Questions over a clean fuel startup, and Chinese lockdown censorship
Quote of the day
“What else can we do? It’s just the state of life now.”
—Galina, a plumbing saleswoman from Ivano-Frankivsk, a city in the west of Ukraine, tells The Guardian why she signed up for sessions teaching women how to handle a gun.
The must-reads
I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.
1 TikTok has become a major platform for misinformation about the war in Ukraine
Videos peddling falsehoods are drawing millions of views. (BBC)
+ The US is attempting to make up for lost time in supporting Ukraine, after years of mixed signals and indecisiveness from US leaders. (NYT $)
+ Secretary of State Antony Blinken says Russia is failing in its war aims. (AP)
+ The US is increasing arms shipments to Kyiv. (FT $)
+ How Russian influencers are responding to the war. (The Guardian)
2 Chinese NFT platforms don’t want you to trade NFTs anymore
The question is whether people will still buy them once big profits are off the table. (TR)
3 People are taking out blockchain loans to pay off their student debt
This is as risky as it sounds. (TR)
4 Tech giants are trying to undermine trust in their newly-formed unions
Using some rather old-school tactics. (WP $)
+ Apple store workers are following Amazon and Starbucks workers’ example. (WSJ $)
5 Elon Musk could finalize a deal to buy Twitter this week
Time to take his offer seriously, if you weren’t already. . (WSJ $)
6 Being a high-profile woman online is exhausting
It’s no wonder so many of them choose to opt out altogether. (Wired $)
+ How to protect yourself from online harassment. (WP $)
+ Even better, here’s how we could make the internet suck less for women (and everyone else.) (TR)
7 Gen Z is not okay with the way we work today
And they’re not afraid to say so, either. (Vox)
8 The word “doxxing” is losing its meaning
Here’s what it doesn’t mean: someone doing their job as a journalist. (The Atlantic $)
9 Spacesuits desperately need a makeover
They’re way too stiff, for a start. (The Economist $)
+ Michigan wants to be the next big space state. (New Yorker $) + The first all-private mission to the ISS is heading back to Earth. (Space)
+ While growing meat in space is possible, it’d be extremely expensive. (BBC)
10 Why we’re still so crazy for instant photography 📸
Spoiler: it’s not just about nostalgia. (Fast Company $)
+ Art collectors should be careful about buying fade-prone Polaroids. (Artsy)