Monthly Archives: May 2020

(WBNG) -- By analyzing millions of tweets on the popular social media platform, Twitter, researchers have been able to see what Americans are talking about during quarantine.

"It gives us an idea of how America is feeling," said Binghamton University Computer Science Assistant Professor Anand Seetharam.

Seetharam and his colleague, Arti Ramesh, have spent the past few weeks analyzing millions of tweets. They both say America has had a lot to talk about.

"Looking out for workers, supporting them, and then showing frustration, hope, positivity, things like that. The emotion behind all these tweets is coming out, and that is something we saw up close," said Ramesh.

By looking at hashtags, researchers were able to pick out a few popular topics. From discussing lock downs, to unemployment, to even the nationwide toilet paper shortage, researchers saw a wide range of emotions through it all.

"This is representative of what people are going through," said Ramesh.

Using the hindsight of America's conversations, researchers hope social media can be a tool to prepare physically and mentally for future crisis situations.

"How people use words, how people convey emotions, why and when, and what leads people to say certain things, and what can be some solutions," said Ramesh.

Ramesh and Seetharam say they plan on using social media as a tool for learning about emotions and language in future studies.

Link:

Binghamton University professors use Twitter to study what America has to say during COVID-19 pandemic - WBNG-TV

While Chicago remains under stay-at-home orders, sports fans are left to sit and dream about the time when sports will return.

Weve seen video game simulations, mock drafts re-writing history, and weve been glued to the TV for two hours a week thanks to The Last Dance.

Now one Bears fan is taking things to the next level by designing some fantasy jerseys, even catching the eye of the teams social media account.

Going through them all, the amount of effort put into designing the kits is top notch, but some are a little more Bears than others.

Lets start with the Lake Effect jersey. At first glance, it looks a bit like a Titans jersey, but the Chicago stars going down the pants are a really nice detail. Plus, those cleats are the best of the bunch.

Moving to camo, this feels like an obligatory alternate design as we see it crop up time and time again. But who knows, if the NFL has to postpone due to COVID-19 concerns, maybe well actually see the Bears suit up in something similar over Memorial Day weekend?

The next jerseys, the color rush concepts, definitely look closest to a possible Bears alternate. Weve seen the team rock all-orange in the past, but never with those orange helmets that really make the whole thing pop. Sign me up for these.

Finally we come to the Retro melange. In a vacuum, these jerseys are sharp. But if I turned on the TV and saw these Id think I was watching the Panthers or Lions. Too confusing for the Bears to use.

Ultimately all that matters is what the team and the players think, and Cordarrelle Patterson seems to be all-in, no matter what.

Click here to download the new MyTeams App by NBC Sports! Receive comprehensive coverage of the Bears.

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These Bears jersey concepts have Twitter talking - NBCSports.com

Twitter seems to be rolling out one of the most useful features everyone would want to use scheduling. This feature would be quite handy for social media managers and news publications to handle their tweets.

The new feature lets users schedule a tweet on a specific date and time. You can even look at your all your scheduled tweets in the scheduling window. Scheduling seems to be currently available only to some folks on Twitter for desktop.

Its not clear if this is just a test, or if the feature is rolling out for Twitters users for desktop all over the world. We have asked Twitter for more details, and well update the story if we hear back.

Last year, Twitter started to experiment with the scheduler in the composer window. However, the new feature has a dedicated button for scheduling.

[Read: Amazon and Microsoft wont stop beefing over the Pentagons $10B war cloud]

The social network has been testing a bunch of features lately including threaded repliesand warnings for people who are posting potentially harmful replies.

While these features focus more on the health of the platform, schedule features can make the lives of a lot of people easier who depend heavily on Twitter for their work. It can also make announcements and news publishing a lot smoother.

Read next: The Tiger King's legal team politely asks Trump for a pardon with a ridiculous video

Read our daily coverage on how the tech industry is responding to the coronavirus and subscribe to our weekly newsletter Coronavirus in Context.

