Showing posts with label youtube. Show all posts
Showing posts with label youtube. Show all posts

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak Sues YouTube After Bitcoin Scam Using His Image Remains Online For Weeks...

youtube
Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak filed a lawsuit against YouTube and Google due to a fake bitcoin scam that uses images and videos of Wozniak and other celebrities, including Elon Musk and Bill Gates.

The scam tells people send cryptocurrency to a certain address with the promise that they will receive double in return. When users transfer, nothing is returned. This is the same strategy used on during the massive hack into accounts of personalities and companies on Twitter last month.

Actual screen shot of the scam when it was live.
The new lawsuit focuses on the inaction of the social network to prevent the proliferation of fraudulent messages. It occurs at the same time that YouTube's legal team files a motion to dismiss the claims filed last April by Ripple and its CEO, Brad Garlinghouse, for this same problem of cryptocurrency scam videos. In this case using XRP.

"When Twitter was hit with a massive hack of 130 celebrity accounts, they were quick to shut down the Bitcoin scam in one day. In stark contrast, YouTube knowingly allows the Bitcoin scam to continue for months. You promote it and profit from selling targeted advertising" says Joe Cotchett of Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, the law firm representing Wozniac.

In their defense, YouTube cites the Communications Decency Act which they say affirms the platform is not responsible for user-posted scams because the messages are not produced or approved by the YouTube.

With the legal system backed up from Covid19, it could be late 2021 until we hear more, unless the issue is settled out of court.

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Author: Oliver Redding
Seattle Newsdesk




Coronavirus Has More People At Home, Online, And Targeted By Crypto Scammers...

Coronavirus Crypto
The coronavirus situation has more people at home, meaning more targets for scammers.

You know how it goes, if you're in crypto circles on Twitter there's no way you haven't seen it dozens of times before - "Send in $100 worth of <whatever coin> and recieve 10X that amount back!" coming from accounts that look like those of CoinBase, Vitalik, CZ, even Elon Musk famously had to speak up because so many scammers pretended to be him doing an ETH giveaway.

Sadly, when we covered the story of Elon Musk we discovered the scammers wallet address had a shocking  $179,284 worth of ETH sitting in it.

Just out of curiosity, within the last 3 months I checked the wallet addresses given out by scammers on Twitter a couple times - both were empty, it seems Twitter was drying up for scammers.  They needed something new, and it seems they found it.

Old scam finds new victims at YouTube...

YouTube gives live streams priority on search results, so there's a good chance you'll see these scams running right now by searching for bitcoin, cryptocurrency, etc. This also sends newbies searching for videos to learn more about crypto right into scammers hands.

Here they’re able to add one extra twist that makes things a bit more believable - when you click on the live stream you'll see a real (old, recorded) interview with a well known crypto personality, and text on the screen makes victims think they just missed the announcement of a giveway.

Here's some streams that were live at the time of writing this: 

Featuring Binance CEO, CZ
  
crypto scam on youtube with Vitalik Buterin
Vitalik Buterin streaming from a fake Ethereum Foundation account.

Crypto scam with Ripple's CEO Bradley Garlinghouse
Ripple's CEO Brad Garlinghouse
Fake Satoshi... fake giveaway.


There's a good chance they're using bots to inflate the numbers, but seeing 1000-10,000 people 'watching now' adds even another layer of believeability.

What can we do about it?

Typically, articles like this need to end with some rambling where I tell people to 'be smart' and to verify things before they do it, etc. 

But let's be honest here, the scam makes no sense from the start, no matter how flashy the packaging. It's not like they're saying it's a lotto and they need to send money to get their ticket for a chance to win - they say everyone who sends money will get more money back. If everyone gets free money there's no logical reason why that requires anyone sending anything.

The people falling for this are the kind who have to learn the hard way.  The only advice I can give is to warn any friends who fit this description.

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Author: Ross Davis
E-Mail: Ross@GlobalCryptoPress.com Twitter:@RossFM
San Francisco News Desk



YouTube DESTROYS Crypto Channels... By MISTAKE? Employees Screw Up While Supervisors On XMas Vacation....


*UPDATE: The theory we outlined here turned out to be correct! Details at the end of article. 

That headline isn't just to grab your attention, I mean it - and somebody at YouTube deserves to lose their job.

If you haven't heard, YouTube, out of nowhere, began mass deleting videos on the topic of cryptocurrency.

Sure, a small percentage deserves it, the scams and other bad investments that target the more gullible viewers can be found there, but I would bet you most scams of any kind have been turned into a video-version for YouTube.

Put in search terms like "Earn PayPal" and "CashApp Money" and you'll be flooded with search results of scam investments and sites that use standard USD and a Visa/Mastercard.

That aside, they're not just deleting scams.

The YouTube employees behind it have taken things to the extreme, so far that videos about blockchain technology (which does not necessary mean cryptocurrency is involved) is also being removed. 

