The case for Trump: Why Donald bests Hillary on key tech policies

Trump

Solely based on media coverage, you'd think that all of Silicon Valley and the tech world at large was undoubtedly behind Clinton in this critical election. But as has been reported in muted fashion by a few outlets, there is such a thing as the "silent majority" which is going to surprise many this election. I'm confident that polls are having a hard time capturing the factor that quantifies this part of the electorate which isn't being vocal about its Election Day preferences, but will deliver a decisive blow come Tues Nov 8.

Those in the tech industry publicly supporting Trump are far and few in between. And it's not entirely surprising. With the amount of undue heat that Peter Thiel, a gay conservative who co-founded PayPal, is receiving, it's not shocking to see many staying mum about their preferences. But with such an important election at stake, and with candidates who I see as having vastly different consequences for America, sitting idle and staying silent is perhaps a worse reality than risking standing on the losing side of Election 2016 history.

Continue reading

FBI says Clinton emails show no signs of wrong-doing, but Trump has his doubts

clinton-trump-ballot-box

Just over a week after the FBI announced it was re-opening the investigation into Hillary Clinton's emails, bureau director James Comey has announced that the previous investigatory conclusion of no wrong-doing remains.

Looking at a new batch of emails that were discovered during a separate investigation has "not changed our conclusion", he said. But while the Clinton camp welcomed the news, Donald Trump was more suspicious. "You can’t review 650,000 emails in eight days," he said.

Continue reading

Need personalized #Election2016 voting information? Direct message @Gov on Twitter

Vote

November 8, 2016 is Election Day, and I am excited. While neither of the two major presidential candidates are exceptional in my eyes, I have decided on one of them. It is my responsibility and duty as an American to vote, and when I cast my ballot for her/him, I will do so proudly -- not holding my nose as I pull the lever.

If you are still undecided about choosing a candidate, or simply don't know where to go to vote, I have good news. Twitter is making it all very easy. Simply direct message the @Gov account, and you can obtain useful information. You can also use the #Election2016 hashtag when tweeting about the election.

Continue reading

Tinder has spoken -- Hillary Clinton will beat Donald Trump

trump-vs-clinton-us-flag

There's now just a week to go in the battle between Trump and Clinton. The race to the White House is nearly over and as revelation after revelation sways polls this way and that way, voters and pundits alike are asking: just who will win this election?

Dating app Tinder thinks it knows the answer. Working in conjunction with Rock the Vote, Tinder users were invited to Swipe the Vote to see not only who they would vote for, but also which candidate they most closely matched. Around the world -- with the exception of Russia -- Clinton came out on top.

Continue reading

Google now alerts you to early voting for 2016 US election

TrumpClinton

As the big (or dreaded) day of November 8th draws ever closer, many states have now opened early voting. The process is pretty simple, but we've seen long lines in some locations. It's an interesting approach, given that new stories and revelations hit the news cycle on an almost daily basis.

Not every state has early voting available, and it opens on various days depending on your location. So how do you find out when and where to head to the polls?

Continue reading

Facebook wants you to vote online for your favorite US election candidate

us-election-vote-pin-badge

There is just over a week to go until the most important US election in living memory is over. On 8 November voters will hit booths to indicate their preference for Trump, Clinton, or one of the various independents. Facebook is getting in on the action, looking to let users know about the candidates and to encourage voting.

While the new Facebook feature lets you vote for candidates by favoriting them on the new site, the social network is quick to point out that this is not online voting -- votes placed on the site will not count towards the election proper. So what’s the point?

Continue reading

FBI reopens investigation into Hillary Clinton's emails

hillary-clinton-red

Hillary Clinton may have thought the dust had settled and she was on the home straight to defeating Trump, but the ugly matter of her emails has reared its head again. Today the FBI announces that it is reopening its probe of the presidential candidate, citing the discovery of further emails "that appear pertinent to the investigation".

The emails in question were discovered during an unrelated investigation. No details of what this investigation relates to have been revealed, but the announcement by the FBI comes as a blow to Clinton so late in the election campaign.

