022. The studio previously planned to release the updates by the end of this year.