For tips and tricks on working remotely, check out our Growth Quarters articles here or follow us on Twitter.

More:

Twitter is rolling out tweet scheduling feature to some users - The Next Web

The search engine might be faster with larger memory storage than the human brain but not always be right, as is often the case with Google translate. Sparking a hilarious meme fest on Twitter, a dosa packet trended viral after the word batter was mistranslated and printed on it as ballebaaz. Also Read - So Thoughtful! Twitter Learns Empathy From Migrant Worker as Picture With Pets in Arms, on Her Walk Back Home, Goes Viral

Batter is a colloquial for batsman in a game of cricket hence the Hindi translation, perhaps by Google, showed it to be ballebaaz. The words Idli/Dosa Batter were printed on the packet in English, Tamil and Hindi languages and the literal translation left Twitterati in splits. Taking to his handle on the microblogging site, a user shared the picture of the packet and captioned it, Damn you Google Translate! #Indyeah! (sic). Also Read - Vijay Mallya Urges Govt To Take His Money & Close His Case, Twitter Says 'Pay Your Employees First'

What followed were hilarious reactions from other users who instantly cracked up the mood on social media amid the pandemic gloom. While one user wrote, If batter is ballebaaz then battery should be artillery barrage no? What would barrage be? Legal drinking age? (sic), another commented, what if I am a bowler? what do I eat then? (sic) and yet another tweeted, Banda ab bats khayega (A guy will now eat bats?) sic.

Check out Twitters hilarious reaction here:

Not a cricket fan but this meme fest really got us digging in the mood!

Read more here:

Dosa 'Ballebaaz'? Google's Literal Translation of The Word 'Batter' Leaves Twitter in Splits - India.com

Do you like highlighter yellow with a weird patch stuck on to the shoulder and ombr letters? Then I have just the uniform for you. The Los Angeles Rams revealed new uniforms, and not everyone is loving them. It was only two months ago that the Rams unveiled their new logo and people roasted them for it, and now they have given us something new to dissect and judge.

The new look is meant to be modern while paying homage to the past, but in my very humble opinion, the jerseys seem to be trying a little too hard.

Three uniforms were revealed and are described as, "Royal x Royal", "Royal x Yellow" and "Bone x Bone."

They also tweeted out the new uniforms, which feature the horns.

People seem to be liking the helmet more than they are liking the uniforms.

Here are some Twitter reaction to the reveal:

Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp tweeted his approval of the uniforms, saying he can't wait to wear his No. 10 on game days.

Kicker Johnny Hekkersaid, "Full send on the new kit."

Robert Woods and Jalen Ramsey also like the new look.

The Rams tweeted out a video showing player reactions to the jerseys. But really, what are they going to say? They aren't going to roast the jerseys.

Ice cream cake is a new one.

There are really some mixed reviews for the jersey.

Like I said, very mixed.

People were expecting something a little different.

What's wrong with Ikea?

Justice for Donald. Please don't make him wear these goofy numbers.

The name tags should say, "Hi my name is ____."

Who do we need to contact?

Rams fans have already been through it.

No need to remind them of Super Bowl LIII.

One thing's for sure: they are no Chargers uniforms.

More here:

Twitter reacts to Los Angeles Rams' new uniforms and helmet - CBS Sports

A Clinton Township man is free on bond today after he was charged with posting threats on Twitter to kill FBI agents with 10 bombs and five guns he had stashed in his basement.

Joseph Todd Kowalczyk, 20, was arrested Tuesday by the FBI's counterterrorism team at his family's mobile home in Parkway Village off Gratiot Avenue, north of Mount Clemens. At an appearance in U.S. District Court, he was charged with transmitting a threat to injure.

Investigators said the suspect included the FBI's Twitter handle and the hashtag of #forwaco, a reference to the FBI's 1993 showdown at the Branch Davidian complex in Waco, Texas. Dozens of people were killed in the siege, including leader David Koresh.

