Year: 2020

A tweet by conservative online magazine The Federalist, which suggested people should deliberately infect themselves with the coronavirus strain COVID-19, has been pulled after it “violated” Twitter’s rules.

The infringing tweet, posted on Wednesday morning, said: “It is time to think outside the bod and seriously consider a somewhat unconventional approach to COVID-19: controlled voluntary infection.”

A spokesperson for Twitter confirmed the tweet violated its rules, but did not say why.

The article focuses on “pox parties,” where parents would historically gather their young children together in order to infect their children with the common childhood disease. The theory goes that the child obtains the immunity and doesn’t suffer from the illness later in life, which can have far more serious medical implications. The article goes on to suggest this same principle should be used for the coronavirus strain, COVID-19, which to date has killed more than 20,000 people.

Governments, both federal and local, have unified behind mandating that people stay at home and self-isolate in the hope of slowing the spread of the virus to prevent overrunning the health systems.

Experts were quick to dispel the theory. Eugene Gu, a doctor and chief executive of Cool Quit, called the article “dangerous” and “irresponsible.” The article also used a racist term in its headline to describe the coronavirus, which Gu called the “racist cherry on top of dangerous and fake medical advice.”

One Twitter user said that sharing the link to The Federalist’s article was blocked because it was “potentially harmful.”

A spokesperson for The Federalist did not comment.

Twitter has taken an aggressive approach to misinformation by proactively verifying known experts to improve the flow of accurate information. It’s also doubled down on its efforts to prevent disinformation by updating its policies to prohibit new tweets that “could place people at a higher risk of transmitting COVID-19.”

NASA’s renewed efforts to return to the Moon may be impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but works still proceeds on a number of projects related to the effort, including a series of hot-fire test of thrusters designed by NASA and partner Frontier Aerospace. These tests, more than 60 in total performed over the course of just 10 days, were performed under conditions designed to simulate what it would be like to use them in space, and provided key information that could lead to the verification of this thruster design for future use by NASA and its commercial partners.

The prototype thrusters are designed for use with small rockets, in space, delivering enough power for flight path adjustments or altitude changes. They’re designed to be as small and efficient as possible, while also meeting the requirements of landing spacecraft on the Moon, and their first likely use will be in Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander, which is currently scheduled to fly on a Vulcan Centaur rocket in July 2021.

Peregrine is part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program, through which the agency has built a list of what amount to approved vendors for building and flying lunar landers that can carry payloads to the Moon on its behalf. These thrusters are being developed under a separate program, NASA’s Thruster for the Advancement of Low-temperature Operation in Space (TALOS) project, but their work will contribute both to CLPS, and to future spacecraft used in NASA’s Artemis series of lunar missions.

The design of the thrusters incorporates use of a propellant made up of nitrogen and mono methyl hydrazine, which offers benefits like being able to burn at much lower temperatures without risk of freezing – their operating range is between -40 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit, whereas most traditional thrusters work at between 45 and 70 Fahrenheit. Their operating range has the side-benefit of not requiring conditioning hardware, which means that they can work with less bulky and power-hungry designs – both incredibly important when you’re building spacecraft.

Tencent this week announced the launch of the Global Anti-Pandemic Fund, a $100 million effort designed to help curb the devastating spread of COVID-19. The news follows the launch of $100 million funds from fellow tech giants, Netflix and Facebook. 

In the case of the Shenzhen-based corporation, initial funding will go to practical and vitally important health supply donations, including protective gear and other products for hospitals and health care first responders.

Tencent notes that that the effort is only the latest from the company. It previously set up an Anti-Pandemic fund to support health care workers in its native China, with around $211 million allocated as part of that effort.

“COVID-19 is drastically impacting people around the world,” Tencent President Marin LAu said in a press release. “We are facing this challenge together and Tencent is committed to supporting the international emergency response. Based on the experience in China and feedback collected from hospitals around the world, we recognize there is an urgent need for PPEs and other medical supplies, particularly at the onset of the pandemic, when traditional supply channels cannot meet the sudden surge in need.”

For now, the most pertinent donations are certainly health care supplies, as locations all over the globe experience mass shortage of vital equipment like masks and ventilators

Coinbase’s mobile wallet app Coinbase Wallet puts you in control of your crypto assets. The app already lets you access decentralized crypto apps (dapps) using a dapp browser. But Coinbase is going one step further with deep integrations with some of the most popular DeFi projects.

DeFi means “decentralized finance,” and it has been a hot trend in the cryptocurrency space. DeFi projects try to reproduce traditional financial products in the blockchain. For instance, you can lend and borrow money, invest in derivative assets and more.

A popular category of DeFi projects has been lending protocols, such as Compound and dYdX. Those protocols work pretty muck like LendingClub, but on the blockchain. Some users send money to a DeFi lending project to contribute to liquidity pools. Other users borrow money from that pool. Interest rates go up and down depending on supply and demand.

