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Republican lawmakers are increasingly concerned about a tide of anti-Israel content on TikTok during the war with Hamas and they are renewing their push to ban the China-owned app, The Post has learned.

While TikTok is highly secretive about the algorithms that distribute millions of short-form videos on the app daily, there are some telltale signs of the disproportionate amount of anti-Israel content on the app versus videos favoring Palestinians.

For example, the top result for the search phrase stand with Palestine had been viewed nearly 3 billion times as of Oct. 26, while the top result for stand with Israel was viewed just over 200 million times, according to one analysis that went viral on X.

TikToks own data obtained by Axios showed a similar gap in the US, with more than twice as many posts using the hashtag #StandwithPalestine as posts with #StandwithIsrael over the last two weeks.

The trends have worried prominent GOP lawmakers and officials some of whom, like Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.), have called for a nationwide ban on TikTok over concerns that the app functions as a spying and propaganda tool for the Chinese Communist party.

Blackburn told the Post that it would not be surprising that the Chinese-owned TikTok is pushing pro-Hamas content to serve Chinas agenda which has increasingly aligned with the interests of rival nations such as Russia and Iran.

The CCP benefits by destabilizing the Middle East and pushing the United States to put more manpower back into the region, Blackburn said. The United States needs to ban this app that steals and spies on American users.

The tidal wave of pro-Palestinian content intensified earlier this month on TikTok, whose base of more than 150 million US users primarily skews toward Gen Z and millennials.

Scrutiny over TikToks role in the Israel-Hamas war included a recent viral thread composed by Jeff Morris Jr., managing partner of the venture fund Chapter One, who argued that Israel and its allies are losing the information war with high school & college students on the popular app.

A massive gap in the visibility of hashtags suggests that TikToks algorithm was amplifying pro-Palestine viewpoints, according to Morriss research.

Morris could not immediately be reached for comment.

Because the TikTok narrative is now so anti-Israel, the engagement flywheel encourages creators to support that narrative because its getting the most attention and creating anti-Israel content helps them increase their following.

TikTok had managed to escape the federal limelight as of late, but the apps central role in public discourse around the Israel-Hamas war could once again put them in the spotlight.

Gallagher, who serves as chair of the House Select Committee on China, told The Post that TikTok has become ground zero for disinformation and pro-Hamas propaganda and warned TikTok parent ByteDances ties to Beijing have made it difficult to separate organic viral trends from China-backed bots or influence campaigns. 

We have zero visibility into whether the viral nature of this content is the result of user engagement, bot campaigns, or the CCPs covert influence, Gallagher said in a statement. All of this illustrates the fundamental problem with TikTok: it is an avenue for the CCP to covertly inject any message it wantsparticularly during a crisisinto the American bloodstream. We must act now to ban it.

Rubio noted that he has been warning that Communist China is capable of using TikToks algorithm to manipulate and influence Americans for quite some time. 

Weve seen TikTok used to downplay the Uyghur genocide, the status of Taiwan, and now Hamas terrorism; This is further proof that the app needs to be banned and treated for what it is: foreign propaganda, Rubio said in a statement.

Last March, Rubio asked FBI Director Christopher Wray point-blank whether China could use TikTok to drive narratives aimed at stoking division in America. At the time, Wray acknowledged that it was not only possible, but the FBI was not sure that we would see many of the outward signs of it happening, if it was happening.”

A TikTok spokesperson pushed back on the lawmakers’ concerns, stating “there is no basis to these false claims.”

“Our Community Guidelines apply equally to all content on TikTok and we’re committed to consistently enforcing our policies to protect our community,” the spokesperson said. “The content on TikTok is generated by our community, and recommended based on content-neutral signals from users, and is not influenced by any government.”

The company said it regularly takes action to remove bot networks targeting American audiences, including some that originate in China. The company also noted that it sponsored the Anti-Defamation League’s “Concert Against Hate” this week, where honorees included Holocaust survivor Tova Friedman and her grandson, Aron Goodman.