According to a criminal complaint, the FBI received the threat at 7:28 p.m. Sunday from the Twitter account @JT616k. It stated, "I'm done joking this is a serious threat I have 10 bombs ready to go off rn in my basement with 5 guns that are illegal to own come get me you guys have till 8 before I make this city in my own little hell #forwaco."

The FBI's Office of Public Affairs reviewed the comment and forwarded it to the bureau's National Threat Operations Center in Clarksburg, W. Va., which is responsible for disseminating various intelligence to the appropriate FBI field office.

Court records show investigators made an emergency request to Twitter to provide information on the account and traced the phone number to Kowalczyk.

"Based on Kowalczyk stating that he had illegal firearms and explosive at his residence and intended to use them to injure individuals in his vicinity, the FBI considered this threat imminent and credible under the belief that death or serious injury would occur without law enforcement intervention," an FBI agent wrote in the complaint.

On Monday, agents and Clinton Township police went to the suspect's home, where he told them that he was "testing the government" and was upset the FBI did not respond promptly. He also claimed that he did not intend to carry through with his violent threats, and did not own any weapons or explosive devices, records show.

Kowalczyk told the agents he would refrain from posting anything further. But after investigators left, he logged onto Twitter at 11:56 a.m. to vent about how FBI agents waited so long to check out the posted threat.

He posted several more comments throughout the day, taunting agents and using various emojis. In his final tweet, the suspect said "my plan wasn't to f--- with fbi at 1st but now that ik that they are observing me I'm 100% gonna f--- with them."

The alleged threats come at a time when protests in numerous cities around the United States have taken place about restrictions placed by the federal government during the COVID-19 crisis.

Kowalczyk, who filed a request to be represented by a public defender, is due back in court on June 2 for a preliminary examination. He face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

See the rest here:

Macomb County man accused of making bomb threats to FBI on Twitter - The Macomb Daily

Cyber criminals are using COVID-19 to manipulate users on Twitter and steal funds through payment applications. Our latest example demonstrates how victims are being targeted with fake credential dumps.

In the above, the threat actor claims to help individuals discover whether their passwords have been published online without their permission, for a fee. The post lists multiple payment applications for a cash deposit prior to services rendered.

There are legitimate free services online like hXXps://haveibeenpwned(dot)com/ that search publicly known credential dumps for account information. This scam is dependent on the victim being unaware of that, and as a result, paying for information that is easily accessible online or paying to receive no results at all.

Coronavirus is mentioned to add legitimacy as well as online visibility to the post. The victim can assume that because the threat actor is providing services due to the pandemic, it is either out of empathy for those affected or because account data in general may now be more prone to a breach.

If the victim submits payment through one of the cash applications, any communication between the threat actor and victim will likely cease and the money will be lost.

Recent Articles By Author

*** This is a Security Bloggers Network syndicated blog from The PhishLabs Blog authored by Jessica Ellis. Read the original post at: https://info.phishlabs.com/blog/covid-19-phishing-update-threat-actors-on-twitter-want-you-to-pay-for-your-stolen-passwords

Original post:

COVID-19 Phishing Update: Threat Actors on Twitter Want You to Pay for Your Stolen Passwords - Security Boulevard

Omar Morales may have won his battle with Gabriel Benitez, but the cut on Benitez's shin became the biggest story of the fight.

Warning: This story contains graphic images.

Omar Morales had a stellar performance against Gabriel Benitez at UFC Fight Night in Jacksonville, Fla., on Wednesday night, but that wasn't the story coming out of thefight.

As Morales improved on his unbeaten MMA record, the combat sports world took notice of a nasty gash on Benitez's leg in the second round.

The cut appeared to happen when Morales checked a Benitez leg kick. It was several inches long and down to the bone. The UFC commentary team was astounded.

Benitez managed to continue and fought well despite dropping a 30-27, 29-28, 29-28 decision.

And then the UFC production team decided to give us a closer look at Benitez's leg.

