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Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese discusses legislation that would male 16 years as a minimum age for children to use social media at a press conference in Canberra, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese discusses legislation that would male 16 years as a minimum age for children to use social media at a press conference in Canberra, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. Mick Tsikas/AAP Image via AP hide caption

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Mick Tsikas/AAP Image via AP

World

Australia proposes social media ban for children under the age of 16

If the legislation is passed, social media platforms including X, TikTok, Instagram and Facebook would have one year to work out how to exclude Australian children.

A voter enters the Bucks County Administration building in Doylestown, Pa. on Oct. 31, 2024.

A voter enters the Bucks County Administration building in Doylestown, Pa. on Oct. 31, 2024. Ed Jones/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Ed Jones/AFP via Getty Images

Untangling Disinformation

An influencer thought someone dropping off ballots was ‘suspect.’ It was the postman

Even before Election Day, unsubstantiated rumors about voter fraud are beginning to focus on specific public servants and voters, leading to harassment and threats.

On X, formerly Twitter, some public workers are already being accused of fraud

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A photo taken on October 4, 2023 in Manta, near Turin, shows a smartphone and a laptop displaying the logos of the artificial intelligence OpenAI research laboratory and ChatGPT robot.

A photo taken on October 4, 2023 in Manta, near Turin, shows a smartphone and a laptop displaying the logos of the artificial intelligence OpenAI research laboratory and ChatGPT robot. Marco Bertorello/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Marco Bertorello/AFP via Getty Images

OpenAI is rolling out a web search feature for ChatGPT

The function can be used manually or automatically. It is available now for certain users, and will be accessible for other users on a rolling basis.

People wait in line to cast their votes during in New York on October 26, 2024. Online, social media users are floating unverified and false claims about voting that can quickly go viral.

People wait in line to cast their votes during in New York on October 26, 2024. Online, social media users are floating unverified and false claims about voting that can quickly go viral. Kena Betancur/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Kena Betancur/AFP via Getty Images

Untangling Disinformation

Crowdsourced voting fraud claims could become grist for Republican lawsuits

One hub for rumors and conspiracies about voting is X, the social media site once known as Twitter. There, users are floating unverified and false claims about voting that can quickly go viral.

ELECTION CONSPIRACY THEORY NARRATIVES

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So your data was stolen in a data breach
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Planet Money

So your data was stolen in a data breach

If you... exist in the world, it's likely that you have gotten a letter or email at some point informing you that your data was stolen. This happened recently to potentially hundreds of millions of people in a hack that targeted companies like Ticketmaster, AT&T, Advance Auto Parts and others that use the data cloud company Snowflake.

So your data was stolen in a data breach

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Three images posted by the group Progress 28 on Facebook claiming to be ads for Kamala Harris, but misrepresenting her current positions.

Three images posted by the group Progress 28 on Facebook claiming to be ads for Kamala Harris, but misrepresenting her current positions. Progress 2028 via Meta's Ad Library/Screenshot by NPR hide caption

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Progress 2028 via Meta's Ad Library/Screenshot by NPR

Politics

An Elon Musk-backed political group is posting fake Kamala Harris ads on Facebook

Ads seemingly advocating for Vice President Harris on Facebook are really part of an effort by a dark money group to mislead voters. The messages have been viewed millions of times.

A man votes at a public library turned into an early voting polling station in Black Mountain, N.C., on Oct. 29.

A man votes at a public library turned into an early voting polling station in Black Mountain, N.C., on Oct. 29. Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP via Getty Images

Untangling Disinformation

Voting officials face an 'uphill battle' to fight election lies

The deck is stacked against election officials online, maybe even more so than in 2020. Conspiracy theories can quickly get millions of views while debunks gather a fraction of the attention.

State of election misinfo fight

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Members of the Nuclear Emergency Support Team training for a radiological contamination scenario. For fifty years, the secretive team has been the first line of defense against nuclear emergencies.

Members of the Nuclear Emergency Support Team training for a radiological contamination scenario. For 50 years, the secretive team has been the first line of defense against nuclear emergencies. NNSA hide caption

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NNSA

Science

Meet America's secret team of nuclear first responders

For 50 years, a secretive group of government workers has been preparing for the worst. Here's a rare look inside the team that's ready to respond to a nuclear incident anywhere, anytime.