The demographics of TikToks youthful user base could be another factor in the disparity. Morris cited a Harvard University poll showing that 51% of Americans aged 18 to 24 believed Hamas was justified in carrying out terrorist attacks that killed more than 1,200 Israeli civilians.

Meanwhile, a recent Reuters poll found 20% of people aged 18 to 24 go to TikTok for news, up 5% compared to last year. At the same time, public trust in traditional news outlets has dwindled.

TikTok touted its efforts to combat the spread of misinformation, noting in a recent blog post that it has removed over 500,000 videos and closed 8,000 livestreams in the impacted region for violating our guidelines.

Even as TikTok defends its recent actions, others note that antisemitism is a longstanding problem on the platform. Well before the Hamas attack, Israeli leaders were warning TikTok was spreading anti-Israel propaganda. Other individuals, like an Israeli actor, say TikTok has simply removed their videos that show how brutal the Hamas terrorists are.

Earlier this month, the European Union demanded that TikTok and fellow social media giant Meta provide details about their efforts to combat misinformation and hate speech related to the Israel-Hamas war.

TikToks efforts so far have failed to satisfy critics, including Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), who stated TikTok is bad for your brain, bad for your kids, and if you needed another reason to stay awayits filled with antisemitic propaganda.

The TikTok spokesperson also pushed back on allegations of rampant antisemitism on the platform.

“TikTok stands firmly against hateful ideologies, including antisemitism, which have no place on our platform, the spokesperson said. We remove this content immediately when we identify it.

Meanwhile, Republican FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr, another advocate for a nationwide ban on TikTok, noted China has a demonstrated history of using TikTok for foreign influence campaigns that advance Communist Chinas geopolitical interests.

The average TikTok user is more likely to be exposed to content favorable to the CCP than other major social media platforms, and leaked documents previously showed that TikTok instructed moderators to censor videos that mention Tiananmen Square, Carr said in a statement. So it would not be surprising at all if the data show that the CCP has been using TikTok to influence public opinion on Israel and Hamas.

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Nerys Lloyd: Details of fatal paddleboarding trip instructor’s police sacking revealed

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Nerys Lloyd: Details of fatal paddleboarding trip instructor's police sacking revealed

Police have revealed details around the dismissal of the co-instructor in a fatal paddleboarding trip.

Nerys Lloyd was jailed last month for the gross negligence manslaughter of Paul O’Dwyer, 42, Andrea Powell, 41, Morgan Rogers, 24, and Nicola Wheatley, 40.

The 39-year-old had also pleaded guilty to one offence under the Health and Safety at Work Act.

The four were part of a stand-up paddleboarding (SUP) tour of the River Cleddau in Pembrokeshire.

They got into difficulty after their paddleboards passed over a weir in the town of Haverfordwest during “extremely hazardous conditions” in October 2021.

Lloyd was the owner and sole director of Salty Dog Co Ltd, the firm which had organised the tour.

Paul O'Dwyer, 42, Andrea Powell, 41, Morgan Rogers, 24, and Nicola Wheatley, 40, died after they got into difficulty in the River Cleddau, Pembrokeshire, on 30 October 2021.
Image:
(L-R) Nicola Wheatley, Andrea Powell, Paul O’Dwyer and Morgan Rogers. Pics: Family handouts (via South Wales Police)

The defendant, who worked as a firearms officer for South Wales Police, was separately accused of breaching the standards of professional behaviour.

More on Wales

The misconduct hearing took place on 14 January 2022, but the publication of the outcome was postponed.

Now that criminal proceedings have concluded, South Wales Police has published the outcome of the hearing, which details that Lloyd was accused of making a fraudulent insurance claim.

Lloyd was dismissed without notice and placed on the police barred list.