Blockchain can be used to keep track of virtual coins, that's cryptocurrency, but it can also track packages, Walmart uses it for inventory, and a number of digital voting systems uses it to stop voter fraud.  Anything that involves keeping a record that you want to prevent being altered or manipulated, blockchain is how to do it.

Literally NOTHING within these videos could be twisted to claim they're violating YouTube's terms of service. There's nothing to invest in, only information on how the tech works in many.

Being Based in Silicon Valley,  I Can Verify Google is Full of Crypto Fans...

Being based in the SF Bay Area and working in tech, I've met countless people from every big name tech firm you can think of.  It's probably no surprise to hear - crypto is extremely popular here.

Remember, Silicon Valley is also home to the biggest companies in the US crypto industry - Coinbase, Kraken, Ripple, and Binance US are all within a short drive to Google. 

I would even bet crypto these exchanges easily employ 100+ former Google employees, thats just how things are here with people jumping from one company to another.  Exchanges pay top dollar for engineers, especially these last couple years as crypto entered the mainstream, and Google is a stop many seem to make even if it's just for a year or two.

Google's Top Executives Actually LOVE crypto...

Google-made billionaire and former CEO  Eric  Schmidt calls Bitcoin an "amazing advancement" and praised Ethereums "huge potential".

Schmidt was replaced by new CEO Sundar Pichai - who said in a recent interview that him and his son mine Ethereum.

and Litecoin's creator Charlie Lee is a former Google Engineer.

Does this sound like a company that won't tolerate blockchain even being mentioned?

That's why i'm convinced - this is a huge blunder, and was never supposed to happen.

 I'd like to explore a possibility other members of the media haven't - somebody screwed up. 

Knowing what I know, I just can't picture a room full of Google/YouTube staff and a proposal as far-reaching as 'We're going to delete all videos about cryptocurrency, and even the underlying tech it uses (blockchain)' getting the thumbs up.  In fact, I imagine it met with swift opposition.

Also - is it really just coincidence this happens during Christmas week, when those in positions of power typically take some time off?

Reviewing videos is not a high ranking job, and I'm guessing the person/persons who typically would have been watching these lower-level employees and stopped it, were on Christmas vacation.

 The question is - how stubborn is YouTube? 

While i'm confident we will soon see YouTube correct what went so wrong, and clear guidelines  implemented that allow for videos merely on the topic to exist if done correctly (something where they perhaps only target videos with an unrealistically high promise of return on investment. Things that are unquestionably scams, or even legitimate cryptocurrencies but promoted in an irresponsible 'get rich quick' way).

But anytime YouTube does changes it's mind it becomes headlines, now more than ever as recently implemented policy updates has a lot of channels angry about disappearing videos. 

My concern is that while YouTube may correct things moving forward, channels that got wiped out during this short, confusing phase, may not see their videos restored and strikes removed.  Simply to avoid fueling the flames with channels in other niches.  I can already see the Tweets crying 'well you gave THEM their videos back!' - making a blanket policy of 'what's done is done' sound pretty appealing.

Ironically, I reach out to my contact at YouTube. A management-level employee, and big surprise - they're away on vacation.  It's the foxes running the hen-house over there until next week.

* UPDATE! (And... I told you so!  )
It was one big mistake  - Crypto YouTuber Alex Saunders just shared:"We're back! Still no contact from Youtube but the 250 removed videos & strikes have been revoked. Amazing to see the community rally behind everyone affected. This situation highlights the importance of educating the masses on decentralised systems."

Other channels are experiencing the same. 

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Author: Ross Davis
E-Mail: Ross@GlobalCryptoPress.com Twitter:@RossFM
San Francisco News Desk



YouTube & Facebook could lose it all - first warning shot comes as #1 YouTuber moves to 'blockchain powered' platform...


No one has created higher demand for YouTube and Facebook alternatives, than YouTube and Facebook.

To understand the mess these companies find themselves in today, you need to understand some of the choices they've made along the way.

One of the strangest was their need for approval from dying old media.  But the dying old media is out for blood as TV, radio, and print, now get less viewers, listeners, and readers than YouTubers, Podcasters, and bloggers.

Now the #1 YouTuber is testing the waters outside of the tech giant's waters - and the timing matters.

I'm personally not a PewDiePie fan, only because there's always something i'd rather watch more, I guess it's just not my taste. He makes silly videos, but still, has reason to fear he could get booted off of YouTube any day.  As explained by Forbes:

"PewDiePie's partnership with DLive comes after a petition to ban PewDiePie from YouTube, accusing his channel of being "one of the largest platforms for white supremacist content"

He doesn't. I'm Hispanic, if he did I would say so. He's said some dumb stuff, but not knowing where to draw the line is not what they accuse him of. What the old media is really outraged about is his popularity - specifically, compared to theirs.

I should know, i'm from that world. After majoring in Mass Communications, I was an on-air host and producer at a #1 rated radio station in one of the top 5 US markets for several years.

