The Verge: All Posts by Mia Satohttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/52801/VER_Logomark_32x32..png2024-03-22T12:10:31-04:00https://www.theverge.com/authors/mia-sato/rss2024-03-22T12:10:31-04:002024-03-22T12:10:31-04:00Senators push to declassify TikTok briefings
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<img alt="Graphic photo illustration of the Tik Tok logo in front of Congress." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/PCjP8E2nOtpae3Sqg_jpPJvVEJw=/20x0:2021x1334/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73226120/STK051_TIKTOKBAN_CVirginia_B.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photo by Michael Duva, Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p id="ZH7sjl">Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal and Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn are <a href="https://www.blackburn.senate.gov/services/files/35CA32B5-5345-4114-BE09-850BE25794A7">calling for TikTok briefings to be declassified</a> so the government can “better educate the public on the need for urgent action.” The briefings come as support grows for a forced sale of TikTok due to national security concerns around ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns the app.</p>
<p id="STgoC8">“We are deeply troubled by the information and concerns raised by the intelligence community in recent classified briefings to Congress. TikTok is a weapon in the hands of the Chinese government, and poses an active risk to our democratic institutions and national security,” Blumenthal and Blackburn wrote.</p>
<p id="3janOi">Last week, in an unusually speedy process, the House <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2024/3/15/24102472/house-tiktok-ban-bill-staffers-calls-congress">passed a bill</a> that...</p>
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<a href="https://www.theverge.com/2024/3/22/24108674/tiktok-ban-classified-intelligence-briefing-china-national-security">Continue reading…</a>
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https://www.theverge.com/2024/3/22/24108674/tiktok-ban-classified-intelligence-briefing-china-national-securityMia Sato2024-03-18T12:00:00-04:002024-03-18T12:00:00-04:00TikTok is paying creators to up its search game
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<img alt="The TikTok logo on a white background with repeating circle imagery scattered throughout." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Ky7G0CttGLSt9pVc_CAc0amZTrw=/0x0:2040x1360/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73215350/STK051_VRG_Illo_N_Barclay_12_tiktok.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge</figcaption>
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<p id="mLvnxz">TikTok is leaning in even more to its app being used like a search engine.</p>
<p id="GjjKJQ">Creators making money on the platform will now be paid based in part on how well their content meets what other users are searching for. TikTok calls this metric “search value,” and it’s one of four core elements in determining creator payouts. TikTok <a href="https://newsroom.tiktok.com/en-us/introducing-the-new-creator-rewards-program">announced</a> the change as part of its new monetization program, called Creator Rewards.</p>
<p id="iDtrnn">This metric is the TikTok version of search engine optimization (SEO). One tactic in SEO is keyword research, where publishers <a href="https://www.theverge.com/c/23998379/google-search-seo-algorithm-webpage-optimization">make content that aligns with what searchers (the vast majority of whom are using Google) are looking up</a>. On TikTok, search value is whether a creator is posting content that is about topics users are...</p>
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<a href="https://www.theverge.com/2024/3/18/24101695/tiktok-creator-rewards-program-monetization-search-value-seo">Continue reading…</a>
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https://www.theverge.com/2024/3/18/24101695/tiktok-creator-rewards-program-monetization-search-value-seoMia Sato2024-03-18T11:48:17-04:002024-03-18T11:48:17-04:00YouTube adds new AI-generated content labeling tool
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<img alt="YouTube logo on an abstract background" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/stPtc1l8CWn6f73rajLLgW8mxew=/0x0:2040x1360/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73215333/acastro_STK092_02.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Illustration: Alex Castro / The Verge</figcaption>
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<p id="A750rV">Today, YouTube <a href="https://blog.youtube/news-and-events/disclosing-ai-generated-content/">announced</a> a way for creators to self-label when their videos contain AI-generated or synthetic material. </p>
<p id="E1Ords">The checkbox appears in the uploading and posting process, and <a href="https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/14328491">creators are required</a> to disclose “altered or synthetic” content that seems realistic. That includes things like making a real person say or do something they didn’t; altering footage of real events and places; or showing a “realistic-looking scene” that didn’t actually happen. Some examples YouTube offers are showing a fake tornado moving toward a real town or using deepfake voices to have a real person narrate a video. </p>
<p id="IuKjcw">On the other hand, disclosures won’t be required for things like beauty filters, special effects like background blur, and “clearly...</p>
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<a href="https://www.theverge.com/2024/3/18/24104743/youtube-ai-generated-content-disclosure-label">Continue reading…</a>
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https://www.theverge.com/2024/3/18/24104743/youtube-ai-generated-content-disclosure-labelMia Sato2024-03-12T16:23:07-04:002024-03-12T16:23:07-04:00The Kate Middleton photo scandal is a rare — and consequential — flub
