Axios

For Relic Entertainment and World's Edge, crafting their latest real-time strategy PC title, "Age of Empires IV," was more than just a matter of making a fun game — it also came with a responsibility to accurately and fairly capture a wide range of cultures.

Why it matters: "Age of Empires IV" is set in historical eras like the Mongol Empire or the Hundred Years' War, and its treatment of the past can influence how players view those cultures and what they take from the game.

A Better Ubisoft, a group of current and former employees fighting to change the company's culture, is calling for public support by way of an online petition.

Driving the news: "100 days ago we signed our open letter and set out our four key demands," the group tweeted on Friday. "None of our demands have been met."

Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) introduced a bill Friday that would make it more difficult for Big Tech to acquire rival companies and would force them to prove proposed mergers aren't anticompetitive

Driving the news: The Platform Competition and Opportunity Act is a Senate companion bill to a similar House bill of the same name. It's motivated by a belief that acquisitions like Facebook's parent company Meta buying WhatsApp and Instagram has been bad for consumer choice and competition.

The trend toward digital gifts could accelerate this holidays with supply-chain-related shortages of some tech goods leading to shipping delays and product scarcity.

Why it matters: Digital purchases of game downloads or App Store credits are quick and easy, so those who try it may never go back to physical gifts.

Men, conservatives and Americans with higher levels of education distrust tech platforms, particularly Facebook and TikTok, more than other demographics, according to a new poll from YouGov and the Center for Growth and Opportunity.

Why it matters: The poll, shared exclusively with Axios, shows an ongoing distrust of tech platforms and the media, as Americans’ faith in some of the most popular vehicles for information continues to drop.

• The poll also shows that Americans are split on whether news coverage is good for American society, with 41% agreeing with that statement and 43% disagreeing.

By the numbers: The poll, which has a 3.4% margin of error, sampled 1,000 U.S. adults from August 26-31, and showed men generally distrust social media platforms more than women.

• 59% of respondents said they distrust TikTok; 58% said they distrust Facebook; 55% said they distrust Twitter.
• 73% of Americans with post-graduate degrees are distrustful of Facebook; 49% are distrustful among those whose highest level of education is a high school diploma.
• Conservatives said they distrust Facebook more than liberals at 69% and 55%, respectively.
• 81% of respondents said they support free speech; at the same time, a majority of respondents say social media should be held liable for posts thought to be untrue or offensive content.

Of note: Distrust of Amazon and Twitter has gone up since the last YouGov/CGO poll, while Zoom showed a boost in its reputation, from 35% saying they distrust the platform to 26%.

Be smart: Distrust of the media and tech is shared among many demographics, but as the government investigates and scrutinizes these platforms, there’s little agreement on how to address the spread of misinformation and polarization.

Go deeper:

• Exclusive: Poll shows wide distrust of tech, media