View original post here:

Twitter reacts to UFC fighter's grotesque shin cut that exposes bone - DAZN News US

UNC fans picked up a quick first-round victory over Robert Morris. The first round also included a Lehigh upset over Dukes fanatics, bringing back memories of the Mountain Hawks' upset over the No. 2 seed Blue Devils in the 2012 NCAA Tournament.

A second-round matchup against N.C. State resulted in another comfortable win for UNC fans. The Tar Heels collected a total of 27,010 votes during the round, totaling the fifth most for any fan base in the round of 32.

The Sweet 16 matchup against Murray State came with a little drama. UNC fans pulled off the closely fought battle to advance to the Elite Eight by just 0.8 percent.

The Elite Eight matchup against Purdues fans wasnt an easy win either. It took a round-high 32,558 votes for North Carolina fans to advance into the Final Four.

The need for comebacks didnt end in the Elite Eight.

A semifinal matchup against Michigan brought with it interactions between the fan bases involving the infamous timeout Chris Webber called in the 1993 National Championship to give UNC its third national title. Michigan fans sustained a lead for much of the round, but another late flurry of support for UNC ended up advancing Tar Heel fans to the final.

A final round matchup against BYUs fan base had Tar Heel fans as the underdog despite entering the Tournament as a No. 1 seed, as the Cougars had amassed a tournament high in votes entering the final round.

BYU fans had a lead going into the final hours of the vote on April 27.

Tar Heel fans again brought an onslaught of votes in the closing minutes and pulled out another last-second victory. The Twitter poll read as a 50-50 tie, but in the end, UNC's fan base came out on top.

In an April that consisted of no college sports, North Carolina fans were still able to notch another, not-so-official, title for UNC.

@zaylucas824

@DTHSports | sports@dailytarheel.com

Original post:

UNC fans crowned the best in men's college basketball Twitter vote - The Daily Tar Heel

They say small houses have the biggest hearts and a migrant worker reportedly walking to her home village on foot from Nashik, was seen caring about her pet dog and duck despite the challenges of walking several miles with added baggage in the summer heat. At a time when not only animals are being eyed speculatively for zoonotic threats but also hatred towards minority communities is challenging the very secular fabric of the country, this migrant worker taught netizens a lesson or two about empathy. Also Read - Dosa 'Ballebaaz'? Google's Literal Translation of The Word 'Batter' Leaves Twitter in Splits

The picture was shared by Indian Forest Service official, Parveen Kaswan who had received it through WhatsApp on his smartphone. It features the migrant woman carrying the two pets in her arms along with added baggage while hitting the highway. The picture was captioned, The forward says this family was walking on a highway. With all the property they have. See they didnt leave their pets behind. Here many people are abondning them on small issues. Such a good lesson by this family. Via whatsapp (sic). Also Read - Migrant Labourer Allegedly Commits Suicide by Hanging Himself at Quarantine Centre in Chhattisgarh

Moving the Twitterati with its emotional and thoughtful content, the picture immediately went viral. While one user commented, People in small houses have the biggest hearts (sic), another wrote, Their love for the animals is stronger than so many challenges they are facing The puppy seems so secure! Dog face Yes, the mindless cruelty of abandoning family pets is one of the worst things people to do animals (sic) and yet another wrote, The picture has touched the heart (sic).

Check out Twitters gush-worthy messages for the migrant worker here:

&

Recently, a migrant worker who was walking back to her village in Madhya Pradesh was forced to give birth on the roadside on Tuesday. She was traveling on foot from Nashik in Maharashtra to Satna in Madhya Pradesh due to the coronavirus lockdown. Whats more harrowing is the fact that just after two hours after her delivery, she walked another 150 km, before she could find any help.

Our heart goes out to the plight of the migrant workers across the country and we hope that the authorities cater help to them soon!

See the article here:

So Thoughtful! Twitter Learns Empathy From Migrant Worker as Picture With Pets in Arms, on Her Walk Back Home - India.com