Technologies

Scrutiny of Facebook ramps up with flurry of new reports based on leaked documents

A number of major news outlets publish reports focused on the social network’s struggle to contain dangerous content.

The critical spotlight on Facebook intensified this weekend, as several major media outlets published new reports based on the cache of internal company documents leaked by former Facebook employee Frances Haugen.

On Saturday, both The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal published stories about misinformation and hate speech on Facebook services in India, the company’s largest market. And The Washington Post reported on concern among Facebook employees about the role the site played in the spread of misinformation that helped fuel the deadly Jan. 6 storming of the US Capitol.

The Post’s report followed stories on Friday by Bloomberg and NBC News that also focused on the spread of misinformation on Facebook in the US, and those reports came on top of similar Friday stories in the Journal and the Times.

In its story about the social network and India, the Times reports that in February 2019, a Facebook researcher opened a new user account in Kerala, India, to get an idea of what site users there would see. The researcher followed the recommendations generated by the social network’s algorithms to watch videos, check out new pages and join groups on Facebook. «The test user’s News Feed has become a near constant barrage of polarizing nationalist content, misinformation, violence and gore,» an internal Facebook report said later that month, according to the Times.

That echoes the findings of a similar 2019 project conducted by a Facebook researcher in the US, who set up a test account for «Carol Smith,» a fictitious «conservative mom» in North Carolina. In two days, NBC News reported, the social network was recommending that she join groups dedicated to the bogus QAnon conspiracy theory. According to NBC, the experiment was outlined in an internal Facebook report called «Carol’s Journey to QAnon,» a document also referenced by the Times, the Journal and the Post.

«The body of research consistently found Facebook pushed some users into ‘rabbit holes,’ increasingly narrow echo chambers where violent conspiracy theories thrived,» the NBC News report reads. «People radicalized through these rabbit holes make up a small slice of total users, but at Facebook’s scale, that can mean millions of individuals.»

The flurry of new reports based on documents leaked by Haugen follows an earlier investigation in the Journal that relied on that same cache of information. The new stories also come after Haugen’s testimony this month before the US Congress as lawmakers in the United States and elsewhere wrestle with whether to regulate Facebook and other Big Tech companies, and if so, how. Haugen is scheduled to testify before the UK Parliament on Monday.

In a broad sense, the issue has to do with whether Facebook can be relied on to responsibly balance business motives with social concerns and do away with the flood of dangerous content that has spread on its various social-networking platforms. The company’s algorithms drive user engagement, but they can also create problems when it comes to misinformation, hate speech and the like. The issue is complicated by the need to respect free speech while cracking down on problematic posts.

Critics say Facebook has already dropped the ball too many times when it comes to policing its platforms and that the company puts profits ahead of people. In her testimony before the US Congress, Haugen alleged that Facebook’s products «harm children, stoke division and weaken our democracy.»

Facebook, on the other hand, has said that internal documents are being misrepresented and that a «false picture» is being painted of the social-networking giant. «I’m sure many of you have found the recent coverage hard to read because it just doesn’t reflect the company we know,» CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote in an email to employees earlier this month. «We care deeply about issues like safety, well-being and mental health.»

Facebook didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Saturday on the new batch of reports based on documents leaked by Haugen. In a Friday blog post, the head of Facebook’s integrity efforts defended the company’s actions to protect the 2020 US presidential elections and outlined the steps taken by the social network.

In regard to the Times’ report about India, a Facebook spokesman told the news outlet that the social network had put significant resources into technology designed to root out hate speech in various languages, including Hindi and Bengali, and that this year, Facebook had halved the amount of hate speech that users see worldwide.

In regard to its «Carol’s Journey to QAnon» report, a Facebook spokesperson told NBC News that the document points to the company’s efforts to solve problems around dangerous content. «While this was a study of one hypothetical user, it is a perfect example of research the company does to improve our systems and helped inform our decision to remove QAnon from the platform,» the spokesperson told the news outlet.

Technologies

Why Are Switch 2 Games So Expensive? Trump’s Tariffs May Not Be Sole Factor

It still comes down to money.

Wednesday’s reveal of the Switch 2 had a lot of buzz from Nintendo surrounding its successor to the Switch. One shocking bit, though, was the high price of its games. There’s a lot of confusion, especially with news of President Donald Trump’s increased tariffs on many trading partners, including Japan.

After the Switch 2 Direct, Nintendo released the full details of the upcoming console and games on its website. The price of Mario Kart World shocked gamers and led to some disdain, as the $80 MSRP was $10 more than what most new games cost today. This led many to wonder if this would be a new normal for game prices due to Trump’s tariffs or if Nintendo was just being greedy. The answer, however, might be something completely different.

Are Nintendo Switch 2 game prices hiking?

To start, some details need to be cleared up. Some people have posted on social media that the price of Nintendo’s Switch 2 games, at least in the US, will be $90. That is incorrect, as of right now.

One X user posted Switch 2 EU prices for Mario Kart World, which start at 80 euros for a digital version and 90 euros for the physical copy. Typically, US and EU games match in price, which caused some to assume that this pricing would be the case for the US.

Nintendo Switch 2 games will be more expensive physically than digitally.
Mario Kart World will be 90 freaking euros phisically. pic.twitter.com/iXuRwzlFqH

— Centro LEAKS (@CentroLeaks) April 2, 2025

US retailers, however, already posted their Switch 2 game prices, and Nintendo-published games are listed at $80.

Will Trump’s tariffs cause the Switch 2 to cost more?