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<img alt="BRITAIN-ROYALS-MEDIA" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/rkViIh8F11C86mQ6S_lqYr7nGmQ=/93x0:3908x2543/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73202099/2071434796.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Paul Ellis / AFP via Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p id="eTVuIS">Kate Middleton’s botched photo editing job seen around the world is more than just catnip for tabloids and TikTok conspiracy theorists. It’s also the most instructive illustration of the AI-flecked new reality we live in, a maelstrom formed when distrust and established processes converge and create chaos.</p>
<p id="EdvKv2">It’s hard to know what Middleton, aka the Princess of Wales and future Queen of England, was thinking when she <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2024/3/10/24096762/kate-middleton-edited-photo-royal-family-possible-fake">allegedly edited her own photo</a> so sloppily that it’s become front-page news in a bunch of countries. Shortly after the image was shared publicly, the world’s biggest wire agencies, like <em>The Associated Press</em>, Getty, and <em>Reuters,</em> issued retraction alerts — called “kill notices” — instructing media outlets to not use the image...</p>
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<a href="https://www.theverge.com/2024/3/12/24098548/kate-middleton-royal-family-photoshop-manipulated-image">Continue reading…</a>
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https://www.theverge.com/2024/3/12/24098548/kate-middleton-royal-family-photoshop-manipulated-imageMia Sato2024-03-07T11:27:03-05:002024-03-07T11:27:03-05:00TikTok is urging users to call Congress about a looming ban
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<img alt="A TikTok logo surrounded by jazzy lines and colorful accents" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/coTy0izhipX3D2p0YCPKtfK6Bps=/0x0:2040x1360/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73189151/STK051_VRG_Illo_N_Barclay_5_tiktok.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge</figcaption>
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<p id="gH7YeQ">As support grows for <a href="https://www.npr.org/2024/03/06/1236363592/biden-tiktok-ban">a bill in Congress</a> that would effectively ban TikTok in the US, the video platform is trying to rally support among a key group: its own users.</p>
<p id="QEonsT">TikTok sent users in the US a push notification on Wednesday, warning that “Congress is planning a total ban of TikTok” that would “[strip] 170 million Americans of their Constitutional right to free expression.” The page says that a ban would “damage millions of businesses, destroy the livelihoods of countless creators across the country, and deny artists an audience.” The alert includes a way for users to find their representative and call their office.</p>
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<cite>Screenshot: Mia Sato / The Verge</cite>
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<p id="yfCJRR">The notification comes shortly after the White House expressed...</p>
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<a href="https://www.theverge.com/2024/3/7/24093308/tiktok-congress-ban-push-notification">Continue reading…</a>
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https://www.theverge.com/2024/3/7/24093308/tiktok-congress-ban-push-notificationMia Sato2024-03-05T17:30:00-05:002024-03-05T17:30:00-05:00TikTok’s longer videos are here to stay
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<img alt="The image shows the TikTok logo superimposed on a white background." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/C7xoW0poIYHBEbFrFSZJpLAYC4w=/0x0:2040x1360/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73184827/STK051_VRG_Illo_N_Barclay_10_tiktok.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge</figcaption>
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<p id="gsLPRK">A year ago, TikTok introduced a new way for creators on the platform to make money: make longer videos. The invite-only Creativity Program, <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2023/2/20/23604204/tiktok-creativity-program-creator-fund-longer-videos-eligibility">then in beta</a>, required TikTokers to post clips longer than a minute to qualify for monetization, demonstrating a shift in how the company wanted people to use its platform. It was a move away from the so-called short-form video style that made TikTok a household name in the first place. </p>
<p id="91KIoh">TikTok <a href="https://newsroom.tiktok.com/en-us/for-creators-future-format-summit">announced today</a> that the program will be called Creator Rewards going forward, and content creators will need to make videos longer than a minute to monetize through the program. The previous creator fund, which didn’t have a requirement for video length, <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2023/11/6/23949290/tiktok-creator-fund-discontinued-monetization-creativity-program">shut down in November</a>.</p>
<p id="tDMWj3">Creator Rewards will calculate...</p>
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<a href="https://www.theverge.com/2024/3/5/24090583/tiktok-creator-rewards-program-monetization-subscriptions">Continue reading…</a>
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https://www.theverge.com/2024/3/5/24090583/tiktok-creator-rewards-program-monetization-subscriptionsMia Sato2024-03-01T11:28:44-05:002024-03-01T11:28:44-05:00Spotify’s new audiobook tier will only save you a dollar over Premium
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<img alt="An illustration of Spotify’s logo." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/CpGQ-AUpxto9-0h26zb4JarZncI=/0x0:2040x1360/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73175865/STK088_VRG_Illo_N_Barclay_5_spotify.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Image: Nick Barclay / The Verge</figcaption>
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<p id="P4US3V">Spotify <a href="https://newsroom.spotify.com/2024-03-01/spotifys-new-audiobooks-access-tier-gives-booklovers-more-listening-options/">announced</a> a new subscription tier that “gives booklovers more listening options.” But subscribers would only save $1 a month compared to the classic Premium tier.</p>