Nerys Lloyd (centre, on crutches) leaving Swansea Crown Court, where she guilty to five charges in connection with the deaths of Morgan Rogers, Nicola Wheatley, Paul O'Dwyer and Andrea Powell.
Pic: PA
Image:
Nerys Lloyd (centre, on crutches) leaving Swansea Crown Court after her plea hearing. Pic: PA

The decision on the outcome, compiled after the hearing, states that Lloyd did not attend it and neither had she submitted a written response to the allegations.

Lloyd made a claim against the South Wales Police Federation group insurance scheme for her vehicle’s repair costs.

The cost of the work to repair the vehicle was somewhere between £16 and £20 but the insurance claim made by Lloyd was for £577.55.

Read more from Sky News:
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The report into her dismissal states that, when the matter came to light, she admitted her wrongdoing and immediately apologised.

She was interviewed under caution on 11 October 2021, less than three weeks before the fatal paddleboarding tour.

When interviewed by police, Lloyd said she had made a “massive error of judgement” in relation to the insurance claim and she later repaid the amount in full.

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Bitcoin to $1M by 2029 fueled by ETF and gov’t demand — Bitwise exec

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Bitcoin to M by 2029 fueled by ETF and gov’t demand — Bitwise exec

Bitcoin to M by 2029 fueled by ETF and gov’t demand — Bitwise exec

Bitcoin’s expanding institutional adoption may provide the “structural” inflows necessary to surpass gold’s market capitalization and push its price beyond $1 million by 2029, according to Bitwise’s head of European research, André Dragosch.

“Our in-house prediction is $1 million by 2029. So that Bitcoin will match gold’s market cap and total addressable market by 2029,” he told Cointelegraph during the Chain Reaction daily X spaces show on April 30.

Gold is currently the world’s largest asset, valued at over $21.7 trillion. In comparison, Bitcoin’s market capitalization sits at $1.9 trillion, making it the seventh-largest asset globally, according to CompaniesMarketCap data.

Bitcoin to $1M by 2029 fueled by ETF and gov’t demand — Bitwise exec
Top 10 global assets by market capitalization. Source: CompaniesMarketCap

Related: Bitcoin treasury firms driving $200T hyperbitcoinization — Adam Back

For the 2025 market cycle, Bitcoin may surpass $200,000 in the “base case” and $500,000 with more governmental adoption, Dragosch said.

“But once you see sovereign bias like the US government stepping in, all this will change to $500,000.”

“So the base case is $200,000, conditional on the US government not stepping in. If they step in, it will move closer toward $500,000,” said Dragosch, referring to the US government’s plan to potentially make direct Bitcoin acquisitions through “budget-neutral” strategies.

The US is looking at “many creative ways” to fund its Bitcoin investments, including from tariff revenue and by reevaluating the US Treasury’s gold certificates, creating a paper surplus to fund the BTC reserve without selling gold, Bo Hines of the Presidential Council of Advisers for Digital Assets said in an interview on April 14.

Related: Crypto sentiment recovers, but weekend liquidity risks remain

“Structural” ETF inflows, institutional adoption prolong Bitcoin cycle

The US-based spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have surpassed all expectations during their first year of trading, exceeding record trading volumes as BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF became the fastest-growing ETF in history.

The first year is usually the “slowest” for ETFs, Dragosch said, highlighting the launch of the gold ETF:

“That alone implies that in the second and third year, we will see growing inflows. In terms of the four four-year cycle, implies that, this cycle will be prolonged by these structural inflows.”

The Bitcoin cycle may also be prolonged when US wirehouses start gaining exposure to Bitcoin and ETFs.

“In the US, the major distribution channels go via Wirehouses, which are essentially the big banks like Merrill Lynch or Morgan Stanley. […] Not even half of these wirehouses have opened up their distribution channels to US Bitcoin ETFs,” the analyst said.

Adoption from US wirehouses may bring a “huge amount of capital,” since these control over $10 trillion worth of customer assets, Dragosch added.