As for Trump’s tariffs, that is unlikely to be a driver of this price bump. Tariffs are not applied to digital goods, and when the prices were published, there were no tariffs on Japan. Plus, games are similarly expensive in other countries like Canada and the UK.

With that cleared up, why are Nintendo games on the Switch 2 so expensive? One likely reason is game storage.

Read More: All the Nintendo Games You Can Update to Switch 2 for Free

The Switch 2 uses what Nintendo calls game-key cards, which are Switch 2 cartridges that don’t have all the game data on the cartridge itself. This helps save on production costs as storage is expensive. The original Switch cartridges went up to 32GB of storage, which doesn’t seem like a lot these days, with some games taking up 100GB or more of storage, but this is for the original Switch. Only a few games, like The Witcher 3, went above 32GB because the graphics for the Switch weren’t on the high end like with a PC, PS5 or Xbox Series console, where a Witcher 3 install size starts at 50GB.

Switch 2 games are going to be bigger in size — there is little doubt about it. CD Projekt Red confirmed it would put its Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition on one 64GB cartridge, and there will likely be other games to surpass that 64GB. With the max size of the cartridge doubling in size, it adds to the price of the physical card, as not only does storage have to be bigger, but they will need to transfer data faster. That can get more expensive for physical copies, unlike optical discs, which are still the same price whether it has 20GB or 100GB on the disc.

What does all this mean for gamers?

This leads to a dilemma for publishers: Put the entire game on the physical card and sell it at a loss, increase the price of the physical copy with the full game on it or use the game-key card to have a card with minimal storage, requiring gamers to download the entire game.

Read More: The 17 Best Nintendo Switch Games Right Now

It appears that Nintendo went with door No. 2. This doesn’t come as much of a surprise, knowing the company. Anyone who wants to save money on games knows that Nintendo will seldom bring the price down of its own games. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, for example, is 8 years old and is still full price on Nintendo’s website.

According to an industry analysis from Niko Partners, this new pricing could become the new normal in a couple of years when it comes to physical cartridges.

«While there has been some sticker shock regarding the price of games increasing from $60 to $70 or $80, these price points are set to become industry standard over the next two years, especially so for Nintendo first-party games,» Niko Partners said in a statement Wednesday. «One reason for the higher price is the increased cost of the new and faster Game Cards themselves, with higher capacities being more expensive to manufacture than a PS5 Blu-ray disc.»

Nintendo didn’t respond to a request for comment about the higher price of its games.

That said, this doesn’t explain the lower price of Donkey Kong Bananza, which comes out in July; that’s listed on Nintendo’s site for $70. This could mean the game isn’t using a larger storage card, but that can’t be said for sure until the game comes out. It’s unclear how things will change in the future.

Technologies

Nintendo Switch 2 Pre-orders in US Delayed Due to Trump’s Tariffs

The Switch 2 launch is still happening on June 5, and preorders outside the US seem unchanged.

Nintendo Switch 2 preorders in the US were to start April 9, but it appears those plans have changed due to the new tariffs imposed this week by President Donald Trump. It’s unclear if this means Nintendo will also have to increase the price of the Switch successor, which currently starts at $450.

Nintendo said Friday that it’s delaying Switch 2 preorders in the US, but its June release date is unaffected.

«Pre-orders for Nintendo Switch 2 in the U.S. will not start April 9, 2025 in order to assess the potential impact of tariffs and evolving market conditions,» the company said in a statement. «Nintendo will update timing at a later date. The launch date of June 5, 2025 is unchanged.»

Nintendo didn’t indicate if preorder dates outside the US would change, but Eurogamer reports that preorders are live at various retailers in the UK.

A tariff of 24% has been applied by the US to goods from Japan. Were that rate to be applied directly to the Switch 2’s announced price, it would rise to $558, but it would be up to Nintendo how much of the tariff it will pass on to consumers.

This is a developing story.

Technologies

Twelve South’s Foldable Wireless Charger for iPhone and Apple Watch Is Up to 27% Off at Amazon

This handy accessory makes it easier to travel with your Apple gear and stay charged wherever you go.

Whether you’re traveling for business or off on a wonderful family vacation, charging your stuff shouldn’t be something you have to worry about. Taking extra chargers and cables can be a pain, and they all take up space in your bag. But the handy Twelve South Butterfly SE charger is a compact alternative that can wirelessly charge an iPhone and an Apple Watch at the same time. And it’s available with up to 27% off right now at Amazon.

That top line discount applies to the pink version, though the white model is only $7 more and other colors are seeing 15% off the usual $100 price tag if you have a strong preference. It’s not clear how long the discounts will last, though.

Hey, did you know? CNET Deals texts are free, easy and save you money.

The charger itself offers a way to wirelessly charge a iPhone and Apple Watch from a single AC outlet, and you can even charge your AirPods when your phone is done, too. And because this is a Qi2 charger you’ll get a full 15 watts of wireless charging for compatible devices — including the best iPhones.

When you’re not using the Butterfly SE, it folds up so it can be slid into a pocket, bag or luggage without taking up too much space. It really is the perfect partner for people who like to travel light.

Unfortunately, this charger doesn’t come with an AC adapter in the box, so you’ll need to provide your own. Make sure it’s rated for 20 watts or more. If you need to buy one, Apple’s 20-watt USB-C charger is just $15 right now.

Why this deal matters

We all carry multiple devices around with us these days. Anything that can make charging them more convenient is a win in our books, especially when you’re traveling. This charger takes up little space when it isn’t being used and charges quickly when it is.