With today’s update, you can contribute to lending protocols much more easily. Coinbase Wallet lets you pick a cryptocurrency, compare interest rates across multiple DeFi protocols, interact with those protocols and view your balances in a unified dashboard. You don’t have to use Coinbase Wallet’s dapp browser.

Interest rates will change over time. At any time, you can check the current interest rate, see how much you’ve earned already and withdraw your crypto assets.

Those protocols rely on collateralized borrowing in order to avoid default payments. It means that borrowers have to lock crypto assets as collateral. You often have to provide a bigger collateral than what you’re trying to borrow with those DeFi protocols — that’s the downside of not relying on credit history and external financial data.

Again, this isn’t a traditional finance product. Your deposits are not insured and there could be some bugs in DeFi protocols. For instance, bZx recently suffered from a “flash loan” attack. But it’s an interesting crypto use case.

While most domestic and international airlines are cutting thousands of flights from their schedules due to the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, Qatar Airways is taking another route. The airline is actually stepping up some of its flying again, after also announcing some cuts in the last few days, by adding 10,000 extra seats back to its network.

It’s doing so by adding extra flights to Paris, Perth and Dublin from its hub in Doha, and by using its A380 fleet for flights to Frankfurt, London Heathrow and Perth. In addition, it’s adding charter service to Europe from the U.S. and Asia.

Unlike other airlines, Qatar still serves 75 destinations, including to the U.S., though the airline acknowledges that this could quickly change as some countries adopt tighter restrictions.

In many ways, Qatar’s decision seems counterintuitive, especially given that even its local competitors like Emirates have cut most of their schedules and many U.S. airlines now only serve a handful of international destinations. But Qatar argues that its mission right now is to “reunite stranded passengers with their loved ones.” The company’s data backs this up, with planes to the UK, France and Germany leaving with about 80 percent of their seats sold, but outbound flights only being 36 percent full. The airline says it flew about 100,000 passengers in the last seven days.

The demand here clearly is from passengers trying to get home. That likely won’t last and Qatar, too, will end up shutting down more of its routes. But for the time being, it’s one of the few airlines that are still offering flights on many of these routes, something it can do because its hub in Doha also remains open for transit passengers. Emirates and Ethiad, for example, would likely keep some of its flights going, too, but their hub airports are now closed and other major hubs like Singapore and Hong Kong have banned all transit passengers.

French startup Mirakl usually works with e-commerce websites in order to help them build out a marketplace with third-party sellers. This time, the company has developed a marketplace called StopCOVID19.fr to centralize the supply and demand of essential products during the fight against COVID-19. The French government is backing the project.

While many French companies have promised to manufacture hand sanitizer, masks, gloves and other essential products to protect healthcare professionals and people in general, it also creates many supply chain challenges. How do you make sure that hospitals that suffer the most from shortages get essential goods in time?

StopCOVID19.fr is starting with hand sanitizer with plans to expand to other protective goods. It helps companies and public institutions talk to each other. For instance, a chemical company has to connect with packaging manufacturers in order to store a large volume of hand sanitizer. Similarly, public and private hospitals don’t want to waste time contacting each manufacturer directly.

This isn’t an open marketplace. You have to be working for a health facility or an industrial company focused on COVID-19 protection goods. The French government screened all sellers that are currently listed on the marketplace. You have to contact Mirakl on the website to create an account.

A comprehensive marketplace could also become an essential service to analyze the country’s inventory over time. It could be particularly useful to distribute masks around the country and prepare for the end of the coronavirus lockdown.

Babbel, the Berlin-based paid language learning app, today announced that, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is making its service available for free to all K-12 and college students until the end of the term. Previously, the company offered a similar deal for students in Italy, the U.K., Germany, Spain and France.

The service currently offers courses for Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Polish, Russian, Dutch, Turkish, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Indonesian and English. Students who want to sign up (or whose parents force them to do so) only need a valid school address to get started.

“The number of students being affected by high school and college closures across the U.S. is increasing daily, and the education system is anticipated to be further disrupted in the coming weeks,” said Julie Hansen, Babbel’s U.S. CEO. “As students are being forced to stay at home, Babbel is in a position to help right now and that is exactly what we want to do. At this time of global concern, we are reminded of the similarities we have with other people around the world, rather than that which divides us.”

The company also tells me that it is seeing increased demand from schools that are looking for ways to keep their students practicing their language skills while they are out of the classroom. Even without taking these students into account, though, Babbel’s overall subscriber numbers are actually up right now, which comes as a bit of a surprise, given that most people are probably not currently thinking about learning the basics of a language for their next vacation.

“Since people globally are bound to their homes we see a steep uptake in learning activity,” said Babbel CEO Arne Schepker. “More than ever, large numbers of people are currently starting a new language journey with Babbel. This is something that makes us extremely humble and grateful. If our work helps to make your day just a little bit better I think this is more than we ever could have asked for.”