Magazine: Altcoin season to hit in Q2? Mantra’s plan to win trust: Hodler’s Digest, April 13 – 19

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Sports

Is Anthony Stolarz the Maple Leafs’ goaltending savior?

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Is Anthony Stolarz the Maple Leafs' goaltending savior?

TORONTO — Anthony Stolarz came into this season with less NHL playoff experience than the average episode length of a prestige drama show.

Now the Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender is writing his own script — starring the Edison, New Jersey, native as the steady, reliable netminder Toronto has been desperately seeking through one failed postseason run after another. The Leafs have a Stanley Cup drought going back to 1967.

And — spoiler alert! — Stolarz could have a potential hit on his hands in the Leafs’ first-round playoff series against the Ottawa Senators. All Toronto needs is one more win — featuring a top-notch performance from Stolarz. It’s for him to stand and deliver.

Flash back to one year ago, and Stolarz was backing up Sergei Bobrovsky in Florida. He made his lone playoff appearance in Game 4 of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final against Edmonton, replacing Bobrovsky after the Panthers had fallen into a 5-1 hole.

That became Stolarz’s playoff résumé — less than 35 minutes of cleanup duty in an 8-1 defeat. Bobrovsky returned for Game 5 and backstopped Florida to its first Cup win.

Stolarz rightly drank in the victory with his teammates. But would champagne from hockey’s holy grail have tasted sweeter to Stolarz if he’d had more opportunity to help earn it? He’s hoping to find out.

Florida let Stolarz explore free agency in the summer, and Toronto stepped in with a two-year, $5 million contract. The Leafs, who had moved on from Ilya Samsonov, needed a veteran to play in tandem with up-and-comer Joseph Woll and believed Stolarz, 31, could fill the role. To that point he’d never been a true starter — his busiest season had been in 2021-22 with the Anaheim Ducks, appearing in 28 games with a .917 save percentage and 2.67 goals-against average.

Stolarz might have grown used to being second on the call sheet. Going to Toronto gave him a chance at top billing. And Stolarz hasn’t taken the investment for granted.

He was sensational from the start, compiling a regular-season record of 21-8-3 with a .926 SV% and 2.14 GAA. Stolarz’s impact on the Leafs was further reflected by his absence — the netminder missed 23 games following a December knee surgery and Toronto produced a 13-10 record. The Leafs were 20-7-2 after Stolarz’s return. Coincidence? Unlikely.

That’s not to say Woll didn’t pull his weight alongside — and without — Stolarz. The 26-year-old was 27-14-1 in the regular season with a .909 SV% and 2.73 GAA. But when it came time for Toronto coach Craig Berube to choose a playoff starter, it seemed like a no-brainer to tap Stolarz.

“He has experience in the playoffs,” Berube said. “He didn’t start [games], but he has experience of being there and seeing it. He’s been around for quite some time now. He’s played extremely well this year, and so he’s ready to go.”

Even that feels like an understatement. Stolarz has stood tall — with all of his 6-foot-6, 243-pound frame — in what could become the most successful postseason run Toronto has enjoyed in decades. If anyone can play their part to keep it going, it’s him. And what awaits Toronto on the other side would be more than just a second-round bout, but one against Bobrovsky and the Panthers — where Stolarz can flaunt his now-leading man status.


COUNTLESS INTERNET MEMES have been launched featuring the Maple Leafs’ backlog of disappointing postseasons. Goaltending wasn’t entirely responsible for all of the Leafs’ floundering, but — especially lately — it hasn’t been a real boost, either.

The Leafs have flamed out in six first-round playoff series since 2016-17. The losses have come with impressive variety — from blown multigame leads to stomach-churning Game 7 overtime defeats — and through it all there’s been some lingering question of what a difference timely goaltending could have made.

Because that’s the key: It’s not just how many saves a goalie can accumulate but when they occur. That has been Stolarz’s calling card — that his dependability, not perfection, is a virtue.

