The Daily Populous

Saturday January 30th, 2021 night edition

image for Google Deletes 100,000 Negative Reviews of Robinhood App From Angry Users

Google removed at least 100,000 negative reviews of the stock trading app Robinhood from the Google Play app store after angry users sent a flood of critical reviews that caused the app’s rating to plummet on Thursday.

Robinhood users were understandably upset after the company halted purchases of GameStop’s stock and other stocks promoted by Reddit’s WallStreetBets community.

A Google spokesperson confirmed the tech giant has deleted the reviews and defended the move overnight, telling Gizmodo over email that it has rules against “coordinated or inorganic reviews.”

Gizmodo asked how negative reviews could be deemed “inorganic” when people seem reasonably upset about Robinhood’s actions in recent days.

Robinhood’s rating on the Google Play app store has rebounded to over four stars since Google deleted the negative reviews.

The app also has a 4.7 rating on Apple’s app store, though it’s not clear what kind of moderation Apple has done of its reviews for Robinhood this week.

Robinhood users angry with the company’s decision to halt purchases of GameStop filed a class action lawsuit on Thursday, a move that would seem to give credence to the idea that a negative app rating on Google Play isn’t necessarily “inorganic.”. »

UW-Madison police chief bans 'Thin Blue Line' imagery

Authored by abcnews.go.com

UW-Madison police chief bans 'Thin Blue Line' imagery University of Wisconsin-Madison’s police chief has banned officers from using “Thin Blue Line” imagery while on duty.

MADISON, Wis. -- University of Wisconsin-Madison's police chief has banned officers from using “Thin Blue Line” imagery while on duty.

The move by Chief Kristen Roman follows criticism on social media of a “Thin Blue Line” flag displayed at the police department's office. »

Drone Swarms Are Getting Too Fast For Humans To Fight, U.S. General Warns

Authored by forbes.com
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Such swarms are likely to synchronize their attacks so the assault comes in all directions at once, with the aim over overwhelming air defenses.

Military swarms of a few hundred drones have already been demonstrated, in future we are likely to see swarms of thousands, or more.

The emergence of drone swarms and other types of weapons that cannot be defeated by humans alone will crystalize it. »

'Price gouging from Covid': student ebooks costing up to 500% more than in print

Authored by theguardian.com
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We are trying to support students during an unprecedented public health crisis and they are making it so much harder.

Although several publishers offered free access to many ebooks in the first lockdown in March, this was withdrawn in June.

Publishers are adamant that they have been supporting universities and students and not trying to profit from them in the pandemic. »

Elizabeth Warren says the stock market has become a 'playground for the billionaires.' She's calling for a wealth tax to fix it.

Authored by businessinsider.com
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Establishing clearer SEC guidelines for market manipulation, along with establishing a wealth tax, would be effective methods to counter wealth inequality in the country, Warren said.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts stressed the need for a wealth tax to counter wealth inequality in the country during an interview on CNBC on Thursday.

Without them, she said the stock market is like a "casino" and is not reflective of the state of the economy. »