<p id="1AEumk">The monthly subscription costs $9.99 and includes 15 free listening hours of audiobooks, the same as the classic Premium plan. But $10.99 Premium subscribers <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2023/11/8/23951938/spotify-audiobook-listening-perk-us-premium-subscribers">get 15 hours of audiobooks</a>, plus ad-free music — whereas the audiobook plan still has ads for music services. Essentially, audiobook listeners are paying nearly the same amount while getting half the benefits.</p>
<p id="ceDuVb">The audiobook plan also doesn’t add any additional perks for readers. If I were a big audiobook person, I’d probably want more than 15 hours a month, for example. But Spotify is capping the listening limit...</p>
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<a href="https://www.theverge.com/2024/3/1/24087550/spotify-audiobook-access-tier-price-ads">Continue reading…</a>
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https://www.theverge.com/2024/3/1/24087550/spotify-audiobook-access-tier-price-adsMia Sato2024-03-01T11:12:38-05:002024-03-01T11:12:38-05:00New York City is testing public e-bike charging stations for delivery workers
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<img alt="A delivery worker with a package on their back rides an e-bike in Manhattan in New York City." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/hmyGarliuoK5QYdI7UOhOWDypYw=/1x0:4375x2916/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73175827/1441734796.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Spencer Platt / Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p id="jq0bs0">New York City <a href="https://www.nyc.gov/site/dca/news/012-24/mayor-adams-activation-city-s-first-public-e-bike-charging-site-delivery-workers">opened its first public e-bike charging station</a> on Thursday, part of a six-month pilot program to “support safe e-bike use and prevent deadly lithium-ion battery fires.” E-bike-related fires in the city killed 18 people and injured 150 in 2023 alone, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/29/nyregion/ebike-charging-station-nyc.html">according to<em> The New York Times</em></a>.</p>
<p id="J8dzu4">The new charging station in Cooper Square in the East Village will be available to 100 delivery workers free of charge during the pilot program. The city plans to open four other stations across Brooklyn and Manhattan “in the coming weeks.” </p>
<p id="uwv2JV">“We count on delivery workers for so much, and they should be able to count on us, too — whether that means fighting for fair pay or making their jobs and livelihoods safer,” said New York City Mayor Eric...</p>
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https://www.theverge.com/2024/3/1/24087494/new-york-city-ebike-public-charging-stations-delivery-workers-house-firesMia Sato2024-02-29T11:00:00-05:002024-02-29T11:00:00-05:00As Gaza is bombarded, GoFundMe donations are stuck in limbo
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<img alt="Photo collage illustrating the difficulties experienced by people fundraising for Palestinians." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/5KGhl-hte9GhyGByjd_Z1XrFmjE=/20x0:2021x1334/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73173046/247028_Gaza_Donation_Sanction_CVirginia_B.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photos from Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p class="p--has-dropcap p-large-text" id="KqI5PV">By the end of January, more than 25,000 Palestinians had been reported killed as a result of Israel’s military assault on Gaza. Just a handful of doctors remained at the largest medical facility in the Gaza Strip, where <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/08/middleeast/gaza-children-losing-legs-disease-intl-hnk/index.html">every day, 10 children lost one or both of their legs</a> amid the Israeli military’s siege. A weeklong communications blackout — <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/18/middleeast/gaza-communications-blackout-one-week-israel-hamas-intl/index.html">the longest since October 7th</a> — cut off civilians from their families and journalists from the rest of the world. </p>
<p id="bzi62u">A. wanted to help. With a small group of friends, they set up a GoFundMe campaign with a modest goal of $300. They hoped to donate that money to organizers sending eSIMs, a digital version of a SIM card connecting devices to mobile networks, to Gaza. In the months since October 7th,...</p>
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<a href="https://www.theverge.com/2024/2/29/24085175/gofundme-gaza-palestine-fundraiser-under-review-esims">Continue reading…</a>
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https://www.theverge.com/2024/2/29/24085175/gofundme-gaza-palestine-fundraiser-under-review-esimsMia Sato2024-02-22T14:30:55-05:002024-02-22T14:30:55-05:00Yahoo lays off the leaders of Engadget
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<img alt="Engadget logo" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/UjkgNDINnU1qtuGtK-KDaheAAmg=/120x0:840x480/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73157400/464d7520_3b83_11ee_bf7d_ee5f8cd1fdd0.0.jpeg" />
<figcaption>Image: Engadget</figcaption>
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<p id="MvCXVe">The nearly 20-year-old tech publication <em>Engadget </em>is laying off staff and restructuring editorial teams today with a new focus around traffic and revenue growth. The changes are designed to give the outlet a stronger emphasis on commerce revenue, while removing key editorial leaders from its newsroom, including its editor-in-chief.</p>
<p id="AddIkZ"><em>Engadget</em>, which is operated by Yahoo, will lay off 10 employees, according to people with knowledge of the situation who say staff were “blindsided” by the decision. In addition to cutting staff, the editorial team will split into two sections: “news and features” and “reviews and buying advice.” The news teams will focus on traffic growth, while the reviews teams will report to commerce leaders.</p>
<p id="zKIKqJ">As part of the...</p>
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<a href="https://www.theverge.com/2024/2/22/24080215/engadget-layoffs-tech-news-blogs-editorial-restructuring">Continue reading…</a>
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https://www.theverge.com/2024/2/22/24080215/engadget-layoffs-tech-news-blogs-editorial-restructuringMia Sato