Consider Toronto’s recent postseason history:

  • In the 2021-22 playoffs, Jack Campbell had a marvelous regular season (.914 SV%, 2.64 GAA) and then stumbled in the playoffs (3-4, .897 SV% and 3.15 GAA). Toronto lost in the first round to Tampa Bay.

  • In 2022-23, Samsonov was terrific in the regular season (.919 SV%, 2.33 GAA) but turned increasingly mediocre in the playoffs (4-4 record, .898 SV% and 3.13 GAA). Woll made three starts that postseason, going 1-2 with a .915 SV% and 2.43 GAA. Toronto lost in the second round to Florida.

  • The Leafs’ most painful playoff chapter between the pipes might have been last season. Samsonov’s poor play contributed to Toronto’s 3-1 series deficit against Boston in the first round. Woll took over and salvaged the series with two sensational performances that forced Game 7. He then suffered an injury and couldn’t start in that deciding tilt. Toronto had no choice but to go back to Samsonov, who failed to shut the door in a 2-1 overtime loss. Samsonov finished the playoffs 1-4, with an .896 SV% and 3.01 GAA.

Stolarz has already backstopped the Leafs to a pair of overtime victories in this year’s first-round series against the Senators (although Ottawa managed just one OT shot on goal combined in those losses) and appears generally unruffled no matter the stakes.

He’s also a beacon of consistency: Toronto’s Game 3 win in extra time marked Stolarz’s 11th straight win going back to March 20. That stretch included shutouts in three of his past four starts.

That streak ended in Game 4. Ottawa’s desperation to stay alive in the series won out over the Leafs’ limp efforts in overtime — Toronto couldn’t capitalize on a four-minute power play, and later, after the Leafs failed to clear the zone, Jake Sanderson sent a shot sailing over Stolarz’s shoulder to give the Senators a 4-3 victory. Stolarz ended the night with an .810 SV%, his lowest of the season.

“I picked up [Sanderson’s shot] a little late. Tried to get there and fight through the screen,” Stolarz said after the defeat. “I thought we played a hell of a game. [The loss] boils down to making one more save on my end. But I like where our game is at; keep doing what we’re doing.”

Game 5 was slightly better for Stolarz — if worse overall for the Leafs. Toronto’s once dominant offense went ice cold as Senators’ goaltender Linus Ullmark turned in a 29-save shutout to lead Ottawa to a 4-0 victory and force a Game 6 on Thursday. Stolarz allowed two goals — one shorthanded, for the second consecutive game — on 17 shots to finish with an .882 SV%. He’s now 3-2 in the postseason, with an. 899 SV% and 2.25 GAA.

A pair of lackluster showings can’t snowball for Stolarz though if the Leafs expect to see Ottawa out of their first playoff appearance since 2017.

“We like our game, we’re doing a lot of good things,” Stolarz said after Game 5. “It’s always the toughest game to win, the fourth one. But if you had told us before the series we’d be up 3-2 going back to their place, that’s a position we’d take.”

Stolarz — who confirmed he “felt fine” despite a heavy workload in the series with three consecutive overtimes under his belt — learned a thing or two on the Panthers’ Cup run as well.

“No team is going to lay over,” he said. “[The Senators] have come out hard. It’s a little adversity for us. [The team] is making my job easy, it’s just fighting to make that one save.”

Those who know Stolarz best would expect no lesser response.

“He’s a gamer,” said Leafs winger Max Domi, who played with Stolarz on the OHL’s London Knights as they battled to consecutive Memorial Cup appearances in 2013 and 2014. “Unbelievable teammate.”


STOLARZ DOES MORE to look out for the Leafs than just turn pucks aside. In the emotionally charged Battle of Ontario, Stolarz has used his imposing frame to keep the Senators from controlling his crease. Ottawa established a physical, net-front presence from the get-go, and Toronto has had to adjust accordingly. And when Senators forward Ridly Greig got in Stolarz’s face during Game 2, Stolarz required no invitation to push back — literally — at Greig, earning himself a roughing penalty.