Thankfully, I got out in time, before the layoffs and pay-cuts began. Always being obsessed with tech and living in Silicon Valley, I was the first among my friends to stop using my car radio completely, and get in the habit of immediately plugging in my iPod upon entering the vehicle.  I knew 'mass adoption' of this was coming soon.

It wouldn't be long until the iPhone came out, and everyone I knew (who was in their early 20's like me) was done with radio.

TV and print went through similar transformations, bringing us to where things stand today. 

I'm not saying traditional broadcast media is dead or even going to die, but to survive they lowered budgets, let some people go, and telling people they'll be getting paid less because they're losing audience to Podcasters and YouTubers has left that industry with a lot of bruised egos, and resentment for online personalities.

THE ANGRY OLD MEDIA:

Members of the traditional media aren't delusional enough to believe they will get people to tune into FM radio instead of Spotify again, they know they won't get people to cancel their Netflix account and start watching shows when they're actually airing.

I believe purely out spite, they're using the last bits of influence they have to trash as much of the new media as possible.

Think of how many times you've heard something on Netflix is "controversial" or "offensive" but you watch it and cannot fathom what that journalist was thinking.

Independent digital media figures like PewDiePie and Joe Rogan faced the same as old media went straight for the throat, labeling them "white supremacists".  The attack itself shows just how out of touch they are, in their world if someone gets that label put on them, it's over.

All it did was result in the media losing more of the little trust they had left.

But here's where things get strange - the tech companies themselves still seem hungry for approval from the old media that secretly hates them.

HOW THE DIGITAL PLATFORMS ARE BLOWING IT:

Companies like Google, Facebook, and Apple have benefited the most from these changes in people's viewing habits, yet that hunger for approval often surfaced by allowing the old media to dictate how they will operate.

Disclaimer - I'm no fan of Alex Jones. I don't hate him either, to be honest I don't know much about the guy. If it helps - ignore that he's the example being used here.

He was kicked off in 2018 for a rule he broke in 2013.

Put aside whatever feelings you have about the guy and let that sink in. The old media got together with the plan to get him take offline, and decided old video clips about the Sandy Hook school shooting were the best material they had against him.

Today they talk about him 'being kicked off for his comments about Sandy Hook' like there isn't a 6 year gap there. It's odd.

Because once you focus on that 6 year gap between what he said, and being kicked off for it - what happened is immediately obvious.

Does anyone believe that news networks getting less viewers than Jones, had a genuine sudden concern over 2013 statements he made? I promise you, that wasn't it.

Now include in other scandals like Elsagate, and the newest one showing pedophiles having a total open community on YouTube.  YouTube knew about, and ignored these issues when it was only YouTubers bringing it up.

But as soon as the mainstream media turned them into 'official' news stories, we saw YouTube spring into action.

Once again, the old mainstream media flexed their power over today's digital platforms, showing their power spans from getting YouTube to act when they never should have, or getting YouTube to finally act when they should have long before.

A PATH TOWARDS SELF-DESTRUCTION:

CNN's prime-time often won't break 1 million viewers.

YouTube's top 100 channels all have 19 million subscribers or more, topping it is PewDiePie with 94 million. 

Yet the CNN could probably get PewDiePie kicked off if they really decided to, they don't even have to wait for him to screw up - just dig something up.

So imagine being in the shoes of a popular digital creator and relying on these platforms, you've had the old media write articles misquoting you, or taking your jokes seriously to label you racist or sexist - you must have some concern that one day it, one of these articles could end with your content being deleted.

So far, creators are responding with the middle finger.

Joe Rogan, and Logan Paul have now had Alex Jones on as a guest - sending a message to YouTube that old TV and print media may decide who YouTube should allow to have a channel, but they decide who will be allowed on theirs.

DECENTRALIZED PLATFORMS SPELL DISASTER:
It's just begun, and it couldn't be off to a worse start for the tech giants.

YouTube's #1 channel announced they'll be live streaming on a new, decentralized platform that raised $20 million promoting themselves as "YouTube on the blockchain".

An article in Forbes about PewDiePie's big move had grasp on the situation, saying:

"PewDiePie, one of the world's biggest internet stars and long-time holder of the most subscribed YouTube channel, has signed an exclusive deal with blockchain streaming platform DLive, edging PewDiePie closer to bitcoin and cryptocurrencies as his fractious relationship with mainstream services and the media continues."

There's going to be more "YouTube on the blockchain" sites coming, and there's several projects aiming to replace Facebook as well such as Minds.com, and promising to secure personal data, instead of one scandal after another involving it being misused.

Leading platforms have positioned themselves as rulers over their users, creating an 'us VS them' mentality - which you immediately hear when you listen to a YouTuber talk about YouTube.

The last thing a company wants is demand for a site that has the same features, and different owners - that's when their fate is set.  All of Silicon Valley needs to remember that the authority they've been given can be taken away.

Ask yourselves 'Decentralized platforms offer a solution to what problem?' and make sure the answer isn't YOU.

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Author: Ross Davis
E-Mail: Ross@GlobalCryptoPress.com Twitter:@RossFM
San Francisco News Desk