Meta AI adviser spreads disinformation about shootings, vaccines and trans people
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/oct/12/meta-ai-adviser-robby-starbuck
Critics condemn Robby Starbuck, appointed in lawsuit settlement, for ‘peddling lies and pushing extremism’
A prominent anti-DEI campaigner appointed by Meta in August as an adviser on AI bias has spent the weeks since his appointment spreading disinformation about shootings, transgender people, vaccines, crime, and protests.
Robby Starbuck, 36, of Nashville, was appointed in August as an adviser by Meta – owner of Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and other tech platforms – in an August lawsuit settlement.
Since his appointment, Starbuck has baselessly claimed that individual shooters in the US were motivated by leftist ideology, described faith-based protest groups as communists, and without evidence tied Democratic lawmakers to murders.
Starbuck’s online posts have not changed in tenor since the “anti-DEI agitator” was brought into the Meta fold, and his Trump administration connections raise broader questions about the extent to which corporate America has capitulated to the Maga movement.
The Guardian repeatedly contacted Meta for comment on Starbuck’s role, and his rhetoric online, but received no response.
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Article continues at https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/oct/12/meta-ai-adviser-robby-starbuck
Thousands of Palestinians returning to areas vacated by Israeli forces in Gaza Strip
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Tens of thousands of Palestinians set off toward areas vacated by Israeli forces after a ceasefire took effect on Friday, according to an Anadolu correspondent, Anadolu reports.
Thousands of displaced civilians departed from southern Gaza to their homes northward, the majority on foot. Some made the hours-long journey using the few vehicles still running amid fuel shortages, along with animal-drawn carts, bicycles, and motorcycles.
Simultaneously, thousands returned to their homes in the central Gaza Strip and some eastern parts of Khan Younis in the south, following the withdrawal of Israeli forces.
The transfers from the south to the north were carried out via the coastal Al-Rashid Street in the west and Salah al-Din Road in the east.
Hundreds of displaced civilians had to set up tents on the rubble of their homes upon returning.
A gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces toward the yellow line was completed on Friday in accordance with US President Donald Trump’s plan.
The army forces withdrew from Gaza City in the north, excluding the Shejaiya neighborhood and some parts of the Al-Tuffah and Zeitoun neighborhoods; and the central and eastern parts of Khan Younis in the south. Palestinians were prevented from entering Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahia in northern Gaza.
The Gaza Government Media Office said on Saturday that more than 5,000 missions, including humanitarian, health, rescue, and relief operations, were carried out in the past 24 hours across Gaza governorates.
READ: Israel will allow Gaza residents to return to Gaza via Rafah crossing, 1st since war began
Trump announced Wednesday that Israel and Hamas agreed to the first phase of a 20-point plan he laid out on Sept. 29 to bring a ceasefire to Gaza, release all Israeli captives being held there in exchange for around 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, and a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the entire Gaza Strip.
The first phase of the deal came into force at 12 noon local time Friday (0900 GMT).
A second phase of the plan calls for the establishment of a new governing mechanism in Gaza without Hamas’ participation, the formation of a security force comprising Palestinians and troops from Arab and Islamic countries, and the disarmament of Hamas.
Since October 2023, Israeli attacks have killed nearly 67,200 Palestinians in the enclave, most of them women and children, and rendered it uninhabitable.
This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Boris Johnson breached rules designed to stop abuse of contacts made in public office, watchdog finds
Johnson found to have breached rules after refusing to answer specific questions about allegations published by the Guardian
Boris Johnson breached rules designed to stop the abuse of contacts and access made in public office, an ethics watchdog has found.
Last month the Guardian published revelations about Johnson’s conduct since leaving office. The Boris Files, a trove of documents from the former prime minister’s private office seen by the Guardian, suggested he repeatedly broke rules forbidding him from exploiting for private gain contacts made in office.
Leaked documents suggested Johnson secretly lobbied the UAE for a billion-dollar private venture, amid plans to use an influential contact he had repeatedly hosted in No 10, and used senior contacts in the Saudi government he had met as prime minister to pitch the services of a consultancy firm.
After the Guardian’s stories were published, the Whitehall watchdog, the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba), wrote to Johnson asking him to explain what he had done for the companies.
Johnson refused to answer specific questions or to provide factual denials to allegations of rule-breaking, while insisting all the rules had been followed at all times. His responses led Acoba’s chair, Isabel Doverty, to find him in breach of the rules.
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Greens Vote To Make ‘Abolish Landlords’ Party Policy
https://www.politicshome.com/news/article/green-party-passes-motion-committing-abolish-landlords
The Green Party has voted to make party policy a motion that seeks to “abolish landlords”.
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Carla Denyer, Green MP for Bristol Central, sought to stress that despite the motions “eye-catching” title, “it does not actually ‘abolish’ landlords”.
“It does, however, address the housing crisis, empowers tenants and improves their wellbeing. It contains a range of policies which, over time, would reduce the proportion of the housing market that is privately rented, and increase the proportion of socially rented homes.
“The policies, many of which were contained in our 2024 manifesto, include the introduction of rent controls and giving councils powers to buy properties when landlords sell,” she said.
Denyer added: “The motion also calls for the mass building of council homes, which was another manifesto commitment, and adds a proposal for a state-owned housing manufacturer to support these efforts and innovate on housing design and manufacture.”
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Original article at https://www.politicshome.com/news/article/green-party-passes-motion-committing-abolish-landlords