Across geographies, Babbel is seeing the same trends, where new subscriptions slow down as the pandemic first becomes top of mind and then picks up again once school closing and rules like shelter-in-place go into effect. The same also holds true for existing subscribers, who, on average, are now more active, too. Unsurprisingly, though, “travel” isn’t quite the motivator for new learners that it was before this pandemic hit.

The popular free language learning app Duolingo, too, is seeing similar growth. The company tells me its new user growth is up 40% worldwide, and especially high in countries that have been aggressive about their isolation measures. In the last week alone, Duolingo saw a 91% increase in new users in the U.S., and even higher growth in European countries like France and Spain. With TOEFL and IELTS testing centers in China and other countries closed, Duolingo’s certification program is also seeing close to 300% growth in China and Korea.

Since our agency opened in 2012, we’ve learned a lot about how to build quality links through content marketing.

The industry has evolved for a variety of reasons, including Google’s algorithm updates and the state of digital media. We’ve had to change along with them.

Over the years, we’ve completely revamped the way we develop content ideas, report on results, identify pitch targets — everything except for our core belief: a combination of content marketing and digital PR is the best way to build top-tier links.

I want to share three of our biggest insights from our experiences adapting so you don’t have to start from scratch or wonder which of your processes needs an update.

Instead, you can get to building the best backlinks you can.

Building the best links requires original research

A $2 trillion stimulus package is moving forward in the United States, Google Podcasts comes to iOS and ClassPass offers livestreamed fitness classes. Here’s your Daily Crunch for March 25, 2020.

1. Senate, White House reach deal on $2 trillion stimulus package to lessen COVID-19’s economic impact

After five days of negotiations, Senate leaders and the Trump administration said early this morning they have reached a deal on a $2 trillion stimulus package to help relieve the economic impact of COVID-19.

The deal (which includes sending $1,200 checks to many Americans) still needs to be approved by the Senate and House of Representatives, but the stock market was already rising Tuesday as reports came out that an agreement was imminent.

2. Google Podcasts is finally available on iOS

Users’ listening habits on the app will be synced across platforms by way of Google Podcasts for Web. The iOS version is available for download starting today. The Android update, meanwhile, will be rolling out to users this week.

3. ClassPass now offers live streamed workouts for those house-bound by coronavirus

ClassPass, the fitness platform that connects gym-goers with the right studio/fitness class, announced that it’s dusting off its shuttered video product in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, with tweaks. The company is allowing studio partners to set their own prices, date and time, and share a link to the streaming platform of their choice for their class.

4. Second Life-maker calls it quits on their VR follow-up

SF-based Linden Lab announced today that it has sold off assets related to its virtual reality project to a small, little-known company called Wookey Search Technologies, which will take over development of the title. Linden Lab will continue developing and maintaining Second Life and some of its employees may be joining Wookey.

5. Survey shows growth in podcasts and voice assistants, little change in streaming

A new annual survey — taken before the current COVID-19 crisis led to restrictions of movement in much of the U.S. — suggests good news for Amazon, continued dominance for Facebook and continued growth in podcasting. (Extra Crunch membership required.)

6. Amazon warehouse workers organized to demand PTO, and coronavirus clinched it

This particular group of Chicago workers was fed up with the company failing to provide paid time off or vacation it promised to part-time workers. They organized; Amazon resisted — and the coronavirus acted as tiebreaker.

7. Facebook in talks to acquire stake in top Indian telco Reliance Jio, report says

The social media giant is in talks to acquire a 10% stake in the Indian telecom operator, according to a report in the Financial Times. The size of the deal, the paper said, was in “multi-billion dollars.”

The Daily Crunch is TechCrunch’s roundup of our biggest and most important stories. If you’d like to get this delivered to your inbox every day at around 9am Pacific, you can subscribe here.

Y Combinator wants to bring more startups through its accelerator that can help with the COVID-19 crisis and the firm is looking to speed the pace of its application process so it can put money behind the efforts sooner.

The accelerator’s most recent batch “presented” just last week in a virtual demo day that was adjusted in light of the early outbreak. Just a week later, the situation has progressed substantially and YC’s team says they are looking to bring in a new class of startups to tackle issues relating to the pandemic.

YC shared some of the new fields it was looking to invest in specifically, which include testing and diagnostics, treatments and vaccines, hospital equipment, and monitoring/data infrastructure. Startups that fit the bill will be fast-tracked, funded and tossed into a remote program immediately.

YC is looking for companies that can be helpful, but at the same time it’s looking to invest in businesses that can remain viable post-crisis, the company says on its site.

For a startup to have an impact in time to address the current crisis, it will have to move faster than most people think is possible. This means the founders need to have domain expertise in the area; they also need to have a plan for how to have a significant impact globally in a short timeline. They also need to have a path to building a sustainable business after the crisis is over.

In addition to sharing details about funding new companies, YC also shared a website detailing some of the efforts to help being undertaken by their existing portfolio companies.