Issue 18
December 29, 2023
1 Social media companies made $11b advertising to minors
2 Attacks on Red Sea ships may raise American consumer prices
3 SpaceX launches secret US spaceplane
4 OPINION: Ukraine and Gaza wars globalized
5 Professional power slap league
1845 Texas enters the Union
I’m starting a new Substack at heartland citizen journal with a daily update of central Kansas news and sports by 6p CST. If you’re interested, subscribe – its free!
Editor’s note: no newsletter Monday
1 Instagram, TikTok, YouTube made $11b advertising to minors
Social media companies collectively made over US$11 billion in US advertising revenue from minors last year, according to a study from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health published on Wednesday. The researchers say the findings show a need for government regulation of social media since the companies that stand to make money from children who use their platforms have failed to meaningfully self-regulate. They note such regulations, as well as greater transparency from tech companies, could help alleviate harms to youth mental health and curtail potentially harmful advertising practices that target children and adolescents. (South China Morning Post)
2 Attacks on Red Sea ships may raise American consumer prices
Attacks on Red Sea shipping might raise prices for consumers because cargo carriers take longer routes to avoid dangerous waters for now. “It’s about an 8 percent longer journey, which is going to drive prices up quite a bit for ocean freight — that’s a material impact on prices for the goods themselves,” Ryan Petersen, CEO of Flexport, a logistics technology company, said. The rising costs will affect the price of “most of the stuff that you see in all the stores,” other than food, raw materials, and energy, he added. (Washington Post)
3 SpaceX launches secret US spaceplane amid growing US-China space race
The US military’s secretive X-37B robotic spaceplane has taken off from Florida on its seventh mission. The mission marks the first time the plane has been launched on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket capable of delivering it into a higher orbit than ever before. The US launch comes two weeks after China’s own robot spaceplane, known as the Shenlong, or Divine Dragon, was launched on its third mission into orbit since 2020, adding a new twist to the two countries’ growing rivalry in space. (Al Jazeera)
4 OPINION: Ukraine and Gaza wars globalized
This is why I referred to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as our first true world war, and why I feel that Hamas’s war with Israel is in some ways our second true world war. They are being fought on both physical battlefields and digital ones, with huge global reach and implications. Like farmers in Argentina who were stymied when they suddenly lost their fertilizer supplies from Ukraine and Russia. Like young TikTok users around the world observing, opining, protesting and boycotting global chains, such as Zara and McDonald’s, after being enraged by something they saw on a 15-second feed from Gaza. Like a pro-Israel hacker group claiming credit for shutting down some 70 percent of Iran’s gas stations the other day, presumably in retaliation for Iran’s support for Hamas. And so many more. (Tom Friedman, NYT)
5 Friday oddity: Professional power slap league
This day in history
1845 Texas enters the Union
