Dec 24, 2018 - Technology

Facebook made another offer for Snap in 2016

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Snap CEO Evan Spiegel. Photos: Christophe Morin/IP3 and Stephanie Keith via Getty Images

After Mark Zuckerberg's famous $3 billion offer for Snapchat in 2013, Facebook tried again three years later, The Wall Street Journal's Georgia Wells and Maureen Farrell report.

The big picture: CEO Evan Spiegel and other Snap executives reportedly dismissed informal overtures from Zuckerberg and Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, who never specified prices. Snap's stock hit its all time low of $4.85 per share Friday, after going public last year at $17. Facebook, meanwhile, is closing out 2018 the way it started — "under attack for betraying users' trust and oversharing their personal information," Axios' Scott Rosenberg writes.

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Zach Dorfman of the Aspen Institute
6 mins ago - Politics & Policy

When U.S. politicians exploit foreign disinformation

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

U.S. political actors will keep weaponizing the impact of widespread foreign disinformation campaigns on American elections, making these operations that much more effective and attractive to Russia, China, Iran or other countries backing them.

Why it matters: Hostile powers’ disinformation campaigns aim to destabilize the U.S., and each time a domestic politician embraces them, it demonstrates that they work.

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Ina Fried
14 mins ago - Technology

Samsung debuts Note 20, new foldable smartphone

The Galaxy Note 20 Ultra

Samsung unveiled its crop of new mobile devices Wednesday, including two versions of the Note 20 smartphone, an updated foldable device, two tablets and a watch.

Why it matters: The new devices aim to give Samsung an early start at the second half of the year, with products aimed at parents buying fresh gear for the back-to-homeschool season.

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Alexi McCammond
34 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Joe Biden will no longer travel to Milwaukee for Democratic convention

Photo: Mark Makela/Getty Images

Joe Biden will no longer be traveling to Milwaukee the week of Aug. 17 to accept his nomination in person at the Democratic National Convention due to COVID-19 concerns, the DNC announced Wednesday.

Why it matters: No planned speakers will travel to Milwaukee, meaning that the convention will be entirely virtual — unlike the hybrid event that the party had previously been planning. Biden will accept the nomination from his home state of Delaware.

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