There were no regrets from the goaltender.

“I’ve taken quite a few penalties in my day,” he said after the game. “Caught up in the heat of the battle. It is what it is.”

Stolarz’s teammates appreciate his enthusiasm and the way it drives his success guarding the cage.

“He’s just a competitor,” defenseman Brandon Carlo said. “There was that moment there where he and Greig got bodied up, but [Stolarz] is so focused on the present moment, and I love that. His compete level is just there the whole game, and I think that’s all you’re seeing is a ferocious competitor.”

That has spelled bad news for the Senators, as Stolarz has continuously stymied Ottawa’s offensive efforts. That could have been what drew the Senators’ Nick Cousins to get playful with Stolarz during warmups before Game 3, with the forward flipping a puck across the center ice line at Stolarz. The two had been teammates before — with Philadelphia in 2016-17 and last season with the Cup-winning Panthers — but the NHL didn’t see it as friendly fire. The league fined the Senators $25,000 and Cousins’ $2,083.33 for “unsportsmanlike conduct.”

Stolarz was hardly thrown off his game.

“I didn’t even notice, to be honest with you,” the goalie said. “I know [Cousins], played with him for a number of years. I’m sure he didn’t mean any malicious intent by it.”

Stolarz was open to toning down his own physicality, under the right circumstances. He followed up with officials before Game 3 about the Greig incident and delivered a clear message — “watch my back, and I’ll behave.”

The way Stolarz executes at his best, it’s tough taking your eyes off him. But he can be his own toughest critic. He shouldered responsibility for not tracking that Sanderson winner and closing the Senators out. And it wasn’t the first goal he’d lamented letting in. When Toronto led Ottawa 2-1 midway through the third period of Game 3, Stolarz allowed a wrister from Brady Tkachuk, Ottawa’s first shot of the frame, to go top shelf. That teed up an overtime session — though it lasted only 19 seconds before Simon Benoit called game.

The happy outcome didn’t dissolve Stolarz’s frustration about the Tkachuk score.

“Tough one for me to give up,” he said. “But that’s the great thing about playoff hockey, you’ve got 19 other guys there to help pick you up, and I knew after that I’d be dialed and the next shot I’d be ready for.”

Perhaps that’s one of Stolarz’s superpowers, too. He can shake off a bad goal or a bad game easier than others. The only time all season Stolarz lost consecutive starts was during a five-game skid through March. He followed that up with the 11-game win streak.

“He’s been outstanding all year,” defenseman Morgan Rielly said. “As teammates, we have to do what we can to support him and make his life a little bit easier. He’s been outstanding all year, and playoffs have been no different.”


BERUBE KNEW THAT Stolarz wanted to be more than a career backup.

His time with Stolarz goes all the way back to Philadelphia, when the fresh-faced goaltender was finally entering the Flyers’ lineup after nearly three seasons in the American Hockey League. Berube — then the Flyers’ coach — sensed Stolarz, a second-round draft pick (No. 45 overall) in 2012, was eager to get rolling in the NHL. And Stolarz clearly never gave up on his goal of being a No. 1.

“He came in this year wanting to be a starter,” Berube said. “He’s been excellent all year. It took him a bit of time to establish himself again, but he’s doing the job for us right now.”

As long as that remains true, the Leafs can reasonably believe their postseason fortunes will turn, too. It wouldn’t be just because of Stolarz, of course. But for the Leafs, it’s nice to know he’s there.

And loving every minute of being a leading man — at last.

“It’s fun. I go out there and I enjoy what I do. I enjoy the game,” Stolarz said. “[We’re] all striving for the same goal. You want to go out there with a smile on your face and enjoy it.

“At the end of the day, it’s intense, heat of the battle. This is what you live for. This is playoff hockey.”

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