Nuclear Emergency Support Team

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A lot of pills scattered on a blue background. A question mark laid out of pills. Counterfeit medicinal products. Empty space to insert text

Almost 7 in 10 consumers were misled into purchasing counterfeit items online at least one time in the last year, according to a 2023 study from Michigan State University. Kirill Greshnov/Getty Images hide caption

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Kirill Greshnov/Getty Images

Life Kit

Counterfeit goods sold online can be dangerous. Here's how to avoid getting duped

Counterfeit products, especially medicines and safety gear, can be dangerous. Here's how to spot them on e-commerce platforms like Amazon.

How to avoid counterfeit and unsafe products online

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Director of the Board of Elections Tyler Burns holds a test ballot during a mail-in ballot processing demonstration at the Board of Elections office on September 30, 2024 in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. A fake video purporting to show ballots being destroyed in Bucks County, Pa., showed different envelopes and ballots than the county actually uses.

Director of the Board of Elections Tyler Burns holds a test ballot during a mail-in ballot processing demonstration on Sept. 30 in Doylestown, Pa. A fake video purporting to show ballots being destroyed in Bucks County, Pa., showed different envelopes and ballots than the county actually uses. Hannah Beier/Getty Images hide caption

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Hannah Beier/Getty Images

Untangling Disinformation

Russia is behind fake video of ballots being destroyed, U.S. officials say

Federal intelligence officials and the FBI say Russia is behind the video, which has spread widely on social media, including Elon Musk’s X.

Elon Musk jumps straight up with both arms outstretched on a stage in front of a giant American flag.

Elon Musk jumps onstage at a town hall event hosted by America PAC in support of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in Oaks, Pa., on Oct. 18. Ryan Collerd/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Ryan Collerd/AFP via Getty Images

Untangling Disinformation

2 years in, Trump surrogate Elon Musk has remade X as a conservative megaphone

It's been nearly two years since Elon Musk bought Twitter and turned it into X. He has turned the platform into a megaphone for himself and, increasingly, for former President Donald Trump.

Musk politics

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Konami's latest entry in the Silent Hill franchise is proving a hit.

Konami's latest entry in the Silent Hill franchise is proving to be a successful return to the story. David McNew/Getty Images hide caption

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David McNew/Getty Images

Gaming

‘Silent Hill 2’ is a hit. That’s good news for Konami as it returns to the classics

The success of Silent Hill 2, and the announcement of several other projects, begs the question: How serious is Konami about revitalizing its most beloved franchises?

SILENT HILL 2 AND KONAMI'S FUTURE

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A general view to the Kremlin towers and Ivan the Great cathedral in May 2024. U.S. intelligence officials say Russia was behind an attempt to spread baseless claims about Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz.

A general view to the Kremlin towers and Ivan the Great cathedral in May 2024. U.S. intelligence officials say Russia was behind an attempt to spread baseless claims about Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz. Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP via Getty Images

Untangling Disinformation

U.S. intel officials say Russia is behind attempts to smear Tim Walz

A video making lurid and false claims about the Democratic vice presidential candidate was spread by pro-Trump accounts. Intelligence officials say Russia was behind the video.

Internet Archive founder Brewster Kahle speaks onstage in 2022 in New York City. He said a cyberattack on the nonprofit, which advocates for universal access to all knowledge, affected more than 31 million of its users.

Internet Archive founder Brewster Kahle speaks onstage in 2022 in New York City. He said a cyberattack on the nonprofit, which advocates for universal access to all knowledge, affected more than 31 million of its users. Roy Rochlin/Getty Images for Unfinished Live hide caption

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Roy Rochlin/Getty Images for Unfinished Live

Hackers steal information from 31 million Internet Archive users

The digital library's website was defaced earlier this month with a message boasting its theft of Internet Archive users' sensitive records. The nonprofit said it's working to bolster security.

The Subscription Trap

Subscriptions can make users feel trapped, much like Admiral Ackbar, who got to the second Death Star and discovered its shields still fully operational and several Star Destroyers poised to ambush. Lucasfilm hide caption

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Lucasfilm

Planet Money

The Subscription Trap

Over the past two decades, there's been a sort of tectonic economic shift happening under our feet. More and more companies have switched from selling goods one by one to selling services, available as a subscription. These days everything from razor blades to meal kits to car washes have become subscriptions. But all that convenience has also come with a dark side – some companies have designed their offerings to be as easy as possible to sign up for and also as difficult as possible to cancel. Many consumers are now paying for way more subscriptions than they even know about.

The Subscription Trap

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