Continue reading

Donald Trump will be president, according to an AI that's never been wrong

Trump

Donald Trump is viewed by many as a figure of fun, a racist, and a misogynist. His polls are way down, and at this point it looks like he has no chance of winning the election. Two weeks ago, Microsoft’s Bing gave Hillary Clinton an 87 percent chance of winning (although this has since dropped to 82 percent).

However, an AI system is predicting a completely different result -- that Trump will prevail, and become the next president of the United States. What makes its forecast even more interesting is it has correctly identified the outcome of the last three US presidential elections and the results of the Democrat and Republican Primaries.

Continue reading

New Sway Democracy app wants to help you choose between Trump and Clinton

sway-democracy-app

You've probably noticed that there's an election just around the corner. As Trump and Clinton battle it out there have been accusations that Russia is trying to interfere with the result, Julian Assange has been cut off from the internet to prevent him meddling, and Google has released a fact checker to help separate political fact from fiction.

There's no denying that this is one of the most important US elections ever, and the balance of power could be tipped by an important demographic -- millennials. With this in mind, a new app aims to help educate younger voters so no matter who they vote for, they are doing so in an informed way. Enter Sway Democracy.

Continue reading

Warning: Mark Zuckerberg decides what's newsworthy, making him the world's most powerful editor

mark-zuckerberg-laptop-mobile

Facebook has stated time and time and time again that it is not a media company, despite appearing to act very much like one. The company's protestations become all the more difficult to swallow when one looks at the way it handles news. In reality, Facebook wields far more power and influence that it's willing to admit.

There have been countless instances of Facebook censoring posts from individuals, groups and organizations. Facebook appears to have an unwritten (or largely unpublished) set of rules defining what can be posted on the social network, and just this week Facebook staff wanted to censor posts by Donald Trump because they were considered hate speech. Zuckerberg disagreed, overruled his employees and allowed them to go ahead. One rule for us, another rule for them.

Continue reading

US Presidential debate launches latest Twitter meme

donald_trump

The US has perhaps grown used to the political season, complete with its ugly mudslinging. The name-calling-laced tirades become something that many just tune out, sometimes in fear for their own sanity. 2016 has become an example of gutter-talk that will be held up for many years and it has fueled late night comedians like no previous campaign.

If nothing else, the debates alone have kept Saturday Night Live relevant, though one candidate no longer thinks a show he once hosted is very funny anymore and has even stated that it should be taken off the air.

Continue reading

Ecuador severs Julian Assange's internet connection to prevent US election interference

assange

News emerged this week that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange had been cut off from the internet. Now Ecuador -- in whose embassy he is holed up in London -- has said that it is responsible.

The move comes after WikiLeaks continued with its threats to release damaging information about Hillary Clinton, which could possibly boost the popularity of Donald Trump. The country is keen not to be seen to be interfering with, or allowing interference with, the US election, saying it "respects the principle of non-intervention in the internal affairs of other states".

Continue reading

Microsoft predicts an 87 percent chance of Hillary Clinton winning the election

Hillary Clinton

The United States presidential election is set to be held on November 8, 2016, and it’s going to be one of the more interesting in recent years, as the run up has already proved.

Both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are highly divisive candidates, with their fair share of bad publicity, but who will win the day? Microsoft thinks it knows, and is predicting a landslide for the Democratic nominee.

Continue reading

Amid election chaos Melania Trump's website quietly removed

Trump

With the general election campaign now in full swing, and appearing to have potential to get ugly, things are starting to happen quickly. Many of things go on behind the scenes and, in some cases, we never know about them.

That isn't the case with this latest debacle. The Republican nominee, Donald Trump's, wife Melania has another problem with potential honesty issues.

Continue reading

Did Google remove presidential candidates Donald Trump and Gary Johnson from search results?

Google logo sign building

The US has four nominees for president now. The choices narrowed a bit yesterday when Bernie Sanders officially nominated Hillary Clinton upon losing a hard fought campaign. Clinton swallowed her pride and did the same thing for Barrack Obama back in 2008.

Despite the common misconception, the US does have more than two parties, though most citizens seldom hear about others. There are also fringe parties that really aren't heard of.

Continue reading

Load More Articles